Saturday's Chapter - Haven - Charmaine Gordon

Here's the first Chapter of Haven by Charmaine Gordon who "dream writes."

Chapter 1





“I need you, Jimmy Costigan.”

Words he’d heard since childhood chilled him. Not again. Oh please, not again.

Strong hands gripped the tall cowboy and spun him around and he wasn’t an easy man to spin. In high heels, Shelley Jackson faced him eye to eye.

“Just when I was makin’ a clean getaway,” he said. “Whatcha need now?”

“You. I’m with hostage survivors and no one to help me ‘til tomorrow morning.” She talked low and fast, no time to waste.

“Hostage?”

“Didn’t your sister tell you?” He shook his shaggy head, a frown forming. “Or maybe you weren’t listening.”

“Whoa,” he said, holding up a calloused hand.

“Sorry. One minute I’m sitting in my office downtown minding my own business. Then Kirk Richards called with the emergency. We all knew this day would come so I raced around locking up, grabbed my packed suitcase at home like an expectant mother, God forbid, and got here in record time.”

He stood there still not comprehending. “What happened? I just came by to deliver supplies and planned to hightail it back to the big city.” You sound like a hick after less than a day in Utah. Shut your country yap.

“Here’s a quick rundown. This morning, Lila Olsen called 911, said she and her kids were held hostage by a guy for maybe a week or more and now he slipped on spilled soup and hit his head. She found his cell phone and called for help. The mother is in my study and her three little kids are in the playroom. My job as psychiatric social worker is to get background for starters, then serve dinner and send them off to shower and bed.” She stopped, caught her breath and listened. Quiet so far. “How are you with small children?”

Profound pain hit him in the gut.

“The best,” he said.

“Well, great. See if they’ll confide in you.”

Jaw set, Jimmy loped down the hall, man on a mission ready to help whenever kids were involved.

Shelley re-entered her new study in the old house where she planned to find out what the hell happened to this family while they were held captive.