The Distance Home - Hardcover

Konig, Orly

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765390418 ISBN 13: 9780765390417

Verlag: FORGE, 2017

Inhaltsangabe

<p>Sixteen years ago, a tragic accident cost Emma Metz her two best friends—one human and one equine. Now, following her father’s death, Emma has reluctantly returned to the Maryland hometown she’d left under a cloud of guilt.<br><br>Sorting through her father’s affairs, Emma uncovers a history of lies tying her broken family to the one place she thought she could never return—her girlhood sanctuary, Jumping Frog Farm.<br><br> Emma finds herself drawn back to the stable after all these years. It’s easy to win forgiveness from a horse, but less so from her former friend Jillian, their once strong bond destroyed by secrets and betrayals. But despite Jillian’s cold reception, for the first time in years, Emma feels at home. <br><br> To exorcise the past, Emma will have to release her guilt, embrace an uncertain future, and trust again in the healing power of horses.<br><br>Orly Konig's <i>The Distance Home </i>is a powerful and sparkling women's fiction debut novel of second chances, friendship, and healing.</p>

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

After years in the corporate world (most of it in the space industry), ORLY KONIG took a leap into the creative world of fiction. She is the founding president of the Womens Fiction Writers Association and an active member of the Writers in the Storm blog. She lives in Maryland with her family. <i>The Distance Home</i> is her first novel.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

The Distance Home

By Orly Konig-Lopez

Tom Doherty Associates

Copyright © 2017 Orly Konig-Lopez
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-7653-9041-7

CHAPTER 1

JUMPING FROG FARM

The first time I saw that sign I was eight, and believed, with the certainty that allows reindeer to fly and little girls to heal, that this place would save me.

And for eight years it did.

For eight years, I spent most of my waking and many of my sleeping hours at the farm, thankful for the friendship from the horses and grateful for the escape from my home.

Until the accident. Until I was sent away.

Now here I am, thirty-two years old, staring at the same sign, praying that the eight-year-old who once believed isn't completely lost. Praying that the horrific tangle of deceit and heartbreak that kept me away is mostly forgiven.

But reindeer don't fly.

And time hasn't healed me.

A horse whinnies, setting off a chorus from the barn. A tractor rumbles to life, sputtering and groaning at the call to duty. A dog barks, letting loose a stampede of dogs and cats.

The sounds of my past life are muffled by the heavy air. It's mid-September and as hot today as any stifling Maryland summer day.

"Toad." A gravely voice skids across the gravel parking lot. "Is that really you? No bloody way."

I turn and I'm face-to-chest with the man I adopted to be my grandfather.

"Simon." I look up into the brown eyes that had given a timid girl the confidence to conquer her fears.

And in that heartbeat of a moment, I'm lost. Will the Emma he knew hug him? Or will the Emma standing in front of him shake his hand?

"Put that damn hand down, girl." Simon pulls me into a bear hug. With a final squeeze that knocks a gasp out of me, he pushes me to arm's length. "Let me look at you. Well. Well. Emma Metz."

My nerves crackle like a sputtering fire and my face flames. Each day of the past sixteen years settles between us. I'm no longer that shy girl who desperately wanted to fit in.

"You're not dressed for riding." He smirks at my maxi dress, the hem grazing the top of overpriced, custom-designed red-and-white-striped Converses.

"True." The word sounds more apologetic then acknowledgment. I run the fingers of my left hand over the sign's green lettering. "Actually, I didn't even realize I was coming out here until I found myself staring at this."

The corners of Simon's eyes pinch and his head juts forward to peer closer at my face. "But you are here."

I nod. "But I am here."

Simon squeezes my shoulders. "I'm so sorry, Toad."

Toad. The first time Simon saw me, eight years old and all arms and legs, he'd called me that. Tears swell my throat and all I can do is force a wobbly smile.

"Later. Right now, I'm just happy you're here. Come, Rena will be tickled to see you. And there's another old man in the barn you need to say hello to." Simon grabs my hand and pulls me forward.

Jack. He's still alive. My heart stutters.

Then clenches. "Jillian?"

"She's not here today. Come."

I take a step to follow but the bottom of my sneakers feel like they've melted into the hot gravel of the driveway, each step a slogging effort obvious even to Simon, because he gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.

I close my eyes and breathe in the tingle of freshly mowed fields, the tickle of sawdust, and the sweet smell of horses. "I've missed this."

"You didn't have to stay away."

"Yes, I did."

Another squeeze. I allow him to lead me to the barn with a gentle tug. We're greeted with nickers and whinnies as heads pop over the top of stall doors along the outside wall of the barn. Big brown eyes blink into the sun. Simon releases my hand and reaches into a pocket of his baggy jeans, pulling out a handful of treats. He walks to the large black head with the lightning-bolt blaze poking out of the stall closest to the barn door and offers the palm of his hand. The horse's pink muzzle twitches along Simon's palm and the treats that were there a blink ago are gone. The horse crunches his snack and pushes his head into an old friend's chest.

Simon rubs behind the horse's right ear and braces his legs as the horse pushes deeper into his chest. I feel the pressure against my body and rub at my breastbone.

Why did I come? What's the point of looking back?

There's a clang of wood on metal as someone adjusts a jump. "One more time, Laura. This time, dammit, wait for the distance. Don't let him dictate the speed. You're in charge. You. Not him."

A smile cracks through my apprehension. "Has she changed at all?"

Simon chuckles. "Nope. Still scaring the shit out of little kids and big horses."

He walks through the large double doors into the barn, tossing a "Go say hi to her" over his shoulder. He disappears into the dark of the barn, leaving me rooted in indecision.

I walk the perimeter of the barn toward the outdoor arena. A few curious faces stick their noses toward me, hoping for a walk-by snack. I stay just out of their reach. At the edge of the barn, I stop and suck in a deep gulp of dusty air.

Am I about to make a horrible mistake?

Or was the mistake my slinking away in shame all those years ago? Shame for something I didn't do.

But what choice did I have? We were best friends, "horse-and-heart sisters," we called ourselves. Without Jillian, I was no one.

Turns out I was no one even with Jillian.

I make the turn and stop when the outdoor arena comes into view. I inch closer to the aluminum siding and lean into the corner. One step back and I'll be hidden from view. One step forward and I'm committed.

"One. Two. Three. Better. Leg. LEG," Rena bellows. "Don't let him slow down. You know he hates going away from the in-gate. Kick him." The horse scoots forward as his rider gives him a solid kick.

My head bobs as horse and rider canter around the ring and pop over another jump.

"Well, well."

The butterflies in my stomach freeze. She's staring at me.

It's impossible to read her expression under the shadow of her straw hat, suspiciously similar to the hat she wore all those years ago. She crosses her arms over her chest and shifts her weight to the right. I remember that stance. I'm expected to move and say something or turn and run. I don't do either.

My gut flops and I fight the bubbling urge to throw up. I shouldn't be here.

And yet, here you are.

My right arm starts a slow ascent, pulled upward by a force stronger than my weakening resolve. Rena's head tilts in a semi-acknowledgment of my pathetic hello.

Behind me I hear the clomp of horseshoes on gravel. A tall man with a disheveled shock of black hair leads a huge gray to the arena. He smiles and nods as they walk by. His arrival releases me from the grip of Rena's attention. She asks the man, towering over her by at least a foot, a question and they both squat to look at the horse's left front leg.

The flopping in my stomach wins and I slink back, away from the reunion I'm obviously not ready for.

There's only one head hanging over the outside stall doors this time. I stop a few feet from the big black horse, just out of his reach. If I were able to unlock my arm from my side, open my palm, and lift my hand, I'd feel his warm breath and soft muzzle. The same soft muzzle that eased my fears so many times over the years. I clench my fist, digging fingernails into my palm. I don't deserve his comfort.

"Hi, Jack."

The horse tosses his head and snorts a hello. The afternoon sun casts a spastic shadow dance with each...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: FORGE
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2017
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0765390418
• ISBN 13: 9780765390417
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 336
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar