Chapter 1

Vaughn

I stepped off the boat and onto shore. The wind blew violently and my hands flew to my hat before the wind could drag it away.

With one hand on my hat I looked up at the sky. The clouds were a deathly black and I could tell that a fierce storm would be coming in soon. I started walking fast toward Mirabelle's shop when I suddenly saw someone. It was a girl. She wore a red bandana on her head and had a short orange vest with a white t-shirt under it. She also had short jeans on and red boots. The girl was struggling to walk against the wind. Suddenly she just dropped. I ran over to her to find her and unconscious and not moving. I was thinking of picking her up and carrying her to Mirabelle's shop when a thought popped into my head.

She's none of your business. You've got a lot of work to do, I thought. I got up and started to walk away when my conscience kicked in.

If you leave her there then it'll be your fault if she gets a cold from being out here in the storm, it said. I groaned at the thought, then walked over to the girl. I picked her up, bridesmaid style, then started to walk to Mirabelle's shop. I found Mirabelle outside of her shop, boarding up her windows.

When she turned around to see me she gasped. "What happened?" she asked.

I was about to say something but I was interrupted by a big BOOM! Mirabelle looked up at the dark sky. "You can explain later. Let's get inside," she said. We ran inside right as rain started to pour down. Mirabelle led me to the upstairs part of her shop and to an empty room. The room was empty except for a bed and a bedside table. I set the girl down on to the bed gently and explained what had happened.

Mirabelle nodded and listened as I talked and when I was done she thought for a second before talking. "When she wakes up make sure to give her water and a full meal. Then let her rest. I'll ask Julia to check on her animals and Elliot to water her crops first thing in the morning," she said.

I nodded, it was a lot to remember but I would try. I watched her walk away. I sat down on the floor and propped my back up against the wall. I could feel my eyes getting tired so I decided to close them just for a minute, but before I knew it I was asleep.