Forgotten Dawn (Forgotten Book 2)

Chapter 2

Anna opened her eyes in an unfamiliar room as the first signs of daylight showed through the white lace curtains. She couldn't remember the last time she had been up at dawn. Her late hours at the Pussy Cat Club in Denver kept her in bed until the afternoon on most days. Her blackout curtains at home allowed her to sleep undisturbed. The frilly room she was currently occupying had belonged to her best friend's new sister-in-law, Chelsea.

Chelsea had opted to stay in the master bedroom next door to the twins' nursery upstairs while Tiffany and her new husband, Chase, enjoyed their honeymoon for a few days. This was Anna's first trip to Oklahoma. She had come to be a part of Tiffany's wedding. The opportunity to get out of Denver couldn't have come at a better time.

In her eight years of being an exotic dancer, she had her fair share of handsy customers. Her and the other dancers and waitresses relied heavily on the bouncers, Doug and Rico. She always felt safe at the club. The problem was not feeling safe at home. For the past month, gifts had been delivered to her apartment. It started with flowers, then candy, followed by lingerie. The latest delivery was an adult toy of the vibrating variety. There was never a card, just the gifts sitting outside her front door when she would wake in the afternoon.

When Tiffany sent out the invite for her wedding, Jerry, the club owner, shut the place down for the weekend. The people at the club were all the family Tiffany had. Of course, her mother was still alive, but she was a bitch. Anna immediately volunteered to take a little extra time off to help Chelsea with the twins while the happy couple were away. Hopefully, by the time she returned to Denver, whoever was leaving her gifts would think she moved or take the hint that she isn't interested and move on.

For now, Anna was going to enjoy the peace and quiet of the Circle C Ranch. It was beautiful. Tiffany and Chase had married under an oak tree in the middle of a beautiful meadow of rolling hills. The reception was held in the huge barn. Anna hadn't ever been around horses much, but she had been obsessed with them as a girl. She had studied everything about owning a horse when she was ten, because she had asked Santa for a horse for Christmas, and she was sure that she would get one. Never mind the fact that she lived in an apartment building in the middle of Denver with foster family number fourteen.

Anna had instantly fallen in love with the horses on the ranch. They were the reason she was dragging herself out of bed at such an ungodly hour. She wanted to walk down to the corral and spend some time in their peacefulness before the twins got up. She slipped into the bathroom down the hall. She had left it in total disarray in the chaos of getting ready for the wedding the day before.

She showered quickly and towel dried her hair. Tossing her wet hair up in a high ponytail, she decided against putting on makeup. Dressed in a pair of denim shorts and her favorite red crop top, she quickly straightened the makeup and beauty paraphernalia on the counter. She grabbed her bra from the back of the door and threw it on the bed in her room before going to the entryway.

There was a decorative hanger with hooks that hung on the wall adjacent to the front door. Currently, most were empty except for one that held a white straw cowboy hat. Under the hooks, her sneakers sat on the floor alongside a couple pairs of cowboy boots. She slipped on her sneakers before leaving through the front door.

Chase's dog, Rusty, was eating a bowl of kibble on the front porch. Apparently, someone else was up early as well. Making her way down the drive that ran past the house to the barn and pastures, she approached the corral. It wasn't until she rounded the corner of the barn that she saw him.

With an ass fit for a Levis catalog, leather chaps, a plain white t-shirt, worn cowboy boots, and a baseball cap covering his sandy blonde hair was Chad Crawford, the best man and groom's younger, broodier brother. The sight of the masculinity that he exuded made Anna's mouth water. She leaned against the corral fencing and quietly watched as he tossed a rope around a dappled gray mare's neck. Her long black mane and tail glistened in the rays of the rising sun.