Dark Earth

Chapter 1

~Present day~

I pulled my truck into my parking spot right next to her's and looked around. A grin made its way onto my face as the doors burst open and she came running out screaming, "Daddy!"

I climbed out of my heavy duty Ford, happier than ever to be home, and swept my daughter up in my arms in a hug that spun her around before I set her back on the ground. "Hey, Princess, how are you?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Wow, dude. You stink like dead fish," she said.

I laughed. The innocence of children. Well, whatever innocence was left in a seventeen year old. I hoped she still had plenty of it to spare even though life hadn't been easy on her.

"Good, I got the solo in choir I've been working on, we've also been working on some paintings in art class too, and..."

I listened attentively as she went on to gossip about starting her senior year in high school, enjoying everything said and feeling complete again. Four days catching fish may not seem long bit it sure felt like it. I'd been in the middle of the largest, most dangerous body of fresh water in the world while all that was left of my life was waiting on dry land.

Seventeen years previously, my wife; Shelly, had been declared dead when we reached the hospital after a car crash. CPR performed by the paramedics had kept her blood pumping with enough oxygen to allow an emergency c-section to deliver our baby girl. She was born premature and had a rough time of it, but from the very beginning she proved herself to be too full of life to accept defeat.

I was only there because of an understanding paramedic who pushed me in on a cart. I'd refused to be treated until I found out what happened with my wife. It left my heart feeling as though someone was squeezing the life out of it. I wanted to give up and just die myself.

Young and stupid, I couldn't imagine life without her. I'd met Shelly when I first flew out to Dutch Harbor. She was the rich mans daughter; the one who lived in the large mansion on the side of the mountain, they always kept to themselves, but they where always nice people. We hit it off instantly; Shelly always said it was meant to be.

Four years later she had left the big house on the mountain; we were married and pregnant, and though we had our share of worries we always knew we would have each other to rely on through life. We had the kind of relationship that sickened others.

Too good to be true. I guess it was.

A nurse showed me my daughter after she'd been cleaned up. I was a mess and in no shape to hold her, but something happened to me when I saw her. Still horribly sad, something lifted in me and changed. I knew I had to hang on and fight. My wife was gone, but there was still someone else that depended on me. Someone defenseless and innocent. Tears were streaming down my face because of so many emotions hitting me, but for once I didn't care whether it made me less manly or not.

"Rowan," I had whispered. It was the name my wife wanted for her. We'd playfully argued about names, though I knew I would give in. I just liked giving her a hard time. If there was nothing else I could do for Shelly, I could at least make sure that our daughter has the name she wanted.

"Daddy?"

I snapped out of my little trip down memory lane, sniffing a little at the memories, and smiled. I got a little choked up every time I came home from a fishing trip. It was nothing like the old days, crabbing in the Bering Sea hoping to escape injury or worse. Rowan and I packed up before she was two and left for some safer waters.

Literally.

I came back home to Northern Michigan and Shelly's parents bought me a fishing boat and a brand new house in the country, of course I could not except that from them. But they wanted what was best for Rowan and me. So everything Shelly and I had saved up could go to Rowan's college fund.