Chapter 1

A New Beginning

Ten year later

Dear diary,

Ten years? Oh, how time flies when you're stuck in eternal turmoil. Ten years have since that unspeakable night. Ten years without Danny. Ten years away from home. Ten years of pure determination.

Alone forever,

Flora Sterling

As bus pulled up to the stop sign Flora put away her diary, the diary she started keeping the day she left home and Loner Star. She got off the bus and had that warm fuzzy feeling that she was home. She could help embracing the feeling, when a shadowy figure enveloped her. She turned to see a very tall, darkly handsome, older looking Allen Scotts looking down at her in disbelief.

"Flora" He cheered and brought her into a rib cracking hug, as if she was no more then a two year's teddy bear. "OH, GOD, I never would have recognized you!" He continued hug her tightly then abruptly pressed a breathtaking, heart stopping, gut wrenching kiss that made her vary skin feel burned like she was the sun itself. Once he released her lips, he pressed his lips to her ear and whispered softly "Welcome home, Flora."

"It good to be home…" She smiled slightly and let her words trail off.

"You look different, Flora." He said as released her and held her at arm-length. It was obvious to her by the hurt in his eyes and the way his face tightened that he hated to think of the reason she left to begin with. But just like her, he refused to talk about Danny's death. "You've been gone for so long, Flora"

"I know…" She signed. "How have you been, Allen?"

"Nothing thing much…one of my old man's investment finally came through. We now have a small fortune. Right now mom and dad are doing some traveling. They were going to sell that old farm house we used to live." He smiled to himself like a kid sharing his only little secrets.

"How could I forget… after Danny passed, I would always drive out there when thing started getting to me." She stared at the dashboard. "You were always there when ever I showed up just sitting there on the old betted-up porch night or day. As if you were just sitting there waiting for me to just to show." She spoke but her voice was distant. He glanced over at her, her eyes were glazed and her mouth was nothing but a thin line.

A many questions raced through his mind the one question that kept coming to mind was 'Why was she here, now?' 'How did she learn to lie with no remorse?' He grinded his teeth annoyed at the pestering question. But he had to admit it felt great having her sitting next to him, again. It felt like her disappearance ten years ago never even happened but she knew the truth and would have to tell him that she wasn't staying here for good.

God, she thought she's going to hurt him all over again, unless he didn't love her anymore. She prayed that it was the second choice; she never wanted to hurt him again. Like when she left the first time, the pain was just too much to bear. But it needed to be down then and she hoped it doesn't need to be down all over again.

She couldn't help but let her thoughts wander, back to their very first date.

"Hey, Flora" Allen said as he came up from behind her in the hall.

"Hey, Al" She said "Do you need something?" she said as she dug in her locker for psychology text book.

"Yeah, actually, I was kind of wondering if you would like to go see a movie with me." He said shyly "I mean as friends, you know and maybe afterwards get a bite to eat if you're hungry." He suggested.

I looked down at my feet and saw his feet rocking back and forth on their heels. I couldn't help but smirk. "Sure." Not giving anything away I replied. He stopped rock at once but switched to bouncing on his heels.

"Alright than, I'll pick you up at your place for our non-date movie date?" He spoke calmer now that the worst was over with. "Aright then I'll see you at 5 o'clock. Bye." He said before she turned around. I caught a glimpse of him jumping in the air.

Later that night I was pacing in the living room as the doorbell rang through out the house.

"I got it" I shout as I walked to the door but Danny beat me to it. When he jumped down the stairs cutting me off.

"Hey, Allen" he said when he opened the door. Grinning like a jackal he looked back at me and wagged his eyebrows at me. "Oh, Flora!"

"Get lost, Danny!" I said as I passed him to get to Allen. I smiled up at him as I closed the door behind me.

I could see Allen's eyes dip downward to look over my dress; It wasn't scandalous, it wasn't a low cut but it did show a little cleavage, not enough to be slutty, the hem came up to my knees.

"Wow, you look nice!" He said finial meeting my eyes when he took my hand.

About two hours later Allen and I were sitting in a booth at Sophia's. The movie we saw was terrible. But it wasn't that we were actually paying any attention to the movie. We kept goofing off by elbowing each other like little kids. He never won, I always hit him harder then the last.

"Okay, so the movie part of this non-date was a bust!" He chuckled. "Next time you pick the movie, I'll get the snacks."

"It wasn't that bad, honestly, The movie might not have sucked so badly if you had let me watch." I coerced him. "Beside dinner is always better, than the movie portion of the non-dates."

The booth was small that now again our knees bumped into one another. He would always give startling jump all over again.

Dinner went along perfectly until six members of the football team showed up.

Ryan Wilson, one of the blockers, pointed us out and asked the waitress if they could have the corner booth that was right next to our booth. She led them over to the booth. With Helia right behind him, followed by Chris Webster, Andy Mythers, and Blake Zark.

When Helia passed us, he gave me a heated look. Then he looked at Allen, a look as deadly as a viper and cold enough to freeze the Gobi Desert for years to come.

The other guys were a lot friendlier. They patted Allen on the back and told him 'Way to go, dude'. But Helia said nothing to Allen or me. He just sat there.

When the check came, I could feel Helia's eye still watching me, as we left…

She slowly drifted back to the present, just as Allen pulled into her drive way.

"You were gone way too long." He sighed as turned to face her in the cab. "Ace, you really hurt me when you left… I mean you write to let me know you were alright. You didn't even say good-bye!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry…"She frowned.

"I know why you left; believe me, I know." He shrugged. "I wasn't worried about you, mostly. But Helia was scared shitless when you disappeared." He laughed. "Hell, he stopped chasing skirts; people started thinking he was gay. Not to mention he dumped Rachael Wrangler. He all but joined the monks!" Allen roared!

Flora couldn't help but smile at the thought of Helia in monk robes and taking a vow of abstinent. She burst out laughing. "Yeah, Helia mooning over me..." She howled even louder. "As if" she scoffed

"Hey! Come on, you weren't here. He had a total crush on you, back then! He looked as if someone ran over his dog." Allen chuckled.

"So, what. That was ten years ago. I doubt he would give a damn about me now."

Yeah right… Sweetheart you were hot at eighteen." He grinned. "But Babe, now your twenty-eight and you can melt the ice caps for how hot you are."

"ah ha" She laughed " He would feel that way if he knew I could put him on the F.B.I.'s most wanted list"

"Well here's your chance" He said as he glanced at his side view mirror.

Flora turned in her seat to see a man crossing the street. As he got closers Flora noticed that he was darkly handsome with his tanned skin and his even darker hair. But what caught her eye was his light grey eyes, there was something about his eyes that gave her a familiar nudge. It wasn't until he was looking in the driver side door that she finally recognized Helia Julen.

"Hey, Mike. We were just talking about you!" He chuckled. "Look who I found at the bus station!"

It was then that Helia's eyes darted to the passenger seat. "Well, hell!" He smiled. "Flora Sterling!" Allen gave her a I-told-you look that made her want to smack it right off. "You're finally home…"

Flora cut him "Only for a little while Helia then its back Arizona for me."

Helia frowned a bit "What beings back?" He asked dully.

"I'm afraid it business not pleasure that I'm here." She said as opened her door to get out.

"What kind of business are you into now a day?" He continued to badger her.

"The kind that deals with ten murders over the last five years" She said in a casual way and continued "And if keep harassing me. I'm going to have you arrested for harassing a federal agent!"

"What?!" He shouted highly confused.

"That's right, I'm a Fed. and currently special agent of murders unit stationed Arizona. I'm the lead investigator of unit. I specialize in languages and cold cases." She said to him before turning to go in the house.

"So you put that big brain of yours to work of the people after all!" He called after her. "And here everyone thought you would be serving tables."