St. Patrick’s Day Free Read: “Clover”
copyright 2008 by Esther Mitchell
She was in so much trouble.
Amber toyed nervously with the cloverleaf charm around her neck, her eyes closed and her lips moving in unconscious reassurance that the wheels would hold as the plane touched ground and bounced slightly. The engines squealed and wound down, and she released her breath in a sigh of relief. She wasn’t supposed to be back here. They told her to stay in Hong Kong. But she couldn’t. Not now. Not without Gerald.
The plane rolled to a halt, and Amber sighed with relief. Grabbing her knapsack - her only luggage, she hefted it to her shoulder as she stood and moved toward the entrance. She needed off this plane, away from the final reminder of Gerald’s death. She was back in Ireland, and she was determined to make a better go of it, this time.
As she stepped out into the bright Autumn sunshine, she drew a breath of air, and swore she could smell the crisp fields of home, beneath the taint of jet fuel and asphalt. If she was very lucky, Nick hadn’t squandered away the family inheritance, and there would be something left to come home to. Gods knew, she needed someplace to heal.
