Adrianna's Storm (2 page)

Sheela Kirkpatrick tied her long, blonde hair into a bun and secured it with scrunchie. She headed out of her trailer onto the set of the latest movie she was working on. It was an action thriller with some big names in it and she had to make sure everything was perfect. She was one of the best, up and coming, stunt women in the business. Her partner and mentor, Jim, met her at the Harley to check it over. He told her everything else had been checked by their crew and was ready to go. She was going to ride the motorcycle at high speed down a crowded street and zip between cars, only to have to jump one at the end to elude the police that were chasing her. She had done dozens of these scenes before and this was a piece of cake.

She placed the helmet on her head and checked the chinstrap as she tightened it. Then started up the Harley and felt it rumble beneath her. It was a thing of beauty and she loved having all that power under her. She put it in gear and slowly drove the route she would take at high speeds for a final run through. When she was satisfied, she gave a thumbs-up to Jim and the director as they began to set up the shot. As she sat there waiting for the directors "action" she thought about home. She couldn't wait to see her sisters—it had been a while. The movie would be wrapping in about a couple of weeks, barring any issues. She was thinking that maybe she would leave early for her trip home and surprise everyone.

The director gave the go and she sped off. She kept accelerating and then began to weave in and out of the cars, remembering to look behind her a couple of times as if she was being chased. They would add the police cars in later. She saw the jump coming up ahead and gunned it one more time as she hit the ramp. Her jump was flawless, landing on the other side with a finesse few could pull off. She grinned knowing Jim would be proud of her. She went to apply the brake and slow down when she realized the brake didn't grab as it should.

She looked ahead of her and knew she was in trouble. There was a crowd that had formed to watch the filming and if she didn't do something, she would slam into them at a high rate of speed. She glanced to her left and right to see where she could crash because there was no other option. She was going to crash. She saw to her right they had set up the airbag for the building jump and turned into it. The people around it saw her and got out of the way. She plowed into the bag, unfortunately hitting the corner instead of head on. It slowed her down, but she hit the corner of the building and was knocked off the bike.

As she lay there, hearing people yell for EMTs and rushing to her, she knew she was hurt and that it was bad. The only thought she had was of her sisters. As she began to see black spots in her vision, she knew she was going to pass out. Her last thought was that nothing would stop her from going home.

Calli Kirkpatrick left her econ class, hoping to get some study time in before her last exam. She sprinted across campus and checked her watch. She had a couple of hours and decided to grab a coffee from the outside vendor before going to the library. She got her favorite, a five shot ice latte, and then turned to go. As she headed to the front of the library, she felt as if someone was watching her. She looked around at all the people in the quad and knew it would be impossible to see anyone looking directly at her.

She had been dating an older man, who she thought was a great guy. She knew from taking that Psych class that she probable had daddy issues, but she had liked him. He was mature, knowledgeable, and worldly. She didn't like dating guys her age, they were still boys thinking with only one muscle, and it wasn't their brains. This man was also British and his accent was sexy. She loved the Irish brogue but hearing that British accent gave her tingles. Unfortunately, she'd had to break up with him recently.

She couldn't explain it, but they had been out on a date at one of her favorite restaurants, Fagan was being so gallant. He was asking about her family, her sisters in particular. She had been overcome with this feeling and then she heard a voice whisper to her,
"Don't give him anything..."
She had actually looked around thinking that someone had spoken to her. Then she had returned her attention to Fagan, and his eyes had glowed red. She sat back abruptly and then blinked a few times, thinking she'd had too much wine.

After that, it had gone downhill. She kept hearing the voice in her ear and Fagan's eyes had stopped glowing, but he kept probing her about her sisters. It was odd, he had never asked about them before. Of course, she had offered information, as her sisters were very important in her life. They were all she had, well, except for Mamo, their grandmother. She had actually told Fagan at dinner that she couldn't see him anymore, that it had been nice, but she was finishing school and had exams to study for that would take up her time. He had protested but she was firm.

As she settled in the study room in the back of the library, she shrugged off thoughts of Fagan and their short relationship. Somehow she knew she was actually better off not being anywhere near him. How she knew that, she didn't know. She couldn't explain what had happened that night, but she was glad it did. If Fagan was bad news in some way, she didn't want to anything to do with him. She took out her books and got down to business. She had to pass this last exam and she was all done with school. Her sisters were going to be surprised and proud of her finishing early. Given the fact they would all be together soon for her birthday, she would wait and tell them in person. She couldn't wait to see them—they were her world.

Adrianna Kirkpatrick, Ari to her friends, blew out a frustrated breath as she grabbed her curling brush to fix the chaos of hair sitting in front of her. She had to make sure everything was perfect, as always, or her boss was going to flip out. After combing and teasing hair for four hours straight, Ari was getting tired. There were only two more days to go before Fashion Week would be over and then she would enjoy some down time.

She looked around the room at all the beautiful models and felt frumpy. Her long, brown hair that fell to her waist was pulled back into a ponytail. She had the most unusual light brown eyes with little gold flecks in them. She had on jeans and a button down shirt that did not show off her figure. She was trim and as tall as some of the models there. Still, watching them walk around in the glamorous gowns had her feeling dowdy and lacking. It was because she was tired, she told herself and shook herself out of her self-imposed gloom. Julie would kill her if she screwed up.

Ari worked for one of the most popular and well-known stylists in the country, Julie Cinnamon. Julie had several salons spread out all over the states, the main one, Spices, was located in New York City. That was where Ari had worked for the past four years and had proven herself to be very talented. She built a strong client base and, with Julie's tutelage, was going places. When Julie had been called to Los Angeles to repair damage to Madonna's do for the American Music Awards, Ari had been selected to replace her at New York's Fashion Week. It was a prestigious honor to bestow on Ari and she was grateful. She was just exhausted.

There were so many models whose hair had to be perfectly coifed that she'd had to be backstage at four in the morning to start. Today she was doing the Calvin Klein showing. The day before she had done the Guess show, it had been amazing to meet Kate Moss, although she had brought her own stylist, of course. Now, Ari had to focus on what and who she was doing to finish before the show began.

Ari stepped outside onto the sidewalk and tightened her coat around her. It was February in New York City and there was a light blanket of snow on the ground. She hoisted her bag, which held her prize tools of the trade, higher on her shoulder and began to walk out to the Porter who was hailing cabs for everyone. As she sat in the back of the cab heading back to her loft, she looked around at the busy sidewalks and streets. People were everywhere, walking, talking on cell phones, everyone busy, busy, busy. She took a deep relaxing breath and thought about getting home to a nice long bath and a glass of wine.

Growing up had been a wonderful experience, until she had turned fifteen, and her parents had been killed in a car accident. Their family had lived in Dublin, Ireland, where her father had been the president of one of the largest banks in Ireland. Her mother coordinated all the events their father was expected to put on, such as parties for the board of directors and fundraisers for the various charities. She was also a stay-at-home mom who had five daughters to look after and a large home to keep organized. With the girls all two years apart, they were a handful.

Adrianna was the oldest of the girls, then there was Erin, Kira, Sheela, and Calli. The three older girls had brown hair like their father and the two youngest were blonde like their mother. They were really beautiful girls and their parents loved them to distraction.

Although their parents were very busy in their respective responsibilities, their five daughters wanted for nothing and knew they were very loved. There was many a day when their father would come home from work, throw down his briefcase, and yell to the girls that he was going to beat them all to the pool, which was housed in their backyard. The girls would all run screaming to grab their suits, along with their mother, and they would all jump in together. Their mother would serve dinner around the pool and they would all play until it was time for the girls to go to bed.

Sometimes on those evenings, Ari, being the oldest, would be held back by her parents and they would cuddle with her on a chaise. They would ask her questions about school, her friends, and talk about upcoming events in Ari's life. Her parents would do that with each of the girls as different times. They were a close family, a loving one, and Ari missed that most of all.

It was their parents’ twentieth anniversary and they had decided to fly to Paris, her mother loved it there. It was where they had first met, only to discover they were both from joining counties in Ireland. The plane had never landed, their bodies lost at sea.

The girls had gone to live with their maternal grandmother in Weatherby Glen, which was located in the center of Ireland in Offaly County. They loved their grandmother and visiting her was always a treat, but permanently living in Weatherby Glen was a big adjustment for them. Not only had they lost their parents, but they had lost their friends as well. That was a blow to Ari, as she was a teenager in the awkward stage of not being a child but not yet a woman either. Also, being the eldest, she felt she had to take on the caretaker role for her sisters and she tried hard to help her grandmother as much as she could.

Living with Mamo had been an experience. Concepta Belenus O'Laughlin—Mamo to the girls—was a force to be reckoned with when it came to her family. Even though she could be fierce when she wanted to be, she was what some called a free spirit and she was known and loved by everyone in the glen. She dressed in flowing skirts and peasant blouses. She always had a kind word and was very patient with the girls. She had been their rock through the loss of their parents and then had raised them the way their parents had wanted them to be. All the girls had gone to college and gotten degrees in varying fields. Although all but one of the girls had moved away to pursue their careers, they were very close and routinely came back to the glen to visit.

Their family had lived in the glen for centuries and was well-respected. Their grandmother had lived in and maintained the original family home; although it hadn't remained the quaint little cottage it was originally. Over the years, the generations of the Belenus families had added to it and now it looked like a castle. It had ten bedrooms, five full bathrooms with a half bath downstairs by the large kitchen and even a caretaker’s cottage in the back of the property. It was large, yet Mamo had made it feel inviting and warm.

Ari snapped out of her reminiscing as the cab pulled up in front of her building. She grabbed her bag, paid the driver, and exited the cab. She looked up at the tall building and smiled, she was home. She had lived in her loft in the building for four years now and loved it. She had leased it when she went to work for Julie. Before that, she had lived in an efficiency in a four-story walk up and was barely living as she worked hard to get noticed in her field. It had taken longer than she had expected, but it was worth it.

Julie was Ari's best friend, besides her sisters, and had mentored her to where she was now. Ari had been working in a small shop in Greenwich Village when Julie had come in to check out the talent. It seemed word was getting around that Ari had what it took and Julie had been intrigued. Julie was getting older and had no children as she had devoted her life to her job, so she had been looking for the right protégé to take her place one day. Even today, Julie was in no way ready to retire, but she was slowing down a bit. That was why she hadn't even given it a second thought when Madonna had called, to appoint Ari to take her place at the shows.

Ari had been stunned that Julie had wanted her to go. She'd had a bad case of nerves all the way up until she had started to do the first model's hair, then old habit and instincts had kicked in. From what everyone was saying, if Ari kept up what she was doing, she was really going to take off and Julie would be proud. She was going to have offers rolling in and Julie had known that when she sent her. Right now Ari wanted nothing more than to settle into the bath and relax. She had to be at the next show at four-thirty tomorrow morning. She restocked her bag, set it by the door for in the morning, and then poured herself a glass of white wine while she reheated leftover lasagna from last night's dinner. She had ordered take out from one of her favorite restaurants, Gino's, and talked to Julie on Skype about things.