The chieftains mate, p.1
The Chieftain's Mate, page 1
The Chieftain’s Mate
LEADVILLE SERIES
BOOK ONE
K. J. LAVALLEE
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GRAPEFRUIT DESIGNS
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LAVALLEE FORMATTING
Copyright © 2022 by K. J. Lavallee
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Dedication
This has been a long time coming. I’m happy to have a great support system with friends and family. A special thanks to Michelle, you’re a great friend. Not only do you read my books, but you suffer through helping me edit them. I appreciate you so much and I’m very grateful for your friendship and all that you do for me.
I’d also love to thank my best friends, Tammy and Stephanie. I love that you listen to my ideas and dreams that will become books and don’t balk at them. You just roll with the punches and help me work through them. You ladies are truly a godsend and I don’t know where I would be without you in my life. I love you two like sisters.
Finally, thank you to my family. My husband is a wonder. He has to deal with me spending long days and nights at the computer while I write the ideas that are never ending. I love you, honey.
I want to thank my kids as well, you put up with me lost in my own world while I do what I love as I try to make my dreams come true. I love you all so much.
Contents
1. Vivian
2. Alexander
3. Vivian
4. Alexander
5. Vivian
6. Alexander
7. Vivian
8. Alexander
9. Vivian
10. Alexander
11. Vivian
12. Vivian
13. Vivian
14. Alexander
15. Vivian
16. Vivian
17. Vivian
18. Alexander
19. Vivian
20. Vivian
21. Vivian
22. Vivian
About K. J. Lavallee
Also by K. J. Lavallee
Chapter 1
Vivian
Driving around the bend and up the high street, I can't help but feel home sick. That is the only thing I can decide on, as to why I have all of these conflicting emotions racing through me. In the distance, the tree covered hills, with their changing leaves, send a pang of grief through me. Home sick. Who would have thought I would feel this way? I was so anxious to get out of that town and away from the memories that haunted me, I didn’t even give myself time to think if I would miss it. Now, driving through the mountain pass, seeing all of the almost bare trees, getting ready to withstand the brutal winters, and I miss the place? God above, help me.
I could go about saying it’s just the place itself, with the leaves that change colors, and the branches that lose them after their ability to hang on fails them. But I have that here. It could be that I knew everything that happened and who everyone was in my small town. But I ran from it because of that exact reason. It could just be that I've made one friend since being here, and I've been here for a few years now. But leaving here, this place I now call home, feels wrong. It's like I'm moments away from a life changing event, and the thought fleeing, sends some unknown message within me, keeping me here. Not like I would leave, I have a great job, minus one of the bosses, but it pays me well, and I’m relatively happy.
The sudden rush of emotions that make me feel like I am missing something hits me in the gut. I need a vacation, I decide, as I round the final bend that will take me to my destination.
I pull into the large lot and park the car. I sit there a moment, needing to compose myself. For some reason, my nerves are fried. Anxiety ripples through me in waves.
I hadn’t realized that I've driven all the way to my appointment already. Getting lost in thought while driving is dangerous. I could have killed myself or an innocent person walking in the middle of the road.
Although, there is something to be said about people who decide they’d rather walk in the street than on the sidewalk that is designated for pedestrians. But who am I to judge?
I pull out the key from the ignition, grab my briefcase, which contains my laptop and information on my client, and purse. I close the door, straighten my skirt, and check my hair in the reflection of my window.
I look just as I had before getting in the car. Long chestnut hair with curls that are so tight it looks about six inches shorter, with mouse and hairspray to keep it tamed, allowing me to leave it down, which helps to ease my constant migraines. I have almond colored eyes with specks of green in them. The green stands out a tad more when I wear green eyeshadow, which is currently the color I have on. I have a black suit skirt and a green blouse that hugs my body. I have my black suit jacket over it as well.
Now that I am out of the car, I realize that I am far up the mountain, and it is pretty chilly up here. My long car ride made me forget that we are on the brink of winter, and being this high up, makes the cold bite into my skin.
I have cream colored skin and it never gets darker no matter how long I'm in the sun, the only difference would be a nice shade of red that hurts like a bitch. I stay out of the sun for that purpose. I've learned the hard way growing up and I'm not itching for skin cancer. So, I'll take my skin just as it is.
"Okay, Vi, let's get this done. Just another client. Just another day." I often give myself pep talks before meeting a new client. For some reason, even after doing this for several years, I still get nervous. But today, I have more anxiety than I have ever had. Even on my first day. It could be that this client happens to be the biggest one yet. Giving us the entire livable mountain range as land we will be helping to develop. This little town, which seems to be rapidly growing, is Leadville, Colorado. It currently has 2,600 residents, and is the highest colonized altitude of 10,150 feet. Alexander Frasier, our client, said his family has owned it for years and he wants to make good use of it. He was very adamant that what we build will be helping the community and doesn't infringe it. He said this community is everything.
This is why I am traveling into the mountains of Colorado. To see what land, we are working with and what our client would like to have constructed. I live in Colorado Springs, which is about eighty-five miles from here. It’s a long drive, but with the amount of work we will be doing, it’s worth it.
I work for a major construction company. We do everything. My job, the one that I was offered when I fled my home town, is to meet with our clients and help draw up the plans. I am an architect, but I don't do the building myself. I'm more of a designer.
It helps with Wolf Brothers Construction. They had the qualified builders but they lost their designer. So, here I am, five years later. I still work there and have my own office. I only work when we have new clients or old clients with new jobs to offer, which seems to be more often now than ever before. Colorado is growing, and even the small towns seem to be increasing in number.
We will be constructing at least four buildings. They don’t have a hospital here in Leadville. They are using a small clinic and it isn't enough anymore. So, we know for sure that they will be needing an actual hospital.
I am shaken out of my musings when I walk into the foyer of the small office. It's nice, open, and very inviting. The small receptionist desk is located against the wall with Clan Frasier on the wall behind the receptionist. Definitely old. Clans in Scotland haven’t been around for quite some time, and, judging by the appearance, I am sure this is the original building from when this place was founded in 1877. Everything looks kind of old, but in a retro kind of way. Very old school. And entirely beautiful. I’ve read that this town still has many homes and buildings from the Victorian era. I am very excited to see it.
"Good morning. How may I help you?" The lady behind the counter asks. She is very beautiful. She has straight bleach blonde hair that stops just after her shoulders and bright blue eyes that shine as if a light is reflecting off of them. I glance down and read her name tag. Genny Lachlan.
"Yes, my name is Vivian Macintyre. I am here to meet with Alexander Frasier."
She smiles slightly at me before responding. "Ah, yes. Of course. Please have a seat and I will let him know you are here."
"Thank you," I say, before walking to my seat.
A few minutes later, Genny calls me back over. "Ms. Macintyre, Mr. Frasier will see you now." I stand up and walk toward the direction she is pointing. She leads me through a door and turns right almost immediately after entering the door. Then she leads me into a small hall that has one door at the very end. The rest of the short hall has no doors, no other rooms down here but the big man’s, apparently.
She opens the door and announces me. "Ms. Macintyre, sir."
"Thank you, Genny."
Genny bows slightly before motioning me in. She closes the door behind her, and I suddenly feel alone. There is a strange surge of energy I get from the man behind his desk. It frightens and sooths me all at once. I suddenly get the sense of home, standing in the room with a man I have never met before. This is odd, especially for me. It could just be that I have been feeling like going to visit the family and close friends that I’ve seen very little of since moving here. I shrug off the sensation, pushing it to the back burner with the extr
Mr. Frasier stands up and our eyes meet. His bright eyes, sparkle with joy. A spark of electricity shoots through my entire body. He seems familiar in a way that is comforting. But I know I've never met this man a day in my life. God he is sexy. He stands well over six feet tall. He has brown tousled hair and it appears as if he’s already jammed his hands through it in frustration several times, and it's only ten.
We stand there, staring into each other’s eyes for several moments before he breaks the silence. "I'm Alexander." He sticks his hand out for me shake it. I do. That bolt of electricity shoots through my hand again, making a small gasp escape my lips. I drop it as soon as I can, hoping he didn’t notice. Holy hell! What is happening to me?
"Vivian," I reply, slightly breathless.
He motions for the table to the left of the room, offering me a chair to sit. I go and open up my briefcase. I pull out my laptop. This is my baby; I would die without her. It's so much easier to design homes on her than it is on paper. But I can do, and will do it, by hand. But it's easier to give a quick look at what I am planning with my computer than it is on paper.
I pull out my notes. And have my pad and pen ready. When I am ready, I look up to meet Alexander's eyes. He is studying me intently and I can't decide if I like it or not. "Mr. Frasier," I begin.
He stops me. “Please, Alexander.”
I nod. "Alexander, please, tell me what you want. How big, the amount of rooms, the usage. Anything about the buildings you can think of. This high up the mountain I can imagine you need to survive on your own. Help will take too long to come from the surrounding towns." I know this, because I researched it before coming. If there was a fire, the whole town would burn down before the closest station could come and help. Paramedics included.
"We need a hospital. We don’t have many patients at one time, but our small town seems to be growing, and the small, two room clinic we have now, isn't enough." His words are laced with a slight accent. He has been living here for quite some time to master a speech without much of his Scottish accent to fully come out. It sounds sexy and does things to my body, I’d rather ignore.
He pulls open the paper of the empty land that this will be built. He points to the section right in the middle. "This is where we want the hospital. We already have a small fire station. We have exactly what we need from the earth around us. But we most definitely need a hospital.” The way he speaks about the natural resources they have, gives me a pang of longing. To see how this small town lives off the grid, hidden away in the mountain. Most people who come here are here for ski slopes or the trails that the mountain offers. I very much want to have him show me around.
“We will have a restaurant here, and a library here.” He points out the two locations on the map. “I also need a bigger school. If you can believe it, we are still teaching kids in a one room building. It just hasn’t seemed a big concern to update it.” When he mentions a single roomed school, I imagined the one from Holes that was falling apart. A real school house! They still have one of those? I have to see it. “But my brother, Nick, and his new m-wife, have been procreating like crazy. They've been married three years and have two sets of triplets. Our buddy Joe has had his own set of quadruplets. This town is just growing faster than I ever thought possible." I miss what he is pointing at as my mind tries to come up with what he was going to say instead of wife. Also, multiple sets of triplets are very rare. I can’t imagine what his brother and sister-in-law are going through. His friend Joe, who had four! That is just insane. I shake off the feeling of missing information and tune into what Alexander is saying. "Here, we want something for the kids. Not necessarily a park, but the kids would love to play all kinds of sports. Basketball, football, soccer. A small playground would be nice if we could get it to fit. But that's not necessary."
"Okay. Now, tell me what you would like in each building." I go on like this, getting all the information I can get. Then, one by one, I entered it into my program. First the hospital. It will have a maternity ward, and an ER and OR. I also added a small section for regular doctor visits. When that is done, I turn it to Alexander.
"This is a rough draft of the hospital. What do you think?" I point out everything we can put in it. Multiple floors to suit multiple purposes.
"You did that in the few minutes you were typing away?" The awe in his voice is tangible. Most people don't know that a single program, that I developed, will set them up instantly with a tentative design.
Smiling, I say, "It’s a program. I created the software that will create what I want. The more detailed pieces like outside and inside design structure will need to be implemented by hand, but I usually draw those out first and scan it into my database. This is seriously just for visual effect. In two weeks’ time I will have all final drafts for you to review and tell me yay or nay."
He is frozen. Just staring at me in wonder, mouth slightly agape. But clearly amazed at my abilities to create structures out of thin air.
“You created that software?” The admiration in his words is now alight in his eyes.
“I did,” I say. “I needed something to help me get my job done easier, and more efficient. It also helps to give you, the client, a better view of what it is I intend on doing.”
He shakes his head as if coming out of a trance. "I don’t need to see the rest. Come back two Wednesday’s from now, same time. I want to see the drawings too. So, bring those with you."
I frown in confusion. "Are you sure you don’t want to approve of them before I go ahead and start drawing up the finishing touches?"
"This first one is great. I know you will do perfect."
Excitement flares in my chest. Free reign. He is basically telling me to do what I want. I will, but keeping it consistent with the rest of the town and his office, so I know he will still like it. "Okay?” I say, unsure if he really means this. “If you insist." I pick up my papers, and the mockup of the land, which has where he wants everything. I place it into the folder before putting it into my briefcase. I close and put my laptop away. When I am done, I stand up and hold out my hand to Alexander. "I hope you truly enjoy what I make up for you. I will see you in a week. If you have anything you want to add to any building or remove, please call me." I hand him my card, which has my email and direct phone line to my office. He takes the offered card, puts it into his breast pocket and walks me out.
I swear, before I make it to the door, I hear a low growl. I turn around expecting to see a pet I may have missed on my way in, but there's nothing. Alexander looks at me questioning. I shake my head and continue walking forward.
I want to stop him and have him give me a tour of the grounds, but something inside of me makes me halt that thought. I need some space to see what is going on with me, and to figure out why I have the sudden urge to jump his bones and have him tell me everything will be okay. He will be there to protect me.
What a strange meeting. That feeling of knowing him and the electricity that keeps shooting through me with his nearness and touching, is terrifying. Yet, exciting. I must be out of touch with humanity if meeting some random, albeit, handsome guy, makes me this anxious for a week to pass.
He walks me to the door of the lobby and watches me as I walk to my Jeep. I feel his eyes on me the entire time. It sends shivers down my spine and causes me to ache in places I've forgotten about. Keep walking, Vi. You do not mix business and pleasure. Ever.
Chapter 2
Alexander
I need her number. Her real number, not the business one. I need to hear her voice, make her smile, watch as she writhers beneath me, after making her come several times. Once our eyes met, I knew instantly who she was to me. But our hands touching, sending the shock of a true mate bond to life, solidified that she is mine.
