Chapter 1: Adorable Ragamuffin

Lucy POV

Well, I’m definitely not in Colorado anymore, Lucy Carrigan thought as the Arizona sun shone brightly in the sky.

Moving from a well-known landscape for skiing and mountain climbing to a cacti-filled terrain can be a shock to one’s nervous system, especially with the Sedona heat making all the difference. Lucy did not like the sticky feeling of sweat droplets trickling down her back into her underwear.

She wiped her brow as she stared up at the bloom of an Agave Americana plant. This was such a different plant in comparison to Colorado’s Quaking Aspens, Rocky Mountain Junipers, and Lodgepole Pines. Lucy huffed as she bent over, placing her hands on her knees and taking in a deep breath. Perhaps she shouldn’t have come here. It was so different from home…what had she done?

Had she made a mistake coming here?

She stood back up quickly, stomping her foot. No. She had come to Sedona often in her childhood to visit her mother’s old ancestral home, which was owned now by her spinster Aunt Gertrude. This wasn’t totally unfamiliar terrain. She grew up going on vacations here and exploring what the Arizona tranquility had to offer. Now, it enveloped her in a warm hug to shelter her from what had happened in her hometown state of Colorado.

More like a hot hug… Lucy thought bitterly glaring up at the sweltering sun.

She surveyed the land she had already traversed, admiring the view.

Where is a cloud when I need one, she thought begrudgingly.

She sighed realizing it was too hot to continue her hike, and she had to make her way back to her unpacked bags at Aunt Gertrude’s house. She hated unpacking just as much as she loved to pack. The packing prep for this trip was a one-way stop, one final destination, and no return ticket. Her immediate family had been shocked to the core when she told them she was moving to Sedona to live with Aunt Gertrude.

Aunt Gertrude knew how important it was to Lucy to get out into nature every day and had kicked her out of the house the moment they had finally arrived. The drive from Phoenix airport was long, and Lucy had been itching the whole way to not be sitting on her butt any longer! She was an avid hiker, regular camper, and outdoorsy type of personality.

She hustled on her way back to the house, jumping in shock as a lizard skidded across her path with more fright at her appearance than she had of its.

Some tough chick I am, she thought as she rolled her eyes and regained her composure.

She had to remind herself that this was an enormous amount of change all at once. Not only had she moved, but she had moved to a different state, and was living in another home. Then, after coming to the realization that her previous position as a nurse was no longer in the cards for her, she applied for other work and now had an interview for a coffee shop barista position in the morning.

Once again, this was another big change.

She grimaced to herself. If I just hadn't met the wrong doctor when I was covering the wrong shift, none of this would have happened.

Suddenly, her heart started beating fast and she was struggling to breathe. She had become all too familiar with anxiety attacks lately, and she sat down dejectedly on the hot ground, taking a moment for it to pass. She clasped her chest out of fright, because no matter how many panic attacks she had… it was always a scary feeling. She started tapping her thighs with her shaking fingers trying to calm herself down.

She had been having them ever since she came into an uncomfortable physical close call with a senior doctor on her floor, hence initiating her one-way ticket to Arizona to get out of his reach. Her breath was shallow as she struggled to breathe, thinking about the recent fateful day she met the doctor. Her skin began to clam up and she felt nauseous in the sunlight.

Out of nowhere, a dog came to her side as if sensing her anxiety attack. He started to whine and push himself against her. Her hands were locked up and her fingers could barely budge but she patted the dog rigidly. Where did this dog come from?

The dog in question was a scruffy matted thing, filled with burrs and bristles attached to his long black and gray coat of fur. He was quite large in size, and he started licking Lucy’s hand, helping her heart rate to slow and her body to relax. She was in awe as her fingers started to loosen and she happily continued to pet this dog, noticing that he had no collar, and needed a good groom.

They weren’t too far from Aunt Gertrude’s, perhaps she could take him home. It was then that Lucy decided this dog was the best medicine she could have ever taken for an anxiety attack. Nothing had really worked previously, and she just learned to roll with the punches the past month.

After a few more moments of calm breathing, Lucy stood and stretched. "You mister fluffy boy, just came to my rescue!" She laughed and ruffled the dog's ears, taking in once more the black snout, and fluffy fur. He was tall and lean. She surmised he could potentially be a German Shepherd mix, and smiled at him as he panted happily putting a paw on her arm. "It’s decided. You will be named Frank."

He barked as she started off, before following, haphazardly trudging down toward the road. Thankfully the dog seemed to agree that he would accompany her home. Lucy hadn't gone very far from her aunt's house, and would soon have a reprieve from the Arizona heat.

She started to ponder what she would tell her Aunt Gertrude.

Hey Auntie, can I keep this dog? I found him and I think he is a stray! Or, Auntie, you know you are never too old to bring stray animals home. Lucy laughed out loud at her thoughts as she sauntered over to the black rusting gate of the entrance to the house.

She opened the gate and Frank passed through without hesitation. Lucy followed, smiling at the well-decorated front entrance of the home.

Aunt Gertrude’s home had been passed down for a few generations and was on the outskirts of rural Sedona. The house was taken care of, and the vegetation was 'on fleek' as the kids said nowadays. Tucked away near one of the red rock formations in a rural part of town, the house was surrounded by its own oasis of beautiful bushes, and a brick walkway with stones aligning both sides led to the front door with lanterns to the left and right of the double glass doors. A mix of beautiful cabin wood on one side of the house, and stones on the other accented the colors in the garden well.

Inside, the house was even more elegant and vibrantly decorated.

A squeal of pure delight came from the bushes up ahead, "Well aren’t you just the most adorable ragamuffin I ever laid eyes upon!!"

"This is Frank, Auntie," Lucy said matter-of-factly as she spotted Aunt Gertrude bopping Frank's nose. This was going exceptionally better than she thought it would have.

"Yes… what a handsome Frank we have indeed! Who’s a good boy Frankie?" Aunt Gertrude cooed and made kissy sounds, making Frank wag his tail and lick her face in delight.

Lucy observed her aunt closely for the first time since she arrived. Aunt Gertrude has such similar features to Lucy that often she is mistaken as Lucy’s mother. Her smile wrinkles around her mouth and eyes accentuated her facial structure while the classic maternal oval-shaped head, green sparkling eyes, and strawberry blond hair were passed down in their family like a genetic stamp of their ancestral roots.

Lucy’s mother had inherited brown hair, which had caused quite a stir. The DNA was strong in their family for strawberry blond females yet Lucy's mother had been the only daughter to be graced with brown hair. They often joked Lucy's mom was the oddball out in the family.

Lucy’s hair had started to come undone from its ponytail, matching the wild flowing locks escaping from her aunt’s braid. Both of them even had freckles dance a map across their faces and arms. No wonder they were often mistaken for being a mother-and-daughter-duo.

"Already making waves and changes around here the second you are in Arizona huh girl?" Auntie side-eyed Lucy instinctively.

Lucy chuckled, holding up her hands. "Caught red-handed Auntie. Can we keep Frank?"

"I suppose! I’ve been thinking of a guard dog or companion-type animal for a while. Perhaps Frank will do us both good." Aunt Gertrude stood from petting Frank and brushed her overalls off.

Did her Aunt know about her panic attacks? No… she couldn’t. She hadn’t told anyone. Before Lucy could spiral down a path of paranoia and trouble her mind with thoughts of recent events, Gertrude interrupted.

"Let’s go order some pizza. I’m famished."

As Gertrude started to quiz Lucy on her favorite kind of pizza, a breeze blew past the two women and into the air, billowing and whispering across the desert terrain. Lucy’s scent of roses and cinnamon danced toward the nostrils of a man whose eyes lit up as he paused the work on his truck.

His eyes flashed, and his heart skipped a beat as he breathed in the intoxicating smell for a fleeting moment. He put down the tools he was working with.

Could it be?