Chapter One, Miss Blaine Goes To Washington [Excerpt From Unwritten]

Chapter One
Miss Blaine Goes To Washington


Tuesday, May 18
Summer House Farms
Franklin, North Carolina

Caroline Blaine gazed upon the fifty acres of growing grape vines in the valley below. The view from the barn on the hill, where she stood, was breathtaking. She was completely surrounded by the land she dearly loved. Her family farm had seen many changes. Over the last one hundred forty years, their land had played host to cattle, horses and most recently, tobacco. The valley was now covered with countless rows of grape vines, silhouetted in the late afternoon sun.

Blaine was thoughtful, dedicated, kind, and generous. She was truly a southern woman, with the exception of her temper. She could put up a terrific argument when the occasion called for it. Her intelligence was apparent upon engaging her in conversation. She was the kind of woman who commanded respect and attention. Not just because she served her country in special service to the Navy, but due to her integrity.

Today started out like most other days, early. She'd had trouble sleeping for some time now. Although she was tired after working in the fields with her extended family, she found herself lying in bed with her mind elsewhere. Blaine, at thirty five, felt like two different people somehow. One side of her was the normal woman, complete with a lonely heart filled by the only person she wouldn't allow herself to admit she loved. The other half was a deadly enigma due to her job and all the atrocities she personally had caused or seen. Her job kept her away for months, with only the odd phone call to her family to inform them she was safe. She couldn't fully disclose her secretive job to them. In essence, she was divided. What kept her grounded was God.

The Navy demanded almost all of her time. Consequently, she could not devote herself, as much as she would have liked, to the farm. The full-time care for the vineyard had fallen on John and Holly Wheaton, her adopted family and neighbors. John was like an older brother. Holly was her confidant, much more like a sister. Blaine's only true sibling, her older brother Mark, had been severely injured in a farm accident two years ago. It was expensive to have him in a private facility with his own dedicated nurse. Her income was needed to support Mark's long-term care and run the farm in lean years. Mark's presence was missed everyday, and they visited him often at the care facility, an hour away.

She began walking back to her home just up the hill from the barn. Since she had arrived back in North Carolina on leave one week before, her concentration had been entirely absent. Her days consisted of working in the fields as a diversion. She had checked the Navy records from home on the day she arrived for a certain Commander and his status. She could practically go through the process in her sleep to access his record, she had done it so often over the last two years. She couldn't seem to get him off her mind no matter how hard she tried. Everyone in the family had noticed her distraction while working the fields. The growing grape vines were simply something to occupy her hands, not her mind. 

As dinner time approached, they had ended their tasks. Blaine and Holly had already left the field to shower. Everyone was to meet at Blaine's home for dinner later. The men would soon follow. Ribeye steaks were waiting to be grilled, along with fresh vegetables.

Caroline sat in the porch swing after dinner, on the deck of her modest home, nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina. Her family surrounded her. Freshly showered and fed, she looked upon the tired bunch. John Wheaton, his wife Holly and their eighteen year old son, Daniel, sat in Adirondack chairs sipping cold drinks. Noah Wheaton, John's younger brother, soon joined them with a glass of sweet tea in his hand. Noah was staying with John and his family while there- as usual. They had worked hard all afternoon in the fifty acres of grapes that would yield their harvest within the next few months. It was only a short time later that Daniel bid his farewell for the evening, opting to spend his time with his friends.

Noah sat down beside Blaine in the swing and put his glass of tea next to hers on the deck rail. The six foot two, brown eyed charmer, pulled her closer to him on the swing in a friendly gesture. He was in for a few days, just as always. Working for the FBI meant you didn't get many days off. But since being transferred back east from San Francisco to Asheville, these days were more frequent. Noah stared down at the woman resting her head on his shoulder. She was the backbone of the family. She was a strong woman, and he knew it. She was two years younger than him. He had always tried to protect her. He wasn't as close to her as they had been as children. Noah never really took to winemaking like the rest of his family, instead opting for all star basketball and college. He had fled North Carolina for Stanford. He had gone to California for college to find himself, and then promptly joined the FBI. It had broken his heart to leave her, but he chose his own path. Things had not been the same since. He knew she was in love with him when they were teenagers. They were so young then, and he was unsure of himself. She had mentioned someone in the Navy most often now. Her affections had changed, and this Navy man had her attention. Noah wondered who his competition was exactly. In the five years he heard her speak of the mystery-man, he still had yet to lay eyes on him.

Blaine was lost in the darkening sky. The last few days had been tiring but great. She and Noah had buried a few hatchets and were on good terms once again. They had visited Mark together in Asheville yesterday and later sat up talking most of the night.

Noah regarded the look on her face. He could tell her mind was elsewhere. It had been for days now.

Her thoughts were, yet again, on a man hundreds of miles away in Washington. The memory of the Navy Commander haunted her mind daily like a ghost. It had been over two years since she had seen him last. Every day, her mind replayed his face to her.

The shrill ring of her mobile phone broke the silence. She answered the phone in a quiet manner. Only the occasional word yielded her southern heritage.

The disembodied voice of a man very familiar to her informed her she had been reactivated.

"Yes Sir. I understand Sir."

The call lasted no more than a minute. She put the phone away and looked into the disappointed brown eyes sitting next to her.

Everyone sat and stared as she ended the call. They all knew what to expect. It had happened before.

"I have to go. I've been recalled from my leave."

Noah began to protest. "I thought you got thirty days?"

"I thought so too. But I knew it wouldn't last."

Noah rose from his seat and held out his hand to her. She took it and got up to go inside, leaving John and Holly alone. She grabbed her black travel bag and began throwing in necessities. She pulled out her garment bag and threw it on the bed. It held all her uniforms and a few changes of business attire. Noah went into her bathroom and gathered up her toiletries. He had done this with her before as well. He knew just what to put in her bags. While Noah was in the bathroom, Blaine went to her closet and pulled down a lockbox, carefully removing the weapon inside. She quickly tucked it into her bag under some clothes, before Noah could see the weapon. She also put her bullet proof vest in the bag. The whole process of packing was accomplished with silent expediency.

Less than ten minutes later, they returned to the deck. She hugged John and Holly-wishing them well.

"Don't look at me that way John. I can't tell you where I'm going and you know it."

John nodded. "I know. It doesn't mean I don't worry about you. You're the closest thing I have to a sister, Caroline Blaine."

Holly smiled at her. "We both do."

"I'll call you when I can. Tell Daniel I'll try to come back for graduation on Saturday if I possibly can. I love you guys. Bye."

John, Holly and Noah bid their own goodnight.

Noah drove her to Asheville to catch a plane, in his restored classic convertible silver Porsche. From the time they left Franklin, until they reached Dillsboro, not a word had been uttered. He would drop her off and go back to his apartment in Skyland.

"Doesn't that leave you with twenty-one days?" Noah finally broke the silence.

"Yes."

"So come back soon." He smiled. "I still owe you a caramel and vanilla latte."

"You do, don't you. Sorry for showing you up on geography knowledge, but you knew I'd win that bet."

"Who knew there was such a place as Vladivostok?"

"It's a Russian town. It's the last stop on the Siberian railway. It's also a very large port."

"So you said."

Noah shook his head. He had, indeed, looked it up. Her navigation skills and cartographic knowledge were frightening.

The tension had eased somewhat between them. Things had been awkward for years since high school. They had both gotten pretty drunk the night before he left for college. They had snuck off to the barn to hide from John and Lizzie, Caroline's mother. Confessions had been made due to imbibed alcohol. Blaine had begged him to stay and not leave her. Their inhibitions were taken away, and they had kissed for what seemed like hours. Then it went further than either had intended. They hadn't spoken of it since then, not until yesterday. Things were better between them now, than they had been in years. Noah didn't want her to go yet, just when the air between them had finally been cleared.

He pulled up at the curb in front of the baggage area to drop her off.

"Be safe training those pilots Caroline. Call me when you get back."

"I will. You be safe too."

She looked at him carefully. She knew he harbored feelings for her. She had carried a torch for him most of her life. But the flame was gone now. Her heart belonged to another, and he would have to accept that. She would save that talk until later. Right now her mind was on a trip to Washington. She had left someone important there. She sat physically in the car with Noah, but her mind already had her in the capital city, searching out the man she had stood up on a dinner invitation to the Willard Hotel.

They hugged as best they could over the console. Noah kissed her cheek lightly. Her bags were retrieved from behind the seat as she exited the vehicle. He pulled away into the night with one last wave. She stopped by the public restroom to strap on the protective vest. The plane back to Washington was a private jet, but she would still have to pass her weapon through security.

As she arrived in Washington, she received another call. She would indeed be assigned to a senior JAG officer to help with an intelligence breach and provide armed security. Her heart skipped a beat as she went to her car to meet up with a man she couldn't forget, whom she would now protect.

Want more? Visit http://www.mchenson.com For those of you, like myself, who just have to know what happens next, the first five chapters are in pdf format. Beyond that, I suppose you'll just have to buy the book. :) THANKS for reading!