Chapter 34: A Desert Home

Previously: Danielle Slade, great grand-daughter of Adam Slade, has left Riverview leaving behind her widowed mother and young brother.  She has travelled far to find a place to start a new life, free of the trauma and drama that tormented her parents.

In this chapter Danielle arrives in a new town, discovers new haunts ... and new friends?


It was a long ride, several days on the road, staying in a variety of low-rent motels would not seem to be the most rewarding of experiences but for Danielle Slade the journey was part of why she wanted to make this trip. As each mile, each small town passed by, the pent-up stresses of her life in Riverview faded away.

Being in charge of her own destiny, having the absolute freedom to go wherever she wanted was exhilarating. And doing it on a bike, the instant responsiveness of the vehicle, feeling that direct connection with the road beneath her wheels and, of course, the sensation of speed made her feel more alive than she had in many a year.

Eventually, tired and dusty, she reached her destination, the oasis town of Lucky Palms. The wide open spaces; broad, palm tree lined, avenues immediately gave the place a relaxed care-free feel, a feeling reinforced by the simple and unfussy desert architecture of many of the buildings.

Even in the centre of town, the overwhelming impression was of space, so unlike the cramped centres of Sunset Valley and Riverview. Yet, despite being at the heart of the great central desert, the town boasted several fine, lush, parks bounded by impressive public buildings from the earliest days of colonial expansion.

But, even with its wide boulevards, Danielle was not keen on staying in the centre of the town, not yet anyway. Besides which she had strictly limited funds. So, checking out a few estate agents, she noticed that there were several more affordable properties on the other side of the main highway.

Having spent several days travelling in searing heat Danielle was rather pleased to feel the soft droplets of rain as she rode out to Lakeside Drive and her new home. She was, however, less pleased when the light drizzle turned into a fully-fledged rain storm!

"Well," she mused to herself, "I suppose that's how it is in these desert lands – one extreme or the other!"

Like most of the houses in Lucky Palms her chosen abode was a simple single storey building with a single bold colour-wash and flat roof. What stood out on this property though were the windows; the builder obviously had grandiose intentions and had installed huge arched style windows. If nothing else there would be extraordinary views across this awe-inspiring landscape.

But, for now, Danielle's main concern was to get the bike stowed and herself out of the rain!

The forecast was for sun tomorrow, so it was going to be an early night and get to know more of the town when the weather was more favourable.

--*--

The sun was indeed out the following day and it seemed like the whole town glistened and, best of all, the central park had been turned into a festival ground full of laughing, happy, people.

One of the girls there noticed Danielle looking a little lost and called her over to join her on the skate rink. If nothing else, Danielle was up for a challenge "OK, why not ... but I've never done this before."

"No problem," her new friend reassured her, "just hold on to me for a bit till you get used to it and you'll have you doing tricks in no time! I'm Marisol, by the way."

Danielle's eagerness to join in was not matched by a natural sense of balance and her attempt to speed up the slow and careful spin that Marisol was leading her in was not entirely successful. Those little wheels under her feet could move at an alarming and unexpected speed and in a direction she was not anticipating at all!

Within a split second of feeling her balance going both girls had crashed to the floor. They stayed down on the hard surface for a moment or two, looking at each other more in surprise than shock, and rubbing the fleshy places that would be showing bruises before the day was out.

Marisol grinned at Danielle, "Oops!"

Danielle laughed back, "... and I thought you were the expert!"

As the two struggled back to their feet Danielle thought to herself "I think I'm going to like this place."

--*--

Danielle was certain she was going to love living in Lucky Palms, it was a whole lot of fun during the day and, as she discovered over the next few nights, there was plenty of night-time entertainment as well.

One place she knew she could be spending a lot of time was the Three Palms Lounge. It was on the other side of town but on her trusty motorcycle it wouldn't take any time to cover that distance from Lakeside Drive. Compared to the rather sad and dreary pubs and clubs in Riverview this place was the ultimate cool and stylish place to hang out. It had the most up-to-date and challenging arcade and games machines, and most enticingly, a floor full of fruit machines.

In the months she had lived in her small flat back in Riverview Danielle had plenty of time to learn the tricks to winning on the couple of cranky old machines in the old bike shop. She was confident that with a little time spent here she would have the measure of these smart new units.

If she didn't feel like making the trip all the way out to Golf View Road there was a rather smart bar in the centre of town that could be fun. For some reason Karaoke had never reached Riverview or, as far as Danielle could remember, Sunset Valley, yet here it was in Lucky Palms. The bar was, perhaps, a little too smart for Danielle's taste, but after a few bevvies, what better way to finish the night than belting out a few favourite tunes!

Not that life was all fun and games. The desert climate was tough and maintenance was an essential part of household upkeep – something Danielle hadn't quite realised. Not until various appliances started to breakdown or stop working.

Without the practical skills to repair all the things that needed fixing, the bills for repairmen started to mount up ... as did the amount of cleaning up after each breakage!

Thankfully, when such chores got too much Danielle only had to step outside and walk just a few hundred yards to a small park. There she could relax and feel the warm sun on her skin, wonder at the ever-changing colours of the distant mountains and shoot the breeze with her neighbours.

On one such occasion she met someone new ... and different to the other residents she had met so far.

He was very pale, his skin almost translucent, and his eyes were so bright they seemed to actually shine.

Within moments of meeting him, Danielle felt an inexplicable attraction to this stranger. She certainly wasn't looking for a man, or 'romance' in any shape, but there was something about this man that was immediately engaging.

It seemed that they had something in common. Both had come to Lucky Palms to find a new life. Clark, as Danielle learned he was called, had arrived several months ago with two friends from Moonlight Falls – a 'bad place' was pretty much all Clark would say about it.

For his part, he was intrigued to hear Danielle's story, of her escape from the 'dead-end' that Riverview had become.

With their, apparently, similar reasons for coming to Lucky Palms, Danielle had a feeling she would be seeing a lot more of this enigmatic young man.


Chapter 35: Seeking Advice