Stealing Luca's Heart

Stealing Luca’s Heart

The Tetari’s of New Zealand, Book 1

Ellie Lyons

Published 2013

ISBN: 978-1-62210-057-6

Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © Published 2013, Ellie Lyons. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Liquid Silver Books

http://LSbooks.com

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

Blurb

When Ally Edwards’ father, Cal, is injured in a suspicious hunting accident in New Zealand, she takes leave from her job as a University of Iowa economics instructor to rush down to be at her father’s bedside. When she arrives, she finds herself hosted by her father’s friends, the Tetari family, who welcome her into their home.

Luca Tetari, the eldest son, is not only a businessman in the family corporation but also the team captain of the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team. Luca is the consummate player, skillful on the pitch and off, indulging his fans and beguiling everyone around him. But as she gets to know him, Ally discovers that Luca is far deeper as a person than his surface charm would indicate, and soon she finds herself falling in love.

But while Ally and Luca are realizing their new affections, the Tetari family and their land are under attack by unknown assailants. With a new “green” energy project in development, who is trying to take over their property, and how? Does this have anything to do with Cal’s injury? After all, if someone has hurt one person, mightn’t that same individual be willing to injure—or even kill—additional people to achieve his or her goals?

Acknowledgements

My thanks go out to all my friends and family for their encouragement and support while I pursued my dream of writing this novel. I would not have been able to do this without you. A special shout-out to GR for his medical expertise, CR for her words of wisdom and advice, and SK for being there through it all.

Thank you, Mom, for your encyclopedic knowledge when it comes to romance books.

My husband deserves a thank-you for putting up with me disappearing to work on my computer at every opportunity and patiently listening to all of the ideas that I bounced off him on a daily basis.

Prologue

New Zealand

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Cal Edwards looked up into the bright New Zealand summer sun and smiled. From under the shade of his hat, he scanned the landscape. His eyes shifted from the surrounding heights of the Southern Alps to the sheep-littered rolling hills below.
Of all the places I’ve traveled, I can’t think of anywhere on Earth that’s more breathtaking than right here
, he thought, adjusting the fly rod in his hands.

Downriver, his New Zealand friend, George Tetari, examined a handful of river muck, checking out what the trout were eating today.
So that’s George’s secret.

Cal worked his way upstream in the cool water to see if any trout were hiding in the small bend just ahead. He reeled in his line and picked a colorful lure from his borrowed fishing vest. He doubted that even George’s lucky lures could help him this morning. Maybe he’d have more luck trying to catch the fish with his hands than with all this gear.

Every time he went fishing, he couldn’t help but remember the first time his impatient grandfather had taken his brother and him on a fishing trip. It was to a stocked trout stream in southern Missouri. Calling it a fishing trip was a stretch. It was the type of place that existed to provide a positive experience for little fishermen, but it wasn’t quite the right environment for a type-A nine-year-old who actually wanted to learn to fish.

He had one job. He was to hold the pole and catch a fish. After that, he only needed to watch his grandfather take it off the hook and hand it to another person, who would eventually bring it back looking like something from the grocery store. When he returned home, his parents couldn’t understand why he wasn’t a born-again fisherman.

Cal’s phone vibrated in his shirt pocket, bringing him back to the present. He shifted the reel to his left hand to check the screen and smiled when he saw his daughter’s name.

“Well, what a surprise, Tara! I thought you’d be off on a boozy holiday with your fellow teachers.”

“Oh, you’re funny. I’ve got a bit of time before I leave. I’m just checking in to see how things are going. I hate that you’re in the country and I’m not going to see you until next week.”

A tug on his line grabbed his attention. He pushed the phone against his shoulder as he used both hands to work the rod, but after a moment the line went limp.

“I thought I’d try to fish today,” he said, reeling in the slack line. “George is with me. Foolishly, I believed that alone would change my luck. And before you ask, the answer is no. Not even a nibble,” he grumbled.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to fishing,” Tara laughed. “Dad, you’ll need all your concentration to out-fish your friend. I’m Skyping with Ally at noon. Any news I should pass along?”

“No, I’m supposed to call your sister before lunch to talk about next week’s conference. I can’t believe that in a few days we’ll all be having dinner together at the Viaduct.” He knew the moments when all three of them were together were few and precious.

“I’m looking forward to it. Hey, I still need you to text me the details so I know when to pick you up at the airport.”

He thought twice about maneuvering the phone and fishing pole to try and text her. “I’m just about done here. Look for it in the next twenty minutes.”

“Great. I was also thinking that you should talk up your daughters to Mr. Tetari. You know, he might put in a good word about us to his sons.”

“Yah, I’ll get right on that. Talk to you soon, hon.” He knew she was only half kidding. At least she had good taste.

He slipped the phone back into his shirt pocket and considered packing up the gear and calling it a day. He waded slowly downriver until he had George in full view again.

He froze while a couple of fish investigated his line. Unimpressed, they swam on. He shook his head and let his thoughts drift to George’s sons. No wonder Tara was hoping for his inside help with these guys. His friend had to keep an eye on those boys, who’d become New Zealand celebrities in their own right. He’d heard the two eldest sons were nominated as the most eligible bachelors by the
New Zealand Herald
, something he was sure their friends and family wouldn’t let them live down, ever.

It was hard to believe the Tetari family owned all of this part of the country. It was called Cook’s View Station and was the largest privately held farm in New Zealand. This South Island land had been in George’s family for generations, since his Maori tribal ancestors lived there.

How many times had he heard George explain to tourists the family legend of England’s Captain Cook charting New Zealand in the late seventeen hundreds. Cook had stood on the top of a mountain ridge, now called Arthur’s Pass, and declared that everything within his sight would continue to belong to the local Maori chief. Cook kept his word. When the English arrived in New Zealand and built settlements, a treaty was drawn up to that effect.

Cal packed his rod and flies. As nice as the scenery was, the fish hadn’t been interested in him for the past two hours. He also needed to check in with his other daughter before lunch.

He turned to wave to George, signaling that he was done. George was too busy wrestling a large fish to notice. He stepped from the river with a sigh,
Okay, maybe I can learn a trick or two from him when it comes to fishing.

As he watched George maneuver the fish slowly toward the outstretched net, he caught movement off to his right. His eyes scanned the mountainside. He turned his head and a shot rang out.

He saw George’s expression turn from excitement to horror. He felt his head spinning. A sharp pain seared his right side. He dropped to his knees, gasping. He reached down, running his hand over the blood-soaked vest. Darkness closed in. As his limp body slid into the river, he thought,
Not me too…

Chapter 1

University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA

Friday, January 4, 2013

Ally Edwards clicked off the projector at the front of the lecture hall, causing a chorus of notebooks to slam shut in response. The students erupted in chatter and moved toward the exits. She was pleased that the majority of the undergraduate class seemed genuinely interested in Global Economics, especially at this hour. The morning class hadn’t been able to kick-start their brains since Christmas break. Then there were the two cute fraternity guys. They always sat in the front row and seemed more interested in watching her than the overhead notes. She sighed.
This is exactly why I quit wearing skirts.

Walking to the podium to collect her lecture notes, Ally was abruptly cut off by a petite, female student. The young woman’s deep blue eyes were ready to spill tears.

“Ms. Edwards, would you have time to discuss the final grade I received last semester?”

She noted the familiar tone of anguish in the student’s voice along with the gray Pi Beta Phi sweatshirt, so new that it still had the crease down the arm. The beginning of every semester was always the same. Students complained about their grades or tried to get that extra point to raise their grade point average. There had been plenty of pleading this week.

But students who felt pressured to “make grades” their first semester after pledging a fraternity or sorority took desperation to a whole new level. They would make sure she understood that their entire life and identity hinged on the grade. If a fraternity or sorority pledge didn’t make grades, they wouldn’t be allowed to join. They’d be tossed back into the uncool, boring pool of “non-Greeks” like a trout that wasn’t a keeper. So could she please just review the test one more time to see if she had overlooked that extra point on the subjective essay? The panic level on this girl was off the charts.

Offering up a sympathetic smile, she discretely glanced at the wall clock behind the student. There was plenty of time before Skyping with her sister and hooking up for beers with the girls.

“And your name?” she asked, sliding around the student. She quickly collected her notes and computer from the podium and stuffed them into her black leather bag. She peeked at her phone, noticing that her dad hadn’t called yet, and slid the phone into the front pocket of her beige jacket.

“Sadie Anderson,” the girl sniffed.

Ally slung her computer bag over her shoulder. “Sadie, I actually have office hours right now, so why don’t you start explaining your concerns while we walk to my office. We’ll go from there.”

Sadie nodded eagerly and began her speech.

Ten minutes later, she watched Sadie all but run smack into the dean of the business school, David Johnson, as she skipped past him out of her office. He raised his eyebrows and glanced behind him at the harried student.

She shrugged her shoulders and motioned for her boss to have a seat. She took Sadie’s test off her desk—and slid it back into her file drawer, turning the key. The dean didn’t need to know that Sadie would now be an active member of Pi Beta Phi. She never handed out “grade gifts”, but luckily Sadie had, in fact, deserved her extra one point. One soul saved today.

“I like what you’ve done with the place, Ally,” he said, lowering himself onto her wooden chair. She followed his eyes toward the plastic plant on the window sill behind her.

She smiled at him. It was no secret that as the newest instructor at the business school she’d inherited what could be confused as the broom closet for her office. Yes, it was a bit demoralizing every time she walked in, but she wasn’t going to be having tea parties in here, so what difference did it make? It was functional. There was an old wooden desk, file cabinet, and a couple of wooden chairs for her students to use during office hours. There wasn’t enough light coming in from the tiny corner window to bother bringing in a living plant. She had simply opted for the arrangement on the window sill, but even the fake geraniums didn’t mask the fact that the little room was depressing.

She took in David’s navy sport coat and bow tie that had some type of squiggly blue and orange pattern. She did enjoy this man. Anyone who could pull off that fashion look made her smile. He was a fraternity brother of her dad’s, so she’d seen him dressing like that for years.

“You should be getting a jump on that snowstorm.”

“I’m on my way out right now. Just wanted to check in and wish you a safe trip next week in case I don’t get another chance. Remember, I’m here in case you find yourself too busy to travel to Auckland. I may have to shuffle a few things around, but I’d do it for you, Ally.”