Amber spent the entire flight to Florida cursing Rachel's existence and coming up with ways to make her life suck for the rest of the year. She had called a week ago with bad news. The studio had flooded and the roof had caved in when a storm had hit the coast. She wanted to kill her when she told her she hadn't kept up the building insurance when Amber had left. It was a huge mess and would cost a fortune for Amber to fix. She would have to come back and collect the beach house payment just to rebuild the studio, not to mention any damages to the neighbouring properties. The thought of coming back wasn't a good one but as Rachel had kept repeating over and over "You said you would come through the fires of burning hell for me Beaton."

The hire car jolted to a stop outside the studio. Amber exited the small car and lifted her sun glasses from her nose. The studio in front of her was not looking like a mud slide had hit or a tornado had blown it to oz. The studio was completely intact. She walked to the door but found it locked with a note strung on the door.

Don't judge me! I was dropped a lot at birth and any dumb shit I've pulled or said since is a knock on effect of that. Now get to the beach house pronto because fuck me there's a good reason I called and fabricated such bullshit. Rachel xx

Amber ripped the note from the door and threw it into the nearest trash can. She had no idea what Rachel had taken but she was clearly off her fucking head. The small car jolted back to life. Stick shift was foreign to Amber after years of automatic and so the drive to the beach house was a run of near death experiences at every set of lights she had to stop at.

As Amber pulled off of the main road and onto the winding coastal road that wound back to the home she had once shared with her wife, she couldn't help but wonder why Rachel would make her return here.

The stones crunched under the cars wheels as she pulled into the driveway of the stunning little beach house. It sat on its own plot with a green grass to the front and a flurry of colour planted by Sydney in the form of flowers, an abundance of flowers. Of course, sitting in the middle of the yard, four giant sunflowers with a sign among them that read "Welcome home"

Amber pulled the handbrake and took a deep breath before exiting the car. She had no idea why Rachel would want her to meet here, the beach house had sold. The huge four by four in the drive way meant the new owners were home. She knocked the front door apprehensively but nobody stirred inside. She had no idea where Rachel was and she wasn't answering her cell phone.

Amber traced the path around the house to the beach. She took off her boots and dropped them on the grass before sinking bare foot in the sand. She removed her jacket and dumped that by the boots. The air was warm and humid. Her camo green T shirt and black denim shorts would be cool enough alone. She pushed her fingers through her fair hair and left it to fall back down her shoulder blades. As she sunk deeper into a stride through the warm sand she found her eyes drawn to a figure at the oceans edge.

Amber stopped walking and entranced, she watched her. She was wearing a white linen dress that blew lightly in the ocean air. She paddled at the edge of the water as it lapped at the bottom of her tanned legs. Amber's brow creased with confusion as the figure turned and smiled. They both walked toward each other at a slow pace. As the girl got closer Ambers lips twitched into a smile that was mirrored by the girl with the long dark hair crowned with daisies. As they came face to face Amber could clearly see those light green eyes look straight into her soul. She reached out and lightly touched her cheek, silently mesmerised at the girl she saw looking back at her. Her eyes locked onto Ambers as she kissed the back of Amber's hand. "I heard you have been looking for me...HB"

"Sydney" Amber whispered breathlessly.

"I'm so sorry I was gone for so long" Sydney whispered through a falling tear that fell to her lips.

Amber pulled Sydney into her body and squeezed her tighter than she knew possible. "I'm sorry I left" Amber pleaded.

Sydney pulled back, holding Ambers arms on her waist. "Don't be sorry. You didn't leave me here. You left a stranger. This is all very recent. I'm still finding my feet with the emotional side of things, but I wouldn't have let you leave me if I had of remembered. Believe me when I tell you that leaving me will now be impossible"Sydney smiled broadly.

Amber lifted her hands to cup Sydney's face. "I missed you so much..." she confesses, caressing her thumbs over Sydneys cheeks. She cupped her chin, tipping it slightly upward, as her lips touch Sydney's softly.

Sydney responds, their lips connect, and it is with a soft, familiar rhythm. Sydney's hands pull Ambers T shirt fabric towards her, forcing her body to lurch forward into Sydney's. The  act pushes them together, further deepening the kiss. Amber's hands run down Sydney's dress feeling her warm skin beneath the linen as it reacts to her touch.

Amber breaks away, breathing heavily, and leaving Sydney confused, and her lips plump from the kiss. "What's wrong?" Sydney asks anxiously.

"I want so badly to be in the moment and take you in my arms. I want to kiss you, to love you and to be close to you after all this time, but I can't help but wonder about everything else that has changed since we last saw each other. The kids? The ex husband? The fact you live in Colorado?" Amber replies hurriedly.

"I don't live in Colorado" Sydney confesses. And are those the kids and ex-husband you were talking about?" Sydney asks with a smile, gesturing behind Amber.

Amber turned and caught her breath as she saw James stood on the deck of the beach house. Clark stood by his side and Bea in a woman's arms beside him. He kissed the lady's forehead and let Clark go as she ran down the beach towards them.

Sydney's hand wrapped around Amber's waist as she joined her, watching the scene ahead.

"She knows" Sydney confirms, whispering into her ear, before kissing her cheek. Amber bends down as Clark collides with her at a pace. She lifts her up high and hugs her tightly with tears in her eyes, and a smile that hurts her cheeks.

Clark wraps her arms around Amber's neck and looks into her eyes, her small fingers tracing Amber's freckles with intrigue. "Momma told me you gave me my eyes, my freckles, and these ears" She says, pulling her light hair up and away from her neck to reveal two little ears that stick out awkwardly when exposed.

Amber laughed, and Sydney wrapped her arms around them both. "I did, and I'm sorry about the ears kid"

Clark shrugged "It's okay Amber...I like them" she replies with a goofy smile.

"So do I" Sydney says, reaching for Ambers hand and leading her back up the beach to the crowd formed on the deck.

Amber stopped gazing at the girls long enough to notice a familiar face playing with Bea on the deck. "Rachel" she observes.

"Don't be too hard on her" Sydney asks "she was the only person I trusted to get this all figured out. I wanted to know what she thought I should do. I didn't expect her to fabricate the demise of your studio"

"It could have been worse" Amber declared while planting a kiss on Sydney's lips. "She could have paid someone to call and say she had died. She's tried that one on her landlord before"

Sydney began to laugh. "I have so many Rachel stories to be caught up on"

"Baby, we have a lot to catch up on" Amber promised, pulling Sydney's waist to her hip.

...

The police station was quiet the moment Sydney Presley entered on a Monday morning five years and six months after she had been reported missing. The officer at the desk chocked on his coffee after the response to his opening line "What can I do for you this morning?"

"My name is Sydney Presley... and I am a missing person"

"Detective" He called while coughing.

A lady in a blue suit came from the back of the office and slowed her pace as she saw the woman at the desk. She looked her up and down as she approached and held out her hand.

"I have waited a long time for this moment Mrs's Presley. My name is detective Rosslyn and I have had your cold case in my office for the last five and a half years. I have to say I thought retirement would come for me before you did...and alive none the less." She said with intrigue and some shock. "You better clear your diary. I have questions" she told her "A lot of them. Firstly though, I have to ask, does she know you're alive? Or do I have to go make an insane early morning phone call?"

"She knows" Amber declares, coming through the front doors and taking her place beside Sydney, slipping her fingers between Syds.

Detective Rosslyn lets the smile she keeps hidden at work creep onto her lips. "Mrs's Beaton" She acknowledges. "I won't pretend I would have loved to have made that call, but I am more than ready to close this case before the end of my career. It's been the one case I couldn't ever forget, and the one I thought would haunt me in my old people's facility late at night. Follow me" she asks, ushering them through the back of the building.

Sydney turns and takes Ambers hand firmly. "If by chance I don't end up in jail for the identity I stole and the falsifying of documents, then let's try that getting married thing again yeah?"

"I promise to visit you every Sunday with the rest of the inmates families" Amber replies with a smirk.

Sydney nudges her shoulder. "So will you marry me either way? The jails glamourous place of worship or the beach house?"

"Is that even a question? I wouldn't want to marry any other con for as long as I shall live"

"Can Drew come?" Sydney asks, with a little escape of laughter.

"Well if it's the wedding in jail then yeah of course, after all she's likely to be in there at the time anyway, serving a sentence for something ridiculous"

"And if it's the beach house?" Syd asks, as they start to move down the corridor following detective Rosslyn's voice.

"If she doesn't try socking me in the mouth for the next few months then there's a decent chance yeah. After all Bea has taken a liking to her now, and Clark tells me that's like a two year deal breaker. She's won over our daughters so I guess that's the initiation part over with."

"I know you like her really" Sydney teases before they stop outside the office door of detective Rosslyn. "I feel sick now that I'm actually here" she confesses.

"I got you" Amber declares kissing her forehead. "Let's get this over with" she says as they enter the room.

They take the two seats in front of an open file and the detective with a pen in hand and a thirst for the entire story to be retold "Let's start at the beginning shall we?"

*Second book available now*
*(Currently being edited. Be back soon)