SPECIAL MOMENTS WITH THE LAWYER

Raining heavily and thunderstorms, music playing, curtains dangling, morning was too near to come , grass shining green, sunset so friendly and a little drop of snow .

Lisa Moore darted outside her door to get some stuff from nearby shops for her breakfast.

When she came inside her room, she moved to the inner room and turned to her left side. She noticed a picture on the wall long ago. She stared at the picture for an hour and had to bring it down for verification.

Only moments before, Lisa Moore had picked up the latest issue with a plan to scan the news before she got down to the business of her daily schedule at the Sandberg Ranch. But the paper had slipped from her hand and scattered across the floor, exposing a grainy black and white picture wedge among the classified. Now , she was still staring at the miracle in her hands, wondering if it might finally lead her to the truth about her mother's past - and the identity of her mother.

" knocked on the door ".

Her friend's breeze voice had Lisa jerking her head up and snapping the paper shut at the same time .

Amber Hudson, a member of the family that owned the Sandberg, was like a sister to Lisa. This morning she desperately wanted Amber advice.

" Thank God you stopped by ! I want you to look at some things here".

Amber glanced at the small watch on her wrist. " Sorry, Lisa. I don't have time, I have thirty minutes to get to the clinic, I just stopped by to ask you to let me know not to set a place for me this evening ". I'm going to be working late ".

Not willing to let Amber get away that easily. Lisa jumped to her feet and grabbed Amber by the arm .

"Lisa! I said I don't have time! What.....". Her exasperated expression turned curious as she watched Lisa shut the door as her medical training took over. " You look almost green", "Are you feeling ill".

Lisa's hair swished against the tops of her shoulder as she shook her head. Normally she was a quiet , serious minded young woman, a book keeper who kept her nose stuck in the incoming and outgoing invoices of the Sandberg. It wasn't like her to get emotional but the photo had filled her with hope and excitement.

so " I'm not sick!" Lisa's office was inside the Saddlers family ranch house where anyone, especially her mother might be passing by, she spoke in a hushed voice. " I want you to look at this", she jerked open the paper and thrust it at Amber.

A deep frown marred the woman's forehead as she scanned the paragraph beneath the photo .

" What do you think ?", "Could it be my mother?".

" Maybe. I don't know ". This was taken years ago . Lord, look at that big hairdo! And the dangling earrings! Your mother wouldn't be caught dead looking like that now , still - she paused. " I have to admit , but it does resemble her ".

Another burst of optimistic surge through Lisa, in spite of her attempt to stem it. This photo was probably just another of one missing person among thousands. And Lisa's mother wasn't actually lost . She was living here on the ranches, safe and sound just as she had been for the past twenty some years. It was Esther's cricket past and all her memories of Lisa's father- that have been lost .

Amber groaned, " lis, i don't want to get into this ".

Lisa understood why she didn't want to get involved. Amber didn't want to encourage a search that would only cause deeper rifts between Lisa and her mother, either. But she wanted - needed- an answer, and as far as she was concerned. This photo was too important to simply toss it in the trash .

" Am I crazy for thinking this might be my mother- before she lost her memories?".

Amber pointed to the brief information beneath the photo. " The woman went missing back in 1999". Why would anyone start searching?".

" Maybe they've searched before- in other areas of the country. But just think, Amb , the timing would be right ". "I was born that year , the year my mother lost her memory ", and this woman does resemble mother , I'm not crazy about that ,am i?".

Amber expression changes to one that is concerned. " No , honey, you're not crazy ". But you've tried this before. By now you ought to realize what a long shot it would be for this- she tapped the paper with her forefinger, it could have been your mother in her younger days. This woman was obviously a glamor girl! Esther always looks like she just stepped out of Louis' house ".

Lisa grimaced, it was true that Esther's Crockett appearance was somehow dowdy and up until Lisa became an adult. Esther had also insisted that her daughter appear and behave in the same conservative fashion.

Little by little, Lisa was doing her best to cut the thick ties her mother had used to restrict her all these years . But the separation wasn't nearly fast enough to suit Lisa. She was going to turn twenty to be her own person and live life of all , she wanted to live her own way without fearing her mother's disapproval. Most of all , she desperately wanted to find her father, even if her mother was dead set against the search .

" You're right, Amber. But mother could have been different, before", Lisa argued on a hopeful note . " After all she got pregnant with me . There must have been a man in her life ".

" True ", Amber's eyes were full of sympathy. " You really want to find your father, don't you?".

Lisa nodded as a hard lump of emotion collected in her throat. Ever since she'd been old enough to ask about her father, she'd been told there was no way of finding him . Esther didn't remember that part of her life and , moreover, she refused to allow Lisa to search for anything that might lead her to the man .

Blinking at the film of tears in her eyes, Lisa said, " More than anything", " what if I have brothers or sisters somewhere?".

" I think about this all the time. It drives me crazy that mother won't talk about it or help me search ".

Shaking her head , Amber handed the paper back to her, " Well, I guess there is always a slim chance you could accidentally stumble onto some sort of genius information here". But you'd be running a big risk in trying! The last time you did something like this- well, everyone on the ranches remember how furious your mother was when she found out ".

Biting down on her lips Lisa paced around the room . " You don't have to warn me about my mother ". We've had so many fights about this , frankly, I'm sick of trying to reason with her".

" What does that mean?", Amber's question her warily. " That you're going to call the number on the paper?".

Lisa's casual shrug belied her spinning thoughts. " maybe I don't know yet ".

Lisa should be more than content with her life . She had a nicely furnished office with an antique oak desk. Leather chairs and a couch made of beautiful correlated steer hide raised here on the Sandberg. Potted plants shaded the wide window and an elaborate stereo system supplied her with music while she worked. She received a very adequate paycheck every week, plus plenty of benefits to go with.

The accounting degree Lisa had obtained two years ago was now paying off . Her job on the sandbar was one that most any young woman would be envious of . She had a nice apartment in town and a social life, if she wanted it . But no matter how hard she tried. Lisa couldn't dampen the longing she had to find out about her mother's past and her father, who had to be out there somewhere.

Amber nodded at the paper. " Why is an attorney instead of a private investigator taking the call ?Could the woman in the photo be a criminal?".

Lisa refused to consider that idea . Then it couldn't be mother, she too straitjacket for that kind of past ".

Amber rolled her eyes. " Lisa, you can't know what kind of person Esther was twenty years ago ! You could open up a nasty worm thing".

Lisa tightened her lips . " You're trying to discourage me ".

Amber threw up her hands in a helpless gesture. I'm only trying to point out the downfall ". Especially if Esther discovered what you're up to ".

Lisa reached out and plucked the paper out of her desk and locked it inside her inner drawer and glanced at her .

" What are you doing that for?"Amber asked .

There are newspapers everywhere on these ranches, including your mother house ". She probably already spotted the picture ".

" I don't want anyone other than you knowing that I saw it ". " I'm getting worried now! This isn't you ! You don't normally keep things from your mother ", at least not some things important like this ". Think about it , she darted outside into the kitchen full of gorgeous sunken and more .