I Picked You

by J C Hartung

  I Picked You

  JC Hartung

  Copyright © 2020 JC Hartung

  I Picked You

  Copyright © 2020 JC Hartung

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, businesses, events and places are product of author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Resemblance to actual persons, things living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Art by: Chez Koop

  Dedication

  We win some we lose some, but always, we do it together.

  The last 10 years have been a crazy ride filled with

  love

  tears

  goodbyes

  and all the possibilities we never imagined for ourselves.

  Here’s to the road less traveled and all the hills yet to climb.

  Love you, Mister.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  PROLOGUE

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Acknowledgement

  Golden

  PROLOGUE

  To anyone observing the car, at first glance there would be nothing out of the ordinary to see. Another driver might glance over and see the tall, dark and welcomingly handsome driver tapping his fingers voluntarily to the music. The observer would allow their thoughts to turn into a daydream involving him; and he certainly merited their admiration. He became exceptionally dynamic when he allowed the curtain of music to wrap around him. He not only heard the music, part of it became him and it visibly flowed through him.

  Another might turn their head to notice the red haired passenger. All those thick, rich waves of flaming color pouring out of such a small frame, she was undeniably eye catching. A trained eye would see more than just the outer features. The trained eye perhaps would see the strain their eyes held as they fought to control emotions that had been churning for some time. They would see the way her body was angled away from his, and they would see just how weary the whole picture had become to both of them.

  He was tired, anyone could see that. Not only from the dark shadow of his unshaved cheek, but from the red eyes and purplish tint that hung below them.

  She looked paler than he did, though a life-giving swipe of a makeup wand had been calculatingly waved to mask her evidence.

  There were no words shared; only a stony silence as they negotiated their way through the ice slicked streets of the city.

  He drove with purpose. They both had a lot riding on the decisions they would make this weekend. They would have three whole days cocooned in a snow wrapped wonderland that would hopefully help to map out the next few years of their lives without distractions; no ringing phones, no crying baby, no emergencies from work.

  Sure the past two weeks had been tense, more than tense if he was honest. They had all been sick with the flu; a small token given freely by the daycare center where their son spent two happy days a week. The flu wasn’t the source of the stress though, only the springboard to exhaustion. They had been running on empty for weeks and the weight from work only sat more heavily when added to the stress they’d felt at home. The final straw, or the weight that sent them reeling, was that they both, on the same day received in their respective fields what they would call an offer of a lifetime. The thrill of the offers, which would lead to professional accolades for them both, had been swiftly eclipsed by the realization that these dreams conflicted with each other. It would be nearly impossible to see them be resolved into a cooperative solution.

  It was hard for both of them to swallow, knowing that one of them would ultimately sacrifice their dream for the other. Neither of them knew how to ask it of the other, neither of them was fully prepared to be the giver.

  Then there was their beautiful Oliver; he was so much more important than any offer, and somewhere nestled in the decision of a lifetime was how it would affect their son.

  The boy was still so small, he thought, having just months ago at the end of summer celebrated his second birthday. She had turned it into an extravagant affair with all the family participating with gifts, cake, and stacks of love to go around. Their house turned into a playground for a few magical hours because it’s what he had wanted, what he’d asked her to do.

  The party was more for us, he thought, as he turned to the small fairy like woman in the car next to him, our son likely won’t remember it even a year down the road. She had made the cake; created it was a better term. Three tiers of Mickey Mouse confection. It had been worth it, even if already sticky fingers dove into Mickey’s face seconds after the candles were blown out. The pictures reveal layers of love and laughter on each face, and that is what it was all about; their son; their beautiful gift of love.

  He reached over and took one of her hands. They were small and cold from having just been outside in the storm as they dropped off their son. He held her gaze as her eyes examined first their woven fingers before shifting to his eyes. She brought their hands to her lips, kissed his palm and laid their hands down on her leg. He smiled over at her, anticipating the quiet hours alone they were to share. Without hesitation she smiled in response. Even with the burdening weight of stress there was so much love, so much shared.

  We will come out of this, of that he was certain. We will both get our dreams, maybe not this time, but sometime soon. He was as sure of it as he was sure he could never love another the way he loved his wife.

  Chapter One

  Two and a half years later

  It was the first Thursday of the month again and there was nothing she wanted more than to lock the door, close the blinds, pull the covers over her head and fall asleep. But no, that wasn’t going to happen. It had been an exceptionally long week and it wasn’t close to over.

  She knew their intentions were good and that they would be rightly upset if she didn’t show. It was, after all, their monthly girl’s night. So she’d go, she’d smile and she’d have a beer and a few laughs. Essentially she’d show them, I’m ok, and she’d try not to watch the clock or count the minutes until it was acceptable to call it a night.

  She got supper on the table and managed to throw a few bites i
nto her own mouth before her Mom showed up to help. She gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and she rushed out the door to meet the girls.

  When she arrived they were already there. Not surprising, she thought, as she was always at least fifteen minutes late. The bar was crowded for a Thursday night, but now that the summer season had arrived, it would be that way until everyone packed up in the fall. It was busy everywhere in town.

  She spotted them at a table in the corner near the far edge of a small dance area. They were a picture, the two of them. First, there was her big sister Abby; not quite as small as she was in height or form, and nothing like her in any other visible way. Abby’s blond hair was fashioned more for convenience than style, being cut in short spikes that pointed in all directions. Her fashion choice was so easy and summery she could have come straight from a day at the beach in a loose flowing skirt and tank. She looked carefree and happy, and if having four children, a wonderful husband, two cats and a dog were any indication of the former, she definitely was.

  Then there was Carrie, slightly taller than average height, but that’s not what you’d notice because that’s where the average ends with her. She was built to be noticed, and notice her you did. Her hair was black on this particular day, so black it had a blue glow, which was obviously her goal. It was so shiny that even Raina had to admit she wanted to get close to Carrie and touch it, to know if it was humanly possible for it to be that straight and that shiny. Her makeup was expertly drawn to make her eyes look like they were begging you to fall into them. She must have come from work because she was wearing all black and though it obviously worked for her, and no one else in the room seemed to mind, it looked like her black attire could be a second skin it was so tight. Carrie was outrageous and fabulous, and she adored that her little brother had somehow managed to snag such a prize so she could call her sister-in-law.

  With a somewhat regretful sigh, Raina also recognized that she no longer resembled Carrie in the outrageous or fabulous, nor Abby by-way of contentedly happy, and had morphed into something else altogether. But without lingering on that thought, she brushed it aside with everything else.

  “Hello, ladies! Sorry I’m late.” She kissed both of their cheeks and took a chair while the two exchanged a look and smiled her way.

  “Raina, you’re always late,” Abby teased, and circled her straw around her glass as the ice clinked against the sides.

  “Hey, Rae,” Carrie chirped. And as Carrie spoke, Raina leaned her way and touched that perfect hair. It was too much to resist!

  “It’s beautiful, Carrie!"

  “I know! I love it!” Carrie smiled and touched it herself. Raina watched transfixed by the way it moved with her fingers and fell perfectly back into place. “It’s pretty busy in here tonight; you may need to head to the bar to get a drink. Connie hasn’t been around this way in a while.”

  “I think I’ll just sit for a few minutes first. So, what’s going on?”

  “Not a whole lot,” they answered at the same time.

  Carrie was looking at her. She knew how she looked, or at least she knew how she saw herself these days; pale, tired and horribly plain. She didn’t have the whole easy-breezy bohemian-mom thing going on, and she definitely wasn’t spontaneous-bombshell hair-stylist material. She barely had time to pull her hair into a braid or a tail, never mind a minute or two to experiment with eye shadow, though this evening she had made a two minute effort. She’d combed out the braid and let it fall long and loose down her back, making sure to clip a piece that would fall across her forehead to cover the ugly red scar.

  “You’re due for a trim, Rae. When are you going to let me get my hands dirty and really cut it, sweetie?”

  She always asked, she couldn’t resist, it was after all her job. Carrie’s fingers combed through all that long red hair even as she asked. Her answer had been the same in the six years she’d known Carrie. At first she’d say, Mark likes it long like this, plus it’s easy to tie it up for work. Now the answer was; Mark liked it this way; end of story. But instead of saying it and rounding off the day in a pity party, she gave her hope, even if it was false hope. She simply wasn’t ready.

  “I’m getting there; someday soon, I’ll make your dreams come true!” She winked and with her best effort at a genuine smile, she got up and asked the girls if they wanted another drink. She took their orders and headed for the bar.

  Across the bar the scene was the same. People packed in amidst the chatter; lots of noisy chatter. This wasn’t his scene, but it was where his client had wanted to meet him, so there wasn’t much he could do.

  It ended up being quite a lucrative meeting and it turned out the couple was pretty cool. They decided to stay for another drink, so he made his way to the bar to grab them.

  It was interesting to see the way the town changed the moment the days turned long and the sun grew warm. Only a few weeks before the parking lot hadn’t been as full and the bar not nearly as crowded. Summer had a tendency to influence that, he thought, everyone’s just a little bit more free and flexible. Bodies came out of hiding with the first hot days, and once school let out, families would come in droves. With minor irritation, he thought, as he bumped his way to the bar, he preferred autumn!

  The line was long but it was moving at a fairly regular pace. All around him he could hear small clips of conversation. He could take it all in, dismiss what he had no use for, and ponder over what amused or intrigued him. Four bodies in front of him, his gaze stopped, lingered briefly, and then alerted with full interest.

  At first it was the long chords of waving fire colored hair that fell almost to her waist. He wondered how something so tiny could carry around all the masses of it. She looked small but that may have less to do with height than with mass. She was leaner than what he deemed acceptable, but he wouldn’t say skinny. She had strong looking arms and shoulders but something about her made him think fragile.

  Then, when she turned, and he expected to see a pinkish pale freckled face with murky eyes, he was surprised. What he saw startled him, not only because she was captivating, but more because of his own reaction. Something inside of him stirred and caught hold. She didn’t look the way he had assumed she would, nothing like it.

  He leaned casually on the back of an empty chair and he watched her. She was exactly what he’d missed about the country. You could see her face without a shellac layer of makeup and she wasn’t trying to be noticed. In fact, she seemed to be avoiding it all together. This was something the guy trying to hit on her had failed to notice, and he wasn’t giving up.

  He watched her try to dismiss him gently more than once in less than a minute, then more firmly and when her eyes made a desperate pass around the room they fell on his.

  No. Her eyes more than fell on his, they locked, and held. He wouldn’t have believed it if someone had explained the feeling, but when her eyes locked on his, he felt a jolt, and literally felt his heart slow to a stop and race to catch up. Then her mouth moved and he recognized the plea. Help was the word her mouth formed. He smiled and nodded his head before he straightened and made his way to her.

  With each step to her Linc examined the details of his opponent. The guy had been a part of a larger group of guys that stumbled into the bar in the middle of his meeting. He noticed them because they were loud and making a big stink about it being a bachelor party. The guy himself didn’t bother Linc, but he glanced over to the full table and thought, if trouble arose he had a group to back him up, and many of them were already more than well on their way to being drunk and would likely find defending their friend’s honor good sport. Still, with the odds potentially stacked against him, he couldn’t resist her plea.

  He smiled at her just before he reached her, and when he did he dumped his arm across her shoulder. He bent his head down towards her from his tall height and when she looked up at him and smiled, he felt a pop in his brain.

  She had skin as smooth as a polished stone, and as fair as creamy rose-
milk, with just a sprinkle of freckles across her nose like an enticing accent. But it was her eyes, they were the magnet. The color of cool, dark, churned up smoke, and there were depths in them that sung a haunting song. He wallowed in them for a fleeting handful of time, and in those slow ticking seconds, he wanted to dive deeper and be wholly devoured by her secrets. For right then, he knew for certain she had them, and he wanted to be the one she longed to share them with. He blinked hard a second time at his own reaction, then forced a smile to his lips; maybe he’d avoided her kind long enough. He cleared the strain that had suddenly tangled in his throat, and he rescued her.

  Relief flooded her, even as the uncertain and awkward newness of the stranger’s arm around her seemed to somehow comfort. He was handsome, she supposed, if you were into the tall-blond-in-need-of-a-shave-and-a-haircut sort of look. It wasn’t something she usually paid attention to or recently had allowed herself the luxury to consider, but she would have to now. He was being very generous in coming over like this. She only hoped that she remembered how to speak to a man, and that this wouldn’t cause more trouble than the Neanderthal was.

  “Hey, sorry that took so long, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

  “That’s alright, you’re here now,” she shrugged, and he noted how her mouth smiled, but her eyes didn’t change as she examined him closer.

  She wondered if the beard was calculatingly grown for style or if he was the type who just couldn’t be bothered to shave every day. Whichever the case, though she hoped it was the latter, he was pulling it off beautifully. She did her best to smile and seem flirty, without actually seeming flirty.

  What am I doing, she thought, I don’t know how to do this. She held her eyes on the handsome tall man before she turned back to the nuisance who had caused the situation in the first place.

  “It was nice to meet you, enjoy the rest of your night,” she said in a cool tone, which effectively declared, you’re dismissed. The guy nodded at her and threw a contemplative look at the tall blond man who still had his arm around her; he smiled and pulled the girl closer to him, keeping his hand protectively on her shoulder. The nuisance, obviously discouraged, turned and found another woman to bother.