I Picked You

by J C Hartung

  “If you color the picture for me, I’ll hang it up right here. Deal?”

  “Deal!” He brushed his hand over Oliver’s hair and then they headed over to the house.

  Martin had been impressed with the barn. The few and relatively simple changes made had significant impact on not only the light, but it no longer felt like a barn. And if he had been impressed with the barn, when he stepped into the house he was blown away.

  When he walked through the doors of the addition and into what would someday be the kitchen, he no longer thought of Lincoln as a woodworker. He could see clearly, although his skills were evident, that Linc was also an artist.

  The expansive extension to the kitchen was framed on its four corners and peaked roof with timbers that would remain exposed once the insulation and drywall was hung.

  He took them through both the new and old parts of the house, before he maneuvered them into the garage, where the refrigerator that came with the house had taken up residence. He grabbed two bottles of water for him and Martin and a juice box for Oliver. Martin looked at him strangely before he explained his niece and nephews had made an appearance in the past two weeks.

  “Thanks for the tour. Now that I know what’s going on out here, I’ll be sure to make a point of coming by more often to see the progress,” Martin said, as Linc walked them back to the truck.

  “Come by any time, I could always use the extra hands. And speaking of extra hands, I think you know the electrician I’ve hired.”

  “Is that so!” he said smiling.

  “Matthew is coming by to give me a hand next week.”

  “He does good work, Linc,” Martin offered proudly, but without bias towards his son. Linc nodded and smiled, pleased with his choice to hire Matthew.

  Martin opened the door for Oliver and Linc watched the kid climb in.

  “Are you going to come buy anything this week?” he asked, after he’d secured himself in his booster and the seatbelt had fit snuggly across him.

  “I was planning on coming to pick out that paint for the chair.” He smiled into the cab as he leaned on the rolled down window ledge. “What day will you be at work, Buddy?” his smile jumped between Martin and Oliver as the kid turned to his Granddad for the answer. Martin grinned over at the kid, obviously in love.

  “You’ll be at work Thursday afternoon.”

  “Alright, I’ll see you then,” Linc said, as he gave a mock salute to the two as they slowly pulled down the drive.

  After they’d gone, Linc wandered back to the shop with his bottle of water and put in enough time to have the boards for the porch swing smooth and waiting to be assembled.

  It distracted him for a while as he sanded and drilled holes with the stereo blasting. But as the supper hour slipped away and evening pushed the afternoon heat aside, he found himself in his own truck heading into town.

  He found an empty table in the corner of a lounge in one of the restaurants. He ordered a drink first; he wasn’t in a hurry. And as he settled in his seat to wait, his eyes scanned the different televisions set up around him. What he told himself when he felt the quiet at home becoming too much, was that he could get a decent meal and maybe catch some of a ball game. He’d missed baseball over the summer; not as much as having a functional kitchen, but it ran a close second.

  He’d missed nearly the whole season, and that got him thinking about what his Mom had said about him getting out, enjoying himself, and being social. This made him smile because on the one hand he was developing a life locally. On the other hand, though his new best friend was selling him supplies, he also barely reached waist height and was give or take only five years old. And the oddity of that thought made him believe strongly that his mom was likely all too accurate in her assessment of him needing to get out more, and that led him easily around the corner and down the block to thinking about the pretty little redhead from the bar. The girl with the haunting eyes and pretty lips that he imagined would taste oh, so sweet.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Raina didn’t argue when Carrie offered to drive to town. She felt too wound up to be trusted on the road, but she wouldn’t allow herself to question the whim. When it called to her, she simply let go of all responsible thought and grabbed hold to see where it would take her, which was more or less what Dave had challenged her with. She had even asked herself, what would the old Raina do?

  She didn’t ask Matthew or Carrie to help often, so they didn’t hesitate to say yes when she called and spoke with her brother. She had even heard Carrie in the background of the conversation sounding uncertain as she asked Matthew a second time who exactly it was who wanted to go out.

  So, without really knowing where the sudden desire to go out came from, she’d put on a skirt, a clean shirt and fussed a few short minutes with her hair. When she left, Matthew was already laying on the floor building a Lego fighter jet with Ollie.

  As they drove into town, Carrie chattered to fill the empty spaces in the conversation. She didn’t ask what was going on, and Raina wasn’t yet comfortable enough with the situation to share, but she did hold on to the feeling while she let her mind wander.

  The first time Matthew brought Carrie to meet her it had been to a gig that Mark was working as a DJ. She had come straight from work and it was well after midnight when she arrived. The music was loud, the lights were flashing and circling the room, and the bodies that were dancing, seemed to be vibrating with the beat. She noticed the girl who Matthew’s arm had hung around immediately; she belonged in the scene.

  Mark was standing on the raised platform looking sweaty and absurdly energized from the work. His head phones were around his neck and as he spoke to Matthew and the girl next to him, he was tossing his microphone between his hands.

  When she had finally reached the platform, Mark reached out his hand and taking hers, pulled her easily up to meet him. He’d kissed her long enough to have the tingle of desire race through her, before he turned back to the crowd and shouted something into his microphone as one song blended into another.

  Carrie leaned into her, shouted in her ear that she thought Mark was great. Then she threw off her coat, and yelled, let’s dance. They had shared an understanding smile and Raina had thrown her coat on a chair with Carrie’s and they didn’t stop dancing until Mark’s set was done.

  The restaurant was full and the lounge had bodies floating around it. Linc found he was enjoying watching the activity as well as the ball game. And if the only interaction he walked away with was the harmless banter he’d engaged in with the waitress, he’d call it a successfully social evening.

  He’d just laid the menu down and the waitress was just turning after taking his order, when he looked up and saw two things happen simultaneously. His team hit a two run home run, and she; the pretty little redhead he’d just had on his mind, sat down at a table near the bar.

  He felt a flash of excited nerves pass through his gut. Interesting, was his first reaction. The second was acceptance. He’d caught himself thinking of her several times since their first meeting. The emotions and the instinct to protect that she’d provoked from him with very little effort had been something he’d never experienced and also very much hoped to someday explore.

  He hadn’t sought out the moment, but he had never been one to let an opportunity pass him by. He sat back, finished his beer, and he watched her while he wondered how to go about exploring this situation.

  She tossed her head back and laughed so he could almost hear her from the table she’d settled into with her friend. It was the same girl as that first night; the one who looked like the city. The waitress came and went and the two women laughed again.

  He didn’t rush through his meal, and as they had ordered food as well, he felt nothing pressing him. He only wished that he could hear what they were talking about across the room so he could be learning more about her.

  Carrie waited until after their food was delivered to ask. Raina had uncharacteristically finished
two glasses of wine and the way she kept reaching for her empty glass, Carrie was beginning to believe she might order a third.

  She drank the wine too fast, that she knew, but she couldn’t sit still. She needed someone to talk to, she believed that Carrie was the safest person to confide in, and also she believed Carrie would understand.

  “Thanks for coming out with me, I know it’s kind of out of the blue.” Raina’s eyes continued to dart between Carrie’s and her empty glass.

  “What’s going on, Rae?” she asked, reaching her hand to take hold of Raina’s fidgety one, stilling some of the anxiety causing the distress. Raina watched Carrie’s hand covering hers and the concern in her dark eyes.

  “It’s nothing bad.” Sighing, Rae bit her lip and embraced the emotions forcing their way with a bubble to the surface.

  “Okay.”

  A giggle escaped as she pushed her hands into her hair. Carrie’s eyes darted to the scar on Rae’s forehead. Rae immediately withdrew her hands and allowed her hair to fall across her forehead. She focused her eyes on Carrie’s and she smiled.

  “This is going to sound like a ridiculous confession, but here goes. I listened to music, and the other day I caught myself singing while I worked.”

  “Oh,” she whispered when she understood what Rae was really saying; the day of the accident, for Raina, the music had died. Carrie straightened in her chair and leaned forward.

  “I know. There have been lots of little things,” she began; the excitement was bouncing off of her growing into something much more tangible as she explained. “First there was that guy from the bar. Then the weekend at the cottage, Dave said something. A lot of things actually, but I can’t stop thinking about it. And the other day there was a lady at the bakery and she had the most fabulous earrings. Carrie, when I heard the music I wanted to go dancing. I couldn’t sleep just thinking about it. You know what I did instead?”

  Carrie liked what she was hearing, and even more, she liked the spark she saw in Rae as the words tumbled out of her mouth.

  “What did you do?” she asked cautiously.

  “I put Ollie to bed, and then I opened a bottle of wine and spent two hours and sixty dollars listening to, and buying music online.”

  “Wow, Rae!”

  “I know!” She smiled over at her sister. It felt good to finally tell someone, like it was a confirmation it really did happen and more importantly, it wasn’t something to feel guilty about.

  “So, now what?” Carrie asked, picking at the fries on her plate.

  “I have no idea,” Rae shrugged, shaking her head before they both fell silent, lost in thought.

  “I do know, that for the first time since I woke up on that horrible day, I felt hope. I felt a little like me.”

  Carrie’s eyes filled and she smiled, matching Rae’s smile.

  “I think this calls for another round of drinks. What are you having?” she asked, as she tracked down their server.

  “Rae.”

  The waitress was on her way when Raina turned her attention back to Carrie.

  “Yeah?”

  “I know you’ve been distracted since we got here, but I’ve been drinking water.”

  “Right, you’re driving.”

  “Well there is that, but also, Rae, I’m pregnant.” Her quiet voice told more of her shock and excitement than her words, and she watched Raina’s eyes swing back to hers where they stopped and locked.

  “You’re pregnant?” she whispered back, as her smile bloomed.

  Carrie could only nod as her misted eyes now spilled. They had been trying to get pregnant for a long time and hope had nearly become a cold line of disappointment.

  He watched, his interest piqued, his attention 100% engaged with the table across the room. He no longer cared that his team had lost their lead and were now heading into extra innings. He felt the past few minutes that he’d been on a roller coaster. Their conversation seemed fueled with swinging emotion, and the way the redhead was downing the wine, he figured something was definitely up. After watching them shift from laughter, to serious, then back to laughter, followed by tears, he wouldn’t have anticipated what came next.

  The redhead was leaping out of her chair and throwing her arms around the city-girl. Her head was tossed back again while she laughed and they both swiped at tears.

  He wasn’t altogether sure he could approach her now, or if he did what his angle would be. They sat back down as he rose and threw some bills into the folder the waitress left, before he crossed the lounge to their table.

  They were leaning together again at the table and they’d just sent the waitress away. It was good he’d gotten up when he had; it looked like they were nearly ready to leave. He debated briefly if he should sit or remain standing, and in the end decided standing was best.

  “Hi,” he greeted, smiling at the two of them.

  Carrie and Rae looked at each other, and as Rae’s startled attention turned back to Mr. Handsome, Carrie’s danced between the two. It was the guy who stepped in to help Rae at the bar earlier in summer. She was interested to see how Rae would handle this, if the spark she’d seen throughout the evening would fade or would she show some spirit.

  “Hi,” Rae managed to force out.

  “I was hoping to buy you a drink before you go. I believe I owe you one!” He watched her swallow, and he smiled. He knew she remembered him, he just couldn’t tell by her reaction if that was a good, or a bad thing.

  “We were actually just leaving.”

  She felt the kick under the table and her attention focused on Carrie. She watched her sister-in-law turn to smile at the handsome blond man who, she thought, still needed to shave.

  “She would love another drink, or better yet, take her to the patio and dance with her. I have to go make a call,” Carrie explained, as she rose to her feet. She could almost hear the protests Raina’s eyes were singing. She laughed under her breath and made a detour to the ladies room.

  “Dancing,” he echoed, raising an eyebrow and holding out his hand. It was more than he had anticipated, but he’d happily accept the challenge.

  She tried to stifle the laugh and the pull of his charm, but the wine was still making her feel light. Before she knew it, he was pulling her through the doors out to the terrace where a few couples were swaying.

  A song she didn’t recognize was playing, and she thought it was just as well. This situation was so overwhelmingly new to her, it fit that nothing should be familiar; maybe not even herself.

  “So, is there a special occasion that brought you out tonight?” he asked, as he pulled her into his arms and began to move with the tempo. She felt fragile, similar to how he imagined she would feel, only with more tension. Tension was fine, he thought, especially when she didn’t protest to dancing.

  “Not really, just some quality time with my sister-in-law.”

  “Sister-in-law! It’s nice that you get along.” He noticed her arms began to relax when she settled into the dance.

  “She’s a smooth one, and she’s hard not to love. She convinced my brother with one look. With me, it only took a few words and a night of dancing. And if I was a betting gal, I’d say, as I’m dancing with you, she’s in your good books as well!”

  He laughed and drew her far enough from him to see that though she was smiling, the annoyance in her eyes hadn’t faded.

  “No one puts you in your place quite like family can,” he conceded.

  “It couldn’t have gone better for you if the two of you had been working together to make this happen.”

  He pulled her closer because he enjoyed hearing the fire in her voice even as her body cooperated more fully with his. He wondered what she was really trying to say, and why she was dancing with him in the first place. It would have been easier to just say no to the drink and walk away, though experiencing her emotions up close was much more entertaining than from across the room.

  “True enough, but if we’d been working together she’
d have dropped you off and we’d have had supper together out here, where the night is cooling and possibilities linger heavily in the air.”

  She pulled away from him suddenly to examine him. He didn’t have an air of arrogance but he certainly was confident. It was a confidence that she could admire and be terrified of at the same time. His eyes roamed over her face and she felt the color rise to her cheeks. His hand tightened on hers and she saw the challenge that lay in the clear sparkle of his blue eyes.

  “Are you always so inherently bold and romantic, or do you only use your lines on your current target?” She felt him chuckle and the pressure from his hand increase on her back. She instantly felt bad. “I’m sorry,” she shook her head, disgusted with herself. “Apparently whatever you call possibilities is having a nasty effect on me tonight.”

  “Possibilities can do that.”

  “So it seems.”

  “Would you rather have that drink?” He smiled, and was completely intrigued by the way her actions and words conflicted; he could feel her pulse bouncing around erratically and at much too quick a pace.

  She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think so, I’m sorry. I don’t really know how to do this.”

  He felt her tension disappear with her honesty. He had been right to believe she was fragile; he could feel it now. It didn’t scare him, he just wanted to be sure he’d tread carefully and long enough to understand it.

  “You don’t know how to use words, or you don’t know how to dance?”

  “No,” she shook her head again, not knowing how to explain. Looking up at him with remorse pounding in her chest, she saw he was smiling, and that settled her runaway-heart and made her laugh.

  Hearing her laugh made him feel better; but the need inside him to hear it again awoke. What would it take to make her laugh the way he saw her earlier when she threw her head back. He didn’t have time to find out, any second now she would notice they’d stopped dancing and she would be gone.

  “The song is over, do you want to blow-off your sister and stick with me? Or would you prefer a rain check?”