Lady Luck (Lucky You Book 2 1)

Lady Luck

By

Avery Claire
Copyright © 2014 Avery Claire

All rights reserved.

This book contains material protected under the International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including, photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the Author/ Publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Dedication

This book is deidicated to all the women who have touched my life.

My mother, sister, aunts and my cousins. All of you have added a specail warmth and love to my life. I wouldn’t be here without you.

Prologue

Jeremiah

“This is your captain Preston Alexander, we will be landing in Austin International in just under ten minutes, the weather is humid, with a temperature of 98 degrees, estimated time on arrival, 6:35pm. Central time, please return your seats to upright position, while we continue our decent.”

    Finally, I’m almost home, I can’t wait to see Cam, we’ve been hit or miss with our schedules, she’s been traveling so much for work. Its funny they moved her from New York to Austin, and still she’s in New York more than she’s been home.

Her job has been a little more demanding of her. She’s taken over a new role in the Austin headquarters, and it requires her to travel. I’m proud of all she’s accomplished. Just a year and a half ago, she was a lower level intern and in about a year’s time she’s worked her way into the industry. I just wished there could be more time for us to graduate to the next level in our relationship. I have a feeling that may all change soon.

When we moved to Texas, she told me she wanted to live in an old farmhouse. I researched and found a house within my budget, sort of. I had to cash in some of my savings and most of my trust fund, but its all worth it for her.

The house, well lets call it a structure, needs a more than just a little TLC, its needs new everything, including a new floor plan.

    We still need to decide on the room demo we briefly touched on. I can’t begin tearing out stuff, if she doesn’t agree. I bought some software for us to use to design and visualize how it will look. I hope she’s at least interested in that. It’s been hard to get her attention lately, but I’m hoping with what I have planned for us this next weekend will bring her attention around. I picked up something in New York, and I can’t wait for her see it.

    The drive home flies, maybe because I’m the one flying down the highway, racing to get
tomy girl. I can’t wait to hold her in my arms, again.

This weekend was torture in the worse form, being around the wedding guests and my family, and seeing the love in everyone’s eyes, it made me miss her even more.

That’s why I took a risk and went out and bought her something extremely special to prove to her what she means to me.

      
When I pull up to our shack, I don’t see her vehicle in the driveway.
That’s funny, where could she be?
As soon as I’m out of the car, Charlie comes barreling towards me, extremely excited, shaking his whole body, his long tail whapping at my legs.

“Hey buddy, I missed you too. Let’s go find Mommy.”

    He follows me up the front porch stairs and sits patiently at the door. Damn, I love that he was so easy to train. He learned fast, and loves to please his master. I rarely have to get onto him for misbehavior, the only time he gives me grief is when people drop by. He loves to tackle new people in slobbery dog kisses.

    Opening the door, to complete darkness and silence. I know instantly she’s not home. Just as I’m pulling my cell phone from my pocket to call her, I see it. A note left for me on the kitchen counter. Picking it up, my heart sinks because she’s never left me notes before. EVER! Scanning the beautifully hand scripted words, I read what has determined my fate.

   
Jeremiah,

        I’m sorry to have to do this, especially through a letter and not to your face. It was easier for me to leave after you were gone.

I feel like we’ve grown apart, I no longer want a suburban life, I thought that living in the country would be cool, but I realized my heart lies in the city. I also came to terms with my feelings for you. I realized that we are so very different, and that we’ve grown apart.

I can’t give you the life I thought I could. I will always have a special place in my heart for you, but for now I need to open my heart for others to love it and break it.

If you ever need a friend to talk you off the ledge don’t be a stranger, but that’s all I can be for you from now on, a friend. I’m leaving you the house and Charlie, please take care of them, I’d love to come back some day and see what all you’ve done here.

I’m sorry

Camryn

The walls of my life came crashing down on me, all I thought I ever knew was wrong. My reason for moving to live across the country, to leave the only life I’ve ever known, was all for her and now I’m alone and left to pick up the pieces.

At this very second, the only thing I’d love to do is punch the wall or destroy something. I’m deeply hurt and sad, but most of all I’m angry. She didn’t have it in her to face up to me, to tell me to my face that things were over. What a fucking pussy move?

She’s not the strong, confident, out spoken, I-don’t-give-a fuck-type-of -girl, I thought she was. She couldn’t even tell me when we fucked like crazy before I left a week ago, that things were over. She had to of known then, that she couldn’t be what I needed. How could she do this to me? How?

After nearly twenty years of friendship, and ten years exclusively dating, how could she just decide that I’m no longer the love of her life?

I pick up a beer from the fridge, I need something to help numb this pain that’s seeping into my bones like an ice storm. Nothing at this point matters to me.

CHAPTER 1

Three Months Later (June)

Drunken Nights: Day 45

I’ve never experienced this type of pain, the kind where all solutions begin and end in a bottle of some form. In this case it’s a Mason jar and plastic red canister. What would it take for me to feel free again?

One light of this match and my whole prison would engulf in flames. Some would call this a home. Although it’s never really felt like one more like a roof and four walls barely held up my one hundred year old wood and nails. I often wonder how it could weather a large storm, because its structure is dooming, the moment I stepped foot through the front door, its plagued me.

I thought that moving here, to this farm house that she just had to have would solve all the problems I tried to push aside. What I learned its that shoving them under a rug solves nothing, if only it would sweeten the deal here, but there’s no escaping reality. I take another gulp of Jax’s homemade moonshine, contemplating my next move.

I could take it all back with this match, watch it all float away into dust and silver smoke. I could start anew, without this heavy burden bringing me down at every turn.

Charlie comes racing down the hallway, just as a storm breaks out. So much for starting a deadly fire tonight. I couldn’t do that to Charlie, not only would I be homeless, but he would be homeless too.

“Sorry Chars, I know how you hate storms. Come ‘ere.” I bend my knees and hold out my arms, as he comes closer. I rub his back, and scratch near his tail, he’s still shivering and shaking in my arms. I notice my own heart is beating profusely too. I just realized what a huge mistake that could’ve been.

“Its okay Chars, I’m here, you’re okay.” So much for a drunken night, interrupted by the responsibilities of being a dog owner. My melancholy buzz carries me on, soothing my pooch to sleep in my arms.

Drunken Nights: Day 49

The pain has lessened its noose around my mind while I've successfully cleared out my entire supply of Jax's moonshine. Last week he stopped by to hang out, and brought me three large mason jars to replenish my stock and I've demolished every last drop.

My brain is taking forever to react to my movements. It’s a weightless feeling, like I could fly if I ran fast enough. I imagine the feeling of the wind whipping past me, I wish I could feel this free all the time. I'd never have a day that I wished I were gone from this place. I want to float like a feather, be carefree and let life choose my destination, let gravity guide me to a more humbling place.

It’s hard to escape all the memories, they float around in my head, and I wish there was someway to relive them at times, but now I wish they were gone. All of my most memorable times have her mixed in between them, and it all feels so tainted because of her. My existence is tarnished, what else do I have to live for.

For as long as I could remember, Camryn and I were a pair. We always knew we'd end up together. Actually there was never a question that we'd end up together. From our first day of kindergarten we bonded so deep. It wasn’t a surprise that our parents quickly became close too, after noticing how much they saw us interacting. I can’t remember one special memory without her next to me.

How will I keep living on without her?

I ask myself that everyday. The only way I've been able to get through, or at least to forget for a short while is by consuming mass amounts of liquor. Today it was the lucky moonshine.

    Stripping from my jeans, boxers and t-shirt, I race down the hallway, trying to get this freeing sensation to take flight.

It’s no use, I need wide open spaces if I'm going to get any air to float me away. There are just too many obstacles to get in the way.

    I step outside and take in the fresh air, it’s refreshing to have the scent of warm summer air soothe your aches and pains away.

Lucky for me, I have moonshine running in my blood or else I'd care about the heat and humidity.

    Taking off from the porch, I gallop through the air, towards the fields. I'd always imagined what it would feel like to run naked in the wind. It’s liberating and freeing. There’s nothing to hold me back.