My Lucky Days: A Novel
My Lucky Days © 2016 by Stacy Dawn Hendrickson
ISBN: 9781311192066
SD Hendrickson, LLC holds the world wide publishing rights to
My Lucky Days
. 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, nor translated into another language and distributed, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
All electronic copies are licensed for distribution from authorized retailers only or personally gifted by the publisher. An electronic ebook is for your personal use and may not be resold or given away to other people. Please respect the author and the time invested in the creation of this publication by not distributing illegal electronic copies.
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
The author notes includes a passage from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The author of the original
Serenity Prayer
was Reinhold Niebuhr. The version used in the story is a slightly modified version that is commonly used in public today.
Editing:
Curiouser Editing
Interior Formatting:
Champagne Formats
Cover Design:
Najla Qamber Designs
Cover Photos:
Lindee Robinson Photography
Cover Models:
Garret Pentecost & Daria Rottenberk
Table of Contents
For all the people
who love Stillwater as much as I do.
“Loyal and True”
Present Day
I
woke up suddenly, like the air had been sucked out of the room. My eyes darted around, seeing the flashing lights of the heart monitor next to me. I’d been in the hospital since I fell off the roof of my house while cleaning leaves out of the gutters. The damn cement driveway had to break my fall.
And then I saw him, sitting in the chair like he owned the place. I let out a deep breath as my heart beat faster, which I’m sure flashed in bright red on the monitor. He pulled himself from the chair, coming to my bedside.
A baseball cap covered most of his head, but that unruly hair still managed to stick out all around the edges. His jaws were lined with a layer of scruff like he hadn’t shaved in a few days.
“Hey, Katie.” I felt suddenly naked in the flimsy hospital gown, seeing the way his eyes trailed over my body. A slow grin slipped across his lips. “You’re still just as beautiful as the memory in my head.”
“Hmm. You should put that in a country song. It might make you famous.”
He chuckled softly. “Yeah, it might.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to check on you. How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better. How did you even know I was here?”
His smile got a little softer. “I still keep tabs on you.”
“Well, I guess you’re big enough now to violate HIPPA laws. Or have your people take care of it for you.”
His jaw clenched as the humor drained slightly from his eyes. “I told you it wouldn’t happen again. I’d be here. No matter what.”
My throat got tight at the reference. I took a couple of breaths to steady the surge of emotions. Why did he have to bring it up? I’d struggled enough ever since I was checked in to the hospital this morning.
“Well, I um. I’m okay. They are just keeping me overnight for observation. You’ve fulfilled your promise. You can get back on your plane and leave.”
He was breathing hard, making his chest move up and down under the blue pearl-snap shirt. The top three buttons were left undone, leaving a large amount of exposed skin. On someone else, it would look silly. But on him, it was causal and sexy. Always had been.
“I know it’s been a while.” His brown eyes held mine for a moment, flickering something I couldn’t read. He motioned toward the edge of the bed next to me. “Can I sit? I thought maybe we could talk.”
As he gazed down at me, I felt that tug inside my heart. I nodded slowly, allowing him to take one more step back into my life. I hadn’t seen him in years. Well, I’d
seen
him, splashed across my television and on magazines. But not in person. Not close enough to physically touch.
His weight crushed the side of the mattress as he sat down. “Is this okay? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m okay,” I whispered. His familiar scent filled the air around me. Why did he always have to smell so good? My eyes drifted to his hand that was just an inch away from my body. Trails of tattoo ink peeked out from underneath his rolled-up sleeves. He’d added more since the last time I’d seen him.
He eyed me closely. “You shouldn’t be on top of that roof. It’s too steep.”
“Someone has to clean out the gutters.”
“Hire someone. Or ask Colt. You know he’d take care of it or send Zach.”
I shot him a nasty look. Letting out a deep breath, I stared into his troubled brown eyes. “So what did you want to talk about?”
“I don’t know. Life?” He smiled sadly as he slipped his fingers around my hand, rubbing his thumb softly across the top. I felt the callouses right where they always stayed from playing his guitar.
The brim of his cap cast a few shadows across his face. But it wasn’t enough to hide those transparent feelings. He was looking at me
that
way. I closed my eyes, shutting him out. I had to stop him.
“I saw your latest breakup all over the tabloids at the grocery store.” I said the words, wanting to jerk him back to our reality. The one that existed for us now.
“Well, that’s what I get for dating an actress. Unlimited drama.” His voice was clipped and deep.
“I guess so.” It still hurt, imagining him with someone else. The images had haunted me for years. I knew he would date. That was expected. But it was so damn hard, seeing it plastered across the headlines. Harder than I had imagined. But that wasn’t what I had been thinking when I ended our relationship. Too many other things were going on at the time. Too much other pain.
He moved my hand, placing it lightly against his chest. The warmth of his skin seeped through his shirt. “I told you a long time ago. No one would ever be in here but you. No matter what happened out there after I left. I still mean that.”
My eyes shot open, seeing my hand pressed over his heart. The sincerity of his words filtered deep into his eyes. That look used to melt me right on the spot.
I could still remember the first time I saw him. He was so self-assured. So arrogant. So sweet, standing there with that messy blond hair all over his head and that lazy grin.
But that was a very long time ago.
I pulled my hand free of his contact. “You should go before someone sees you here.”
He stared at me a moment before slowly getting off the bed. “I bought some land north of Stillwater close to my mama’s house. Colt’s been building me a house on it. I’ve got a couple of commitments I’ll have to fly back for, but other than that, I’ll be staying here for a while. I just thought you should know.”
My stomach tightened, hearing his words. He was back. He was living here again. Or he was going to
try
to live here again. I didn’t want him this close. I wanted him far away so I didn’t have to feel this again. It actually hurt inside, just seeing him. More than the cracked ribs and concussion from the fall off my roof.
