Page 14 of Lady Luck’s Kiss

“It’s for everything that is long-lasting. Houses, businesses, friends, relationships…” he murmured and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. “You said you needed to drive my truck. How about that test drive?”

“Well, okay,” she answered, confused. There was absolutely nothing romantic about driving his truck to verify if it overheated again. They were either going to get stuck, or it was fixed, and the mood was gone. “You sure about this?”

“Positive. How about I meet you downstairs in a few. Bring a jacket.”

“It’s September and sticky out.”

“And getting cooler all the time. Plus, the sun is going down and the temperature will be dropping. Relax, and go with me on this.”

“Fine. You win. I’m in your hands.” She smiled at him, stepping away and moving to get a light sweater. She watched, amazed, out of the corner of her eye as Jack carefully scrapped off the dishes into the trashcan and quickly loaded them in the dishwasher.

Man, that is appealing to women! Having a man do the dishes without asking? If he breaks out a vacuum or starts folding laundry… I’m a goner , she thought and chuckled at the idea.

“Care to share?” she heard behind her as she grabbed her wallet.

“No. No, I’m good,” she answered quickly. There was no way she’d ever utter the words aloud in her lifetime.

He blew out the candle votives. She found herself staring at his lips, admiring how they looked and remembering how they felt. He glanced up and met her eyes, causing her to blush heartily. Jack grinned and walked over to her, gesturing her to head down the stairs back to the lobby of her garage.

“You go ahead. I need to lock up.”

“You lock the garage, don’t you?”

“Yes, but if someone was to break in, it’d be bad enough to have my work intruded upon. I think it’d feel worse to have them enter my home, too.”

“Smart and beautiful,” he admitted and kissed her quickly on the cheek as he passed her to head down the stairs first just as she requested. She stared at his back and then quickly grabbed her keys, jamming them in the deadbolt.

Hurrying down the stairs behind him, she went through the motions to make sure the shop was locked. Throwing the locking bar back on the large, glass, garage bay door, she raised it carefully to make sure the truck would clear it when they backed out. “Are you getting in?”

“I thought I’d wait for you.”

“Did you want to drive, or shall I?”

“I can,” he quickly volunteered. “It’s been a few days since I have gotten to drive it.”

“Get in and start it up. I’ll get the door behind you. If it smokes, overheats or does anything weird at all, turn it off immediately,” she ordered. “I’ll throw the latch back and meet you around front at the entrance.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Jack got in the truck easily and she smiled as it roared to life.

Watching carefully, he backed out slowly from the garage bay where she had worked on it the last few days.

As the front of the truck cleared the garage, she gave a mighty yank on a rope that dangled from the glass door handle that brought the heavy door down with a soft thud.

Latching it, she waved at the darkness on the other side of the glass.

Hopping easily over the lift arms and moving past her tool cart, she turned off the lights.

Exiting the building, she locked it and found he had pulled up close.

“Hey, gorgeous, want a ride?” he teased.

“Wasn’t that the idea of the road test?”

“Couldn’t resist,” he drawled with a lopsided grin. “C’mon in.”

Charlie hopped in the cab of the truck and buckled up. At his smile, she found herself happily returning it. Now, this felt like a date! Jack held out his hand and she happily placed hers in it. “Now, pay attention and let me know if you see anything.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Any idea where you want to head to?”

“It’s a surprise,” he said simply, pulling out onto the county road.

She stared at his profile in the dim truck.

His face was illuminated by the gauges and headlights headed their direction.

She really didn’t care where they were headed, she was simply fascinated by how the evening was turning out and what a myriad of surprises he was.

Jack was an open book and didn’t hide anything – or so it seemed.

She was a bit bothered at the thought of him maybe meeting someone at each rodeo. Maybe she wasn’t special after all, just the latest flavor of the week. She sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case, but mentally tried to prepare herself for it deep down inside.

Dragging her eyes from his profile, she noticed that it looked like they were on the outskirts of town. The small grouping of city lights was far behind them and shrinking every moment.

“Nervous? You keep looking around?”

“No, not nervous,” she said with a smile, staring out the window towards the darkness. “Honestly, kind of peaceful and excited.”

“Good,” he said gruffly, giving her hand a few squeezes.

“Are we heading to your house?”

“Not the house, just the land,” he countered, pulling off the road down the long driveway. “I’d love to show you my home, but I don’t want to pressure you or intrude. The house wasn’t why I bought the place. It was for the view.”

“It’s dark out.”

“Not everything worth its salt is easily seen, Charlotte,” he murmured softly.

In fact, the words were uttered so quietly she almost didn’t hear him.

He threw the truck into park and reach over the back seat of the truck for a u-shaped travel pillow.

That seemed odd and raised a lot of questions in her mind, none of which she voiced aloud. “C’mon and bring your sweater.”

Exiting the truck, she saw that he was climbing in the back bed easily like he had done so repeatedly in the past. In the distance, she could see one faint light where his house was. Glancing back, she saw his shadowed figure standing in the truck bed with his hand extended towards her.

“What are we doing?” she asked, putting her hand in his and stepping up on the bumper of his truck. She could hear crickets chirping all around her at the disturbance the truck was creating in the grassy field. Carefully, she swung a leg over and climbed inside where Jack waited.

“Relax,” he said with an easy smile. “You want the pillow or your sweater?”

“For what?”

“To cushion your head.”

“Is that why you have the pillow in your truck?”

“Yes. Why did you think I had it in there?” he asked curiously.

“I’ve had to travel a lot for work. I’ve slept in the cab more than once over the years.

It’s not great but works in a pinch when I’m are exhausted.

I come out here, though, to feel at peace, centered.

Look around. What do you see?” he asked, lying down in the truck bed.

“Nothing, its pitch black out here.”

“Exactly.”

Charlie carefully sat down in the truck and was surprised that the back had planks of plywood in it to make it flat.

She had assumed that he did woodwork on the side when she had first seen it.

But now, she saw that it had another use.

It provided a flat space for him to lay instead of the wavy, hard metal of the truck bed.

Lying on her back, she wadded up the sweater and placed it under her head.

Looking at him, she saw that he then put the pillow under his neck with a shrug. “You sure you don’t want this?”

“Positive. But if you had told me, I could have brought throw pillows.”

“If I told you to bring pillows and a blanket, what would you have thought of me, Charlie?”

“I’d have thought you were trying to fool around with some random girl from a rodeo.”

“Another girl?”

“I’m sure you have met a lot of girls from competitions over the years.”

“Charlie, no,” Jack argued, looking up at the sky. “I’ve never met or wanted to meet anyone from a competition. You’re the first.”

She stared at him, surprised by the vehemence in his answer.

She saw him staring up and decided to let it drop.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked up at the darkness above them.

It was dotted with faint specks of light that seemed to come into focus as her eyes grew accustomed to the night.

“That’s beautiful,” she breathed.

“That is why I bought the place,” Jack said quietly.

“The crowds and competitions pay the bills, but it takes its toll on me. I didn’t realize it until I found this land a few years ago.

I had originally gotten it for the privacy it gave and the view from the back deck.

But this? This is what has kept me here for so long. ”

“I can see why.”

“There is so much more to it, you know? It was unexpected. But one afternoon, I was out cleaning the grounds from debris the previous owner left scattered. The next thing I knew, it was night and there was such silence around me. I looked up and knew I was home.”

She didn’t say anything. It was evident he needed his privacy and peace. Who would have thought that the bull rider was a stargazer at heart? “Do you study the stars? The constellations?”

“Oh no, not at all,” he admitted with a shy smile.

“It’s simply the feeling you get here. You feel almost humbled and struck by the beauty that is hidden.

I mean, look at it. It’s dark, but there is a light that burns so brightly that it has been a beacon for centuries.

People hundreds of years ago worshipped the stars.

And years from now, they will be looking at the same ones we are looking at now.

It draws you in and you feel like if you were lost, you are home now. ”

“Why, Mr. Seguin? You might be a romantic at heart!” she teased nervously, trying to lighten the mood.

“Maybe,” he admitted, looking back up at the night sky. “Maybe I just found something else that calls to me, too.” Charlie looked up, admiring the stars and feeling the stress slip away. It really was gorgeous out. Just then, she felt something on her hand.

“What’s this?”

“Nothing.”