Chapter 24

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

“Second Chance Romance”

2012 Copyright All Rights Reserved

Chapter 24

Austin squinted his eyes against the early morning rays of dawn as they beamed brightly through the curtains. He could have sworn that he had closed those curtains a long time ago. Angling his head away from the light, he rubbed at his tired eyes and it took him a minute to acclimate himself before he realized that the reason the curtain wasn’t closed was because he wasn’t in his room nor was he even in his own bed.

At the same time, he felt a small movement against his chest and glanced down to see Jade’s head nestled in the crook of his shoulder. Her small hand was splayed out on his chest and that slightest movement reminded him of all the deliciously intimate things they had done the night before. Things that he wanted to do again and again and again until neither of them had the energy or the strength to move.

God, he loved this woman! Years and distance hadn’t changed that fact. If anything, it made his love for her grow stronger. The day that she walked out of his life he knew that she was taking a part of him with her. He didn't fight her though.  He was well aware of how badly he messed up and let her go.  He never expected to have the opportunity to get his missing piece back.

But she did come back. She came back and not only brought herself, but a beautiful little girl too. It was more than he had ever expected and even now, lying in the bed with her in his arms he was scared half to death that he was going to somehow mess it all up again.

“You’re staring at me.” Her sleepy voice mumbled warmly against his skin. “It’s kind of creeping me out.”

Austin chuckled and touched her cheek just because he couldn’t not touch her. “I like staring at you,” he told her. “You’re a very beautiful woman.”

“Ugh," she groaned.  "Let’s not go there.” Jade opened her eyes and moved to a sitting position. Austin noticed the way that she clutched the sheet tightly to her chest. Ignoring him completely, she glanced around the room and frowned. “What time is it anyways?”

“It’s early. If I had to take a guess I would say a little after six.”

She pursed her lips in thought.  “Kids get up early, right?”

“Some. Over the last week I've noticed that Libby typically gets up around seven or so. She’s pretty easy going when she gets up, very opinionated in what she wants to wear. You’ve raised her to be very independent which is a good thing. Why all the questions so suddenly?”

Jade refused to look at him. She didn't know what to say to him because she was too busy trying make sense out of the riotous emotions roiling inside of her.

Last night had been so… so perfect that she couldn’t even begin to come up with the words to describe the experience. Being with Austin just seemed and felt right. Every touch, every kiss made her feel so alive and after the last week of struggling to figure out who she was, that was huge. It meant more to her than she could ever tell him with words.

But now, in the light of the day she was back to being the same woman once more; a woman with a name, a face and a past that she couldn’t recall. All she had were the few memories that Austin shared with her last night and the new memories that she had created with Austin and Libby over the last week.

She felt that same familiar wave of frustration flood her. Not knowing what to say, Jade found herself staring at the closed door and sighed. “I guess I should probably get up and fix breakfast or something. She will probably be hungry when she wakes up.”

Austin closed his hand over her shoulder. He could already feel her pulling away from him. “Jade, stop. Look at me, please.”

Her shoulders tensed but slowly she turned her head and glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Austin, don’t-“

“No, Jade. Don’t you dare do it. I can see the wheels turning in your head.  You’re over thinking last night. Remember it for what it was. It was wonderful and beautiful and I can promise you an experience that I personally will never forget. I don’t want today to be awkward for us. I know that you are still trying to figure out who you are and I really want to be part of that process.”

She started to shake her head. “Austin, it’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is that simple. You see, I’ve been thinking that that maybe you’ve been trying too hard to remember your old life. Why not try for a few days just to live life rather than trying so hard to remember the past. Maybe then, when the time is right, the past will come to you.”

She snorted disbelievingly.  “And just how do you propose that I go on living my life when I can't seem to get past this huge mental block in my mind, Austin. Tell me how I’m supposed to go forward when I can’t get over the hump of where I’ve been.” She jumped off the bed, pulling the sheet with her and started to pace the floor.  She was already beginning to feel that overwhelming sense of emptiness crowding her space. Stopping in the center of the floor, she rounded and faced the bed, holding the thin sheet as a barrier against her chest. “Tell me Austin. Tell me if you have an answer then. Please enlighten me because I’m clueless here.”

Austin stood up and walked around the edge of the bed, obviously unashamed of his stark nude state. He stopped in front of Jade and gently framed her face with his hands. “One step at a time. One day at a time. One week at time. However long it takes, we will deal with it, together. You aren’t alone here, sweetheart. Not anymore.”

Jade pinched her eyes closed. She didn’t know how to respond to that. She felt something soft and warm brush her lips. Opening her eyes, she found herself staring at Austin and she could feel his confidence pouring into her. “One day, okay?” he asked her. “Can you give me that?”

She swallowed and then nodded. That seemed reasonable.  She could do that. “Yeah," she exhaled, "one day.”

He leaned in and brushed her lips again. “I have an idea for today, if you’re feeling up to it that is. The Dixie Classic Fair is going on over in Raleigh. I thought it might do you and Libby some good to be able to go somewhere and let loose for a bit. It will also give you some bonding time without the pressure of the past haunting you. What do you think?”

Jade thought for a second and then smiled. After a week of stuffy doctors and a boring hospital, a fair actually sounded like a darned good idea. “I think…” she paused and wrapped one of her hands around Austin’s neck and continued, “I think that is the best idea I’ve heard in a while.”

"Good," Austin replied. "I was hoping you would say that," and unable to stop himself he pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her thinking that right now he held one half of his entire world in his arms, while the other half of his world slept away in the room across the hall.  Life just didn't get any better than this.

*****

Oliver lifted the can to his lips, knocked his head back to take a swallow and growled when nothing but air came out. Staring at the empty can, he crushed it in the palm of his hand and wished for once it could have been Austin’s head.

The creep. It never failed. Austin always seemed to find a way to get what he wanted in the end. In high school he could do no wrong, he was the golden boy and the golden boy always ended up with the prettiest girl.  And evidently this time was no different.

For once in his life though, Oliver wished the ball could have swung the other direction, his direction more specifically. But it just wasn’t in the cards.

Oliver closed his eyes and tried to muddle through his thoughts. Taylor forced him to take the day off. The last thing Oliver wanted to do was take time off but his deputy told him that he was working himself to hard and if he didn’t take a day off, he was going to pull rank on him and force a mandatory leave of absence.

Taylor left him with no choice. He didn’t want to sit around town because everywhere he went there was something that made him think about Jade. And that drove him insane. After driving for what seemed like hours he somehow ended up at the fair grounds with a twelve pack of Budweiser in his passenger seat and nothing but his tortuous thoughts to keep him company.

The sound of a kid squealing outside caused Oliver to startle and jump in his seat. Opening up his eyes, he tossed the crushed can in the back seat and sat up. Unable to stop himself, he turned around and glared out the window just in time to see a family of four walk by. A happy family, he thought disgustedly to himself.

He almost had that; a happy family of his own. It was just in his reach. It would have been Jade, Libby and himself and he would have done everything in his power to make them the happiest family in the world.

But obviously, it wasn’t meant to be. Libby was Austin’s kid and now he had proof of it. There was no way that he was going to subject himself to dealings with Austin Giles for the rest of his life. Austin, he snorted out loud, the smooth and suave quarterback that all the women fell for, including Jade.

Well she could have him if that’s what she wanted. He didn’t need a happy family. He was doing just fine on his own. He had his badge, he had his town and that was all he needed to get by.

“Bullshit,” he muttered to himself and leaned over the seat, searching for another beer. Who was he trying to kid?  He knew the truth.  He was just too busy feeling sorry for himself to admit it.  All he had to do is look at himself now.  That was proof enough as to how badly he had wanted it to work out with Jade.

If he hadn't needed her so badly then why the hell did was he sitting here now in a fair grounds parking lot, getting drunk and pining over a woman he knew he couldn't have?  Because he was pathetic, that's why.  He wasn’t even much of a drinker.  The only reason he stopped and bought the beers in the first place was because he just wanted the pain to stop. He wanted to feel numb. He didn’t want to feel his heart breaking anymore.

Sitting back in his seat he popped the top of his seventh or maybe it was his eighth beer; he had lost count since he first started drinking in the parking lot, and now he could feel his head starting to swim. He was sort of numb now but he still could feel the bone chilling emptiness that he couldn’t seem to get away from.

He brought the can up to his lips and chugged half of it in a few gulps. It wasn’t fair. Life wasn’t fair. And yet, there wasn’t a damn thing that he could do about any of it. Jade and Austin would probably get married, have another one or two perfect kids and he would still be alone. Always alone.  The story of his freaking life.

Oliver watched as more families passed through the fair gates, all smiling having a good time and they were probably all expecting to have a fun filled evening together while he was sat in his car- alone.

No! He shook his head.  Why did he have to be alone? Jade may not want him but somebody out there would. He was a Sheriff, a good man. He always tried to do what was right. Maybe his someone special was here, at the fair right now. If he didn’t get out, he would never know. If he sat here in the car feeling sorry for himself the he could possibly miss out on his one chance to find his someone special and then where would he be?

Alone. “No!” He said the single word aloud this time. The sound reverberated in the eerie silence of the car. He refused to spend the rest of his life alone. Why should he?

He brought the can up to his lips once more and quickly finished it off. He tossed the empty can in the back seat with the others and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Jade wasn’t the only fish in the sea.

Jerking down the visor, he stared at himself. His red hair was cut short because it was what he considered an easy-maintenance style. His vision blurred and he rubbed at his eyes. He didn’t think he was drunk, tipsy maybe but not drunk by no means. Flipping the visor back up, he pulled his keys out of the ignition and pushed open the car door.

He was a good looking man, damn it! Any woman would be thrilled to go out with him. He just had to find the right one that he wanted to make a family with. He couldn’t do that by sitting in a car, drinking his life away.

Swinging his legs outside, his feet fell heavily to the pavement. Oliver closed his eyes and it took a minute for him to gain his bearings enough to where he felt like he could stand up.

Once he was standing competently and was sure that he wouldn’t fall, he actually smiled to himself. That hadn’t been so bad. Now he just needed to make sure that he could walk. He pushed himself away from his car, kicked the door closed and started for the fair gates. He walked slowly at first but after a few steps, he felt good. He felt real good.

He wasn’t thinking about Jade or Libby any more. He wasn’t thinking about that bastard, Austin either. He was just thinking about himself and how good he felt right now.

He passed through the fair gates, taking everything in at once- all of the sights, the sounds and the smells of the electric fair-like atmosphere. It had been years since he last visited the fair. He had almost forgotten how uplifting it could be. No wonder everyone was smiling on their way in. He watched a clown pass by him, carrying a slew of mulit-colored balloon animals and laughed at his over-sized red shoes. Who wouldn’t smile at something like that?

“Well, well, well.  Who do we have here?  Oliver, is that really you?”

Recognizing the voice, his posture stiffened and slowly he turned around. The smile immediately fell off of his face. Of all the people he could possibly run into, she was one of two he really didn’t want to see today. Crossing his arms over his chest, he looked down at her. For a second there he thought he was actually seeing double and had to blink a few times before she came into focus. “And my day just keeps getting better,” he muttered more to himself and curled up his lips. “Tina, tell me,” he slurred sarcastically, “what can I do for you?”

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net