The Good Luck Charm (The Good Luck Series)

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All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living, or dead is purely coincidental.

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To the Seven Southern Writers (Carolynn, Donna, Juli, Kate, Katie, Kerri, and Sharon) thanks for encouraging me to forge forward with this one. And to Debbie, Kerri, and Teresa for the endless hours we spent on the many versions of this one in critique.

The Fountain City Lake or “Duck Pond” as the residents of Knoxville refer to it is a real place.  However, the author knows the trail around it isn’t wide enough to actually jog on. She has taken liberty to make the location fit her story and hopes you enjoy it.

“Hey, watch out!”

A man’s voice called out the sudden warning, bringing Keely out of the mental fog she’d been in while jogging around the small Fountain City Lake. She jerked her head up, but the afternoon sun blinded her for a split second. When her vision cleared, she locked eyes with widened blue ones just before she slammed into a man grasping a Frisbee in his right hand.  Dropping Duke’s leash, she grabbed the man’s shoulders, almost steadying herself. However, her dog spotted a squirrel and charged forward, running between the guys legs knocking them off balance and they tumbled into the hip-deep, spring-fed lake.

Hitting the icy water with a splash, she shrieked and flailed in the murky pond, trying to get her footing. She sputtered and wiped her face with her hands in an effort to remove as much as possible of the green, fish smelling algae that clung to her skin and clothes.  Somewhere in the middle of all of this she spotted two muscle-clad, tanned legs a few inches away, and her eyes trailed slowly up to the wet shorts hugging the man’s thighs and well-shaped derriere as he climbed out of the water.

She glanced down at herself and groaned. More algae clung to her saturated pink knit top, which hugged her every curve. Before she could sink back into the water, the man she had collided with turned to look down at her and their eyes met. But instead of shock or anger she only saw concern.

“Are you okay?” He reached a hand down to her.

“I think so.” Her cheeks heated. Had he caught her staring? She hesitated a moment trying to free her hand of the slime before taking his outstretched one. He had a firm grip and she felt secure that he wouldn’t let her slip as he helped her out of the water. Heat from his touch sent a wave of warmth through her body and she shivered from her wet clothing despite the warm spring day.

He smiled and slowly pulled his hand from her grasp when she didn’t immediately let go.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” She pushed wet hair out of her face and pulled her plastered clothes away from her skin. “And then Duke…”

“Hey, no problem.” The gorgeous vision laughed, stooping to pet her traitorous dog. “I needed a bath anyway.”

“Not like this.” She grimaced, picking algae from his shoulder and flinging it into the water.

“Darren, come on.” A man in shorts and a tank top called impatiently a few feet away. “We’re losing prime daylight here.”

“Hang on a minute.” Darren stooped and retrieved the Frisbee from the water and tossed it at the guy. He turned back to her. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Positive. What about you?” She leaned to pick up Duke’s leash. The lazy bloodhound lay on the trail, showing no interest in moving. Their jog was definitely over for the day.

“I’ll live.”

“Good.” She looked up, her gaze stopping on his sexy grin.

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Do you think you’ll live?”

Her cheeks warmed. “I-I think I’ll be fine if I can get this gunk out of my hair.”

“How about you let me make it up to you? You want to grab something to eat?” He stooped again and handed her the leash. Their fingers touched, sending a quiver through her this time.

“I – I – probably should take a rain check. I need to get home and change.”

“That’s fine. I don’t think they’d serve us looking like this anyway. I could meet you somewhere later.”

“Come on man. Stop scamming on her,” his friend called.

Her cheeks burned a degree warmer and she tried to avoid looking at him, but it was impossible. She was so tempted to accept his offer, but she didn’t want to appear easy. “I think you’d better go. He sounds like he’s in a hurry.” She slowly pulled her hand out of his grasp.

“Yeah…well, maybe some other time then?”

She saw regret in his blue eyes as he backed away a step or two.

“I’m Darren by the way.”

She smiled. “I’m Keely, and this lazy dog is Duke.”

He flashed another smile. “Nice to meet you, Keely and Duke.” He winked before he turned and jogged away.

Dumbfounded, she watched as he joined his friend before slowly letting out the breath she’d been holding. Boy, she wouldn’t mind getting into some serious trouble with him. Just thinking about it gave her tingles. The temptation was ripe, but sadly the timing sucked.

Looking down at the dog, she fished her keys out of her soggy pocket.  “Why didn’t you bark or something? And what was with you running off to chase that squirrel? That was so unlike you.”

The bloodhound yawned and scratched his hindquarters before trotting along beside her.

“Obviously my losing the McDaniel account today wasn’t bad enough. You wanted to see my bruised ego take another hit.”

Duke yawned in response and looked at her with woeful eyes.

“I figured as much. Nothing ever excites you.”

She rubbed her lower hip, expecting to have a bruise there tomorrow. She’d grazed it on one of the rocks when she fell into the water.

“Come on. Let’s get you home.”

The rhythmic chant of loser, loser, loser, echoed in her head from the squish of her waterlogged shoes as she walked the distance to her car.

Why hadn’t she accepted his offer? So what if she had algae in her hair? He’d obviously liked what he saw. Or, had it been the almost transparent fabric of her wet shirt that interested him? She silently groaned, but recalled she’d been checking him out too. So she counted them even.

From now on, she’d have to stay focused on her surroundings when jogging. She didn’t want a repeat of landing in the murky water. She’d been lucky neither of them had been seriously hurt.

Despite the embarrassing mishap, the encounter excited her. It wasn’t often she bumped into a guy, gorgeous or otherwise, and he ask her out. She smiled, thinking about the possibility of bumping into Darren again. If she did, she hoped they’d stay on dry land. And if he asked her out again, she might say yes.

Darren stepped from the shower and snagged the towel at the sound of his phone ringing. He hurried and wrapped it around his waist before he picked up the phone, dripping water on the rug. “Yo.”

“Yo yourself,” his sister replied.

At the sound of Jama’s voice, he quickly pulled the towel tighter around his waist as if she could see him. In his haste he almost dropped the phone and fumbled to catch it.

“Uh, Darren, are you all right?” she asked. “Are you alone? Did I call at a bad time?”

“Sorry, phone trouble.” He dried one hand on the towel to get a better grip on the device. “I just got out of the shower. Of course I’m alone,” he retorted. “What do you want?”

“Don’t get testy. I wanted to catch you before you went out tonight. There’s an executive meeting at eight thirty in the morning. Be there, little brother, or I’ll hunt you down.”

“Yes, ma’am. Anything wrong?”

“Just be on time.”

Darren frowned when the line went dead. Discarding the phone, he unwrapped the towel and dried off before he slipped into fresh clothes. He thought about his huge success landing the McDaniel account that day. Was it too much to hope his sister wouldn’t make a big fuss over him in front of her staff?

“Nah.” He shook his head. The McDaniel account wasn’t as big as some of the accounts he’d worked on in New York, but it was a major contract for Wright and Associates. He’d never understood why people made such a big deal about his work. Convincing consumers they couldn’t live without a product was a talent that came natural to him.

If only he had the same gift with women.

Darren grinned, recalling the cute little brunette with the dog he’d had a run-in with earlier. Even though she’d been soaking wet, he’d found her attractive. Her plastered pink top hadn’t concealed her curves. In fact, it had almost  become translucent from the water, and the knit fabric hugged her snuggly, emphasizing what God had blessed her with.

She’d avoided his dinner invitation easy and that was okay. He hadn’t thrown on the charm, or had the time to make a real move with Clint pestering him. If he ever ran into her again, he’d make the time. But right now he had to get dressed, or he’d be late.

Forty-five minutes later Darren walked into the 4620 Jazz Club and snagged a vacant booth. He’d found the place by accident shortly after arriving in town. It had been a pleasant surprise to find a cosmopolitan spot nestled on the sleepy edges of suburbia. The martini bar hosted some of the finest jazz musicians in the area.

He liked coming here. He could sit back, have a drink, unwind, and forget why he’d left New York behind. Something about the sultry atmosphere of the basement establishment felt comfortable. A feeling he hadn’t had in a long time.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t coming. The show’s about to start,” Clint said, when he got to the booth.

Darren smiled then lifted his brows. It was rare for his friend to be alone. “What? No date?”

Clint grunted. “You’re alone too. Or do I have to remind you.”

No, he didn’t have to remind him. If Clint had kept quiet at the park the girl might have said yes and been here with him now.

The sparse house lights dimmed even more and the spot light focused on the jazz ensemble at the stage. A waitress swept by and took their cocktail order.

After she left, Darren caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd. Standing next to the stage was the brunette who’d pulled him into the lake earlier that day. She’d cleaned up extremely well, he noted, smiling to himself. He wondered what she was finding to talk about with the tall, high-cheek boned Cajun singer who was scheduled to perform tonight.

“Earth to Darren,” Clint cajoled.

“What?” He looked back at his friend.

“I asked if you wanted to grab a bite or get something later. There’s a barbeque place not far from here that I found last week. You’re going to love it”

Darren shook his head. “I’m not really hungry. If you want to order, go ahead.”

Clint eyed him. “You’re turning down food? What’s up?”

Darren shrugged, turning his attention back toward the brunette.

“Ah, her again. Wasn’t it enough that she and her dog plowed you down? Do you have to act like you hit your head too? Maybe I should take you to the ER?” Clint asked.

Darren grinned. Maybe he
had
hit his head, because he’d certainly enjoyed the unexpected tumble into the Fountain City Lake more than he should have.

“Darlin’, I’m so glad you could come tonight,” Lucinda drawled in her thick Cajun voice, her multiple gold bangle bracelets clinking like wind chimes as she hugged Keely to her. “We don’t see each other often, especially now that I’m living in New York year round.”

“I know.” Keely hugged her back. “Mom would have been so proud of your success.”

“That she would.” Lucinda nodded her head and stepped back, giving Keely a once over. “But look at you. You’re looking more and more like her every day.”