The Good Luck Potion (The Good Luck Series) (11 page)

She was on her second cup of coffee when
Keely arrived at work with a package of baby pictures. They went into Keely’s office and spread the photos out on the table ooing and aaaing over Jama’s sweet babies.

“They are absolutely adorable,” Sue remarked and took a sip of her coffee.

“Yes they are. And being pregnant this only makes me want my own little one here that much sooner.” Keely rubbed her tummy in a circular motion with both hands and looked down at it. “I was holding Klarissa yesterday and peanut here started kicking. I think someone was a little jealous.”

Sue smiled.
“It won’t be much longer. How have your ankles been since Saturday?”

“No more swelling. Thank goodness, but I’m going to watch my sodium intake this week and
see if that should help as well as making sure I eat more protein.”

Sue stacked the pictures and put them back in the package. “Is there anything you need from me this morning?”

“Not right away. Darren and I are going to check with Pamela about what accounts we can cover since Jama had planned to go over that with us today. The babies just had a time clock of their own.” She smiled and walked to her desk. “I talked to Alex last night. He sounds so happy.”

“He’s glad to be
home.”

“I’m sure he is, but I think there is more to his joy than being in Knoxville again.”

Sue followed her to the desk and laid the package of photos down. “I wouldn’t know what that is.”

“It’s you, silly.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Why? I
saw how the two of you were Saturday night. You feel the same way.”

“Yes, but
I—I’ve been thinking…and I need to break things off with him. I—I’m feeling things for him w—way too fast and if I’m not careful, I’ll lose my head and do something foolish.”

Keely
studied her for a moment. “Sometimes it pays to be foolish and follow your heart when it’s with the right person.”

“But that’s not me.
I tend to lean on the practical side and that side wants to be in control right now.”

“I can hear the
hesitation in your voice. You really don’t want to do that.”

“No. What I really want to do is run to him and never leave his side.” She reached for the charm. “But I also realize these feelings are being influenced and as much as I wanted Lucinda to give this necklace to me because I wanted someone in my life
. I’m not sure I’m as ready for forever as I thought and that is what I feel Alex would be if I don’t stop this now.”

Keely sat down at her desk and took a deep breath. “Promise me you won’t do anything rash. Put some distance between you
and him this week and think about it before you act. I’ll see if I can’t keep him busy so he won’t notice too much. And if you still feel this way, I won’t stop you.”

Sue nodded. “Okay.”

“And Sue, please know, the gris-gris only has as much power over your life as you allow it to have. Sure, it will glow, it will get icy cold or burning hot, but in the end, I believe we make our own destiny.”

She couldn’t believe Keely was saying this.
“Does Lucinda know you feel that way, even after you and Darren?”

“I met Darren before she gave me the gris-gris. Who is to say
we wouldn’t have ended up happily married anyway?”

“What about Jama and Kyle?”

Keely shrugged. “I think Duke played a hand in them as much as the charm did. Jama just needed that push to get her back into the dating scene after being hurt by Ted Donaldson.”

“But I met Alex after she gave me the necklace.”

“True, but you were going to your sister’s for dinner, right?”

She nodded.

“You’d have met him anyway.”

“
Yeah, but would I have rear ended his truck?”

Keely grinned. “More than likely you would have. What girl can resist staring at a cute butt?”

Sue laughed and her cheeks warmed. Alex did have a nice behind and she
had
been looking. “Point taken.”

“What I’m trying to say is trust your instincts and don’t think all you are fe
eling is because of that charm. I’d like to think my brother plays a big part in it as well.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

She left the office and refilled her coffee mug before going back to her desk. What Keely said made sense, but that still didn’t change the fact that she was going down a very dangerous path with Alex.

Alex pulled in his drive and let Duke out of the truck before walking him back to the fenced yard.
They’d just finished an extreme jog at the Fountain City Lake before going on a long drive to clear his head. However, he still felt confused by what happened between him and Sue on Saturday night. Even after a few days he could still taste and smell her. His senses were on overload and he questioned why he’d kissed her again. He’d known he’d been playing with fire, but he’d been unable to stop himself.

He was sure t
he electricity and the heat of it had been intensified by the music and the dancing. His gut reaction was to stay away from her until he figured out if he wanted to go down that road with her. But did he have the willpower to do it? He opened the gate and removed Duke’s leash. The dog walked over to the tree and flopped down.

“What should I do, boy?” he asked. “What did you think of Sue? Is she a keeper?”

The dog’s head perked up, and he gave a big mouthed yawn.

Alex shook his head. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.
I’ll be sure to consult you the next time I have a problem.”

“Who are you talking to?”

Alex swung around, almost jumping out of his skin when he saw his sister standing there. “Keels, where did you come from?”

“Inside the house. Darren dropped me off while he ran an errand. I was sure you’d be back soon since I saw you and Duke jogging as we drove over, but that was nearly an hour ago.
I was getting worried.”

“Sorry. I took a drive
to think afterward.”

She nodded. “Do you want to tell me what is bothering you?
You sounded happy when we last talked on the phone.”

“I was and I still am. I—I’ve got to make a decision about Sue. I like her and we have chemistry. Chemistry like I’ve never had with anyone else. And that is scary.”

“I see.”

“I haven’t spoken to her since I left her Saturday night. I’ve kinda avoided her.
Real manly of me, isn’t it? I’m sure she must have mentioned it at work. Is that why you’re here?”

“No.
And she didn’t say anything to me about you not calling. We’ve been pretty busy for the last few days with Jama out of the office before we had anticipated her going on maternity leave.” Keely moved her hand to her side and crossed her fingers before she stuck her hand behind her back. “Besides, we don’t normally discuss her personal life at the office.”

“Keels, I saw that.” He planted his hands on his hips.

“You saw what?”

“You crossed your fingers and stuck your hand behind your back.
Even in this dim light I’ve got perfect vision. Or have you forgotten?”

She sighed. “Okay you caught me. We did discuss your relationship, but I didn’t want
to lie and I also didn’t want you to know I was asking questions. You deserve your privacy. Call it a mother’s intuition, but I think the two of you belong together.”

“You’re not my mother.”

“No, but I think that instinct has already kicked in.”

He rolled his eyes and hugged her to him. “I love you, sis.”

She pushed him away, coughing. “I love you too, but you need a shower.”

He laughed. “Sorry. I guess I do.”

“Give yourselves some space this week, but don’t forget we’ve got Sunday lunch at Lillian’s. We eat at precisely one so you need to pick Sue up and be at this address on time.” She handed him a post-it note with Mrs. Wright’s name, address, and phone number on it.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

A car pulled up in the drive and Keely walked over to where Duke lay, squatting down to pet him. “I’ll see you later, fella.” She stood and walked toward the gate. “Just because you don’t see Sue this week doesn’t mean you can’t let her know you are thinking about her. A girl likes to be wooed.”

“I hear you.”

“Good. Take care.” She hurried to the car and got in. Darren stuck his arm out the window and waved before they left.

“Well that was an interesting visit. Don’t you agree?” Alex looked over at Duke who was lying on his side now, asleep.
And since the dog couldn’t talk he answered himself. “Yeah it was, Alex, thanks for being my owner and taking such good care of me.”

He filled Duke’s water bowl with fresh water before he went into the house to shower.
When he turned off the water hose, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The sun had dipped low behind the trees, but he was certain it had been a flash of white. Was that dog back again?

He watched in silence for a few moments and then he saw the white blur flit across the back yard from the far corner toward the side of the house. Duke noticed as well and he ran in the same direction. Alex followed at a slower pace to see if he couldn’t finally sneak up on the dog.

When he rounded the house, he saw the dog standing still while Duke sniffed it. So while the dog was distracted, he inched closer and closer until he was finally able to see that the white dog had a collar, but no tags.

Duke saw him and trotted over to him. The white dog didn’t move a muscle, only stared at him, nose twitching.

Alex rubbed Duke on the head to show the other one he was friendly, that he didn’t mean any harm. He sat down in the grass and Duke lay down beside him. He waited as the sky grew dim to see if the white dog would approach him. The air became cooler and the ground where he sat, but he didn’t budge even though he longed for his jacket. Finally as the last thread of light disappeared the dog inched toward him and let him pet it.

“Hello girl. What’s your name?”

Friday morning Sue came into work to find a single, long stemmed red rose lying in the center of her desk. There was a card with it and so she opened the envelope.

Something beautiful for someone special.

Thinking of you. See you Sunday for lunch. I’ll pick you up at noon.

Alex

She smiled. She’d almost forgotten about their lunch invitation to Lillian Wright’s home. And even though he hadn’t called all week, at least she knew he was thinking about her. The time apart had definitely given her the space she needed to think about whether she wanted to continue seeing him and came to the conclusion that she did. She’d just have to be more careful in the future to make sure they didn’t head in a direction she wasn’t ready to go. It had all been too much, too soon. And maybe his silence this week meant he felt the same way.

Going into the break room, she opened up the cabinets and searched for a bud vase. Finding one, she filled it with water and placed the rose in it before carrying it back to her desk.

“Nice. Do you have a secret admirer?” Pamela, Jama’s assistant asked, stopping at her desk.

“You could say that.”

“Good for you. It’s about time.”

Sue smiled. “Thanks.”

“The receptionist said that Keely’s yummy brother was by first thing this morning. After his first visit, I thought Veronica was going to have palpitations when she told me about him. And today it was worse. Have you met him?”

“Yes.”

“Is he as to-die-for as she said?”

Sue nodded,
smiling. Yes, Alex was definitely that, but to hear Pamela talk about how Veronica was lusting after him didn’t bode well with her. She had a mind to walk up front and tell the receptionist eyes off, she’d seen him first. But she didn’t know how well that would go over, and the thought of actually doing that had her almost giggling.

“Did
Veronica say what he was doing here?”

“He
came to drop off a box for Keely.”

“
Oh. Did he leave it at the front desk?”

Pamela shook her head. “Veronica said she let him in Keely’s office and that she got a whiff of his cologne.”

Sue closed her eyes, remembering him holding her at the hospital. “Woodsy and spice.”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

She smiled. “A good guess.”

“Well I gotta get back to my desk. I’d love to meet you
r guy sometime. You should bring him by.”

“I might.”

Pamela hurried into the break room and returned with a bottle of water before heading back down the hallway toward Jama’s office.

When S
ue was certain the woman was out of sight, she went into Keely’s office to see just what was so important that Alex had to come by before work. Sitting in the center of Keely’s desk was a white box with a large pink and blue bow.