Beyond Chance (31 page)

I was stranded in a parking lot twenty
minutes away from where I needed to be. I had a debit card that was
completely useless, and a guy who was willing to help me out. Was I
determined to make my life difficult?

“Umm. Maybe, I’ll save the call and say I’d
love a cab ride, and once I’m on my feet, I’ll be sure to—”

“You owe me nothing.” He shook his head and
smiled, grabbing his phone out of his pants. I watched him as he
called for a cab and wondered how I’d gotten so lucky to meet such
a kind soul. I had flown past embarrassment a long time ago, and I
was just hoping nothing more would go wrong.

“I’ll wait until the car shows up, and I’ll
help you haul everything from your truck into the vehicle. You
don’t want to leave anything in the open, even if it’s tied down.
What we can’t fit in we’ll put in the cab of your truck,” he said,
his eyes meeting mine.

“Thanks.” I bit my lip and thought about
what to say to this stranger who’d shown me more kindness in the
last thirty minutes than I’d encountered in a long time. “This is
really nice of you.”

He shook his head, stripping off his jacket
before walking over to the truck bed. I gently maneuvered between
our two vehicles and stood next to him, my eyes dropping to his
chest. I could literally see the ripple of the fabric from the
definition of his muscles. I couldn’t even imagine what that must
look like underneath.

He caught my gaze and a tiny curl of his lip
surfaced before I turned away, feeling the flush roll up my
body.

“You like to park close to things,” I
teased, as I worked on untying one of the ropes.

“It’s a bad habit. I tend to get wrapped up
in my own world.” He loosened a knot and began on another one.

“I find that incredibly hard to believe,” I
said, glancing at him. His awareness and willingness to help me out
of my predicament told me otherwise.

“Well, there’s always exceptions to the
rule, I suppose,” he said, letting the first set of ropes fall to
the side of the truck bed. “Especially if someone is as
eye-catching as you.”

I laughed and shook my head. I knew he was
only being kind, considering what I looked like compared to the
rest of the microcosm. My cheeks warmed as I worked my fingers
against the knot, finally loosening it enough to let it fall.

Luke was on the other side of the truck bed,
untying the last of the rope when I saw a black Escalade come up
behind him and park.

That was odd.

“Your chariot awaits,” Luke said, smiling
from across the truck bed.

“That’s a cab?” I asked.

“It’s umm a car service I use and trust,”
Luke corrected, his gaze dropping away from mine. “I thought we’d
have a better chance of fitting everything inside. Less hassle for
you that way.”

My chest constricted with the idea of
leaving this kind stranger behind. His compassion was the first
genuine gesture I’d experienced in a very long time. But maybe that
was how it was in the real world. Maybe my new beginning would be
full of Lukes.

“So it is,” I said, nodding. “Thank
you.”

There were only five boxes and a suitcase in
the truck bed, along with an old wooden chair I couldn’t part with,
which in hindsight, seemed pretty odd.

Luke grabbed the first box I pointed to as
the driver appeared, ready to help load his SUV with my belongings.
The driver was a portly, older man with dark hair, graying around
the edges, and he was dressed in a black suit.

I grabbed my suitcase and pushed it into the
vehicle. I went back to the cab of my truck, grabbed everything off
the seat and inside the console and shoved it into a bag. It felt
odd leaving the truck behind. It had become home over the last week
and it was mine; one of the few things that was. The moment I
figured out what happened with my bank account, I’d get my truck,
but for now, I needed to get to the house and internet. I shoved my
bag and purse onto the floor of the front seat.

Everything had been transferred to the SUV
and relief spread through me, knowing I wouldn’t have to leave
anything behind in the truck. I climbed into the SUV as the driver
did the same.

Luke walked over to me and stood next to the
open door. “Remember, if anything else comes up, you have my
number.”

“Why are you being so kind?” I asked
softly.

His eyes locked on mine and he smiled.

“You looked like you could use a little
kindness in your world. Welcome to California.” Luke closed the
door and took a step back, waving as the driver turned on the
ignition and stepped on the accelerator.

“Where to, Miss?” the driver asked.

I gave him the address and his jaw tensed.
“Are you sure about that address?”

“That’s the one I was given. Why?” I
asked.

“It’s not a good part of town. That’s
all.”

“Oh. Well, that’s where I’m headed.”

“Very well,” the driver said, turning the
vehicle onto the main road.

I looked out the window and saw Luke still
following the vehicle with his gaze. I gave him a quick nod and
prayed that whatever was waiting for me wouldn’t be worse than what
I left back home.

To contact the author,
please visit her online at
http://www.karicebolton.com
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I want to say a simple thank you to Amazon,
iBook, Barnes & Noble, and all of the other avenues available
for the indie publishing world. It allows the art of storytelling
to continue to flourish in unexpected ways!

Thank you also to:

Cover artist: Phatpuppy

Photography (couple): Teresa Yeh

Photography (background): Jon Bolton

Typography: BB Designs

Female model: Anya Kod

Male model: Steve Alario 

Makeup/Hair artist: Nadya Rutman 

Translated Poem: Baudelaire, Charles.
Fleurs du mal.
“Reversibility”. Trans. William Aggeler, The
Flowers of Evil (Fresno, CA: Academy Library Guild, 1954)

Karice received an MFA in Creative Writing
from the U of W. She has written sixteen novels, and she has
several exciting projects in the works (or at least she thinks
they're exciting). Karice lives in the Pacific Northwest with her
awesome husband and two cute English Bulldogs. She loves anything
to do with snow, and she seeks out the stuff whenever she can,
especially if there's a toasty fire to read by.