Lost Chances
A Novel by C.T. Nicholson
Copyright © 2013 C.T. Nicholson
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electric, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner(s) and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Acknowledgements
My Fantastic Editor Natalie G. Owens
My Awesome Cover Artist:
The Illustrated Author http://www.theillustratedauthor.net
The Best Photographer Golden Czermak, FuriousFotog
There are copyrighted names used in this story.
Credit is given to:
PeterPan Peanut Butter owned by ConAgra Foods inc.
Jeep and Dodge owned by Chrysler Group LLC
Ford Truck and Mustang owned by Ford Motor Co.
Coke and Sprite owned by Coca-Cola Company
Crown Royal owned by Crown Royal Company
Jose Cuervo owned by Tequila Cuervo La Rojeña,
Songs Mentioned in this Story:
Brad Paisley's She's Everything
Billy Currington's Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right
Dierks Bentley I Hold On
I also want to thank Model/Country Singer, Steffen Hughes for agreeing to be the muse for Cooper in Lost Chances and for modeling for the cover.
He also let me steal his Peanut Butter addiction to throw into the story, along with the use of his tattoo as part of the story itself.
www.steffenhughes.com
And a special thanks to True Timber for letting me use their hat for the cover shots.
www.truetimber.com
Other Books by
C.T. Nicholson
Aiden's Betrayal- Guardians of the Society Novel
Forbidden- A Serian Novel
DEDICATION
I dedicate this book to everyone who's been there for me and who's supported me in my writing career.
To my husband. I love you and I know it's not easy sometimes with everything that goes into self-publishing, but you deal with it, and that's what makes you perfect for me!
To the authors who've been there to answer the millions of questions I always have.
To all my fans who've been there from the beginning or those who are just getting to know me. Thank you and I hope you enjoy Lost Chances.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter One
There he is.
Sophia Johnson twisted her hands together in her lap as she watched Sebastian Cooper. Not that anyone called him Sebastian. With his head dropped and hands covering his face, she couldn't tell if he was crying or not. She couldn't stand the thought of him crying. Not someone as strong as he.
It took every bit of her willpower to stay put. She gripped the red pew beneath her and glanced around. Not one empty spot in the church, except the space next to Cooper. Her brother Jacob walked over with his hands shoved in his dress pants and sat down beside him. Cooper looked up and said something before Jacob stood back up and left. Another person he pushed away. Now she knew the truth. Upon seeing his face, red from crying, the tears that blurred her vision spilled over.
Grandpa Cooper's funeral was the second one she'd been to in four months, the other being his grandma’s. He'd lost all his last family in town. The thought of him dealing with it alone caused her chest to tighten painfully. She gave in to tempting thoughts—the ones that urged her to comfort, to get close to him. But that would never work. He'd push her away too, yet she had to try…
The Church seemed too quiet, except for the low whispers and the crackle of memorial papers that were handed out when they arrived. She stood on shaky knees and jerked her head toward Cooper when her brothers all stared at her. Jacob’s face had gone pale and she hated how upset he looked. They all loved his grandparents the same, but Jacob and Cooper were closer than any of them and she saw the hurt as he glanced over to their friend. Nick and Mike gave her a small smile as she made her way toward the empty seat next to the one boy she'd loved since she was ten. Her father sat beside his wife Louise who was wiping tears from her face.
When she settled beside Cooper, he kept still and didn't peek up at her. She hesitated before resting her hand on his leg. Holding her breath, she waited for him to push her away. It seemed like hours, but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds, and then he moved. His hand covered hers, grabbed it, and pulled both their hands back to his face.
The preacher stepped in front of the podium and started to pray. She bowed her head and tried to listen, but cried when something wet tingled on the hand he held tight. He was crying. Her heart shattered. Pulling her hand back, she wrapped her arms around him the best she could at their angle. Why did he have to go through this again, so soon?
He was her hero. So strong and supposed to be unafraid of anything, yet he still cried. It didn't change how she saw him. To her, he would always be that boy who saved her life and the one and only she loved.
The silent sobs slowed as the preacher finished and everyone stood to leave. She moved back but not completely when the preacher stepped over to place his hand on his shoulder.
She listened to the prayer even as Cooper stayed rigid. "Thank you."
Preacher Marcus walked away and the space around them finally emptied, except for Cooper, her and the urn with his Grandpa's ashes. Both of his grandparents had wanted to be cremated.
"I'll drive you home, okay?" It actually didn't matter if he said no. She wouldn't be letting him drive in his state of mind.
After a few moments, he lifted his head, but didn't focus on her. "Thank you, Baby Bear."
The rasp of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. Anytime he spoke to her, she had the same reaction. Not that anything would ever happen between them. By him calling her Baby Bear, it meant he still saw her as the same kid he'd first met—not the adult she was becoming.
He stood and walked over to the urn sitting on display with a picture of his grandpa beside it. Grabbing the urn, he took short steps toward the door.
She followed him. It felt right to be beside him, even if he stood six foot two compared to her five three. The warmth of his hand enveloped hers, the touch leaving her short of breath. Butterflies formed in her stomach as he pulled her a little closer to him and they made it to his old beat-up red Dodge truck.
Everyone was gone from the lot, except for her brother Jacob, who glanced at their held hands and then up at her. One dark brow lifted. If
only he had more to worry about than the friendship she and Cooper had.
"I'm going to drive him home. I'll be home right after, okay?"
Jacob grabbed Cooper's free hand and pulled him in for a quick hug. "I'm so sorry, Coop."
When Cooper just cleared his throat and handed over the keys to her, Jacob left, his hands again shoved in his pockets. Sophia knew it hurt for him to leave Cooper like that. It was their friendship that had brought them all together in the first place.
Not that they hadn't had their share of fist fights over childish things. All of them had had at least one or two fights. When that happened, she just tried to let them work it out among themselves. She had been the voice of reason during most of their childhood.
The reason why Cooper wanted her there more than Jacob, Nick, or Mike, was lost to her. He could just not want them to see him so broken. Men sure were weird about crying in front of others, no matter how much pain they went through, physical or emotional. She felt ashamed for being happy that he chose her over everyone else. How sad was that?
They both got into the truck and she pulled out of the parking lot. Silence filled the air and she was tempted to turn the radio on. Then he did it for her.
One of her favorite love songs came on, Brad Paisley's She's Everything. Warmth heated her cheeks when she realized she sat beside the one person who came to mind every time she heard it. Wishing he felt that way about her.
She listened to the words and the deep voice that sounded through the speakers. A second voice had her melting when Cooper's joined in. It wasn't perfect, with his voice strained from crying, but the emotion in it tore her in half.
A glance his way turned out to be a mistake when she noticed him fiddling with the crucifix hanging from the rearview mirror—the one his Grandpa made him promise to always keep in the truck.
Sophia couldn't breathe as chill bumps covered her body. Even though he was only singing along, her imagination ran wild and had her feeling like it was all for her. He looked good with his black slacks and black buttoned up dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up as he usually did with any of the plaid shirts he favored. This gave her the perfect view of his thick muscles and sun-tanned skin.
What the hell was wrong with her? He was in mourning and she couldn't keep her thoughts from straying to visions of him holding her with those arms.
When she passed by the road to her house, she fancied herself about to get in trouble and all she was doing was taking Cooper home.
And thinking thoughts she shouldn't.
He only saw her as a sister, but that didn't stop her heart from racing and her palms from sweating.
She hurried out of the truck as soon as she put it in park, rather than wait for the dust to settle. Luckily, it rained earlier that morning and the dust wasn't as bad. She couldn't clear the lump that lodged itself in her throat.
"Are you okay, Sophia?"
She jumped when his large hand rested on her shoulder. Tears filled her eyes and she couldn't turn around. She was supposed to be there to help him, not crying over the fact that she'd never be able to get over her feelings for him. It just proved how much growing up she really needed to do.
"I'm sorry. I just hate to see you upset and lost. I miss your bright smile; it always lights up my day." Not a lie, even if that wasn't the only thing wrong. She turned and stared into his eyes.
"Will you stay a little longer? If you need to get home, I understand. I'll call one of your brothers to come pick you up." Cooper grabbed her hand and pulled her closer until their bodies nearly touched.
Those baby blues of his stared straight into hers, making her melt.
"I–Okay."
And there was that smile—small and rushed, but she didn't miss it. She'd never miss it. "You want me to call your brothers or do you want to stay?"
Smart, Sophia. "I'll stay."
"I would love for you to help me, if it's not too much. My grandparents wanted their ashes spread across the river." He glanced away and she missed his eyes immediately.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down when he swallowed. "I'll go with you. Always."
The last word came out before she could stop it and she prayed that it was all in her head and didn't just blurt that out. By the way his eyes widened, she'd said it aloud.
"If you want to wait out here, I'll get Grandma's urn." He left quickly without really waiting on her to speak again.
It seemed to take forever as she bounced from one foot to the other. Most of the time when she got to be around Cooper it happened with her brothers tagging along. They were all friends and she was just the little sister they picked on.
"Okay, let's do this."
She felt her feet leave the ground when he showed up behind her. She'd been so distracted, she never heard him coming. The exhausted look in his eyes made her wonder if he'd slept any the night before. How did she miss the dark circles earlier?
"Alright, and then you need to get some rest. Did you sleep at all last night?"
He put the urn into the truck beside the other one and just shook his head. "I couldn't even go into the house last night. Damn it! I wasn't ready for this. Not so soon after Grandma."
This time she heard the sob and watched him squeeze his eyes shut. Feeling his tears on her hand earlier had nearly killed her and now she witnessed them slip down his face. She lifted onto her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders.
"I'm so sorry, Cooper." She kissed his cheek and felt the wet tears against her lips. "Please, don't cry. I'm so used to you laughing and you're killing me with your tears."
He rested his head on her shoulder. "Thank you for being here for me, Sophia. I don't have anyone."
She pulled back, but kept her hands on the back of his neck. "That's not true! You know my brothers would've been here no matter what."
"I know, but it's different. I wouldn't be able to open up to them. You're special." He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
She dropped to her heels and let go. This was too much to handle. His emotions ran wild and she couldn't take advantage of that, especially when she'd be the one hurt in the long run.
"Let's head to the river."
****
Cooper contemplated falling to his knees in front of Sophia and begging her to hold him again. She wore a black dress with shoes that showed her perfect little toes and her hair was partially pulled up. Very little, if any, make-up covered her face. She was a natural beauty.
Funny how, only right over a week ago, his grandpa had pointed that out to Cooper. Not that he'd never noticed, but when his grandpa told him he better not miss that opportunity, it clicked.
He planned on telling her how he felt a few days after that, until his phone rang and his whole world changed. His grandpa had a heart attack while at the store.
That wasn't completely true. Grandpa died from his heart being broken. Losing Grandma had been so hard on Cooper, but even harder on her husband. It didn't matter though; when he broke down after her funeral, Grandpa had been there to comfort him—even though he was the one who should've been comforted.
Now, Cooper was relying on Sophia to help him through another loss.
"I should drive." Her sweet voice stopped him.
Letting her drive would be a mistake. At least he could have some distraction. "I'll be fine."
They loaded the empty urns back into the truck and he couldn’t stop himself from helping Sophia into the truck, too. Touching her seemed enough to calm him and ease the tightness in his chest.
"Thank you."
She was a beauty with her long brown hair and those ever-changing eyes that looked green right then.
"My pleasure." Before he did something he'd regret, Cooper walked to the other side and got in. It was a short ride back to the house, but seemed forever when neither of them spoke.
He glanced over and caught her rubbing her hands together. Considering it was at least ninety outside, it had to be her nerves. He's noticed he
r doing that in the past when she felt upset or nervous. The night he watched her graduate, she actually did it on stage, before giving her speech.
"I didn't get to tell you, but I really enjoyed your speech at your graduation." He parked the truck in front of the house, glad he peeked over in time to catch her blush. Why had he waited so long to realize how perfect she was?
"I was nervous and faltered a few times. I'm just glad to be finished." Those hands of hers kept twisting back and forth.
Cooper jumped out and walked around to help her. The bags he had packed in the house were sitting at the door and once he said goodbye to Sophia, he'd be gone. He wanted to spend whatever time with her that he could and didn't want it to all be bad.
"Do you still want some company?" She didn't turn her gaze up at him.
Screw it. He grabbed a hold of her face and leaned in for a kiss. The whole time he waited for her to shove him away and knee him in the groin, but she didn't. Within seconds, she let go and opened her lips to let him in.
He tasted honey. So damn sweet that he just wanted to fill himself up with her. Thank the Lord she’d turned eighteen a few months back. He was sure if her brothers found out, they'd kill him, but they'd have turned him in if he'd tried any sooner. No matter how long they'd been best friends.
Regretfully, he pulled back and stared into her eyes. Just then, he realized it was okay. She looked in a daze and then her lips curved just enough to let him know she liked the kiss just as much as he.
"I've been dying to do that for a while now."
It took her a moment, then her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "You wanted to kiss me?"
"Girl, you just don't know how perfect you are." He had to move or he'd kiss her again and didn't think he'd be able to stop himself from going further. "Let's go inside."
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