A Twist of Fate

By Veronica Susalla

Stephanie Fields is recovering from emotional scars after the tragic death of her husband. Her quiet life and new love are threatened by the unwelcome attention of a casual acquaintance who is determined to be with Stephanie, no matter what the cost.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Veronica Susalla
• Release date: Apr 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301450657

Veronica Susalla

Michigan native, outdoor enthusiast always looking for a new adventure and a new picture to take. Throw in a love of music, cooking, gardening, nice vehicles and fast driving (yes, there are nice vehicles), a passion for life and a little imagination......you can find me on Google+ too +Veronica Susalla

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A TWIST OF FATE

Veronica Susalla

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2013 Veronica Susalla

Published by Veronica Susalla at Smashwords

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and you didn’t purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

I would like to dedicate this book to my family and to all my friends and co-workers at the Henry Ford Centennial Library. Your support was wonderful.

Chapter 1

The ring of the telephone interrupted my concentration and I backed into the ladder, slopping paint on the drop cloth that was spread on the floor.

Oh, hell, I muttered. They can just call back.

If it was important, whoever it was would call again. I really did want to finish the wall. Then the spare room would have a fresh coat of paint. Twenty minutes later, I stood back and looked at the completed job. It wasn’t too bad, if you didn’t look too close. Painting rooms was not something I felt very skilled in doing, but I would rather do it myself than pay someone else to do the job. As I cleaned up the brushes and rollers, I thought about how many other things I had learned to do for myself since my husband died.

In fifteen months I needed to take care of things I had not thought too much about in the preceding six years. Dale had taken care of all the banking, household repairs, and the vehicles. The vehicles—how Dale loved them. He always had a special vehicle. I was just beginning to wonder why he was getting home so late that slick January day. He hadn’t mentioned working late. Then came the police call. There had been an accident. Could I come to the hospital?

The next couple of months seemed like a blur. Apparently, coming home his truck slid off the road, rolled down an embankment and into a tree. I have very little memory of those days. Everything happened so fast. Had it not been for the support of my family and friends, I don’t know how I would have survived.

I was pulled out of my daydream by the telephone ringing. I finished rinsing my hands before picking up the receiver. Hello, I said.

Hi, Stephanie, it’s Mom, have you been out?

I should have known it was my mother when the telephone rang so many times earlier. I’m sure that she was hoping I had gone out. She was worried that I stayed home too much. It was true that after Dale first died I didn’t go out at all. I was having a difficult time coping. I had recently started going places with Kelly, my best friend, and had gone to a couple of parties with friends. I hadn’t done any dating yet.

No, I haven’t been out, but I was trying to finish painting that spare room.

Oh…I was wondering, now that Easter has past, if you are taking on additional work.

What kind of work, I asked.

Betty’s daughter is going to have a baby. She has seen some of your needlework and would like to have you do a picture for the baby’s room.

Well, I said, I have about two more weeks of work on the piece I’m doing right now, but then I could get started.

Okay, she said. I’ll give her your number and tell her to call you."

That will be good, I told her, but have her call soon to confirm; I won’t take on anymore projects till I see what she wants done.

Well, I’ll let you go now.

I’m ready to take a shower. Kiss Dad for me. Bye.

Bye.

I was glad to have another project ahead of me. Working on my needlework provided good therapy for me. Most of my pieces were done for friends and friends of friends; I was making pretty good money at it. In addition to the craft work I did privately, I also did craft work and managed the office for a local nursery and garden center. About seven years ago, Louis Holland, a friend of my husband, opened a nursery and garden center. It did very well. Three years later he decided to expand and include a craft department. I had done some work for him privately and he had liked it so much that when he was getting ready to add a craft department, he approached me and asked me if I would be interested in working for him; order things for the craft department and help in the office. It sounded like the perfect opportunity for me, since I was laid-off from my job at the time.

He knew I didn’t want to work full-time as I was busy working on my own, so the arrangement was that I would be responsible for ordering supplies and running the office. I was working about twenty hours a week. I also did a number of pieces that he sold through the store, which put me in touch with additional people who might be interested in contracting more craft work.

Shortly after Dale died, he talked to me about another idea he had. He had considered offering a few classes at the store and wondered if I would teach them. He had promised me that I would not have to work more hours. Of course there would be a pay raise to go along with it. Lou was a very close friend and I figured that he just wanted to help me out. He assured me that he had been thinking about this for some time and if it helped—well, what the hell.

So as far as my work went, I was pretty content. There was still a big void in my life and I could not shake that feeling of emptiness. I was haunted by so many memories; they seemed to pop up out of nowhere; a certain song, certain situations, even a phrase someone might use.

As I stood in the shower and let the hot water pour down on me, I decided to go to the mall to buy new curtains for the room. Most of the furnishings came from other rooms—my desk was going in there and a sofa with a fold-out bed, a table, lamp and plants. My house was always full of plants.

I could hear the telephone ringing as I unlocked the back door. I threw the bags on the kitchen table and picked up the phone. After a pause I could hear the click of someone hanging up.

Again, I said to myself; it seemed to happen too often. It was probably nothing, but it made me nervous. You often hear of burglars calling to check if anyone is home.

I went downstairs and put the curtains in the washer. While the curtains were being laundered, I put on an Eric Clapton CD and started uncovering the furniture and straightened out the room. I had moved the last plant in as the dryer buzzed, letting me know the curtains were done.

After I finished hanging the curtains, I did a couple hours of needlework before going to bed. As I was going to bed I said to myself, What a boring way to spend a Saturday night.

I’m an early riser and on Sundays I like to workout first thing in the morning. I put on the television and watched the weather forecast. It was supposed to be a beautiful day; especially for April—sunny with a high of seventy-five degrees. I put a tape in my walkman and went for a three mile run.

It was a gorgeous morning. Warm, spring days in Michigan can be beautiful. As I was running along, I could see the sun sparkling in the drops of dew that were hanging from tiny leaves, just sprouting from the trees. I waved to a couple of people I knew. One comfort after Dale died was in living in a neighborhood that I knew well. I had lived in Dearborn all my life and we stayed in the same neighborhood after we were married. It was a ranch style house, just the right size. Now that I was living alone, I was glad we bought it. I liked the neighborhood and the house wasn’t too much for me to care for by myself.

When I returned home, I finished my workout. There was a recreation room in the basement of my house. On one side, I had set up an incline bench and weights, the other side had a ping-pong table. The laundry room was in back. I also had speakers hooked up to the stereo to have music down there when I wanted it.

After looking at the newspaper, I had lunch and thought it would be a good day to wax my car. My car was only two months old—a brand new Plymouth Sundance-blue. It was the first brand new car I had bought for myself. I spent most of the afternoon cleaning and waxing the car and enjoying the warm sunshine.

As I was stepping out of the shower, the telephone rang. Hello, I said.

Hi, Stephanie, this is Lou. How are you?

I’m fine.

Listen, he said. I just rented a video, would you like to watch it with me?

Well…okay. Tell you what though, I just stepped out of the shower, so give me about twenty minutes.

Okay. Have you eaten yet? I thought I might pick up a pizza on my way over.

Sounds good to me, I said. Besides it will give me time to get dressed.

See you in a little while.

Bye-bye.

I thought about Lou while I was getting dressed. He was Dale’s closest friend. They grew up together and shared the same passion about cars. There seemed to be a competition between Dale, Lou and my brother, Tom. They were always trying to out do each other. I got the impression that the rivalry between Dale and Lou had been pretty intense since they were youngsters. Tom became good friends with them in college; they attended a lot of the same classes. It was through Tom that I met Dale. After college, Tom and Dale went to work for the same company and became very good friends.

Lou tended to joke around quite a bit, but he was a loyal friend. He was a nice-looking man, sandy brown hair and big, brown eyes. He wasn’t very tall, but had broad shoulders and was stockily built. He was well-liked by him employees because of his easy-going nature.

I was combing my hair, when I heard the knock on the door. Come on in, I shouted, it’s open.

Lou came into the kitchen; pizza in one hand, bag in the other. Here we go, he said.

The pizza smells great, let me get some plates.

Let’s eat. Then I want to show you something.

There was a twinkle in his eyes that indicated something was up, but he refused to tell me what until after we had finished eating.

As I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher I said, So what is the big secret?

No secret, he answered. Just a new toy.

Let’s see, I said.

Come on.

We went out the side door and there in the driveway was a 1973 Corvette Stingray. It was immaculate; yellow, with a black interior.

Wow! Where did you find this, I exclaimed.

It wasn’t easy and I paid a pretty penny for it.

I can imagine. Can we go for a ride?

Absolutely, I was hoping you would ask, how else would I show off. He paused, then said, Why don’t we go for a ride, stop by my place to watch the movie, then I’ll bring you home. That way you can see my new furniture.

Your new furniture finally came in.

Yep.

Sounds good. Let me get my purse and we’ll go.

We went for a short ride, then to Lou’s house. He owned a sprawling ranch home in one of the more exclusive neighborhoods of Dearborn. It was a beautiful house, professionally decorated, all bachelor.

Once in the house, Lou set the bag on the kitchen table and took me into his family room.

Oh, Lou, I said, this is very nice.

The room was done in natural colors. There was a fireplace at one end of the room. Across from the fireplace was a long sofa and a love seat, these had a brown and gold Native American design. There was a low table between them and an entertainment center that covered almost an entire wall.

Thanks, he said. Have a seat and I’ll get the video ready. Would you like some wine?

Yes, please.

We enjoyed the movie and the wine and sat and talked when the movie was over. I really felt relaxed, maybe it was the wine. As Lou leaned over to pour the last of the wine, I caught the smell of his cologne. I suddenly felt very aware of him as a man.

As if he read my mind he put his face very close to mine, You smell really nice, Stephanie.

Taken aback, I said, Thanks…maybe you could take me home soon. It’s getting late.

Soon as we finish the wine. He settled back on the sofa. Are you working your regular schedule this week?

Yes, my face felt warm. Do you need me to work extra?

No, I was just wondering. I didn’t show you my CD player, did I?

We went to the entertainment center. It was brand new and state-of-the-art equipment, as was most of Lou’s things. I was looking at his collection of CDs to see what titles he had; I turned around and he was standing right behind me. When he kissed me, I was caught off-guard. It wasn’t a passionate kiss and he held me only for a moment.

I’m sure when he let go of me I was quite flushed and looked startled. You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that, he said.

Uh…oh, I stammered as I really didn’t know what to say.

You mean I finally found something to leave you speechless. I might have tried it a long time ago.

Oh, will you be serious, I said.

I am absolutely serious—I have wanted to kiss you for a long time. Do you want to go now—or stay?

I think I better go…I-I-I…

I-I-I think I better take you home now. I’ve waited a long time. I won’t rush things now.

We were quiet on the way home. Lou walked me up to the door and I turned and gave him a quick kiss before I ran into the house.

I looked at myself in the mirror as I was getting ready for bed. My cheeks had a nice, rosy glow, and brown eyes were sparkling. Could be the wine, I said aloud, but I knew that I felt different. I was beginning to feel emotions that I had held in check since the accident. I sat down to brush my hair—it was probably my most attractive feature. It was very long and thick, almost waist length, medium brown. Other than that, I considered myself average looking. I lay down thinking I would have a hard time falling asleep, but I fell asleep right away and had a dreamless night. Untroubled sleep was something that had eluded me since the accident.

I woke Monday feeling thoroughly refreshed. I straightened up the house and got ready for work. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I worked nine till two, on Tuesday and Thursday I worked three till eight, as these were the nights that classes were held. I also maintained the order files, checked invoices and filled in wherever else Lou needed me.

As I stood at my closet trying to decide what to wear, I realized that I needed to buy some new clothes. I hadn’t bought anything new since Dale died and my wardrobe was definitely in need of some new items. I finally decided on a tan skirt and brown jersey. I looked at the clock—eight-thirty. If I hurried, I could call Kelly and see if she wanted to go shopping.

I dialed the number. Hello, the receptionist said. Walker and Burns, Attorneys.

Yes, this is Stephanie Fields, may I speak to Kelly Harris, please?

One moment please.

There was a pause, then, Hello, Steph, how’s it going?

Real good, and you?

Good.

I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight, I asked.

Nothing special, she said.

Feel like going shopping?

Why not, she said.

I thought we might go to Fairlane Town Center. I was looking in my closet this morning and I decided I’ve got to get some new clothes.

Ooh, clothes shopping, she exclaimed, my favorite.

Yea, I really haven’t bought anything new since…in a long time. Also, it’s Sara’s birthday Wednesday and I haven’t bought anything for her yet.

I’ll drive.

Okay with me, I said, is six o’clock too early?

No, that’s fine.

I’ll see you then. I gotta go now, or I’ll be late for work, I said.

See you later.

I got to the store just before nine. Hi, Mary, I said to one of the cashiers. The outer office had two desks, one was mine, the other was for whoever needed it. Off to one side was a small sink and counter with a coffeemaker. At the end of this room was Lou’s office. He had a small desk at one end, a couple of file cabinets, a leather couch and a shelving unit with a small stereo system and some books and catalogs on the opposite wall.

About ten-thirty I decided to make coffee. When I was filling the coffee pot at the sink, Lou came up behind me. He reached past me to rinse out his coffee cup and his free hand came to rest on the small of my back. I moved over to the counter and started putting coffee in the filter. I managed to get only about half of the coffee into the basket, the other half went onto the counter. Here, he handed me a paper towel to wipe up the mess. He had a broad smile on his face.

Thanks, I turned to him smiling. I enjoyed myself last night.

He reached over and ran his fingers through my hair. I love your hair, he said

Thanks…I better get back to work.

Unless you want to come into my office. I have a nice, big, comfortable couch.

Would you be serious?

He looked straight into my eyes. I could be serious.

I looked away first. I’d better get back to work.

Okay, okay.

The rest of the day went quickly. I was a little overwhelmed by my feelings. It was as though the feelings I had suppressed since Dale’s death were suddenly starting to surface whether I was ready or not.

Halfway through my workout the telephone rang. Hello, I said, out of breath.

Hello, Stephanie, you sound out of breath. It was my mother.

I’m in the middle of my workout.

I tried calling you last night, but I didn’t get an answer.

"Lou picked me up and we