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  Steel Hearts

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual evens is purely coincidental.

  Cover and back cover designed by Ashlea Thompson using Canva.

  Copyright © 2021 by Ashlea Thompson

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Printing, 2021

  Published using IngramSpark

  Print ISBN 978-1-0879-7266-4

  Ebook ISBN 978-1-0879-7267-1

  Steel Hearts

  Ashlea Thompson

  Ashlea Thompson Publishing

  For my husband, who is always up for my crazy adventures.

  And my Beau and Bama, my most precious fur babies.

  1

  Living in Birmingham is such a big difference from my hometown. Thomasville is a small town with one red light and a Square. Charming to most, but hell to me. Nothing to do, nowhere to go. I hated working on the farm. All I wanted to do was study Art and get out of town. So, I worked hard and got away. Sure, my parents were sad, but they knew I wanted something bigger. I didn’t want the life my sister had. Samantha was the blonde tall flamboyant life of the party. The baby of the family and spoiled. She was Homecoming Queen and star cheerleader. To me, she was a cliché. She ended up at the University of Alabama on scholarship and was a cheerleader.

  After I graduated from Montevallo, I found a job working at a gallery for local artists. I loved everything about it. It didn't pay much, so I worked another job as a waitress. I had to pay the bills somehow. Over the ten years I lived here, I finally felt free. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t mind helping Daddy, but like I said I wanted something more.

  Not much of a looker but pretty in my own way, I am 5 feet tall with long brown hair. I have tattoos (against my Daddy’s wishes). Daddy called me his blue-eyed baby. My nose was always stuck in a book, and I was always studying. Even though I was the older of us two sisters, I always felt like Daddy was proud of me. “I was hoping you would carry on with the tradition of the farm. God knows I don’t trust your sister,” he said, rolling his eyes. “But I want you to know how proud I am of you. You have such a free spirit. You will always be my little girl.” Daddy and Momma cried tears of joy on the day of my college graduation. I had been back home as much as I could. I loved them and missed them. They knew it was time for me to stand on my own. So, I did.

  My love life was pretty much non-existent. I dated here and there, but they never really amounted to anything. In my spare time, I would go out with friends, or visit museums, or enjoy the day at a park. I would paint as well. I honestly didn't have a lot of spare time, but when I did, I treasured those moments. Then Jake Samford came along.

  Jake Samford was a gorgeous six-foot-tall work of art. His green eyes would mesmerize you, and make you forget what you were saying or doing. He had sandy blonde hair. He comes from a wealthy family who owns Samford Steel Enterprises, LLC. I learned that he was now a partner of the business alongside his father, William Samford. His mother, Marie Samford, was well known throughout the area for her work with various charities and boards she sat on. My friends called them the perfect family. It made me want to gag.

  Jake and his family came into the steakhouse I worked at for dinner one night. “Heads up chick, the Samfords are seated in your section,” Amanda said, suggestively raising her eyebrows. “Don’t you have work to do, chick?” I quipped back, rolling my eyes at her. She sneered at me and walked to tend to her tables. I waited a moment to collect myself before I went over. Everyone thinks they are a difficult family to serve. They always want the best. You had to work hard if you wanted a big fat tip. I never met the family in person, and this was the first time they sat in my section. For whatever reason, it made my anxiety stand on edge.

  After they were seated, I sauntered up to their table. “Hi, welcome to Walter’s. My name is Lottie and I will be your server. What can I get you to drink?” The words just rolled off my tongue easily enough despite the heat I felt rising in my face. Mr. and Mrs. Samford ordered the most expensive bottle of wine. It was $80 a bottle. My eyes almost bugged out of my sockets. I was able to keep calm, and by the time I got to Jake, he was giving me a big goofy grin. “And for you sir?” I asked, only slightly able to keep from stuttering. He was not someone I would find myself attracted to, yet here I was with butterflies in my stomach. “I will have a Maker’s Mark on the rocks please,” he replied, smiling from ear to ear. As I was walking to the bar, Amanda was staring at me with a shit-eating grin on her face. I shook my head and went to put in their orders.

  After what seemed like an eternity, the Samford’s were done with their meal. After settling the check, they started making their way out the door. Jake excused himself to the restroom. I turned around from the waitress station to go check on my tables and nearly ran into Jake. There he was standing in all his gorgeous glory. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there,” I said. “No, it's ok. I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Jake. I didn’t catch your name at the table,” he said, smiling. Of course, he didn't. I was probably talking too fast. Possibly even stuttering. “My name is Lottie. Nice to meet you,” I say. He smiles that grin from ear to ear. “That’s a unique name, ” he says, sticking his hand out to shake my hand. I hesitate but I shake his hand. His hands are strong. I stand there gaping at him. It’s awkward. After a second, he says “Can I have your number? I would like to take you out for a drink sometime.” He is quick and to the point. I see Amanda over Jake’s shoulder staring with her mouth open. I give her a knock-it-off look. She finally nods in approval. “Uh, sure,” I say. I write my number on a piece of receipt paper and hand it over to Jake. He smiles and says “Great. I will give you a call. Hope you have a good rest of your night, beautiful.” He moves toward the door. I’m standing frozen with disbelief. What did I just do? I am mortified. Even more so knowing that he is not my type, not that I have a type. Why would a gorgeous man like Jake be interested in me? I am a short average brown hair woman covered in tattoos. He looks like he fell off an underwear billboard. Amanda races over. “Oh my God, Lottie. You lucky son of a gun,” she says.

  Closer to closing time, we start to clear our sections and tidy them up. Amanda and I haven't said a word to each other. We work diligently so we can leave on time. As we are walking towards our cars, Amanda stops and turns to me. “Do you think he will call?” she asks. “I have no idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t. I’m quite sure he probably has a million women at his beck and call,” I say as I reach my car.

  The drive home isn’t a long one, but tonight it felt like the longest drive I have ever taken. I keep going over the night in my head. How Jake would blush every time I came to the table. That goofy smile of his. The thought of him being interested in me made me laugh. It also made me excited. I didn't expect a phone call. I honestly thought I would never hear from him.

  I finally made it home. I brush my teeth and change. I don’t even bother taking off my makeup. I hate wearing it honestly. I’m just too tired at this point. I fall asleep immediately as my head hits my pillow.

  It’s 7 A.M. and my alarm clock is screaming. I wave my hand around searching for the vile thing, knocking stuff off my bedside. I don’t have to be at the Gallery until 10 o’clock. I am exhausted from last night. We were so busy. I turn off the alarm clock and stick my head back under the blankets. I snooze for another thirty minutes. I hear my phone ping with a message. I finally open my eyes and roll over. I grab my phone and look at it with
half-closed eyes. When I see who it’s from, I shoot straight up in my bed. “Holy shit,” I mutter to myself while I stare at the screen.

  Jake: Good morning, beautiful.

  My hands are shaking. I am shocked that he texted me. I managed to type a response.

  L: Hi.

  J: I would have called, but I’m in a meeting. How about lunch today?

  I’m not even sure what to say. I haven’t been out with anyone in a while. I made a point to stay out of the dating pool. I have been out with a few guys here and there. No one has piqued my interest. Mostly it was fun. I decided that I would give myself time to work on myself. Then when I was ready, I would find the right one.

  L: Sure. 12? I am working at The Gallery today.

  J: Send me the address. I will be there.

  I got ready for work and gave Amanda a call. She told me she would stop by work after she dropped her son off at preschool. Her son is five. His name is Nate, and he is a handful. I love him just as much as I love Amanda.

  I hang up the phone and unlock the door to The Gallery. It is not very big but a nice space in downtown Five Points. I love working here. The owner of the shop is Nina Tenney. She is 70 years old but loves Art. She is a painter herself and often has her art here on display. The Gallery also highlights local artists. She once told me that she was wary of hiring a young adult fresh out of college, but she saw great things in me. I have worked here for nine years. She kind of took me under her wing and taught me everything she knows. She is kind of my second grandmother.

  I am working in the backroom when I hear Amanda rush through the door calling for me. I can tell that she has a lot of excitement in her voice. I just smile and shake my head as I make my way to the front. It’s 11 o’clock. She hands me my coffee and says, “So tell me everything!” I roll my eyes. “There isn’t anything, I mean he just texted me. That’s all. He wants to take me to lunch.” She narrows her eyes at me, thinking. “So, are you going to go?” she asks.

  “I agreed to lunch. I have no idea why,” I say. Amanda grins at me. Lord, what am I doing? We begin to talk about other things when Nina walks in. “What are you two birdies squawking about?” she asks. “A little bit of everything,” I say. I shoot a warning glance at Amanda. She ignores it and proceeds to tell Nina my plans for lunch. I could kick her in the knee. Nina is looking at me and smiling. What is it with people smiling at me lately?

  “Well my little bird, I never thought I would see the day,” Nina says, patting my hand. Nina and Amanda start chit-chatting as I make myself busy. At ten 'til noon, the bell on the door rings as the door is opened. We all whip our heads toward the front of the Gallery. Jake is walking towards us with a bouquet of sunflowers and roses. Heat rises in my face. Nina whistles. All three of us are just standing gaping at this beautiful man. He is dressed in tight jeans, and a dress shirt the color of sky blue. It brings out his eyes, I clear my throat, “Um hi Jake.”

  “Hi ladies. Lottie. These are for you,” he says, handing me the flowers. Nina and Amanda both have their mouths open in shock. They look like a couple of birds waiting to be fed. “This is my boss Ms. Nina Tenney and my best friend Amanda,” I motion towards my friends. Each mutters a hello. “So nice to meet you both,” Jake says, again with that smile of his. As I feel my face get hotter, Amanda reaches for the flowers, “I will just put these in a vase here. Nina, care to join me?” Nina slowly looks at Amanda then back to me. “Oh yes dear, let’s leave these two alone. Enjoy your lunch little bird,” she says. They both walk to the back.

  “Little bird?” Jake asks with raised eyebrows. “Long story,” I say. Jake smiles and takes my hand and walks me outside to the sidewalk. I hope we aren’t going anywhere fancy, because honestly, I’m not dressed for it. I was certain he would not show up. Jake opens the door to his car, and I slide in. It is a sports car of course. I wouldn’t expect anything less. “Do you like Indian food? I know this place is not far from here. It's a hole in the wall, but it is amazing food,” he asks as he starts the engine up.” I do. Those are the best kinds of places,” I say. We don’t speak much on the drive over, simply because I am too nervous to talk. There is old country music coming from the radio. I can’t help but smile.

  We reach the restaurant and park close to the door. Jake comes around and opens my door. I’m kind of shocked at this. I am not used to this either. I get out and we walk in. We are seated and place our orders. While waiting he is asking questions and we are making small talk. We sort of eat in silence. I notice that he cannot keep his eyes off me. I know my cheeks are flush. I cannot for the life of me stop blushing. We go through the usual questions. Life, job, school, hometown, etc. I am beginning to become more comfortable. “So why does Ms. Tenney call you little bird?” he asks. “When I started working at The Gallery, she sort of took me under her wing and taught me everything I needed to know that they didn’t teach in college. That’s what she started calling me, her little bird. She is like a second grandmother to me,” I reply. “Well, looks like I’m going to be calling you Birdie,” he says. First real meeting with him and I already have a nickname. I roll my eyes. It’s my turn to ask a question. “Why did you ask me to lunch?”

  He is putting the last bite of curry in his mouth, chewing with the thought, “Well, I have seen you working at Walter’s. That was the first time you were our server. I’ve seen you working in other sections. Your smile is gorgeous. I haven't been able to take my eyes off you. And well, you are beautiful,” he replies. Typical male I thought, I stifle a giggle. “I just worked up enough courage to talk to you.” I roll my eyes again before I catch myself. He laughs with his belly. We finish lunch and take the long way back to The Gallery. I thanked him for lunch and walked in. Nina is sitting at her desk. She demands immediately I tell her how the lunch went. I have several texts from Amanda. Geez, she has no patience, but I love her anyway.

  2

  I haven’t heard from Jake since we had lunch together. It’s only been three days, but I still can’t stop thinking about it. Why hasn’t he called? Was I not what he thought? On a normal basis, I wouldn’t even dwell on it. I would just chalk it up to the dating gods as a one-time thing. I keep telling myself it’s no big deal. Part of me wishes he would though. I want to text him since I am not sure what he is doing, but I do not want to seem desperate.

  It’s my off day from The Gallery and Walter’s. It is rare for me to have an off day from both places. There is so much I want to do today, but I don’t want to. I clean my apartment and pay bills. I order pizza and lounge the rest of the afternoon and catch up on Netflix. I fell asleep at some point, with pizza sitting in my lap. My phone rings and I jump. I look at the screen and stare in horror as Jake’s name flashes across. I finally pull myself together and answer before it goes to voicemail. “Hello?” I say. “Birdie! How are you?” he says. I can hear him smiling through the phone. “Well, hi.” We go through the small talk and formalities. He tells me about his day, and how sorry he is for not calling 'til now. He says it's because he has been busy with work (sure, ok). He asks me what I have been up to and listens to me complain about work at Walter’s. We have been on the phone for about an hour. I’m pretty sure this is out of character for me. I don’t like talking on the phone. I am more of a texter.

  “I would like to take you on a real date,” Jake says after an awkward silence. I try to contain my excitement. “Sounds like a plan, Stan,” I reply, trying to stay cool. I knock the phone on my forehead. Smooth there Lottie. “Ok, I will pick you up at 7,” Jake replies with a laugh. I give him my address and we say our goodbyes. I have 4 hours to get ready. I am still for a moment, wrapping my head around the conversation. I snap out of it and call Amanda. “Girl I will be right over,” she says with utter excitement. I end the call and go and shower.

  Amanda rushes in with a makeup bag, several dresses, and Nate in tow. I despise dresses. I only own one. It’s black. It is my wedding and funeral dress. After we settle Nate in front of the T.V. and snac
k, Amanda and I attempt to put me together for my date. I don't want to wear makeup, but Amanda convinces me to at least wear eye shadow. After she is done, we go through the clothes. We settle on a sundress patterned with sunflowers. It’s not too dressy, in case we do something casual, but it’s nice enough if we go to a fancy restaurant. “Heels or flats?” she asked me. “Um. Flats,” I say. She narrows her eyes at me. “Heels are sexier. Plus, he is tall, it will give you height,” she says. “Are you crazy! I don’t want my first date to be to the ER. I will break my neck!” I yelled from the closet. I put my flats on and double-check myself in the mirror. I walk out into the living room. Nate turns around and looks at me. “Wow Aunt Lottie, you look pretty,” he says shyly. My heart swells. I love that kid. “She sure does. Here let me fix your hair quick,” Amanda says walking over to me. I decided to wear my hair down. It's not too hot outside so I know I won't burn up. My hair is thick. It’s terrible in the summer.

  After she is done fussing over me, she tells Nate it's time to go, and they ready themselves to leave. “Good luck tonight. Call me if you need me or if you want to get out of there quick,” she says with a smile. I hug them both. Ten minutes later, I hear a knock at the door. When I open it, Jake is standing there, again with flowers. Roses and daisies this time. “Those are beautiful, thank you,” I say, taking the bouquet. “Yeah they are, but they are nothing compared to you,” he says smiling. Damn. He is smooth. I invite him in and he follows me to the kitchen. “This is a nice place you have here,” he says as he looks around. It’s not a big place. It is a one-bedroom apartment in the downtown area of Five Points. I like it though. He is wearing a polo shirt and jeans, with loafers. He looks handsome.