Soul of my Soul (Take a Chance Book 1) Read online

  Soul of My Soul

  Take a Chance, Book one

  By Lisa Helen Gray

  ©

  Copyrights reserved

  2019

  Lisa Helen Gray

  Edited by Stephanie Farrant at Farrant Editing

  Cover Design by Cassy Roop at Pink Ink Designs

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written consent from the publisher, except in the instance of quotes for reviews. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the Internet without the publisher’s permission and is a violation of the international copyright law, which subjects the violator to severe fines and imprisonment.

  This book is licensed for your enjoyment. E-book copies may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share with a friend, please buy an extra copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places and events are all products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business or establishments is purely coincidental.

  FAMILY TREE

  (AGES ARE SUBJECTED TO CHANGE THROUGHOUT BOOKS)

  Maverick & Teagan

  - Faith engaged to Beau

  -Lily

  -Mark

  -Aiden is with Bailey

  Mason & Denny

  -Hope

  -Ciara

  -Ashton

  Malik & Harlow

  -Maddison (Twin 1)

  -Maddox (Twin 2)

  -Trent

  Max & Lake

  -Landon (M) (Triplet 1) is with Paisley

  -Hayden (F) (Triplet 2)

  -Liam (M) (Triplet 3)

  Myles & Kayla

  -Charlotte

  -Jacob

  Evan (Denny’s brother) & Kennedy

  -Imogen

  -Joshua

  HAYES FAMILY TREE (Eldest to youngest)

  -Jaxon

  -Wyatt

  -Eli

  -Reid (Triplet 1)

  -Luke (Triplet 2)

  -Isaac (Triplet 3)

  -Paisley

  -Theo (Twin 1)

  -Colton (Twin 2)

  PROLOGUE

  JAXON

  The first time I met Lily Carter, I was twelve years old. It was our first day of high school and the halls were bustling with people. Some I recognised, some I didn’t. I’d been trying to find my locker when the crowd parted, and there she stood in all her beauty. She was glancing down at a piece of paper clutched tightly in her hand, her lips moving as she read from it, and although I couldn’t hear her, I knew she’d have the voice of an angel. Kids had pushed and shoved into me, rushing to find their lockers, yet they all avoided the girl in front of me. It was like they knew she wasn’t to be touched. I couldn’t look away from her. She just stood out from everyone else, and not because of her looks—though admittedly, she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever laid eyes on.

  Then she looked up and took my breath away. The sun blaring through the wide double doors not far behind her cast a glow around her, and I whispered to myself, “She really is an angel.” Her sandy-blonde hair, which fell down around her waist, blew lightly in the breeze, making her look like a goddess.

  I was enthralled, enamoured with her. Her big brown eyes were wide with fear as she cast nervous looks at the people around her, avoiding contact when people got too close. I wanted to go to her, to yell at everyone to stand back. I started to, but a hand clamped down on my shoulder and my best friend, Kurt, was grinning at me and telling me how cool high school was going to be. By the time I turned back, to get one more look, one more fill, she was gone.

  But I knew I had to know her.

  Just knew it.

  My drink sloshing all over my hand brings me back to the present. Glancing to the left, I glare at my brother Wyatt. Wyatt is the second eldest in our large group of siblings. We look more like twins with our same height and facial features. The only differences really splitting us apart are the number of tattoos and our personalities. Wyatt only has a few pieces of ink, whereas I’m pretty much a guinea pig for our other brother Reid, who loves designing and tattooing. Wyatt has laugh lines, and I can’t remember the last time I laughed. At twenty-four, I’m feeling more like eighty-four.

  “Seriously, bro, did we really need to come?” he growls, pouting into his own drink as he scans our surroundings.

  I sigh, scrubbing a hand down my face. We’ve not long arrived at an engagement party we were personally invited to by our neighbours, Faith and Beau. Our neighbours who also happen to be a member of a family we’ve had an ongoing war with up until recently.

  The Carter’s.

  The Carter’s are a massive family, and I say this only because I thought ours was big. What started off as five brothers, ended up with offspring, who we happened to grow up with.

  Their dads, however, are kind of legends around our part of town. Everyone knew them and wanted to be them. I grew up with my dad telling me stories of the trouble and mischief they’d get up to. There was also loads of crap put into the papers, but he would never mention what it said to us. Said it wasn’t his business.

  Then we met the Carter’s in high school and shit just hit the fan. Everything and anything would get blown out of proportion and shit would escalate quickly. I couldn’t even tell you what started the feud between our two families. Fights would break out, girls’ hearts would get broken, and when we grew up, pubs got destroyed. I can’t even begin to count the places we’re barred from, or have to make a deposit when we enter in case we get into a fight and break something, or be turned away at the door if more than one Carter is already inside. There’s only one place in town that will let our families in together and that’s The Ginn Inn. And only because we all chip in when things get broken.

  Then recently, my sister shacked up with the worst of the Carter’s: Landon. He’s ruthless, cunning and quiet. He has a way about him that makes people pay attention and grown ass men avoid him. He also had a sharp left hook. Trust me, I’m the only one out of my siblings who is evenly matched against him, so when a fight breaks out, we always go head to head.

  A sigh escapes my lips because as much as it pains me to admit it, I’d rather my baby sister be with the likes of Landon Carter, who I know adores and loves her, than Maddox Carter, who is a male whore.

  He’s also almost always the instigator of all our fights. He’s a fucking shit stirrer and loves to wind people up.

  Now that Landon’s living with Paisley on our farm, we have to do shit together if it means keeping our sister in our lives. She’s not the baby of the group, but she may as well be. She’s the only female, except for our mum. Since our dad died in a boating accident, we’ve looked out for her more than she found acceptable.

  The only reason I’ve moved passed my issues with Landon is because of her love for him. A few months ago, I let my mouth run off before thinking. I let my anger keep speaking for me, and I said some things that were unforgiveable. I went weeks without Paisley talking to me, and it killed me. I don’t want that to happen again. We have always been the closest out of the nine of us.

  “Are you going to fucking speak or keep spacing out on me?”

  I scrub a hand along my jaw. I need a fucking shave. “Sorry, what did you say?”

  He scoffs, shaking his head as he downs his drink. “I don’t see why we had to come. No one fucking else has, except Paisley, and look at her. She’s having the time of her life.”

  I do
, glancing over at the bar where she’s cuddled up to Landon, laughing at something Hayden Carter—who is Landon’s triplet—is saying.

  “Because she wanted us to try and make more of an effort with the family. Plus, could you say no to Faith? She looked determined to have us here.”

  He grunts. “Fuck no. Her bloke didn’t look happy about us coming here, either. I guess I should find satisfaction in that.”

  I chuckle under my breath before bringing my cold glass of whiskey to my mouth. The cool liquid touches my lips just as Lily Carter and Charlotte Carter walk inside. I choke on my drink, coughing up a lung.

  “Holy shit!” Wyatt whispers.

  He can say that again.

  Lily is wearing a blue, tight-fitting dress that looks painted onto her skin. I can see every curve of her luscious body. Her tits are practically popping out of her top and the bottom of the dress is rising up, barely covering her arse. I’ve never seen her dress like this. Fucking ever.

  My dick gets hard as I scan her legs, which look fucking long wearing those fuck-me-heels.

  “Fuck!” I rasp out.

  She looks uncomfortable as shit as she tries to pull it down, bringing a grin to my face. She’s fucking hot.

  “If I didn’t think every Carter would incinerate me, I’d totally tap that.”

  A noise rises from the back of my throat as I glare at my brother. “Shut the fuck up!”

  He looks at me, smirking. “Aw, Jax, why so mad?”

  It’s not something I talk about, but my brothers goad me at every chance. The first day I met Lily, I went home and told my mum. I filled her in on everything Lily, telling her I found the girl I was going to marry when I grew up. My brothers have never let me live it down. They didn’t know it was Lily at first, but it wouldn’t have taken a rocket scientist to figure it out. I watched her all the time at school. It was hard not to. As we grew older, my obsession for her became worse, and one night I got drunk, took a girl home, and called her Lily. She made sure the whole house heard.

  “Fuck you,” I snap out, my attention going back to Lily. She’s saying something to Charlotte, who I notice is also dressed to the nines. She looks uncomfortable with the blatant stares they are getting but, in the end, sags her shoulders and nods at whatever Lily is whispering to her. I watch them walk off into the crowd, towards the hallway where I know the toilets are located. My gaze zeros in on Lily’s tight, round arse and stays there until she’s out of sight.

  Fuck, I need to get laid.

  I swallow down my drink, ignoring Wyatt’s booming laughter. “Brother, you are so fucked.”

  I glare at him as I slam my glass down on the table, earning a few curious stares. “Shut up!”

  He laughs louder. “They’d literally feed your balls to our pigs.”

  “I’ll feed your fucking balls to the pigs if you don’t shut it,” I snap, before storming across the room to the bar.

  He follows, still laughing his head off.

  Fuck if he isn’t right though. It wouldn’t be a Paisley situation. Yeah, we were all pissed when we found out about her sleeping with Landon. Furious even. But with Lily, it wouldn’t be about brothers protecting their sister. It would be about an entire family protecting precious cargo.

  And who could blame them.

  People don’t talk about it, but Lily Carter has demons. Something terrible happened to her, and instead of infecting her, making her jaded and filled with hatred for the world, it made her something else. She’s rare, and there aren’t many souls like hers in the world anymore. She might be withdrawn, but she’s loving and filled with so much kindness it can make me feel sick sometimes. But I’m drawn to it. There’s something about her that would make anyone jump in front of bus to save her.

  I’m a selfish bastard to want all of that to myself.

  However, something tells me if I were to pursue her, the Carter’s would rain hell down on me.

  I just don’t think I give a fuck anymore.

  I’ve wanted Lily Carter since I was twelve years old. That feeling has only intensified as I’ve watched her grow into a sexy as hell woman.

  My brother’s hand on my shoulder stops me before I reach the bar. He takes one look at my face, and his lips twist.

  “Fuck!”

  “What?” I snap, pushing his hand off me.

  “Look, I get it; she’s hot. But she’s not worth the shit it would cause. Don’t ask me how I know it, but something tells me if you touch that girl, we will never see you again.”

  I scoff. “I’m not going to touch her,” I lie.

  I will. Just when the time is right. Fucking faceless girls and wishing they were her is becoming tiresome. She’s the beginning and end.

  “She comes with too much baggage,” Wyatt tries, reading my lie. “Do you really want to deal with that?”

  My hands clench into fists at my side. “Do you like your two front teeth?”

  His lips tighten as I draw my gaze away. I’m scanning the crowd near the hallway she disappeared through, hoping to catch another glance. She’s untouchable, always has been. There’s not one Carter who will let you near her, even if you don’t pose a threat. And I’d never fucking hurt her.

  The crowd begins to clear around the hallway, and there she is.

  Fuck me!

  Lily looks more comfortable when she steps out with Charlotte not far behind her. She looks stunning, dressed in a long-sleeved, mint green dress that flares at the bottom. The dress is longer than the other, nearly touching her knees. However, she’s never looked more sexier than she does now. She has her own style, and although it can be old-fashioned at times, she owns it.

  Her sandy-blonde hair is pulled back in two braids and twisted in some fancy do at the nape of her neck.

  Wyatt clicks his fingers in front of my face.

  “What the fuck is your problem?”

  “You have drool on your chin. Fuck a different girl and get over it.”

  “There’s nothing to get over,” I lie, wishing he would just drop it. The more he talks about her, the harder it’s becoming not to go find her and turn the charm on. This happens when I know she’s close. It’s easier to control myself when she’s not around. An out of sight, out of mind kind of thing.

  His eyes close briefly after taking a good look at my expression. When he opens them, they’re hard and cold. “If you cause a fight tonight, not only will Paisley and Mum kill you, but so will I. I’ve got a fucking date tomorrow with some class A chick. Turning up with a black eye won’t turn her on like it does the others. And if you fuck it up for me, I’ll fucking drown you in the creek.”

  I roll my eyes. “I need a fucking drink.”

  “Fucking hell!” he groans, but I tune him out as I step up to the bar.

  I guess tonight I’m gonna have to control myself further. From the corner of my eye, I can see her hips swaying towards her parents.

  Fuck, I need another drink.

  CHAPTER ONE

  LILY

  Laughter fills my classroom as I finish the puppet show I put on for today’s craft lesson. It’s a lesson where we can just relax and have some fun. My other students loved it, and now my new students do too.

  Mr Hartman, our school principle, made a lot of changes this term, which is how I ended up teaching year three instead of year five. I had been teaching year five for three years, and I didn’t think I’d adjust to the change. But I’ve come to be grateful for it. I’ve fallen in love with them and it’s been fun teaching a new age range.

  “Miss Carter, can we sing some songs now?”

  Sammy’s face lights up with glee when I turn my smile to him. He’s one of my special needs children and I just adore him.

  “Of course. Do you have any recommendations?” I ask softly.

  He nods eagerly. “Yes. ‘Rewrite the Stars’ from The Greatest Showman,” he yells excitedly.

  Warmth fills my soul at the sound, and I nod. Everyone else cheers, although a few boys groan, too
cool to sing along to songs. It makes me giggle.

  “One song, then it’s home time.”

  We learned ‘Rewrite the Stars’ for Children in Need. We sang it in the school hall in front of all the parents on Monday.

  I walk over to the laptop attached to the screen on the wall, click on the link I saved to the front screen and let the music play. The children don’t take long to join in.

  All except one.

  Star Merin.

  Star Merin started St. Martin’s in September and has been on my mind ever since. The first time I met her, she hadn’t even worn school uniform—which is required here at St. Martin’s. Instead, she wore clothes that were far too small and had clearly not seen a washing machine.

  Ever since that day, every time I look at her, my heart breaks a little more inside. Something inside of me is twisting my stomach in knots and making me dizzy with worry. It’s safe to say I have a soft spot for the little girl.

  She’s tiny for seven years old and way behind when it comes to her education. But it’s not that which has me worrying. It’s her behaviour. She doesn’t interact with other kids—although she did try when she first arrived. But kids can be cruel, and even though I have lovely children in my class, some in the others can be mean. I’ve seen and heard kids calling her names and have taken them to the school principle myself.

  But it’s not just that. It’s the way she flinches when someone gets too close or yells too loudly. I’ve spoken to not only Karen, the support worker here at the school, but Mr Hartman too. Neither have been able to do much without damning evidence. I asked if they could speak to her parents, get a feel for them, but nothing ever came out of it. I’ve planned to stop one of her parents after school or before, but the only person I’ve ever seen pick her up or drop her off is her older brother, who must have to get to school himself.

  Once the song is finished, I smile broadly at my class and applaud them.