TUESDAY TALES - POWERFUL

 

Welcome! We have another installment of Tuesday Tales. This week we're writing to the word prompt "powerful." I have another snippet from  "Someone Like You." This time it's Charlotte and Derek interacting. 

Don't forget, when you're done reading to hop  on over and read the snippets from the wonderful Tuesday Tales authors. Find them HERE. 

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       At the lumber store, Derek Larch greeted her.

       “What are you building?”

“A bench. Do you have any wood on sale?” she asked.

“Whacha looking for?” he asked.

“Maybe teak. Or if that’s too expensive, white oak or cedar?”

“Yep. Cedar for sure. You making something for outside?” he asked.

“Yes.” She moved past him and headed for the lumber yard in the back.

“I can give you a good price on this,” he said, pulling out some cedar boards.

“Fine.”

“Got the design? Lemme see,” he said.

“No. That’s all right. I’ll measure and pick what I want.”

He gripped her arm. His eyes narrowed. “You ain’t makin’ this for some dude, are you?”

“None of your business,” she said,  squirming to get away but his grip was too powerful.

She planned to make a bench for the cemetery so Professor Garrett could sit when he visited his wife's grave. But it would be her secret.

“You belong to me and it’s time you realized it,” Derek said before releasing her.

“I don’t belong to anyone but myself.”

“You go ahead and think that. No one else wants a girl painter. But that suits me just fine.”

“You don’t know that. I’m not a girl. I’m thirty. I’m a woman. Just ring up the wood and let me be, Derek,” she said, as she retrieved the boards she wanted.

“I love you, Charlie. Always have,” he said, his voice softer. 

His admission stunned her. She didn’t know what to say. Was he right? Did she belong only to him. Did she have no chance with someone as refined as the Professor? Maybe it was true. She tossed her head to rid her mind of the notion that she wasn’t good enough for Mark Garrett, paid for the wood and left. 

That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!