Sophie's Choice

Chapter Five "Changes"

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my made up characters!

Friday, June 15th

It had been a few weeks since the incident with Steve. Jim had gotten the no trespass order on Steve for the store and it was great. Work was becoming my happy place, my one place I didn't have to worry about him. Things have been quiet the past few weeks and I was still staying at my house despite Brad's, Jeff's and even Kit's protests.

So every time that I worked a night, an officer would escort me home and make sure I got into the house okay after they checked it out. Sheriff Ballard, Brad's boss, worked with him on arranging his shifts to work with mine so he could with stay with me at night as much as he could. On nights he couldn't, an officer would sit outside the house all night. Steve would be stupid to be coming around now.

Kit and I had went on five more dates, usually each Thursday and Friday night e even if it was "just hanging out" sometimes after work. We were "officially" a couple too. I was lucky he was able every evening after he helped his father because my schedule was so funky. Linda had been getting sicker and I was so relieved she went to the doctors a few days ago. I hadn't heard much out of Jim but I figured he'd get around to telling me what was going on when he had the time.

I walked out of the office and was surprised to see Quinn. "Hey, what brings you down here?" Quinn and I had been talking about meeting up at the gym next week. He wanted to fight with a partner badly and I guess I could use some time to relieve my stress.

"I was sent to ask you if you would like to attend our barbeque on Sunday. It's at one. Mom insisted I ask you since I was coming down here to buy some no scent spray." Quinn chuckled. I smiled at him.

"Sure I'd love to. I don't go to work until five so I could hang out for a few hours before I have to leave." I walked with him towards the aisle the sprays and deodorants for hunters were in. "Should I bring anything?"

"Mom said just to bring yourself." Quinn told me as he grabbed a bottle of spray.

"I can manage that." I chuckled along with him. "What's your brother up to today?"

"Which one?" Quinn asked with a grin. I rolled my eyes.

"The one I'm dating. Kit." I gave him a light shove.

"Ohhhh that one." Quinn joked. "He's out riding with Dad right now but he should be home and showered by six if you want to swing by."

"I'm thinking about it." I stopped as Quinn got in line. Randy shook a twenty dollar bill at me, indicating he needed more money for his drawer. "Tell Kit I'll text him if I decide to."

"Will do." Quinn promised. I took the money from Randy and went to get his change. After that, I went back to the office to take a phone call.

"Sophie? It's Elise." Elise rarely called me at work so something must be up.

"What's wrong?" I demanded. "Did something happen to Harlan or Brad?"

"Nothing happened exactly." Elise hesitated. "Steve showed up here at Clara's and he started talking to me about you."

I sighed. "What was he saying?"

"About how he's changed and he wants to be back with you. He wants me to convince you to give him another chance." Elise said in disbelief. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"Of course he does. Is he really that delusional that I'll get back with him? After everything he did..." I shook my head.

"Soph, I'm really worried for you. You're at your house all alone except when Brad or an officer is there and he knows where you live.."

"I'll be fine Elise. I've got my alarm system and I've got my gun for when I'm alone. And really I'm like never alone. It's either Brad, Jeff, one of the deputies or Kit at my house. Nothing is going to happen." I pushed away her worry.

"Why don't you talk to Mr. Sumner about ending your lease? I'm sure he would be understanding if you explained the situation. There's a nice house down the street from me for sale. It's a great time to buy." I laughed at her.

"Elise, have you been talking to Brad?"

"No! I mean besides our usual talks about Harlan or what's going on in our lives. I'm worried about you too. Not just Brad."

"I know Elise and I love you for it. I just can't give up everything because Steve is harassing me a little. You know how hard it was when I was recovering."

She sighed. "I know. Just promise me you're gonna be careful."

"Of course I will. If that idiot tries to break in or does break in, don't worry, I'm not gonna hesitate in protecting myself. And if he does try to break in or something like that, I will move out for sure." I looked up as the office door opened and Jim was walking in with Randy. "I gotta go but thanks for letting me know about it."

I hung up and looked over Jim. He looked tired and pale, worn out. "What's going on?"

"I closed the store down for the day. I need to talk with you two." Jim and Randy sat down in the other chairs. "It's about Linda's doctor's appointment."

Randy and I exchanged a worried look. "We're listening."

"Linda, we found out, has cancer." My hand flew to my mouth as I gasped and tears welled up in my eyes. Randy put his hand on Jim's shoulder.

"Oh no...are they sure?" I asked softly. Jim nodded.

"They did a biopsy on a lump in her breast." Jim's hand shook as he raised it to his mouth. I reached out and grabbed onto his hand. Jim gripped it tightly. "We're catching it pretty late, we're in stage three, but they're gonna do everything they can to stop it..."

Tears slipped down my face and I wiped them away quickly. I had to try to be strong. "Oh Jim, I'm so sorry." Randy seconded my words. "How's Linda?"

"She's handling it better than I thought she would. Better than I am." Tears were shining in his eyes. "Our children want us to move closer to them. Spend more time with them and our grandchildren."

"Are you?" Randy asked. Jim sighed.

"We are. We're looking into selling the house now."

I bit my lip. Was it rude to ask about the store right now? "And the store, will you be selling it?"

Jim looked up at me. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Sophie. You've been with us since you were in college and you know how to run the place. I'd like to make you store manager. You would make the decisions and run the store. Obviously you'll need to hire more employees and I'll let you handle that, I just ask that you talk to me about the people you hire. I trust the both of you to run this place together. Would you do it Sophie?"

"Of course I will!" I hugged Jim and his arms wrapped around me. "You know I love you both and I love this store. Whatever you need, please ask me. I am here for you both."

…...

I pulled up at the gas pump and got out of my car. I was so glad to have back my own car as much as I loved Brad's bronco. I pumped my gas trying to get my thoughts straight when I heard his voice. "Sophie, what a wonderful surprise to run into you here."

Annoyance ran through me at his voice and I glared at him. "Don't talk to me."

Steve grinned. "What's wrong Sophie? You don't look happy."

I shoved the nozzle back into place and closed my gas cap, ignoring him. "Aw, come on, don't be like that. We should go out tomorrow night. Go to the bar, have a few drinks together."

I slammed the door in his face and turned the keys in the ignition, my hands shaking. I was angry and upset because of today's events and he just made it worse. After I texted Kit to let him know I was on my way, I drove off, leaving him smirking in the gas station. Asshole.

Ten minutes later, I parked behind Kit's truck at his house. I got out and marched up to the door. Angry tears made their way down my face and I was close to having a breakdown. I shouldn't even be here. I was a mess. Kit opened the door with a smile then looked carefully over my face and frowned. "What happened?" Six dates and he already knew when I was upset. I had to give the man credit, he was good about reading me.

But tonight, I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to think. I pushed him back into the house and closed the door. "I don't want to talk about it. I need a few hours of not thinking. I need some peace." Kit looked confused until I threw myself at him. I pressed my lips against his and wrapped my arms around his neck, my hands going into his black hair. I felt his body push me against the closed door and I lost myself in our kiss.

Kit's strong hand let my hair down and he ran his hands through it. "Sophie." He whispered as he broke apart from my lips.

"No talking." I whispered back and slid my hands under his t-shirt. "Not now." Kit picked me up and we went down the hall to his bedroom.

He towered over me as he pushed me down on the bed and removed his shirt. I ran my hands over his chest as he gently lowered his lips to my neck. I arched my back as he gently bit and kissed my neck.

"Is this what you really want?" His breath was hot in my ear as he spoke. His hands trailed up my sides. I nodded.

"Yes." And that was the start of my "peace".

…...

Kit POV

I watched the ceiling fan spin around in the moonlight shining through the slits in the blinds. Sophie had her head on my chest and her leg draped over mine. I could feel her body's warmth against my side and she drew little circles on my stomach silently.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I rubbed the small of her back gently. I really hoped she didn't regret what just happened. I definitely hadn't been expecting that tonight but I had to say..Sophie was amazing. The way she whispered my name, arched as she gasped when I did something right, her nails digging into my skin. I hadn't expected all of that alright...

"I'm more than okay." I could feel her smile against my chest. "I can only hope you don't think differently of me now." I looked down at her and her green eyes met mine.

I chuckled. "I don't think badly of you if that's what you mean. If anything, I like you even more."

"Isn't that a guy thing to say?" She muttered and I laughed. Her phone vibrated and she groaned. "Nooooo. I don't want to go back to the real world yet." I leaned over her, my body against hers and grabbed her phone. It was Brad texting her to ask if she was going to be home tonight.

"Brad wants to know if you'll be home tonight." I told her. She bit her lip and looked at me, a bit seductively.

"Am I going home tonight?" I grinned.

"Not if I can help it." She laughed and grabbed her phone from me. I saw her text Brad back that, no she would not be home tonight. I pulled her close to me after she put her phone back. "Do you want something to eat? I can make us something."

She stretched. "I am kind of hungry."

I hopped out of bed and threw on my boxers. "Well ma'am, I will whip you up something good if you'll leave my bed for a little bit."

She smiled and grabbed my t-shirt off the floor, putting it on along with her underwear. That's all she wore as she left the room. Well I guess it was a good thing that tomorrow was Saturday. I was going to need the extra sleep.

…...

Sophie POV

I sat at Kit's kitchen table in disbelief. Did we really just have sex? Mind blowing sex at that? Elise was going to kill me. We always had a pact to make guys wait at least ninety days and here I had rolled in the sheets with Kit after a month. Okay, we had six dates though. Oh who cares! I'm twenty two years old and if I want to sleep with the guy I'm dating, I will.

"So you wanna talk about what had you upset earlier when you showed up?" Kit sat down two bowls full of his chili. So I told him what had happened today at the store and at the gas station. Kit stopped eating to hold my hand in support. "Sophie, I'm so sorry to hear about Mrs. Roberts. That's terrible news."

"Mr. Roberts seems pretty torn up about it. Of course that's his wife of fifty years and caner is a scary thing." I sighed. "The only good thing is he's keeping the store so I won't be losing my job on top of everything else."

"And you're getting a promotion." Kit smiled at me, looking proud. I shrugged.

"It's not that big of a deal."

"It is! In fact.." Kit stood up and poured me a glass of wine while he grabbed himself a beer. "A toast to my beautiful, smart, girlfriend who just became store manager." I rolled my eyes but indulged him.

"I have to say the three dollar raise made me pretty happy too." Kit's eyes gleamed at my slight bragging.

"What's that put you at now? Nineteen dollars?" I laughed and shook my head.

"No, seventeen dollars and fifty cents." I corrected him. Kit rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I think you make more than me."

"I doubt it." I took a drink of my wine as the chili started to make my eyes water. I loved spicy food but whew was this hot. "And it doesn't matter anyways. Who cares what each other makes? We're in a relationship, not a contest." I teased him.

"I know." Kit leaned over to kiss my hand. "So do you work tomorrow?"

"I don't but I'm supposed to meet with Mr. Roberts at the store around noon. He wants to start immediately training me to make sure I know everything. I mean I pretty much do, I run everything in the store myself day to day. We're going to put help wanted ads and fliers up so we can get people hired quickly."

"You know, Jake's girlfriend Sam, she's responsible and she could use a part-time job while she's going to college. She's nineteen years old. She could be a cashier for you. She knows all about outdoors and hunting stuff." Kit suggested.

"I'd love to meet her if she's interested." I could use a part-time employee and Sam was around the age I started working at the store.

"She'll be at the barbeque on Sunday. It's actually a barbeque/birthday celebration." Kit told me. I nodded.

"Make sure we're introduced and maybe have Jake say something to her before then. See if she's interested."

"I will do." Kit said as he took my bowl to the sink and washed them both. He pulled me out of my seat and slid his hands up my—well his—t-shirt. "What do you think about watching a movie together? Your pick."

I smiled knowing we wouldn't make it through the movie. "Sure, sounds like a good idea."

…...

Steve POV

My jaw tightened as I watched the man—Kit Ely—put his hands up Sophie's shirt. Who did he think he was? Sure he may be wine and dining her now but that would come to an end when Sophie realized her mistake. That she really wanted to be with me. You couldn't just throw away three years together. You couldn't forgot your first.

I left there and swung by Elise's place. Brad, Sophie's brother, was there having dinner with her and her son. How nice that Elise had a son. Since Brad was here I could only assume that Sophie was staying with that cowboy for the night. Otherwise Brad would be at her house with her or a deputy would be there as they had been for the past few weeks.

She was sure worried about me. The no trespass order at her work had been annoying and it still was. But she'd get over it soon enough. Plus I could still watch her outside of work and watch her brother, her best friend and her new "boyfriend". I could still learn all about her life. She just didn't know.

…...

AN: Hey readers! Sorry I'm late on this new chapter! But I finally got it up. Pleaseeeee don't kill me for what happened in this chapter! I hope you're not too upset about Sophie and Kit's "advancement". I hope you still enjoyed the chapter! I should be updating this story again within two weeks. I'm sure you have saw on my other stories author note's that my chapters will be between 2500-3500 words now so I can update more often.

I probably won't post another story update until Sunday/Monday. Tomorrow I'm babysitting at my sister's. I will write if I can but most likely won't get much done with my niece and nephew and my two year old lol.

Don't forget to review! I get so much more motivated to write when I see my readers reviewing! It let's me know that you're enjoying the story and still reading.

Thanks for reading! -Quinnandseth'sgirl15! My next update will be: Ripped Pictures