Reality Came Knocking On His Door

It was his dream to marry a beautiful woman, have a home appointed with every degree of elegance, and a brood of healthy children running to greet him every day. 

So far though, he had indeed married a woman who was, perhaps not the beauty he’d wanted, but came with a great deal of money in the bargain and had a capacity for having a baby every year as long as they so desired. 

But ten years, a grand home and four children down the road, he didn’t feel the way he thought he’d feel having come so far in life. 

Where he came from. 

His very humble beginnings still haunted him.  Though his success was not limited to his wife’s fortune by any means, it oftentimes left him with a hollowness he couldn’t shake.  That’s when reality came knocking on his door. 

It wasn’t enough.  Plain and simple.  It wasn’t now and it never would be.  The pain his memories of how others mocked and insulted him when he was dirt poor wasn’t dulled by the riches he now had – and the passionless marriage he forced himself to keep intact. 

Early on, his ambition overshadowed all else in his world.  Love, friendship and even socializing all came in very far behind. 

And now?  There was a token to pay the piper it seemed.  One he found very hard to remit. 

How he got into this mess. 

It was her fault.  That woman.  Her!  Or so he told himself. 

She waltzed into his life and stole his heart like no one else ever had and Lord knew no one else ever could.  But did she play his game?  Did she wink and smile and peek at him above the rim of her lace fan?  No!  And it angered him to no end! 

But something odd happened to him.  Besides falling head over heels for the brunette in the blue satin gown, he found himself becoming a thinking man, and he hated that part most of all. 

He wasn’t one to ponder on things.  He took action.  That’s how he lived and how he rolled in the 1840s.  He was “a man’s man” to the core, and that included never falling victim to a time of wondering, dreaming and even pining. 

And when it began to happen, that wondering, dreaming and pining thing, he fell into a well of emotions he had never experienced before.  He had wanted many women in his time.  Lusted after more than his fair share.  And he’d enjoyed the pleasure of their company with great enthusiasm.  But feel more than that?  Give his heart away?  Miss a woman?? 

Those things were all new to him and like a chid who first learns he must follow the rules – this man threw his own kind of tantrum, in the way of reaching for every willing woman and every bottle of whiskey he could lay hands on. 

The story goes on. 

This particular lead character goes through a personal hell that leads him to a crossroads.  He must choose.  He knows that.  But will he choose the right path?  One leads to joy and fulfilment.  The other leads to destruction and great pain.  So he must be very careful…..

If you have not already started reading my CounterClockwise series, click on the link above to get going today.  Book #3 is about to be updated but you will need to know what’s happening in the first two!