Nicholas Sparks - The Lucky One

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright 2008 by Nicholas Sparks

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Grand Central Publishing

Hachette Book Group

237 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Visit our Web site at www.HachetteBookGroup.com.

First eBook Edition: September 2008

ISBN: 978-0-446-54218-0

The Grand Central Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

ALSO BY NICHOLAS SPARKS

The Notebook

Message in a Bottle

A Walk to Remember

The Rescue

A Bend in the Road

Nights in Rodanthe

The Guardian

The Wedding

Three Weeks with My Brother (with Micah Sparks)

True Believer

At First Sight

Dear John

The Choice

For Jamie Raab and Dennis Dalrymple

A year to remember...

and a year to forget.

Im with you in spirit.

W riting is never a solitary effort, and as always, there are many people I have to thank for having the energy and ability to complete this novel. There are many ways to honor these people for their efforts, of course, so I thought Id throw in a few different ways to say thank youat least according to the list I Googled right before writing this. (Without looking them up, can you name all the languages offhand?)

At the top of the list, of course, is my wife, Cathy. More than anything, she keeps me centered and focused on all the things in life that are really important. I tell my sons they would do well to marry a woman much like her one day. Thank you!

The kids come next: Miles, Ryan, Landon, Lexie, and Savannah, all of whom have been immortalized (in a teeny-tiny way) as the names of characters in my previous novels. To receive their hugs is to receive the greatest gift of all. Muchas gracias!

And then? My literary agent, Theresa Park, always deserves my gratitude. The agent-author relationship can be tricky at timesor so Ive heard from other agents and authors. In all honesty, for me its been nothing but fantastic and wonderful to have worked with Theresa since we first spoke on the phone way back in 1995. She is the very best; not only is she intelligent and patient, but she is blessed with more common sense than most people I know. Danke schn!

Denise DiNovi, my friend and movie-accomplice, is another of the many blessings in my life. Shes produced three of my filmsincluding Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a Bottle, and A Walk to Rememberwhich makes me one of the most fortunate authors in the world. Merci beaucoup!

David Young, the fabulous CEO of Grand Central Publishing, has been nothing but supportive, and Im lucky to work with him. Arigato gozaimasu!

Jennifer Romanello, a publicist and friend, has made publicity an endlessly interesting and enjoyable experience for the past thirteen years. Grazie!

Edna Farley, my telephone friend, schedules nearly everythingand handles every problem that crops upwhile touring. Shes not only fantastic, but endlessly optimistic, something Ive grown to cherish. Tapadh leibh!

Howie Sanders, my film agent and friend, is another member of the Ive worked with that author for a long time club. And my life is better for it. Toda raba!

Keya Khayatian, another of my film agents, is terrific and always generous with his time. Merci! or, if you prefer, Mamnoon!

Harvey-Jane Kowal and Sona Vogel, my copy editors, are incredibly patient, considering Im always so far behind on deadline. They have to catch all the little errors in my novels (okay, sometimes biggies, too), and unfortunately, I seldom give them much time. So if you find an error (and you might), dont blame them. Blame me. Theyre fantastic at what they do. To the both of you: Spasibo!

Scott Schwimer, my entertainment attorney, is one of those guys who make you frown at lawyer jokes. Hes a great person and an even better friend. Liels paldies!

Many thanks also to Marty Bowen, Courtenay Valenti, Abby Koons, Sharon Krassney, Lynn Harris, and Mark Johnson. Efharisto poli!

Alice Arthur, my photographer, is always ready at a moments notice and takes a fantastic photo, for which Im always grateful. Toa chie! Or Xie xie!

Flag has yet again designed a wonderful cover. Shukran gazilan!

Tom McLaughlin, the headmaster at The Epiphany Schoola school that my wife and I helped foundhas made my life richer and more full since weve been working together. Obrigado!

And finally, to David Simpson, my fellow coach at New Bern HighMahalo nui loa!

P.S. The languages are: English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Italian, Scottish Gaelic, Hebrew, Farsi (Persian), Russian, Latvian, Greek, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese, and Hawaiian. At least according the site I found on the Internet. But who can believe everything there?

Clayton and Thibault

D eputy Keith Clayton hadnt heard them approach, and up close, he didnt like the looks of them any more than he had the first time hed seen them. The dog was part of it. He wasnt fond of German shepherds, and this one, though he was standing quietly, reminded him of Panther, the police dog that rode with Deputy Kenny Moore and was quick to bite suspects in the crotch at the slightest command. Most of the time he regarded Moore as an idiot, but he was still just about the closest thing to a friend that Clayton had in the department, and he had to admit that Moore had a way of telling those crotch-biting stories that made Clayton double over in laughter. And Moore would definitely have appreciated the little skinny-dipping party Clayton had just broken up, when hed spied a couple of coeds sunning down by the creek in all their morning glory. He hadnt been there for more than a few minutes and had snapped only a couple of pictures on the digital camera when he saw a third girl pop up from behind a hydrangea bush. After quickly ditching the camera in the bushes behind him, hed stepped out from behind the tree, and a moment later, he and the coed were face-to-face.

Well, what have we got here? he drawled, trying to put her on the defensive.

He hadnt liked the fact that hed been caught, nor was he pleased with his insipid opening line. Usually he was smoother than that. A lot smoother. Thankfully, the girl was too embarrassed to notice much of anything, and she almost tripped while trying to back up. She stammered something like an answer as she tried to cover herself with her hands. It was like watching someone play a game of Twister by herself.

He made no effort to avert his gaze. Instead he smiled, pretending not to notice her body, as if he bumped into naked women in the woods all the time. He could already tell she knew nothing about the camera.

Now calm down. Whats going on? he asked.

He knew full well what was going on. It happened a few times every summer, but especially in August: Coeds from Chapel Hill or NC State, heading to the beach for a long, last-chance weekend at Emerald Isle before the fall term began, often made a detour onto an old logging road that twisted and bumped for a mile or so into the national forest before reaching the point where Swan Creek made a sharp turn toward the South River. There was a rock-pebble beach there that had come to be known for nude sunbathinghow that happened, he had no ideaand Clayton often made it a point to swing by on the off chance he might get lucky. Two weeks ago, hed seen six lovelies; today, however, there were three, and the two whod been lying on their towels were already reaching for their shirts. Though one of them was a bit heavy, the other twoincluding the brunette standing in front of himhad the kind of figures that made frat boys go crazy. Deputies, too.