Charley sat in her kitchen sipping her third cup of coffee while pondering weighty matters.
Well, she’d done it. She’d taken a lover. That’s what this was right? Drake made no empty promises, no declarations that could be misconstrued. Smart man.
His short stint in the area hadn’t come up since early spring but it was there, hovering over them like a thick gray cloud. It would be pointless to pretend that their entanglement had any kind of long-range future. She needed to be smart and keep emotion out of it. There was nothing wrong with enjoying Drake, his company, his kindness, his body, for as long as she could. That didn’t sound so bad. Keeping it simple should be a piece of cake.
Bolstered by that thought Charley got up and went searching through her cupboards for breakfast. She finally settled on the last Hostess Cupcake.
It was ten to eight when she called about the siding job she was supposed to start today. They weren’t ecstatic about the delay but they understood. She told them she’d call to reschedule as soon as the doctor cleared her to work.
Now, with nothing to occupy her and all her home projects on temporary hold, Charley decided to go for a walk. She needed to work off her coffee buzz, her loneliness, and her unsettling preoccupation with Drake. Exercise would probably help. She was just slipping into her shoes, when Abby’s car pulled up out front. Happy for the company, Charley opened the door and blanched. Right car, wrong driver. Her brother Dink was storming up the sidewalk with a dark look in his eyes. Charley was tempted to shut the door in his face, but knowing how that would fly she took a deep breath and waited.
“I guess we better do this inside.” Charley stepped back with a sigh.
Dink strode over the threshold and confronted her as she closed the door.
“What the hell was that yesterday?” he barked.
“You’re the one with the kid and you’re asking me about sex?”
Taunting him when there were plumes of steam coming out of his ears probably wasn’t her wisest move, but Dink always managed to bring out her worst impulses. Besides, she didn’t owe him an explanation.
“Knock it off, Charley. Where is that asshole? I know he spent the night too. I’m going to kill him.”
“Forget it! You have no right to come in here acting like a hard on. Drake and I are both consenting adults. Your permission’s not required.”
“He took advantage of you, of the situation, of your vulnerability. He’s scum.”
She stared at him in amazement. “When have I ever been defenseless or vulnerable?” She chose to discount the day before because, even at her rockiest, she wanted to kiss Drake. She’d wanted to do a whole lot more than that.
“Charley,” Dink looked at her pleadingly, “I like Drake, he’s a nice guy, but you have to understand that he isn’t like us. He’s not from around here. He has different attitudes, a completely different background. Messing with him is just going to hurt you because there’s going to come a day when he’s going to walk away from you, from the area, without a backwards glance.”
“You think I don’t know that? Of course, I do, but here’s the thing, no other guy has ever treated me the way Drake does. He’s considerate, thoughtful, and incredibly patient with me even when I don’t deserve it. And do you want to know something else?”
“Not necessarily,” he grumbled.
“Tough. Even though I’ve said awful things to cut him down to a size I understand, he’s done just the opposite for me. Drake builds me up, gives me a confidence in myself I’ve never had before. Dink,” she said, her expressive eyes willing him to understand. “Drake sees me as an attractive woman, too, even when he’s messing around with me like I’m one of the guys. I’ve never had that before. Do you know how good that feels to meet a guy who likes all sides of me? Yes I dish it out, a lot actually, but Drake dishes it right back and he still wants to hold me close afterwards.”
Her brother groaned. “Shit Charley, it sounds like you’re halfway in love with him already.” The concern radiating off him was even more obvious than the anger a minute earlier.
“I’m not in love,” she said, denying it forcefully while ignoring the whisper of doubt in her ear. “But I don’t want to give Drake up just because it’s going to end. What would be the point of living if all we ever concentrated on was our eventual deaths?”
“It’s not the same thing.”
“It’s exactly the same thing. I don’t have any illusions about a future with Drake but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the short time we have together.”
He took a deep breath and thought about what she said, reading her rigid body language as completely inflexible on this point.
“I’m driving you to the clinic. If you insist on sleeping with him,” he cringed when he said this, “at least be smart about it. Talk to Dr. Fields about birth control. It would kill mom and dad if you gave them an illegitimate grandchild too.”
Charley stared at her brother in shock, not sure how to take that. She wanted to be offended but it was pretty clear he’d been having some serious thoughts about his own situation since their last discussion.
“It’s already covered.”
Dink gave her a grateful fleeting smile. “Good.”
• • •
After the end of a long day, Drake and Cal lifted the canoe onto the roof of Drake’s car. It settled with a loud aluminum boom. They shifted it so the weight was evenly distributed then secured the prow and stern to the bumpers with adjustable straps.
“You about done on that end?” Drake called over the roof.
“All set,” said Cal.
Drake gave his taut strap a flick setting it vibrating.
Jamie stowed their equipment behind the backseat then spun on her knees and flopped down on her butt with a sigh. “All I want now is a swim and a beer.”
“Sounds good,” said Cal, taking shotgun.
Drake picked the map off his seat and folded it, tossing it between the seats as he slid behind the wheel. The engine purred to life.
Throwing the car into gear Drake asked, “Do I need to bring anything back from town in the morning?”
Cal turned in his seat to look at Jamie. “Do we need anything?”
She gave it some thought. “American cheese and another loaf of wheat bread would be nice.”
“Better add a half gallon of milk, too,” Cal said. “We’re getting low.”
“Oh, and more bug spray,” Jamie added.
Drake looked at her in the rearview mirror and smiled. “I tell you what — because I’m in a generous mood I’ll bring donuts back too.”
Jamie brightened. “You do that and I’ll clean the outhouse when it’s your turn.”
Drake laughed. “Done.”
Cal glanced back at his girlfriend with a cocky grin. “I think he should get laid more often.”
• • •
Drake dropped his interns off at the cabin and they quickly unloaded the gear while he went inside to throw together an overnight bag. He slipped on his sunglasses and wished them a good-night in passing on the way out.
“Milk, bread, eggs,” Jamie called after him through the screen door then turned to Cal. “What am I forgetting?”
“Bug spray,” called Cal.
“And cheese and Donuts!” Jamie yelled.
Drake spun around with a laugh. “You added eggs?”
Jamie shrugged. “I forgot them before and don’t forget donuts.”
“You said it three times now, I think I’ve got it.” Drake chuckled and gave them a backhanded wave over his shoulder and climbed into the car.
Cranking the music, Drake backed out of the driveway and though he drummed absently on the steering wheel as he headed down the mountain, his thoughts were on Charley.
She was something else — tough, gritty, and incredibly sexy. He loved that she made no apologies or excuses for herself. Charley was comfortable in her own skin, hell, he was comfortable in her skin if he wanted to be completely honest and he was getting hard just thinking about burrowing into it again. But her body was only part of her allure. Charley had a sense of humor, a sound sense of honor, and even when she was gruff, she was never deliberately hurtful. He didn’t consider all the ribbing she gave him anything more than foreplay and good-natured banter.
He wondered how she managed without him today. Did anyone check on her? Probably, this was a small town after all, not a metro area where you could be lying dead at the bottom of your basement stairs for weeks before anyone even noticed.
No, the people of Haven would look after her. She’d be fine, but that didn’t mean she’d be easy to deal with during her convalescence. Charley needed to be occupied by something. She was a very physical person. Getting shut down by an injury on top of having no mode of transportation and no money coming in while she healed was going to drive her nuts. He sympathized. She didn’t strike him as the most patient person in the world. How could he keep her distracted so she didn’t rush things?
Screw that, how could he keep her from making expensive investments in new tools and a replacement vehicle when he had another option for her? Until those plans were confirmed, he had to sit tight but Charley’s impatience was going to be a challenge. Would she even consider leaving her little house, her close-knit community? What were her thoughts on travel and had she ever been outside the country? Did the woman even have a passport? On top of that, he wasn’t at all certain she’d willingly accept his authority over her. She was used to working alone. Maybe he was asking too much of someone like that, but there was no doubt in his mind that she’d be a valuable person to have along. He left his desire to have her at his side unspoken.
In the meantime, he wondered if there was some way of relieving some of Charley’s financial pressures. He could cover her birth control. That wasn’t cheap and he’d obviously been the impetus for that decision. Hell yes. Having free and unfettered access to Charley’s body was well worth that sensible expense. What else? Nothing else was coming to mind and he knew whatever he proposed would be a hard sell. He was going to have to give this more thought. Charley’s pride was going to be a huge obstacle. Yet, that’s what he loved about her.
Drake’s eyes popped wide open and he squeezed the steering wheel. Did he just use the word love? He was amazed at how casually that thought slipped out of him. Love. He contemplated the word again but to his growing surprise, his pulse, his head, even his hands remained steady and unperturbed by the concept.
“I’ll be damned,” he said aloud. “I’m falling in love with her.”
Charley was by far the prickliest, most impossible, intriguing and complicated woman he ever got entangled with. He should be breaking out in a cold sweat not smiling like an idiot.
He tried to imagine introducing Charley to his parents. Wouldn’t they be thrilled with her? Especially his mother! Drake knew exactly the type of woman his mother wanted him to settle down with — polished and elegant. She wanted an appropriate lunch companion and spa buddy, and an eventual partner in spoiling his much anticipated offspring. He’d rather chew foil.
Drake recalled his mother’s unpleasant pinched smile whenever one of his former girlfriends fell short of her standards. Being a beautiful woman herself, perfectly coiffed and impeccably dressed, naturally she demanded no less from any woman hoping to inhabit their vaunted circles. Too bad for Mumsy, Drake had no interest in staying in her circle himself — another contentious issue between him and his parent.
Unfortunate haircuts and neglected roots were only the beginning. His mother wasn’t shy about pointing out how too many of these girls didn’t know a thing about cosmetics. She was particularly brutal toward Marcy, saying the poor girl looked ready to join a circus. His mother was nothing if not elitist.
Still, she was warm and infinitely charming to those who didn’t embarrass themselves in her presence. How the hell would she deal with meeting Charley? It was almost terrifying to imagine the reactions of both.
He could see it now, there’d be his mother, so polished she looked like she just stepped out of Gracious Living, looking down, literally, on petite little Charley in her torn jeans, worn t-shirt with no makeup whatsoever — hell, no bra — and her hair done in that simple twisted knot she liked. The ladies were bound to warm to each other immediately. Right.
Still, there was a chance, however slim, that his mother might actually appreciate Charley’s spunk. Something else that made the inevitable introduction a little easier to contemplate was the fact that no matter what his mother thought, she’d never dream of being rude to someone directly. That simply wasn’t done. But afterwards, when the glasses were cleared and the lamps turned off, that would be the time to rip Charley to shreds. Not a pretty picture.
Now his dad on the other hand, he’d probably like Charley immediately. So would his brother Ben, come to think of it. He could see them offering her a glass of whatever expensive beer they had on tap, then sitting around the pool coaxing Charley into telling them embarrassing stories about him that he’d rather not share.
He smiled just thinking about the topic of golf coming up — it always did when they got together — and how they’d stare at Charley in surprise for a moment before breaking into laughter because she innocently mentioned her parent’s mini-golf course outside of Kissimmee Florida. His mother would look at him in horror, but the guys would love Charley for her straight talk, not to mention her impossible to ignore cuteness factor.
Okay, so it might not be that bad but why rush into a meeting between those two very dissimilar camps? He’d much rather have Charley all to himself anyway and that was all that mattered.
How long would it take before he went crazy not seeing her every day — one more week, two? He should invite her up to the cabin and take her out on the lake for the day. Maybe he could talk her into trekking along as he visited the various nests he monitored. Hey, she could help with banding. The thought of spending hours paddling with her under a deep blue sky sounded absolutely perfect.
The only thing that sounded better was taking her back to the cabin for the night and making love to her with the occasional loon call or owl hoot coming through the screens. Then he snorted at that idyllic picture because if they ever re-created that image, he’d probably never want her to leave. Oh yeah, and he had a twin bed and noisy cabin mates. That wasn’t going to work.