WHEN THE TELEPHONE RANG ON SATURDAY, A LITTLE before noon, Charity ignored it. She’d brought Cocoa home from the vet’s earlier that morning, and she’d been writing up a storm for the past two and a half hours while her faithful companion slept nearby. She didn’t want to break the flow while it was going so well. Whoever was calling would simply have to leave a message or try again later.
Charity’s dystopian-set Lancer Series featured a strong, smart, courageous female protagonist named Ghleanna. While there were some good—even heroic—male characters in those books, there was never more than a hint of a potential romantic relationship with Ghleanna. Charity’s former editor had loved the books that way. So had Charity.
But, to her surprise, she’d warmed to the developing romances in her new novel. And she was as fond of her secondary teenaged couple as she was of her slightly more mature hero and heroine, two people about the same age as Charity herself.
And the same age as Buck.
She closed her eyes and sighed. She hadn’t meant to let her neighbor sneak into her thoughts. Not again. Not today. Not when she needed to stay focused on her story. She might as well have answered the phone. Nobody else could disturb her the way Buck Malone could. Even when he didn’t try to. Even when he wasn’t present.
She looked at her laptop screen and poised her fingers over the keyboard. Then she waited. And waited. Nothing. Not a word. Not a single noun or verb or adjective. Not any narrative or dialogue. Nothing. Like a river that had been dammed by the sudden collapse of a mountainside.
“Go away, Buck.”
Cocoa raised her head.
“Ignore me, girl. I’m okay.” She rose from the desk, closing the laptop as she did so. “Let’s eat something.”
Charity went to the sheepskin-lined dog bed and lifted Cocoa into her arms. Once down the stairs, she set Cocoa on the floor and allowed the dog to limp her way into the kitchen. It made Charity’s chest ache to see her faithful pal like this. What if the bear had killed her? What if Buck hadn’t found her in time?
Buck again.
Standing in the kitchen, the memory of the kiss they’d shared in this room came rushing back. Tingling sensations shot through her, and her breath became short. The kiss had been more than she’d dreamed any kiss could be.
She released a sigh as she opened the refrigerator. Stood there a short while looking until, undecided on what to eat, she finally closed the door. That was when she noticed the blinking light on the answering machine. She went to it and punched the Play button.
“Hi, Charity.” Nathan’s voice. “Sorry I missed you. About me coming up tomorrow. Looks like I won’t make it. My boss is sending me out of town for the next week, and I’ll be thirty thousand feet in the air at noon tomorrow. I’m really sorry. How about I call you once I’m settled in the hotel? Should be around four or so, Mountain Time. Hope you’ll be near the phone then. Take care.”
Click.
Nathan’s kisses had never made her feel the way Buck’s one brief kiss had. And as that realization swept over her, she also knew that she and Nathan would never get back together again. She didn’t love him. If she was honest with herself, she’d known it wouldn’t work when he’d come to see her last Sunday.
No, I knew the day he first called.
She was moving on. She was getting better, stronger. She wasn’t going to settle for something less. She might not be ready yet, but she would get there.
BUCK ARRIVED AT HIS BROTHER’S HOME A LITTLE before five. He’d been invited to join the family for dinner, an opportunity he tried never to pass up. And being there would give him some time with the newest member of the Malone clan. Little Eddy had completely captured his uncle’s heart.
“Wow, Sara,” he said after embracing his sister-in-law. “You look more beautiful every time I see you. Being a mother of four agrees with you.”
She laughed. “You’re a charming liar, Buck Malone. My hair is a disaster, and I haven’t lost an ounce that I gained while pregnant. But thanks anyway.”
“My brother isn’t lying,” Ken said as he draped an arm over his wife’s shoulders. “You do look more beautiful each day.”
She feigned a frown. “Are you trying to get out of doing the dishes when dinner’s over?”
“Maybe,” Ken and Buck answered in unison, both grinning.
“Uh-huh.” She shook her head but returned their smiles.
“Where’s Eddy?” Buck asked.
“In the family room.” Ken looked at Sara. “You go on with him. I’ll keep an eye on the stove.”
“Thanks, hon.”
Sara led the way down the hall. A kind of ordered chaos ruled the family room. Buck found it appealing. Krista and Sharon played a board game on the floor near the sliding glass door that led onto the patio. Their brother Jake played a video game on the large-screen television. In a bassinet near the sofa, Eddy slept, blissfully unaware of the invaders from outer space being blown to bits on the screen.
Buck glanced at Sara, and after she nodded, he scooped up the infant. “He’s going to look like you.”
“Are you joking? He’s a Malone through and through. In fact, I said those very same words to Charity a couple of days ago.”
He looked up from the baby but tried not to sound too interested. “Is that right?”
“Mmm. She came over after checking on her dog at the vet’s. Ashley was here, too, and before Ash left, she made certain Charity signed up for both the reunion potluck and the dance.”
Buck settled on the sofa, and Sara sat beside him, smiling as she looked at her baby.
“Must be a huge relief, how well Eddy’s doing.”
“I can’t begin to say.”
“How old is he? I’ve already lost track.”
“Five weeks yesterday.” Sara reached out and lightly touched the tip of his tiny nose.
Buck looked at his sister-in-law. “Did Charity tell you how upset she got the day Eddy was born? I guess she was afraid you or the baby wouldn’t make it. She ran out of the waiting area like the place was on fire.”
“No,” Sara answered, eyes growing wide. “She didn’t tell me.”
“I was worried about her, but she wouldn’t talk about it when she came back.”
Sara straightened and leaned back from him, as if to get a better look at his face. “Something’s changed about you.”
“About me? Nah. I’m the same.”
She released a soft gasp. “It’s Charity, isn’t it?”
“What about Charity?”
“You like her. And more than just a little too.”
He looked down at his infant nephew and felt a tug in his heart toward a different future than he used to envision for himself. One that needed a wider circle to contain all of the people he loved. One worth having, even with the risk.