Charlotte stood staring into the bathroom mirror after a little morning maintenance. A finger-tooth brushing, ten damp fingers through the long curling red hair and a sigh. She lifted the large tee shirt that lay on the counter and dropped it over her head.
Okay, it covered all things important but she slipped her panties up her legs anyway before wandering into the main area of the suite. She went to the kitchen and quickly made coffee and searched the fridge and cabinets before placing a room service order for breakfast.
It hadn’t gotten very chilly at night and she stepped onto the patio, gazing out at the brilliant blue water in the distance. The sun was rising on the other side of the resort and as it did, it threw streaks of yellow and pink over the sky as the morning marine layer was edged out.
Charlotte found a large blanket on the sofa and carried it to the patio, sinking down to sit cross-legged and just enjoy the peace of the morning. Jesse found her laying on her side on the patio when he answered the door, admitting the table filled with breakfast. He poured a large cup of coffee, leaning against the breakfast bar and browsing the front page of the newspaper that came with the breakfast.
Wearing jeans and a t-shirt, he stepped barefoot onto the patio and grit his teeth at the cold tiles beneath his feet. He stared down at the closed eyes, his head shaking before he dropped to his heels and lifted her from the tiles. Trailing the blanket, he laid her on the sofa and tucked the blanket around her before going back to his paper.
He hadn’t wanted to leave the bed until he realized he was alone and the warm, vital woman he’d held through the night was missing. But her clothing was now resting in a neat pile on the low bureau.
As usual, Jamie came out first, dressed and wearing shoes, his nose centering on the table filled with covered platters. Jesse tossed his keys to his son.
“Please. In the SUV is Charlotte’s backpack. Would you bring it up before you sit down to devour breakfast?”
Jamie wasn’t a big talker in the morning unless his sister was pushing for his input. He merely caught the keys and nodded, heading out the door without a word.
“I smell breakfast,” Jenna shuffled into the main area, long hair sleep tousled, feet bare and a long sleep shirt touching her knees. Dark lashes blinked and blinked again, looking from the quiet Charlotte to her father, drinking coffee and reading the business pages. “Why is she sleeping on the sofa?”
“Here you go, dad,” Jamie dropped the keys to the counter and handed the pack over before heading for the fridge and the orange juice he knew was inside. He held it out to his sister and accepted the nod, getting two glasses and carrying them to the waiting breakfast table.
“I’m not sleeping,” came the drowsy muffled voice from the sofa. She pulled the blanket higher and snuggled into the warmth. She growled at the laughter from the three of them.
“Jamie brought your pack in for you,” Jesse poured more coffee, his attention on the backpack at his feet. “I think your phone’s going off, Charlotte.”
“It’s Sunday,” she grumbled testily. “No one’s working. No one calls me at this time of the morning on my day off. Not if they want to live,” she tossed the blanket back and sat up, arms pressing down on the cushions and legs stretched out in front of her. “Fine, fine, fine…” She looked up at Jenna, blinking at the large pack held out for her. “Thanks.”
“Thanks for ordering breakfast,” Jenna answered with a little yawn. “Usually I wake up to find these two scrounging in the kitchen, arguing about whose turn it was to order or to have gone shopping.”
“Guys…” Charlotte chuckled at the rolled eyes, head lowered as she dug through clothing for the little phone in the side pocket. She tapped on the surface, reading the screen and frowning. Deeper and deeper. “The police are looking for me,” she tapped in the number. “This is Charlotte Bell. I just checked my phone. Yes…yes, that’s my shop. Vandalized…no, I’ll be right there, thank you!”
She was up immediately, the pack in one hand. She met the concerned dark eyes.
“I need to get home, Jesse. The police said my shop’s been vandalized. They wouldn’t say anything else until I get there.”
“Then get changed and we’ll go,” he told her, following behind her. “What did they tell you, Charlotte?”
“Just what I said,” she told him, pulling clothes on and tossing his shirt to the bed. Hands quickly brushed and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She was bent and pulling her sneakers on, fingers busily tying things up tight. “Someone broke the front windows and painted…painted some words across the front.”
“Words?” Jesse had his wallet in a pocket of his slacks, stopping at the door to the bedroom and watching her look up. She grabbed up the repacked bag and walked over to him. Frustration seeped between his teeth. “What words, Charlotte?”
“Whore and slut.” She met the dark eyes watching her, her voice low before turning and sliding through the door to the main entrance to the suite. She blinked at the pair waiting there for them. “You don’t have to…”
“We might help,” Jenna said easily. She picked up the keys and tossed them to her father and held a capped tall coffee cup for him. She watched Jamie take the pack from her and her father put his free hand in Charlotte’s. Besides, we’re family, she thought as she led the way to the elevator.
Charlotte was glad she hadn’t gotten around to eating anything. Her stomach was bouncing between being in knots and lurching at the thought of something happening to her shop. Her breath caught in her chest when they rounded the final curve in the road and came up on the two police cars and the bright yellow tape holding back morning joggers from getting too close to the shattered windows.
Fresh blood red paint was the color used to make the slash like marks that formed the words across the front of the building and doors. Charlotte couldn’t pull her eyes from them. Barely breathing, she swiped at the tear that fell down one cheek in anger.
It wasn’t random. It wasn’t a robbery.
This was personal.
“Charlotte,” Jesse took her hand before she could jump from the SUV, the kids already out and walking forward. “We can fix this.”
She looked over at him, oblivious to the bright sunshine coming over the hills behind them. It was almost ten. She didn’t say the words that would be not only wrong, but hurtful because she was certain he was already thinking the same words. She just nodded, slipped her palm free and pushed the door wide, her wallet in her hands to identify herself to the officer headed in their direction.
Jesse kept his eyes on the twins and Charlotte, her head up as she walked to one of the officers, offering her identification before another man came forward. He recognized the woman with him from the resort. He wandered to the twins.
“So what have you heard?” He looked from one to the other, waiting patiently for them to silently designate who would do the talking. He’d become used to it through the years, never quite understanding how they did it. Just that it was standard for them. Jamie ran one hand over his neck.
“It happened about two this morning,” Jamie answered, his eyes back on the horror movie writing on the exterior walls. “Someone heading home from the resort and familiar with Bell’s Brews saw a figure dressed in a long coat running to a waiting car and driving off. She called the cops. Catherine’s here because the police who responded knew her as a friend of the owner and they couldn’t find Charlie, so they called her to see if she knew where the owner was.”
“She has security,” Jenna gestured to the small cameras mounted around the property. “But it looks like they might have been damaged.”
Jamie touched his dad’s arm, his head nodding toward Charlotte. “You might want to go over there. She’s not looking too good.”
Jesse crossed the parking lot, ducking beneath the tape and getting an arm around Charlotte’s waist before she could throw the rock she had in her hand. His free hand out to cover the rock, loosening her fingers and letting it fall to the ground.
“We can fix this, Charlotte,” he said calmly, his mouth next to her ear. “I know someone who can come out and do the glass today. We’ll get the shatterproof type this time. Jamie and I can get some stuff and clean the paint. Did they damage your security cameras?”
Stubborn eyes filled with moisture but she refused to acknowledge them. She accepted the pen from Catherine and wrote over the paper she held.
“Jesse,” Catherine took the paper and went into the building after Charlotte pushed the doors wide.
“Morning, Catherine,” he responded with a quiet nod.
“No. No, they thought they did,” Charlotte said after a few quiet minutes, dragging in a long, shaking breath. “Faith isn’t the most trusting of souls,” she went on with a little laugh. “Those are for show. The actual cameras are built into the scroll work around the overhang. I just gave Cat the password to the program and she’s going to see what’s on the cameras now,” she pulled her gaze from the damage and blinked up at him. “This definitely wasn’t in the plans. I’m sorry.”
“Stop, Charlotte,” his palm slid up her arms to her shoulders. “You and I both know this is probably my fault for involving you. Did you tell them about Jasmine?”
“Catherine seemed to already know,” she answered with a sigh. “She said she was contacted by the Vancouver police with the complete file.” She chewed on her lip for a minute, about to speak when Cat came from inside, a disc in her fingers.
“You didn’t tell me she assaulted you yesterday, Charlie,” Cat scowled at her, noticing the suddenly narrowed dark eyes. She looked at Jesse. “You didn’t know.”
Jesse glanced at her before focusing on Charlotte.
“I didn’t tell him,” Charlotte pronounced clearly. “It was…”
“What did she want?” Jesse knew he was taking his anger and frustration out on the wrong person and worked to keep his voice level. “You should have told me.”
“She offered me money…said she saw your car here the other night…” Charlotte shook her head, two hands up and on her shoulders. “I need to clean this up. Get those windows blocked…” She walked off, stepping gingerly through large pieces of shattered glass. She didn’t see Jesse nod toward Jenna who followed behind, chattering about classes and school as she cleaned beside Charlotte.
“Was she on the security camera?” Jesse asked Catherine quietly.
“You can’t tell. No sign of a car to narrow it down and whoever it was wore a long dark coat and had a ski mask over their face. Could have been a male or female,” she shook her head and went to speak to the police, giving them the disc for their investigation.
Jesse opened his phone, waiting for an answer and watching his son enter the shop and talk to Jenna before moving into the back.
“It’s Sunday,” came the low growl through the phone.
“I noticed that,” Jesse said with a chuckle he didn’t really feel but needed. “I need a favor, Riley.”
“I owe you a few,” acknowledged the man on the other end, dragging one hand through sun lightened blond hair that almost reached his shoulders. He squinted at the clock. “So speak to me, Jesse.”
“You have connections locally. I need someone to put in new and hopefully shatterproof glass in a business. Now. Or at the very least, before sundown.” Jesse watched Jamie nod and exit the building with a set of keys before going to the separate small storage unit to the left of the coffee shop.
“Address,” Riley Chester scribbled on the notepad he’d pulled from the nightstand. “Got it. What happened?”
“Vandalism. Broken windows,” he must have sounded more than a little frustrated because his friend picked up on it immediately.
“Jasmine. I’ll make a couple calls and be back in touch.”
“Thanks,” Jesse closed the phone, a little frown that turned into a crooked grin as he watched his son come out of the shed with a large paint can and brush. He’d raised good kids, not realizing it for the first time, but watching it in action and feeling it take a firm grip on his heart. He had always thought himself a smart guy but knowing something and feeling it, he discovered, were vastly different. He dropped the phone into the pocket of his jeans and went to find another brush to help with the painting.
Grateful for the breeze off the Sound, Jesse and Jamie put two coats of paint over the red streaks, accepting the iced tea and pastry Jenna brought to them after thirty minutes. He took out his phone, read the printed message and nodded after checking his watch. A few minutes later, a very large truck pulled into the parking lot, the back holding a wide selection of glass in many sizes and types. Jesse left Jamie to cleaning the brushes and walked over to talk to the man climbing from the driver’s side.
Charlotte was in her office when the sounds began outside, dragging her from resetting the security system and looking at the photos Jamie had taken for her for the insurance. There were two men using very high end vacuums cleaning up glass. Her eyes went from them to Jenna who had been making sure things were stocked for the morning and clean up glass that might have flown around the large shop area.
“I saw dad talking to them,” she said with a half shrug, going back to her checking of counters and tables. She’d talked Charlotte into giving her a part time job beginning tomorrow after classes.
“Excuse me,” Charlotte went to one of the men.
“Charlotte,” Jesse came up from the side, taking her palm and leading her back toward her office. “They’re putting in new glass for you and cleaning up the damage.”
“I don’t…I have to call my insurance and email them photos, Jesse.”
“You can still do all that,” he said easily, mentally prepared for the argument he knew would be coming. “I called a friend with some connections and it’s being done now. This is my fault and I’m handling the cost, Charlotte.” He saw her eyes widen, her mouth opening. “It is my fault. I introduced you to Jasmine and didn’t bother to think how she’d react to…”
“It’s her fault, not yours and I cannot let you…I’ll pay you back,” she said flatly, tugging her palm from his and pacing the office to the window.
“Fine. We’ll work that out later. For now, I want the place put back like you had it,” Jesse stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans to avoid pulling her into his arms. She’d been on her own for so long he was pretty sure she didn’t want comforting. She wanted her control back.
He swore to himself. And he’d further taken it from her by just making the arrangements for the glass without talking to her first.
“Charlotte, I’m sorry. I should have talked to you before starting this.”
“Yes, you should have. This is my business. Mine,” she said quietly, shaking her head and moving back to the kitchen, not looking back at him standing there and refusing to acknowledge that her hands were shaking.
She listened to the voice telling her he meant well at the same time the other voice said this would never have happened if she hadn’t stepped into his life. And still a third voice wanted to scream and shout and hit something, anything, and she didn’t want it to be him.
Charlotte leaned against the stainless steel cabinet, hands tight and head dropping between her arms. She closed her eyes, willing the hot tears to stay there. She’d been doing a good job of it. Until now. Without thinking, her palms formed into fists when she felt the hands on her shoulders, turning her and gripping them tightly. Jesse pulled her against him, trapping her fists where they couldn’t do any damage.
“If you want to hit something, fine. I understand that. And I even understand you might want to pound on me,” he spoke the words softly right next to her ear, aware of his kids watching from a distance. “But I’m not the enemy. I’m sorry, Charlotte. I’m sorry for Jasmine and I’m sorry I didn’t think before arranging for the glass. I thought…I wanted it to not be a problem for you,” he said with a hint of frustration. “I wanted to do something to help fix this because it is my fault. I don’t want to take your control from you or your business.”
Jesse didn’t realize he was holding his breath until she looked up, tears falling over her cheeks. He felt his insides crumple, one hand going to her head before his lips brushed her temple.
“I don’t want this,” she whispered, angry at herself. She tried shoving at him but his arms wouldn’t move. “Jesse…let me go. I have work to do.”
“You can take a minute and breathe, Charlotte,” his hand moved from her head and along the side of her face. His thumb caught and swept away the damp line on her cheek. “It’s okay. I don’t think you’re all girly or anything because you cried,” he winked at her and saw her lips twitch just a little.
“I still want to pound something.”
“I know. Believe me, I know,” he sighed and loosened his arms. “We have the painting finished outside. The glass will take about half an hour more he said. Is the security still working?”
“It’s fine,” she shrugged and moved to make sure things were ready for the morning rush. Monday morning people seemed to be very desperate for that jolt to get them launched into the week. “I can make my claim online and email them the photos with a copy of the police report. If you’ll excuse me,” she took his hand and squeezed before drifting back to her office.