For Love of a Grump: A Grumpy Soft for Sunshine Collection

Chapter 8

“It should be short.”

Charlotte tried not to be distracted by the bulge of Malcolm’s biceps as he loomed, arms folded, legs spread, as if he was ready to take the salon by storm. “It’s Gavin’s hair. The length and cut is his choice.”

For his part, Gavin sat in the stylist’s chair, looking amused that the two of them were arguing about such a thing. The one point they agreed on was that he needed some kind of haircut. His dark brown hair was shaggy and unkempt, long enough to pull into a stubby tail. He hadn’t had any kind of cut or shaping in more than a year.

The stylist, a twenty-something woman with a stud in her nose and purple streaks in her own brunette hair, watched the byplay for a few more moments before turning to him. “Are your parents always this opinionated about hair?”

Charlotte and Malcolm turned as one. “We’re not his parents.”

Gavin shrugged. “Long story.”

The woman nodded. “Right. Well, what is it you want, lad?”

“I dinna ken. It’s hair.”

“Then how about we split the difference, and I give you a cut that’ll keep awhile and flatter the shape of your face?”

“That sounds perfect. We’ll be right over here.” Charlotte grabbed Malcolm’s arm and towed him over to the waiting area so he wasn’t crowding the poor stylist.

He growled a little as he sat. “A short, clean cut makes him less recognizable,” he murmured.

“We’ve got much bigger things to worry about than that. Have you heard anything back from your inquiries?”

“Not yet. Far as I can tell, no one’s looking for him. Simon hasn’t reported him missing. I dinna ken whether that’s because he hasn’t noticed or disnae care.”

“Neither’s a good situation.”

“I’ll no’ see him go back into an abusive household.” His stubbled jaw firmed, and a battle light brightened those hazel eyes.

Charlotte wanted to stroke the tension away. To kiss those firm lips again. Instead, she squeezed his arm. “Neither will I. But this is more complicated than just giving him a job and a place to stay and buying him some new clothes. I have no idea how child welfare laws are set up in this country, but I feel certain we’re probably violating some of them.”

He glared. “You’re no’ saying we should just turn him over?”

“No. We need more information. That’s gonna take time. I think we keep him hidden, keep him safe, while we acquire it. See what our options are and how it goes with him. Right now, he’s rolling along with all this, but that doesn’t mean he actually trusts us. Why should he? We’re still relative strangers.”

“Strangers who’ve given more of a damn about him in twenty-four hours than his own blood has in maybe ever.”

Charlotte met his gaze. “Strangers who will keep giving a damn because it’s the right thing to do.”

His big hand settled over hers, where she still gripped his arm, and he nodded.

For all that they argued and disagreed on a multitude of things, she understood that, in this, they were united. They’d work together to see that Gavin was safe, no matter what.

He glanced back toward the boy. “What’s Raleigh going to say about all this?”

“I have no idea. But he’ll no more want to return Gavin to a bad situation than we do. You leave him to me.”

By the time Gavin rose from the stylist’s chair twenty minutes later, he did, indeed, look like an entirely different kid. Charlotte nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent. And now, I think we could all do with some lunch. Gavin, what would you like?”

His thin shoulders twitched. “Anything’s fine.”

Figuring he was a child who’d never gotten a chance to actually be a child, she tried to think about what he probably never got to eat. “Pizza?”

His face brightened. “I like pizza.”

They found a little Italian eatery that did stone-fired crust and ordered the biggest pie they had. As with dinner last night and breakfast this morning, Gavin dove in, inhaling two slices before she’d even gotten through half of one. She wondered if he was still legitimately hungry or if he was afraid the food would disappear. That this whole situation wasn’t going to last. It was probably a little of both.

She waited until he’d scarfed down his fourth slice before bringing up the elephant no one else was going to ask about. “So, one of the practicalities we need to consider is school.”

Gavin stopped chewing, his jaw taking on a stubborn cast that seriously resembled Malcolm. “I’m no’ going back.”

Ignoring that, she gently pushed. “Would your dad think to look for you in school in Glenlaig?”

“I don’t know. I doubt he thinks to look for me anywhere unless he wants a fresh punching bag.”

At Malcolm’s growl, she automatically reached out and laid a hand over his, but she kept her focus on the boy. “I have no idea what the school laws are in Scotland, but I’m certain you’re of an age that you’re required to be there. Now, we’ve already promised we’re not going to do anything to put you in the path of danger, but we want to do this as much on the up and up as we can. That might mean online classes. But you’ll have to do something, along with the duties Malcolm assigns you as his assistant. I’ll look into it and see what would be required to get you enrolled.”

Malcolm studied him. “You’ve not been in school since you left Duntyre, aye?”

“No.”

“After more than a month out, with no’ much more than a month to go in term, it makes more sense for him to start back in January. That gives us time to sort… everything else.”

Gavin immediately jumped on board. “January sounds good.”

Charlotte couldn’t argue with the sense of that. “Fine. But know that’s coming down the pike. Schooling is important.”

His eyes dropped, and he began to pick at a pepperoni. “It disnae matter. You might decide no’ to keep me by then.”

Heart twisting, she met Malcolm’s gaze. The kid needed some serious reassurance.

He leaned forward. “Gavin.” He waited until the boy looked up. “We’re no’ going to force you into anything. If you decide you’re no’ happy wi’ us, we’ll help you find somewhere else. Will there be work and rules? Aye. They’re part of life. They teach responsibility and respect. But in exchange, you’ll have a place of your own, a roof over your head, and food in your belly. We willnae be kicking you out. Understand?”

His brown eyes glimmered, and his Adam’s apple bobbed, so he simply nodded.

“All right. Finish your pizza. We’ve got a few more stops before we head home.”

That was news to Charlotte. They’d already picked up everything on her list. “We do?”

“Aye. I thought we’d stop at some charity shops to see if we could find some furniture and things for his room.”

They hadn’t actually discussed where Gavin would be staying. She’d just kind of assumed he’d take her guest room.

“My room?”

“Charlotte’s guest room is fine and all, but I’ve a spare room with nothing in it. We’ll wrangle a bed from elsewhere on the estate, but this way, you’ll be able to start from scratch. Make it your own.”

Gavin looked stunned. “Truly?”

“A boy needs his own space.”

Having raised Raleigh from a teenager, Charlotte knew this to be true. When Gavin rose to go refill his drink, she leaned toward Malcolm. “Are you okay having him living with you?”

“I’m the one who made the decision he should stay. I should be fully responsible.”

She laid a hand on his arm. “We’re in this together, Niall.”

As their gazes locked, he settled his palm over hers again, warmth soaking into her. In that moment, they felt connected by a bigger purpose, and she wondered how the hell they’d ended up essentially co-parenting a teenage boy in less than a day when half the time they didn’t even like each other all that much. But as he continued to stare at her, a different heat bloomed in her eyes. Yeah, he hadn’t forgotten that kiss they’d yet to talk about either.

They’d deal with it, eventually. Right now, Gavin had to come first.

* * *

Leavingthe boys to carry all their purchases up to Gavin’s new room, Charlotte made her way up to the manor house. Their day in Inverness had stretched on a lot longer than she’d expected, putting them back after the usual dinner hour. She’d see about getting them all fed after she’d had a chance to speak to Raleigh. She wanted to get this part of things over with in case it turned out she was wrong about how he’d react to the situation.

At this time of night, he and Kyla were likely hanging out in the lounge, but given their newlywed status, she didn’t just walk in. There was an unfortunate incident from Raleigh’s teen years with a girl in a hayloft that she was in no hurry to repeat. Ever. After she’d given him a firm talking to about safe, consensual sex, and made sure he was fully supplied with condoms, they’d agreed never to speak of it again. And they hadn’t.

Good Lord. If Gavin stuck around, did that mean she’d have to go through that awkward conversation again at some point?

Don’t borrow trouble, woman.

Bracing herself, she knocked on the kitchen door. Loud enough they’d hear if they were downstairs, but quiet enough not to bother them if they were otherwise occupied. Luck was with her. Kyla answered the door a minute later, in flannel pajama pants and a sweatshirt, her long red hair twisted up and secured with a pen.

She beamed a welcoming smile. “Charlotte! What brings you by?”

“I was hoping to talk to your other half.”

“Come on in. We’re just watching a little TV.”

Knowing how little downtime the two of them got between the running of both estates, she felt bad for interrupting. But this was important.

Raleigh rose from the sofa to give her a quick hug. “Hey! Wasn’t expecting you tonight.” He pulled back and searched her face. “Is everything okay?”

“Not exactly.”

Kyla hovered by the door. “I can leave you two alone.”

Charlotte was under no delusion that he’d keep what she was about to tell him a secret from his wife. “That’s up to you. If you leave, you’ll have plausible deniability.”

Kyla and Raleigh exchanged a look, then Kyla resumed her seat on the couch beside her husband, taking his hand.

Charlotte appreciated the show of solidarity and loved seeing how close they’d become since they’d chosen to stay married, instead of divorcing after the marriage pact had been satisfied. Sometimes the Universe knew what it was doing. She could only hope that now was another of those times.

Raleigh braced his forearms on his knees and leaned forward. “What’s going on, Charlotte?”

Over the course of the afternoon, she’d considered a hundred and one different ways to tell him. There was no graceful way to get into this. “So, Malcolm and I found a squatter in one of the cottages on the estate.”

“Oh, was it another hiker?” Raleigh’s face took on an edge of alarm. “Please tell me you didn’t have some sort of situation where a body needed to be hidden.”

She snorted an awkward laugh. “Nope. Not a body. A child.”

He blinked, clearly waiting for the punchline. “I’m sorry. What?”

“The squatter is a thirteen-year-old boy. His name is Gavin. He made his way all the way here from Duntyre. On foot.”

“So far,” Kyla murmured.

Raleigh’s golden-brown eyes sharpened as he processed all the potential implications. “Is he all right? Was he injured?”

“Thankfully, no. He’s been on his own for about six weeks. A runaway. His mom’s not in the picture. Dad’s an abusive alcoholic. Malcolm knows something of the boy’s father. None of it’s good. We both feel strongly that he absolutely does not need to go back to where he came from. The truth is, if he gets sent back, he’s just going to run away again, and who knows where he’ll end up next time?” Winter was coming. If he tried to do the same thing again, he might freeze to death, or get hurt, or run into some kind of child predator…

Raleigh interrupted her train of disaster thoughts. “Okay, so what are we talking about here? Do you need help getting up with social services in Scotland or what?”

“Probably eventually. Right now, we want him to stay here. Malcolm has offered him a job helping out for room and board around the estate. We’ll need to look into school at some point, but he’s already been out for six weeks, and the term is going to be over in a few more, so that seems more like a problem for January, after we determine whether he’s actually going to get to stay or not.”

The pair of them stared at her long enough that Charlotte began to sweat.

A furrow appeared between Raleigh’s brows, as if he were weighing his words. “So, let me get this straight. You’ve basically taken in a stray boy?”

“Yes, and no. He’s actually going to be living with Malcolm.”

“Malcolm? Mr. I’d-Be-Fine-Going-a-Month-Without-Human-Contact? Mr. Prefers-Animals-to-People? Are you sure about this? Don’t get me wrong—he’s a damned fine estate manager, but he’s not exactly the paternal sort.”

Charlotte thought of the unexpected gentleness he’d shown Gavin. There was far more beneath that gruff persona he presented to the world. “He might surprise you.” He’d certainly surprised her. “Either way, we’re on the same page about this.”

“You and Malcolm?” he repeated, his tone ripe with disbelief.

“Yes, me and Malcolm.” Annoyance began to prickle. They were getting away from the point.

“You’ll have to excuse me if I’m having a little trouble wrapping my brain around the idea of you and Malcolm peacefully working together on anything.”

“He did buy her sheep,” Kyla pointed out, lips quirked in amusement.

“So he did,” Raleigh conceded. “I can’t imagine why.”

Feeling a little defensive on Malcolm’s behalf, Charlotte sighed. “They were an apology.”

“For what?”

No way in hell was she telling him about that. He’d have a fit. “None of your business. We’ve sorted it. Anyway, believe me, I am every bit as surprised as you by the current turn of events, but we’re in full agreement on this point. We want to help him. I know there are potentially some thorny legal issues around all of this, but we’d appreciate your discretion about the fact that the boy is here, and if you could put in a word with Hamish so we can actually get some legal advice on the situation, that would really help us out.”

Kyla’s blue eyes shone with sympathy. “Of course, we’ll do that. You didn’t need us to talk to Hamish.”

“No, but it’s on your property and under your nose, so this could blow back on y’all. If you’ve got any issue with us keeping this child here, now’s the time to mention it so we can make other arrangements.” She didn’t have the foggiest idea what those arrangements might be, but she was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

“We don’t want any kid to get put back in a bad situation,” Raleigh assured her. “But are you sure you want to take on another unruly teenage boy?”

Relieved, she grinned and crossed over to pat his cheek. “Well, I think the first one turned out pretty well, so yes.”

Kyla laughed. “I certainly can’t argue with that. We’re happy to do whatever’s needed to rally the troops to keep the boy safe.”

Charlotte let out a slow breath. “Thank you. Truly.”

“We’ll want to meet him at some point, when he’s comfortable. And I’ll want to talk to Malcolm about exactly what work he’ll be doing. I’m sure there are liability issues to deal with.”

“Gavin’s a little skittish right now. But we’ll see to all of that. Seriously, thank you for this. I know it’s going to be potentially complicated, but it just feels like the right thing to do.”

Raleigh rose and wrapped her in another tight hug. “That’s always been your specialty. You let us know what you need.”

She squeezed him and stepped back. “Now that you mention it, we’re in search of another spare bed.”