Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
L uc got a shitty night’s sleep followed by a shitty morning wake up. His coffee maker chose today of all days to crap out on him. So now he was tired, cranky, and under caffeinated. A bad combination.
All night long the pain in Charlie’s soft, blue eyes haunted him. Dammit, he hadn’t meant to make her feel bad. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do, but he just didn’t see how they could work. Even if he didn’t have his dad to look after, there was the issue of him being her teacher or whatever the hell he technically was. It wasn’t strictly unethical as he wasn’t her therapist. But the fact that he supervised the anger management group got into iffy territory.
He did the right thing last night, he knew it. So why the hell did he feel like a grade A asshole this morning?
“Get it together, man.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Woolf, did you say something?”
He glanced up, forgetting he currently stood in the very busy Kismet coffee shop, Tin Cups. Pulling up a smile for the kind looking elderly woman standing next to him, he shook his head. “No, ma’am. Just talking to myself.”
“Hmmm,” a familiar sour voice interrupted. “Our mother always used to say people who talked to themselves were either crazy or had money in the bank.”
Apple Blithe slid up to the woman who’d first spoken to him. The two looked remarkably similar. If he had to guess he’d say they were related. Sisters perhaps. It would explain how a woman he’d never met before knew his name.
“Which is it?” Apple demanded.
“Apple, don’t be rude to the nice man.”
“Can it, Olive. Stop telling me how to behave or I’ll switch your calcium chocolates with laxatives again.”
Yup, definitely sisters. He’d recognize a threat like that anywhere. The only brother in a family of girls, he’d had to break up many fights growing up. Always better when his sisters were fighting amongst themselves, however, because it meant they weren’t ganging up on him.
“Apple.” He inclined his head. “Will I see you in class today?” he asked, completely sidestepping the loaded question.
One gray bushy eyebrow rose, but she let him off the hook. “Of course. Just grabbing some wake-up juice before I head over. That crap they give us at the community center tastes like the creek water after a mudslide.”
He couldn’t disagree. Wasn’t that also the reason he was here?
“Luc. Large coffee for Luc.”
Nodding to the two women, he gave them a smile. “Excuse me ladies. Apple I’ll see you in a few.”
She grunted, clearly as excited to get to class today as he was. What he really wanted was another few hours in his bed. Or Charlie’s bed. No. He had to stop thinking like that. Yes, he wanted the woman, but it was wrong. They couldn’t be together. They shouldn’t be together. There were plenty of reasons for them not to and only one reason for it.
Because we want each other.
No denying it. The tension between them sparked like a live wire whenever he got within ten feet of the woman. He found himself thinking about her during the day, dreaming about her at night. And that kiss they shared…that kiss. Damn! He still couldn’t get the taste of her off his tongue. The feel of her soft, sweet lips imprinted on his own like a brand, burned into his memory.
Grabbing his coffee off the counter, he muttered as polite a thanks as he could to the barista and headed out of the shop. The brisk autumn air hit him in the face. Dr. Ray and the staff at the hospital kept saying this was a warm fall, but being from Las Vegas, anything below sixty was considered cold to Luc. The weather forecast today claimed a high of fifty-five and at this time of the morning he’d bet it was nowhere near that. Good thing the community center was just a few blocks away.
He hurried down the street, arriving before any of the students and began to set up the chairs. The coffee helped clear his brain somewhat, but his mood didn’t improve with the caffeine boost. It dipped even darker when everyone started to arrive, and he noticed one person missing.
“Where’s Charlie?”
He glanced around at the people gathered, but everyone was looking around with the same puzzled expression.
“Anyone know why Charlie isn’t here today?” He’d only been living here a short while, but by now he knew no one’s business was private in this small town. Everyone seemed to know everything about everyone.
Especially…
“Apple,” He nodded to the empty seat next to her. The one usually occupied by one dark haired sarcastic, feisty, sexy ball of spitfire. “You know anything?”
The old woman shrugged. “I haven’t heard from her. Have you?”
He didn’t like the way she phrased that. Did Crab Apple—yes, he’d heard the nickname thrown around the hospital and as mean as it might be, he had to admit, it fit—know about their kiss the other night? He didn’t see how. It had been dark. They’d been alone. Unless Charlie told her, but he doubted it. Somehow, he didn’t think the two women engaged in kiss-and-tell gossip. No matter how chummy they were during class.
“Just a reminder, everyone is allowed to miss two classes.” It was fine that Charlie wasn’t here. It didn’t mean anything.
But guilt tugged at him. She’d been so upset last night. He didn’t want her missing class, messing up her court appointed sentence, all because of him. This was the exact situation he’d been trying to avoid by telling her no last night. He held too much power in their dynamic. That’s why they couldn’t…dammit! He needed to talk to her. Make sure she was all right. Try to explain himself better.
But not right now. Now, he had a class to teach.
“Okay, everyone. Let’s get started.”
It turned out to be the longest class he’d ever instructed. The moment he dismissed everyone, he quickly picked up all the chairs and headed for his car. He’d parked in the center’s lot before walking to grab a coffee. Street parking in Kismet could be dicey with all the tourists.
He headed straight for Charlie’s house, but when he knocked on her door there was no answer. She could be avoiding him, but a peek in the window revealed an empty house and her car wasn’t in the driveway. He had no idea where she could be, and unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to find out. He should have been at the hospital ten minutes ago.
“Shit!”
Getting back in his car, he drove toward the hospital, heart pounding in his chest the entire way. The only other place he knew to look for her would be Jacks. As much as he hated going to bars, he needed to talk to her. But it would have to wait until after his shift. Dammit. Today was shaping up to be as shitty as last night.
* * *
The second his shift ended Luc hustled down the street to Jacks. All day he’d been berating himself for the way he handled last night. He hadn’t known her long, but what he did know about Charlie was that she was a strong, proud, self-reliant woman. Rejection sucked, no matter what the reasons were. He had to say no last night, for both their sakes. But to think he’d hurt her in any way didn’t sit right.
The moment he stepped into the bar, the jovial din of the crowd assaulted his ears. People sat at the few sparse tables enjoying drinks, chatting with friends and co-workers. Every barstool occupied with customers, people standing behind the sitting patrons waiting for their chance to order.
Business appeared to be booming, but he didn’t see Charlie. He did, however, see a familiar face tending the bar. The woman from karaoke night with the shocks of blue running through her dark hair, Kelley was her name, if memory served.
Making his way up to the bar he remained upright, easily seen over the huddled crowd trying to get her attention.
“Doctor Hottie!” She exclaimed with a bright smile.
“Not a doctor,” he corrected.
She chuckled. “You here for a drink?”
“Hey, I was here first,” a large white man wearing a dusty ball cap and worn flannel looking like it’d seen better days, complained, wavering slightly on his stool as she started to move toward Luc.
Kelley paused, waving a finger in the man’s face. “Bert, you’ve been here since we opened. I told you you’re getting nothing but water until your daughter comes to get you. BJ and Ace have given you several warnings about this.”
“Just had a rough day is all,” Bert muttered into his empty glass.
The bartender placed a gentle hand over his big, meaty one. She leaned in close, but Luc could still hear her softly spoken words in the loud room as she told the man, “You’ve been having a lot of rough days lately. Maybe you should talk to someone about that, Bert, instead of coming here every day trying to drink them away. It won’t help.”
This was by far the strangest bar he’d ever been in. And he’d been in a lot. Grabbing his dad when the old man got belligerent or too drunk to stay upright. Sometimes he’d get away with a simple apology, sometimes he’d have to hand over a large sum of cash for whatever damage his dad had done in order to keep the cops out of it. All those times his father had been drunk as a skunk. Served drink after drink until the man could barely function.
He knew it wasn’t the establishment’s fault. They had a business to run and as long as they didn’t let people drink and drive, legally they were in the clear. Still, he sure would have appreciated a bartender like Kelley trying to set his dad straight.
Maybe one did. Maybe dozens did. I know how well dad listens.
True. Hard as it was, he had to remind himself no one could make his father quit drinking. His dad had to do that on his own. But it did make something deep in his gut warm at the knowledge that Jacks hired good people who seemed to care about their fellow humans more than the bottom line. Gave insight into who the Jackson family truly was. Who Charlie was.
“Here,” he said, pulling one of his cards out of his wallet and handing it over to Bert. “I don’t know what’s troubling you sir, but if you need someone to talk to, just give me a call.”
Bert raised one bushy white brow, narrowing his glazed eyes. “You a shrink?”
He laughed softly. “No, but I am a licensed therapist, and I’d like to help if I can.”
Bert belched out a laugh. The sour smell of alcohol hitting Luc directly in the face. He held back a swarm of unpleasant memories trying to rise within and focused on Bert.
“Gonna charge me an arm and a leg to sit there and listen to me yammer on while you go ‘hmmmm’ and end up blaming all my problems on my mama?”
Judging by the age of Bert, he’d bet the old guy came from a generation that looked down on therapy. Pity, everyone deserved an unbiased person who would listen to their problems and try to offer help.
“Actually, I work out of the hospital,” he replied, not taking the bait. “They have a lot of programs for the community, free of charge. Stop on by whenever you’d like. No pressure.”
Bert blinked. His lips curled back in a disbelieving sneer, but Luc saw the old man slip the card into his pocket. A small flicker of hope rose in his chest. This was why he would never stop trying to help. As long as he saw that spark in people’s eyes, in his dad’s eyes, the one that said maybe they could get better, he would never give up.
He turned back to Kelley who had a contemplative look in her eyes as she stared at him. She glanced at Bert and nodded as if to say thank you. No thanks needed. It was what he did. Offer help, even when people shoved it back in his face.
“She’s in the back,” Kelley finally said.
“What?”
Kelley smiled at him, grabbing a shaker and pouring various liquids into it. “You’re not here for Kismet’s finest alcohol so you must be here for Kismet’s finest smart mouth.”
She did have a smart mouth. A delicious one too.
“She’s in the back, in her office.” Short dark hair swept her cheek as she tilted her head. “Go through that door and head all the way back past the distilling equipment. If anyone stops you, tell them I sent you back to see Charlie. You should be fine though. The guys are all helping at the restaurant tonight.”
By guys he assumed she meant Charlie’s brothers. Yeah, he’d just as soon not run into any of them tonight. Not until he and Charlie had a talk. Nodding a thanks to Kelley, he made his way around the bar and into the back. Sour smells of fermentation hit his nostrils. He glanced around, noticing all the gleaming silver equipment filling the back of the building. He paused, momentarily fascinated by all the gauges, large round tins, pipes, and tubes running from one thing to another. He didn’t drink much, but he could appreciate how things were made and distilling looked fascinating.
Shaking off his curiosity he focused on his purpose. Heading to the back, like Kelley said, he quickly found a few small rooms. One had a door slightly ajar. Light spilled from the crack, and he could hear the sound of fingers clicking away on a computer.
“Dammit, BJ. I told him not to order from Hunter’s Farm again. They are gouging us on grain prices. Stupid Jackasson.”
He smiled, having no idea why the woman’s feisty temper got to him, but it did. Stepping up to the door, he knocked. It swung open to reveal Charlie, hunched over a laptop on a small wooden desk. She glanced up, irritation quickly melting into surprise and back into irritation again.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
He took a step into her small office, ignoring her perturbed attitude. He recognized a defensive mechanism when he saw one. “You weren’t in class today.”
Carefully closing her computer, she shrugged. “What are you, my probation office?”
“No, I’m your…teacher. You don’t have a probation officer.”
“Sure feels like it at the moment.” She muttered the words under her breath, but he heard them.
“Look, if you’re going to miss class you need to contact me and let me know.”
Some of the fire left her eyes. Groaning, she leaned over, thunking her head on the desk a few times.
“Ow.”
Gut clenching, he hurried around the side of her desk, crouching until he was level with her. “Charlie, what is it? Why didn’t you show up at class today?”
He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but he needed to hear her say it. Then he could apologize and explain.
Rolling her head, she glanced sideways at him. “I didn’t show up because I was embarrassed as hell, and I didn’t contact you to tell you for the same damn reason.”
“Embarrassed?” What in the world did she have to be embarrassed about? Disappointed, angry, upset, sure. All natural reactions, but embarrassed? “Why?”
She sat up, causing him to inch back or get a forehead to the nose.
“Why? Um, maybe because I threw myself at you and you rejected me, dumbass.”
He wasn’t sure if she was calling him the dumbass or herself. Standing, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Charlie, you know why I had to say no.”
Rolling her eyes, she stood as well, leaning a hip against the darkly stained oak desk. “Yeah, because heaven forbid doctor straight and narrow be seen with Kismet’s local jailbird.”
“Not a doctor,” he grumbled. Why did everyone keep forgetting that?
“Whatever.”
Now she was just pissing him off. Did the woman really think he was that shallow?
“First of all,” he dropped his hands to his hips, taking a small step toward her. “You were never in jail. You had a court date and got sentenced to anger management classes, hardly a hardened criminal.”
She snorted, but he continued.
“Second, I supervise those classes which puts me in a position of power over you and that is why we can’t…”
Her eyes narrowed, blue depths heating with fire, but not a pleasant one. No, this one promised his long and painful demise.
“No man has power over me. Ever.” A humorless laugh escaped her lips. “The last guy who thought he could control my life got a swift kick to the balls.”
Good for her. Still didn’t change the fact of their dynamic.
“Charlie, we can’t.”
“Why? Is it illegal? Could you get fired? Do you have a wife and three kids stashed back in Vegas?”
He gritted his teeth. Getting this woman to see the light was damn near killing him. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted…anything. But he was trying to do the right thing here. He only had so much control and she was testing it past the breaking point.
“No, no, and no. But…people wouldn’t look kindly on it.”
And he’d be damned if he did anything to sully her reputation. He didn’t give a shit what the people of town thought about him, well he kind of did, but he could take it. He was the kid of a drunk. He’d faced public scrutiny before. But Charlie, she didn’t need anyone on her case. And from the limited amount of time he’d spent in this town, he knew if they started a relationship the whole damn nosy town would be talking and judging.
She didn’t deserve that.
“ People don’t have to know.”
She leaned back on the desk, the full, generous breasts pressing against her thin T-shirt like a damn offering his mouth salivated to receive.
“Unless.” Her relaxed pose stilted, shoulder hunching in as a slight hint of vulnerability entered those beautiful blue eyes. “You don’t want me?”
How the hell could she ever think that? Was that what all this was about? The embarrassment, the hiding? He thought Charlie was smarter than that. Looked like he’d just have to prove to her how wrong she was.
Stepping forward, he reached out and grasped her hand, tugging her until she slipped off the desk and into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his body flush against hers until she could feel just how very much he wanted her.
“Does this feel like I don’t want you?”
She gasped as a very hard and painful part of his anatomy ground against her. Eyes glazing over with lust, her small pink tongue came out to wet her lower lip. Damn! All he’d wanted to do was apologize and make her feel better. Now his body burned as if it were on fire and the only thing that could douse the flames was the sexy, feisty woman in his arms. Fuck, he wanted to take her.
And why not? Why couldn’t he have something for himself for once in his damn life? He’d worked hard, looked after his family. He was a good therapist, helped people. Why couldn’t he take just one damn thing for himself? Why couldn’t he have Charlie Jackson?
Staring down at that sweet face, he made a decision. One he might regret later, but for now, his body and mind were in complete agreement.
Mine.
“No one can know.” The low words left his throat on a growl.
Her eyes widened before a small smile tilted her lips.
“No one” she agreed.
“When do you get off?”
With a smart-ass wink she hopped back on the desk, wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling him to her until they lined up perfectly. He groaned as she rubbed herself against his throbbing erection.
“That depends on how good you are.”
He chuckled. Damn, he loved her wit. Dipping his head, he captured her lips with his own, demanding entrance with his tongue, which she happily complied. Her soft little moans were killing him. As he worshiped her mouth—hands grasping her waist to press more firmly against her as she rolled her sweet hips against him—his brain short-circuited. The loudest slots in all of Vegas could have been ringing out the winning jackpot and he still wouldn’t have heard. All the blood rushed to his ears, blocking out every sound except for Charlie.
Her soft moaning sounds of desire, the sweet whispers of encouragement when he used his lips and tongue in just the right way. His name. Fuck, he loved hearing his name fall from her lips. He planned to hear her screaming it later. But not now. Not here. Too public. They couldn’t risk it.
Reluctantly, he pulled away. Hardest damn thing ever. He glanced down at the painful bulge straining the zipper on his jeans. Second hardest.
“Much as this is a fantasy of mine, I meant when do you get done with work.”
“Party pooper.” Her head dipped down, tongue coming out to trace along the pulse point on his neck. She laughed when he swore under his breath. “I have to finish these reports and help Kelley with the after-dinner crowd. I’ll get out of here around ten.”
He nodded. “I’ll be at your place at ten thirty then.”
She smiled and damned if he didn’t ache to kiss her again. Lightness filled up his chest as he realized he could do just that. So he did. Cupping her face in his hands he placed a soft, but very thorough kiss to her sweet lips.
“I’ll see you tonight.”
“Tonight.” The word left her lips on a breathy whisper, and he took no small amount of satisfaction that he was the one to cause it.
Before he lost his mind again, said to hell with it and took her on her desk, he pulled back. Giving her one more heated glance, he turned and headed from the small office back through Jacks and out into the night. The cool evening air did nothing to quell the fire inside. His body vibrated with anticipation of the night to come. He was really doing this. Taking something for himself. It might be wrong, but then why the hell did it feel so damn right?