16. Charlie
CHAPTER 16
Charlie
It’s eerily quiet when I get up in the morning. Max has already left to visit his family that lives five hundred hours away—okay, maybe only three—and I’m left alone.
It's funny how I’d been so excited to escape to the quiet when I first came out here, and now I’m so used to having Max around it feels strange without him.
This place is so peaceful I’m afraid I’m falling in love with the area. I miss Magnolia and Piper. But there’s something about this place that feels…well, homey. No wonder Nash and his grandpa love to come out here. I can’t wait to call them and tell them the house is all ready for Christmas. I promised Magnolia that I would get a tree and some decorations up, too.
Walking downstairs to the kitchen, I find a scrap of paper on the counter with a note scrawled on it.
Max must have debated about becoming a doctor once in his life because it takes me a few minutes to decipher his writing.
If you want a big Christmas tree, Hubert Jefferson said you could go out to his ranch, the Flying J, and get one. I left the keys in the work truck.
Underneath the note he’s scrawled a phone number. It must be Hubert’s.
That’s actually pretty sweet of him. He’s hooked me up with a Christmas tree for the lodge. That’ll do. The plumber is coming today, and I’m waiting on the electricians still, so I might as well go get a tree.
My phone chimes, and I pull it out of my pocket.
It’s a group text between Piper, Magnolia, and me. It’s still titled Roomies.
Piper: Bryce stopped by again today.
Magnolia: Let me at him.
Charlie: What did he want?
Maybe I have his favorite sweatshirt or something like that. I don’t know. He still hasn’t texted or called.
Piper: He said he was in love with you. Yuck.
Charlie: What did you tell him?
Piper: That narcissistic behavior will only get him so far in life.
It’s why I love Piper. She’ll say it like it is. She doesn’t put up with crappy behavior like I do.
I open my phone and call my Grandma. That woman has been getting up at five am since she was a baby. I never have to worry about waking her up.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Grandma, it’s Charlie,” I reply.
We spend a few minutes catching up on each other’s lives, and then I get down to business: why I called. “I’m not going to Christmas at Aunt Lisa’s this year, Grandma.”
It has nothing to do with Aunt Lisa. She’s actually really nice, and I don’t have an issue with her. I just am not ready for the big family get-togethers without Grandpa.
“Neither am I. I told her I appreciate her hosting, but I just…” She doesn’t finish the thought. I can hear a creak in the background, and I know she’s opening her coffee cup cupboard and taking out her favorite “Grab Life by the Horns” mug.
“I know. But I don’t want you to be alone. Besides, I miss you.”
“Listen here, Charlie. I know you understand better than most.” Her tone takes on a sharp edge. “If I go to Christmas, they’re going to fuss and worry about me. They’ll try and guilt me into moving into town or a home. Your dad will probably move me into your old room.”
“Meh, you’re not wrong. But on the plus side, you’ll get my old Justin Bieber poster that’s still hanging there.”
Grandma chuckles at that. “I’m old and sad. I’m not incapable.”
“Great, glad to hear that. It means you’ll be able to make the drive to Pine Ridge on Christmas.”
There’s silence on the line as my words register.
“Wait, why would I drive to Pine Ridge? That’s almost two hours from here.”
“Yes, it is, but you just told me you weren’t incapable. I’m in Pine Ridge for Christmas, and you can come stay with me, and we’ll do Christmas together. It’ll be you and me and Max. Plus the dogs.”
“Now, who is Max?” It’s only the lead-off inquiry before Grandma fires off fifty questions in a row. “How old is he? Are you dating? Is he capable? Most importantly, what does he look like?”
It takes another five minutes to finally wring a promise out of her that she’ll come to spend Christmas with me.
“I’m expecting answers when I get there,” she threatens.
“And I’ll definitely give them to you. Love you, grandma.” It won’t be what she’s hoping, but I’ll definitely explain that Max is the ranch manager.
“I love you too. And I know what you’re doing trying to get me out there for Christmas.”
“Is it working?”
Grandma chuckles. “Yes. You’ve sufficiently made me curious enough to come to celebrate Christmas with you and the mystery man.”
“Perfect.” I laugh as we say our goodbyes, and I hang up the phone. She might be coming with that false hope that we’re dating, but if it means she’ll come, I don’t mind being a little sneaky.
I glance at the clock. It’s eight o’clock. Safe enough to call Hubert and plan on getting a Christmas tree.
I type the phone number in and hit send.
“Hello?”
I did not just call Hubert.
Max had left his phone number on that paper.
“Oh, hello,” I finally manage.
“Don’t tell me you miss me already?” He chuckles, that deep voice coming through the phone and rumbling through my body.
I can hear the hum of an engine in the background, so I know he must still be driving.
“Thanks for the note,” I say slowly. “But I thought you’d left Hubert’s number for me.”
Max clears his throat. “I’ll text his number to you. I’d left my number in case of an emergency.”
There’s a beat of silence while I stare at the fridge.
“Max St. James,” I drawl. “Are you worried about me?”
“No,” he sputters, and I simply hum as I pull out the yogurt container. “Okay, fine. Yes. Maybe. Don’t make this a big deal,” he mumbles.
“You’re so sweet! I can’t believe this. You’re worried about me.”
“I thought you’d be offended at something like that,” he admits.
“Nah, I like getting fussed over. I’m just shocked you care.”
“I am not fussing over you.”
“No, of course not. You were only worried because the plumbers are coming today…” I abandon the yogurt when I remember I haven’t had coffee yet.
“What? You didn’t say anything about that last night?” he exclaims.
“You didn’t ask.” I grab a mug from the cupboard and pour myself some still-warm coffee.
“Well, now I am worried. You’re out there by yourself,” Max grumbles.
“Meh, I’ll be fine. I’ll let them in, and then I’ll go run some errands in town and get a Christmas tree.” I can at least set up a tree and decorate the balcony. Because when the plumbers are done I’ll be able to finish up the majority of the work. It ought to be ready for Nash’s grandpa within two weeks.
The line is silent for a little bit, with only the hum of an engine. Finally, Max speaks up, “If you’re uncomfortable with the plumbers, call me.”
He really is worried about me. I was joking around but he’s serious. And it’s so very different than Bryce. “You would come back?”
“Yes, Charlie,” he sighs like I’m asking him a stupid question. “I would come back. You’re a pain in the ass, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I don’t know if anyone has ever said such nice words to me,” I say jokingly, but it’s true. Somehow, Max saying he’s worried about me is the nicest thing a man has said to me. Bryce never worried about me. My past boyfriends before him never gave my safety a thought. Most guys assumed that since I work in a male-dominated field, I don’t have to deal with the same things other women do. That couldn’t be further from the truth. So, for Max to be worried about me while I’m out at the ranch by myself with strange men? Yeah, it’s sweet and real and it’s making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
“I already talked to Jefferson, and he said he’d be glad to take you out and find a tree today. If he doesn’t see you by ten, he’s going to call me.” He sounds so stern.
“Okay, you little worrier,” I say it, but I don’t mean it. I want him to worry about me. I wasn’t kidding when I said I like a little bit of fussing. It doesn’t happen often, so it feels nice when someone cares enough to be worried.
“Don’t make me turn this truck around,” he growls.
My heart skips a beat in my chest as I realize I want to poke the bear. Why do I love antagonizing him so much? “Hmm, we’ll see.”
“You better?—”
I interrupt his next threat by saying, “Hold on, someone’s calling.” I glance at the name on the screen. “Bryce.”
“Who’s Bryce? The plumber?”
“My ex-boyfriend.” I groan as I try to decide whether I should answer it. If I answer it, maybe he’ll go away. Maybe he just lost something like an article of clothing or his sense of decency and thinks I can help him find it.
“Don’t answer that call.” Max sounds so very sure.
“Maybe he’ll stop showing up at the apartment if I answer the call.”
“If you answer that call, he’ll think he still stands a chance. I don’t think he deserves one after he dumped you,” Max says firmly.
“I never said that he dumped me…I said that he broke up with me.”
“The way you were eager to stay out here at the ranch? Means you didn’t want to go home.”
“You’re obnoxiously intuitive. Oh, he stopped calling. I guess that answers that.”
“Good. Don’t?—”
“Oh, there he is; he’s calling again. I’m going to just find out what he wants and then hang up. It’ll be as simple as that.”
“Charlie. You deserve better than him.”
“You don’t even know him!” But I’m beginning to believe Max because Max hates my guts and has still given me more consideration and appreciation than Bryce did when we were dating.
“You know that saying ‘if someone shows you who they really are, believe them?”
“Sound advice. Okay, I’m answering his call.” I hang up on Max and then answer Bryce’s call.
“Hello?”
“Charlie,” Bryce’s voice is warm and smooth. It used to be a voice that I found so attractive. Like a smooth caramel—extra sweet. Now? Now I know it’s him putting on his best behavior.
“You stopped by the apartment today? Why?”
“Piper must have texted you,” he says slowly.
“Yes, of course, she texted me. Why were you there?”
“I was looking for you.”
“I assumed as much. Why did you need to see me? If you needed something, you could have just texted, you know.” I take a long sip of my coffee, hoping it will keep me from blabbing too much. I don’t want to end this last encounter with him with me sounding desperate—or worse, heartbroken. Because in my short time away from Bryce, I’ve realized something very important: he doesn’t have the power to break my heart. So, really, his breaking up with me was fortuitous.
“I miss you.”
“Well, yes, you missed me because I was out of town.”
“I didn’t mean literally, I meant?—”
“What does a figurative missing mean? Does it mean you hypothetically have the potential to miss someone? Because I don’t know how I feel about that.” I’m so nervous about this conversation I’m talking out of my butt. I have nothing useful to say to Bryce. I don’t know why I answered this call.
“Charlie, I want to get back together with you. I think we split prematurely. When I was on those dates with Elsa, all I could do was think about you.”
“That’s interesting… because the longer I’m away from you, I realize that we were not a good fit for each other.”
“Please, Charlie. Can’t we sit down and talk about this face to face?” his tone is getting slightly sharper. Another reason I’m happy to be done with him. When he doesn’t get his way, he starts to get angry.
“I don’t think that will work. I’m in Pine Ridge for the month and I don’t really have anything to say to you. You broke up with me, Bryce.”
“I know, and I regret it so much. I want to get back together. I want you to come meet my family at Christmas, even,” Bryce says it like he’s offering a trip to Hawaii rather than a neighborhood in Bend.
“Listen, Bryce, I’m actually over this and moving on. You’ll find someone to be happy with someday,” I tell him, even though I have my doubts where he’s concerned. “You’ll be extremely happy with someone else. Just not me.”
“Come to Christmas with me.”
“Bryce. You broke up with me. I’m not about to start something back up.”
“I’ve had time to reflect—” He starts to drone on about something he’s reflecting on, but honestly, I just zone out. I stare at the note that Max wrote me and try to figure out if the little mark next to the number is the start of a heart.
Now, that would be funny. I’d definitely never let him live that down if he signed a note with a heart. On the other hand, his penmanship is so bad it could have been the start of a stick figure drawing. I know who not to have on my Pictionary team.
Which reminds me, I should call my grandma.
“And I think we have a bright future together.” Bryce’s words snap me out of my wandering thoughts.
“I don’t think so. I’m in Pine Ridge for the foreseeable future, but I wish you the best, Bryce. Goodbye,” I say firmly. “Oh, and stop popping by the apartment. You’re annoying Piper, and she’s scary when she gets annoyed.”
“I want you to know I’m serious about us. I realized when I was on a date the other day that everyone has eccentricities. And yours really could be an asset.”
Eccentricities? Date? Is this his way of getting back together with me? Because he’s really bad at it.
“Bryce, you said I was too different and not what you were looking for. That I was too much. And obviously, you’ve moved on, so I don’t know why you’re calling me.”
“Because it was only the third date! And I realized I liked you so much more than her. It made me miss you. I thought you liked me.”
“I thought I did too, until you showed me the truth. Really, I should thank you. I think you did both of us a favor. I’m sure you’ll be finding someone someday, but it’s not me. Goodbye.”
I hang up the phone, smiling brightly at it. I did it. I stood my ground, and I’m so proud of myself. I didn’t let him weasel his way back into my good graces. I didn’t let him explain how our breakup was my fault…because it wasn’t. He didn’t like me as me and broke up with me because of that. It doesn’t make sense that I would be willing to jump back into a relationship with someone who doesn’t actually want me.
I sigh.
Distance is good. If I’d been home, I would have been tempted to meet him face to face…and maybe I wouldn’t have had as much clarity as I needed.
But now? Today? I get to work on the lodge then go pick up a Christmas tree without a thought for my ex-boyfriend.
Pine Ridge is growing on me—exactly like I suspected it would.