19. Charlie
CHAPTER 19
Charlie
The tree that we picked up at the Flying J is outrageous. It took both of us pulling with all of our might to get it inside the lodge.
Hubert had already picked one out and cut it down. Max and I unfortunately didn’t get to work out our frustration with the ax. But we were too busy being wowed by the giant tree that Hubert and his daughter Bliss had presented us with.
They understood the assignment when I told them I wanted a show-stopper tree. Bliss Jefferson, a few years younger than me, seemed really nice and admitted she had scouted out the tree and thought it would be perfect for the window wall in the lodge.
The tree had to be loaded in the back of the truck with a tractor. It was so long that we probably needed a CDL permit to be driving it down the road.
Nothing broke when we set it up in the house which really was a Christmas miracle.
I spent the night working on the house and got up early the next morning to work on the bathroom. I’m so close to getting the finishing touches on it.
I call Magnolia while I’m installing the new bathroom sink.
“Hello?” She always sounds surprised when she answers the phone and I can’t decide if that’s her hello voice or if she was surprised by the phone.
“Hey, just calling to let you know everything is on track for Christmas for Nash’s grandpa.”
“Are you serious?” She exclaims.
“Hey now, I don’t like the doubt I hear in your voice,” I tease.
“I didn’t doubt you. I was simply worried about the damage that the cousins did to the house.”
I grunt as I try to line up the hoses. I might not have measured correctly. That would be a tragedy. “Do you mean the fact that they let the pipes freeze and dumped a bag of concrete in the toilet out of spite? That part?”
“Yes, that part,” Magnolia says with a sigh.
“You’ll be happy to know everything is on track for you to come spend Christmas here.”
“Did you find a tree?”
“Yes, I’m pretty sure it’s a redwood. It’s so large, but one of the neighboring ranchers gave it to me for the house. I’ll have it all decorated in here for Nash’s grandpa.”
Magnolia sighs. “Charlie, this really means a lot to me that you took this on.”
“What are friends for?”
“But I feel bad, especially since you ended up having to share the bunkhouse with Max…” She trails off.
“It’s been fine. Nobody has been killed or maimed, and I’ve gotten to hang out with his cute dogs.”
“He’s pretty cute himself,” Magnolia adds in with a sly tone.
I drop the wrench. “Magnolia! Are you matchmaking? Is that what’s going on here?”
Magnolia laughs. “No, of course not. But I like Max. I wouldn’t be mad if you decided you liked him too.”
“Oh geez. Thanks. Well then, I better hurry and date him since my best friend likes him,” I say wryly as I pick up the wrench and try to focus on the task in front of me.
“Now that I think about it, the two of you could be good together.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Have you had to watch what you say around him?”
“What? No, I’d tell him to jump off a steep cliff before I changed for him.”
“How interesting.” Magnolia does something in the background, and I halfway wonder if she’s making notes. “Has he been nice to you?”
“That grump? Of course not!” Well, maybe a little. But I’m not going to admit it to Magnolia.
“Hmm, that is interesting…”
“No, it’s not. Stop trying to suppose things.”
Magnolia clears her throat. “Charlie. Max is nice to everyone.”
“I think you’re operating under some kind of strange illusion. That man is always underfoot making a menace of himself.”
“He likes you, Charlie. I’m sure of it.”
“He’s got a strange way of showing it,” I mutter as I turn on the valve to test the water.
“I can’t wait to see the two of you together. I’ll be able to tell you for sure once I see the two of you together. You’re going to stay past Christmas, right? Will you still be there for New Years?”
“Yeah, if that’s okay. The guy who owns the store in town had a couple of projects for me. Maybe I could pay Nash rent to stay here.”
“Perfect. You’ll do Christmas with us then. And no need to pay for rent. You can just stay in the bunkhouse—with Max.”
“I invited my Grandma to come to Pine Ridge…”
“Perfect. I like your grandma. We’d love to have her for the holidays too,” Magnolia assures me.When we first moved in together, I took Magnolia and Piper out to my grandparents for the weekend and we all had a great time.
“I don’t want to intrude on the family holiday, though. This is your first Christmas with Nash.”
“You’re not butting in,” Nash’s voice cuts in.
“Magnolia! Have I been on speakerphone this whole time?! Hi, Nash.”
“Yes, but I’ve been alone until Nash walked in a few seconds ago.”
“At what point did he walk in?” I ask as I stand up and turn the sink off. No leaks.
“If you’re wondering if I heard the two of you talking about Max, no, I didn’t,” Nash answers in a happy voice.
“Liar, Liar,” I shoot back with a laugh.
“Well, I’m with Magnolia on this one.”
“You’re with Magnolia on everything. Quit acting like this is a rare event,” I tease.
“Max is lonely,” Nash says.
“What? That’s ridiculous. Everyone in town loves him.”
“Do you see a significant other around there?”
I scoff at that. “Do Jim and Larry count?”
“No. Definitely not. Max is probably a grump to you because he doesn’t want to get attached. He had a bad experience with his last girlfriend.”
“He has an odd way of showing it.” Not true. He’s told me about the last one. Of course, the guy is gun-shy when it comes to jumping into another relationship. I didn’t have the wherewithal to put two and two together. It takes Nash telling me that Max is lonely for me to realize he’s pushing me away out of self-preservation. That maybe he’s keeping everyone at arm’s length to protect himself.
Nash and Magnolia laugh at that. “Just forget we said anything. We’ll see you in a few days.”
“It’s a deal. See you soon.”
I hang up the phone and try to put their teasing words out of my mind. Max does not like me. He might be attracted to me, but he doesn’t like me, which is great because I can still be myself with him. I don’t have to change. I don’t have to rein it in. Max is the unlucky guy who gets to experience Charlie Baxter unfiltered.
I grin at that realization and throw myself into my work. I’ve got a dance to get to.
By the time I finish up the bathroom, it’s already almost 5:30.
If I’m going to make it to a swing dance tonight like I promised Darlene, I’m going to have to hurry and get ready. I lock up the main house and run back to the bunkhouse. Max is pulling in and backing a livestock trailer up in the driveway. He jumps out and climbs onto the back of the truck to unhook the gooseneck.
“Hey! We’re going swing dancing tonight like we told Darlene we would!”
He doesn’t answer me. I call louder as the dogs come running up to greet me. “Swing dancing tonight!”
Max finally turns to look at me. “You go have fun.”
“I don’t think so! We are going to have fun. But I have to take a shower real quick. Don’t go away!”
The dogs race up the sidewalk with me as I run inside to take a hot shower. I forgot my hairdryer when I packed, of course, so I’ve been relying on air drying these past couple of weeks.
But tonight, I put my hair into French braids and use two matching red scrunchies on the ends. I do a quick five-minute makeup that makes me look a little less like a wet, drowned rat. And then I throw on my skinny jeans with my half boots. I put on a sweater because it’s cold and pause to pull loose a few strands of hair to curl around my face.
When I step into the hall, Max is standing there. He’s changed into some clean clothes and is wearing a ball cap.
“Are you ready to go?”
He shakes his head. “You go have fun. You’ll have a good time.“
I narrow my eyes at him, Nash’s words floating around my head. Max is lonely . “No, we are going to go have fun. You told Darlene that you would be there too.”
What I really want to do is grab him and say I figured out your secret. I know you’re lonely. I know you want a happily ever after . But I don’t say that. That would be the quickest way to never get a word out of him again.And now that I know why he’s so prickly, well I’m not going to let a little thing like a bad attitude keep me away.
I put my hands on my hips and point to him, “Do you want me to end up in a car wreck driving my Honda into town?”
Unfortunately, this brilliant guilting tactic doesn’t work. Max pulls his keys out of his pocket and holds them out between us. He’s offering me the keys to his new truck—not the old work truck he let me drive when he left town. This is a moment of wonder in our strange relationship. Part of me really wants to grab the keys and go, but the other part of me knows that he needs someone to drag him along.
I raise my eyebrows at him. “If you don’t get in the truck. I’ll just have to carry you outside.”
He snorts at that and quirks an eyebrow.
I pull my shoulders back. “I’ll do it.”
“Now that, I would like to see you try.” He says with a laugh as he rests both hands on his hips, keys still wrapped in his fist.
I raise both eyebrows at him and take a step forward. “I figured I’d take one out of your own playbook.”
“I’d like to see you try, shorty,” he moves to walk past me, and I wrap my arms around his middle. He stops abruptly. He starts laughing so hard he’s shaking. I brace my legs, then lift him up as high as I can. It’s not much, but I manage to get him high enough to where his feet are off the floor. He’s laughing so hard that he’s making a poor balanced weight to pick up. And he’s heavy. I start laughing along with him.
I set him back down, and he looks down at me, his hands resting on my shoulders while my arms are still wrapped around his middle. “OK, you’ve proved your point. I’ll put my boots on.”
“Make sure you tuck your boots on the inside of your pants.”
“Would you be embarrassed to see out in public with me if I didn’t?”
I shake my head. “Oh, I would love it, but I’m not sure if the rest of town is ready for it.” He heads down the hall and closes his bedroom door. I halfway suspect he’s going to barricade himself in his room.
But, to my surprise, he comes back out in one minute with a big jacket and his cowboy boots on.
He’s carrying something behind him, and I lean around to see what it is.
I grin up at him when he stops in front of me and pulls the cowboy hat out from behind his back. He settles the black felt hat on his head, and I stand there smiling like a fool.
He looks good in it. It’s not over the top. With those dark wash jeans bunched around his cowboy boots. The canvas coat and the hat practically forcing my eyes on the glorious jawline…yup. Max St. James is the best-looking man I’ve ever seen.
“Come on, cowboy. I hope you have your dancing boots on.”