25. Max
CHAPTER 25
Max
First thing the next morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee, fed cows, and hurried over to the lodge. I wait for Charlie in the recliner closest to the Christmas tree.
It took all of my willpower to walk down the hallway and close my bedroom door last night when we got back to the bunkhouse. That kiss…was enough to make me want to keep exploring it. It’s a little unnerving how fast Charlie is getting under my skin.
I want her. Because she’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and I’m scared to death, I won’t be good enough to keep her.
But I’m damn sure going to try.
The front door creaks open. “Is it safe to come in?” Charlie calls.
I’d left a post-it note on the counter next to the coffee pot stating, “Gone to the lodge to hide the pickle.”
She slept in a little today because I’ve been sitting here for an hour. And that was after I fed cattle.
“It’s safe,” I call back.
She stumbles around the corner. She’s wearing shorts with socks pulled up her calves. She’s still wearing her puffy jacket and a stocking cap.
Her eyes look tired like she had as restless a sleep as I did, but she’s still the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
“I’ll find it, I promise you,” she tells me as she yawns.
Then she turns to the tree.
Her jaw drops when she sees it. “What—” She turns to grin at me. “You didn’t even try to hide it.”
I shrug. “What would be the point? Knowing you, you would completely undecorate the tree until you found it. I don’t want to spend two hours putting the ornaments back on.”
Charlie waltzes over to the tree and lifts the pickle ornament from the most prominent branch. “Or, just maybe, you wanted to see what favor I would ask.”
The blood rushes to my head as she saunters toward me, swinging that ornament back and forth.
She stops when her knees are brushing against mine. “I think I want the downstairs bedroom.”
“Oh.” That wasn’t the favor I was hoping she would ask for.
“Or, you know, that would be such a pain to move all of our clothes…I guess I’ll have to settle for something else.” Charlie shifts her legs until she’s standing between my legs and reaches past me to set the ornament down on the coffee table next to me.
“Hmm, if only I could think of something I want from you.” She grins at me, and I see that her cheeks are flushed.
I scoot forward and trap her between my legs. She loops her arms around my neck and twists so that she can sit down on my leg. I suck in a ragged breath as she trails a finger down my neck to the buttons at the top of my shirt. She undoes the first two, slipping her hand inside, and trails it along my collarbone. My whole body shivers at such a gentle touch.
“Charlie,” I groan.
She tips her head back, pressing that cold hand firmly against my bare chest. “I think I know what the favor is.”
She leans forward and kisses me with abandon. It’s delicious. She smells like fresh laundry and some soft perfume. I’ve never been good at discerning scents, but I know she smells good.
I lean back in the chair, pulling her with me as we recline. Her weight rests entirely on me as we never break the kiss.
I reach under her puffy coat and find that she’s wearing a sports bra and nothing else.
With a groan, I run my hand up her back. The skin is so soft against my callouses. I can feel her back muscles and know that she’s strong enough to take care of herself but still deliciously soft in my arms. I didn’t know I could be so lucky as to find someone like her.
It’s scary how deeply I’m falling for her. I didn’t feel a fraction of this for my ex-girlfriend. But Charlie? She has the power to shatter me.
And I’ve decided it’s worth the risk.
“Am I interrupting?” A dry voice asks.
I sit up abruptly, bumping my forehead against Charlie’s.
We both pause to touch our injuries before we turn to see who the intruder is.
It’s a woman with short white hair wearing a plaid jacket and thick, black-rimmed glasses.
Charlie leaps off of my lap and blushes a delightful shade of red. “Grandma!”
Oh crap.
I jump out of the chair and straighten my clothes, combing a hand through my tussled hair. That is not exactly the impression I wanted to make on her grieving grandmother.
“Hi, Grandma. I wasn’t expecting you so early!”
“That much is obvious,” she chuckles as Charlie rushes over to hug her.
She’s a small-framed woman, lean and wiry. Even a couple of inches shorter than Charlie, and I can’t help but think that I figured this woman all wrong. I can see right now how capable and sharp she is. Those eyes miss nothing.
Unfortunately for me, since I just got caught making out with her granddaughter…
“Grandma, I’m so glad you made it. This is Max. Max, this is my grandma Charlene.”
Aha . Charlene and Charlie. I get it now, and that’s why they’re still so close. She’s the namesake.
“Max?” Charlene harrumphs. “Charlie and Max sound like two golden retrievers getting up to no good.”
Charlie grimaces at that.
Charlene shakes her head and smirks. “That’s alright. Young people should get into a little bit of trouble, at least. I hope it’s the kind I’ll approve of, though.”
I reach out a hand to shake hers. “I don’t know if I count as good trouble, but it’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you could make it.”
“When Charlie mentioned your name, I knew I better hurry over here and see what she’s gotten into,” Charlene says with a narrow-eyed look at me.
“It was actually Max’s idea to invite you, Grandma,” Charlie admits.
Charlene adjusts her glasses at that. “Now, that might change some things. Don’t tell me you live in this monstrosity.”
“No, ma’am. We were just decorating the Christmas tree,” I explain, hoping my hot cheeks don’t look bright red.
“Oh, is that what they’re calling it these days?”