31. Max
CHAPTER 31
Max
I’d got caught talking to Jefferson about alfalfa prices when the man walked into the Willow. It wasn’t hard to know he wasn’t from around here. He stuck out like a sore thumb. And then the way he looked around the room and zeroed in on Charlie?
Yeah, I didn’t like that at all.
He’s closer to Charlie than me, so he reaches her first.
“Jefferson, I need to check in with Charlie,” I mutter.
Charlie’s whole body jerks back when the man stops in front of her. She looks tense, and I don’t like that. No one gets to make her feel nervous.
I sigh with relief when I see Bliss step up next to Charlie. That’s two formidable women arm in arm.
It takes me way longer than I would like to weave my way through the full room, but I finally reach Charlie’s side just as the man raises his voice at her. I want to throttle him, but I settle for resting a hand against her lower back.
Darlene cuts in, “I think Charlie has made it clear she’s not interested.”
The man turns to her. “Charlie doesn’t know what she wants.”
“I’ll tell you what she doesn’t want—” Darlene’s voice fades as I focus on Charlie.
She glances up at me with what looks like relief in her eyes. “Do you want a guess?”
“Bryce.”
She nods and sighs. “How did I date someone so unhinged? He just showed up here like I would want to get back together with him.”
That’s not something I want to dive into with her. Because it would involve me telling her that she doesn’t know her own worth and how amazing she is. That’ll be a conversation for when we get home. “Want me to do something about him?”
“Hey, man, I’m standing right here!” Bryce interjects, finally turning his attention to the two of us.
I ignore him, meet Charlie’s eyes, and see the conflict warring there. “It’s okay. I can handle him.”
“I know you can. But I’ll gladly do it so you don’t have to.”
Her scowl relaxes as she watches me shift forward. “Alright.”
“Are you bothering Charlie?” I ask in a low voice from beside her.
Bryce’s eyes widen as he looks over Charlie’s head and meets my eyes for the first time. He’s been so distracted by Darlene cutting in that he didn’t even really notice me.
Charlie takes a deliberate step back, leaning against my chest. I feel her body relax, and all I want to do is scoop her up and carry her out of here. It’s not right that this guy gets to wave her insecurities in front of her or use them against her.
“You had your chance,” I mutter as I step in between Charlie and him.
“And who are you? Charlie, have you been cheating on me?” His angry voice cracks as it raises an octave.
“You broke up with me,” Charlie grinds out.“We’re not together.”
“If you knew Charlie at all, you would know that isn’t even a possibility. You were too stupid to realize what was in front of you. You don’t get to come in here andharass her,” I say in a serious tone.
Bryce glares at me for a moment before he leans around me to look at Charlie just before he calls her a horrible name.
Out loud. The man has a death wish.
The room goes deathly silent. Someone even turns down the speakers blaring country music.
I look Bryce dead in the eye as I say, “Well, we both know that’s not true.”
Right before I send a punch straight at him.
Crack.
The sound of my fist connecting with his face echoes throughout the room.
Bryce crumples to the ground, and Charlie latches onto the back of my shirt. “Max!” She’s almost gurgling.
I glance over my shoulder to find she’s trying to hide a laugh.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” she says. But she’s smiling at me, so I don’t believe her.
A nasally voice is yelling at me, and I turn around to look at Bryce on the floor. “I’m going to send you to jail! You hit me!”
He trails off on a long string of curses, and a voice pipes up behind me. “I saw you run into that post right there.”
I half turn to see Zane standing next to me with a lazy grin. He’s holding on to Bliss’s arm as if holding her back from landing another punch on Bryce.
Henry steps closer to our circle. “I saw the same thing.”
“Me too!” Darlene pipes up.
Bryce climbs to his feet, holding his nose. “I can’t believe you people! You won’t get away with this!”
“And you won’t get away with harassment. I’ll be getting a restraining order on you if you try to cause anyone here a problem. Do I make myself clear?” Charlie enunciates each word as she steps toward Bryce.
Bryce’s eyes widen as he sees the fire in her eyes. He doesn’t say anything, just turns to leave, storming through the crowd, holding a hand to his face still.
Charlie turns to me, grabbing my hand and inspecting my knuckles. “Wow, you didn’t even crack the skin.” She presses a quick kiss to the back of my hand. “I guess those ranch calluses are coming in handy,” she says with a smirk.
The room shifts as someone turns the music up, and people return to their conversations. I'm pretty sure my punching Charlie’s ex-boyfriend will be a topic of conversation for a long while yet.
“You stood up for me. Without question. Why?” She looks up at me with wide eyes, waiting for an answer.
So I tell her the truth. The thought that’s been burning in my mind for the last few days. The thing that’s been growing ever since I found Charlie in my house, stirring soup and singing Christmas songs. “I love you.”
Her jaw drops open and then slowly closes. She clutches my hand as she says, “Max, you can’t say that yet.”
“I just did.”
She leans forward and whispers sharply. “I don’t want you to feel pressured just because I have strong feelings for you.”
I raise my eyebrows at her. “Are you saying that you’re the only one allowed to have strong feelings in this relationship?”
“NO! That’s not what I meant. I just— I want you to be sure.”
“I’m sure.”
“Uggh. Max. You’re not thinking this through. I’m annoying. I’m obnoxious. I bring all sorts of baggage to this relationship.”
I just keep nodding. “It’s a good thing I throw so many alfalfa bales. Carrying a little baggage won’t feel like anything.” I wink as she reaches out to smack my arm.
“We’ve only been dating for two weeks!”
“We’ve been living together for almost seven weeks,” I fire back. “Not to mention, we’ve probably argued more than most couples that have dated for a year. We’ve seen each other at our worst.”
Charlie raises one brow. “Oh please, you haven’t even begun to see my worst.”
“Bring it on. I can handle it,” I reply as I tug her closer.
She sighs. “I never want to pressure you. If you’re not ready to say it, you don’t have to…Because I love you too. And I want what’s between us to be real.”
“You know I say what I mean, and that’s not going to change with some of the most important words that are said in life.”
Charlie reaches a hand up and rests it against my cheek. “How do you always know what to say?”
“It’s a gift. One that only works with you, apparently. You’re the only person who appreciates my irreverent sense of humor. So you’ll just have to keep me.”
“Keep you ? I thought you were supposed to convince me to stay.”
I lean down and scoop her into my arms. “I guess I better get to convincing, then.”
Charlie giggles and pushes her hair back over her shoulders so that she can lean in and kiss me. “You know, I think I started falling for you the first time you picked me up. You’re my favorite person to fight with and my favorite person to love.”
I pull her tighter against me and kiss her forehead. “You are one in a million. And you’re mine.”
“Would you like to tattoo your name on my ass?” she whispers as she tips her head back to press her lips against mine.
“Hmmm, I’ll think about it,” I murmur against her lips, pulling her body tight against mine.
“Oh my goodness, you two.” Darlene hurries over, interrupting our kiss. Usually, I don’t like my Charlie kisses getting interrupted, but I’m glad she did something before we got carried away. I forgot that we are in public.
I give Charlie an exaggerated wince and then turn to Darlene. “I think I have to agree with Charlie. We’re on track for an engagement party at the end of the month.”