Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
I reach into the cooler and pull out a soda for Theo, then one for myself.
“Happy Birthday, man,” he says, popping the top.
“Thanks.” I crack mine open and we tap rims.
On the other side of the creek, Charlotte, Linnea, and Morgan are helping Barb and Sofie with the food while Zach and our friend Sawyer, who moved here from Alaska last year for a job at Finn River Ranch, are building up the bonfire.
Sofie’s dad Rowdy and Henry waded upriver to fly fish before dinner, and Sofie’s older brother Jesse and his girlfriend Neve are off on a walk.
Sofie told me her family comes here all the time, and I can see why. It’s a pretty spot not far out of town, tucked into a canyon, the afternoon sun washing the rock walls with a golden light and the creek filling the air with the soft hush of water moving over the cobbles.
I try not to look too long at Charlotte, but I can’t help it. At least she’s back to working at the tutoring center this year.
“Let’s see this new ride of yours,” Theo says, nodding at the dark blue Silverado Zach helped me buy with the money I saved from two summers of bucking hay for the Huttons.
Thankfully Zach’s splitting the insurance cost or I would be waiting till spring to drive.
I can’t work during football season while keeping my grades up, and we agreed that me being able to drive would help us both.
“It’s hardly new,” I say with a laugh as we climb up to the gravel parking area.
“New to you counts.”
I swing the door open. I spent this morning detailing the interior, and though it’s got signs of wear, it’s mine.
“Manual,” Theo says with a nod at the stick shift. “Nice. Better power.”
That’s what Henry and Zach both told me. Also better gas mileage. I wanted a Toyota just for that reason but they’re too expensive. It’s probably for the best, though, because according to my friends, only a Ford, Dodge, or Chevy will do.
The bed is scratched to hell—no surprise given it’s twenty years old. Engine’s in good shape though, and that’s what counts.
Theo flips the tailgate up and glances across the bed, to where the girls are now sitting on the edge of the creek, their bare feet in the water, sodas in hand.
They’re all smiling, and I wish I could freeze the image in my mind.
Just a week ago, Charlotte was frantic to find her sister after the game, and right now, they’re both safe and happy.
Laughing about something Linnea just said.
“Would you be willing to teach Charlie?” Theo asks, snapping me back to our conversation.
I suck in a silent breath as his words knock around in my skull. “Teach her what?” I manage.
“To drive a stick,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “Dad already gave up, and he’s so busy, so I offered, but…”
“That bad, huh?” I’m secretly lit up inside, knowing Charlotte has another weakness besides her ineptitude at sports.
“Yep,” he says with a chuckle. “If both our family cars weren’t manual, it wouldn’t be a big deal. ”
“I can teach her,” I interrupt, my thoughts skipping ahead so fast I have to clench my fists.
Relief fills Theo’s features. “Thanks, man. I mean it. We can’t get in all those hours of required driving practice until she can actually operate the vehicle. Technically, she’s supposed to have an adult in the car with her while she learns, so take her out on the farm roads, away from town.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I say.
“Thanks, Will,” he says on an exhale. “You’re a lifesaver.”
I take a sip of my soda so he won’t see me freaking out. He wouldn’t be thinking of me as a lifesaver if he knew how often I imagine kissing his sister.
That night, after dinner, Ray joins us just in time for Barb’s boysenberry pie with whipped cream.
Because he works so much, I’ve only met him a few times, so it makes me feel special that he came.
After pie, we build up the fire. Jesse brings out his guitar and plays softly while the rest of us talk.
Zach and I lock eyes across the fire, and his turn glassy as he smiles.
This night—this perfect night—represents so much more than just a gathering of friends for some birthday bash.
We’re building a life here. Good things are happening.
Some by dumb luck, but most because of hard work and dedication.
None of it has been easy, what we’ve endured.
But we have endured. I tap my fist to my heart, and he does the same.
Savor it , his smile says. I nod and smile back. I am.
“Can you play ‘Blackbird’?” Morgan asks Jesse, eyeing Charlotte.
Charlotte’s eyes freeze.
“Heck yeah,” Jesse says, running through a couple of chords. He eyes Morgan, eyebrows perked.
Morgan tugs on Charlotte’s hand, but she resists. “You go ahead,” she whispers.
“Come on, Charlie,” Ray calls from next to me.
She gives her dad an anxious glance, but I see a flicker of determination in her expression.
“Let’s hear it,” I add. Though I’m not exactly sure what’s holding Charlotte back. She’s in choir so she couldn’t be nervous.
Her eyes find mine, and her lips twitch. Almost a smile? Or maybe it’s a grimace.
“Only if you want to,” I say, but the fire is crackling and Jesse is strumming, waiting for his accompaniment, so I don’t know if she hears me.
The tension in her face softens, so maybe she did? Could my encouragement mean something to her? “Okay.”
Theo gives a loud whistle.
Charlotte lets Morgan drag her to her feet. They eye each other, and Morgan grins.
“One, two,” Jesse murmurs while tapping his heel in sync, then his fingers strum a haunting series of chords.
Both Morgan and Charlotte watch him, nodding along, then suck in a breath and in tandem, launch into a duet, their voices pure and sharp as glass. Chills wash down my back, sending goose bumps rippling down both my arms.
I barely hear Jesse’s guitar, thanks to my ears buzzing with Charlotte’s sultry notes.
She sways as she sings the moody, pretty words, like she can’t help but move.
Morgan’s higher pitch complements her sister’s perfectly as their voices rise in volume to the end of the chorus.
To my surprise, Charlotte closes her eyes as she croons a solo verse, her voice at once stunningly powerful and perfect, about a bird with broken wings melting into the light of a dark sky.
I forget how to breathe, or maybe I’m afraid to, in case I miss even a fraction of it.
They perform in perfect harmony, like the three of them were somehow one single organism in a former life. How is that possible? Maybe it’s the song’s simplicity, or the way Morgan and Charlotte’s voices intertwine effortlessly. No doubt this is not their first duet.
Morgan sings the final verse this time, another clue that they’ve likely sung this many times before, each of them taking a turn to showcase their individual talents. Her final note hangs in the air while Jesse completes the last verse, his chords and Charlotte’s soft hum layered beneath it.
The bonfire pops, but nobody says a word.
I don’t know where to look. At Charlotte’s face, so pretty in the firelight, a soft blush coloring her neck and working up to her freckled cheeks.
Or her mouth, which, in this moment, I want to kiss so badly it’s like she’s reached into my chest to squeeze my heart.
Ray claps first, and the rest of us join in with whistles and whoops.
Laughing, Morgan takes a small bow. Charlotte’s smile is more subdued, but that blush gives her away.
She enjoyed herself just now. That I got to share it feels…
special somehow. Our eyes lock, and that ache in my chest sharpens.
I’m so glad she’s here to celebrate my birthday, but in this moment it doesn’t feel like enough.
Even though I’ve tried to turn off how I feel about Charlotte, I can’t.
I see her in the halls and can’t help drinking in her long legs and silky hair, those tiny freckles and her pretty hazel eyes.
I tease her when she’s tutoring me just to hear her sweet laugh, and I lean in close so I can savor her sweet ginger scent.
I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about her, my need to touch her like a hot ache under my skin.
Keeping it all a secret is starting to make me crazy.
The morning of our driving lesson, the soft blue horizon is stacked with big clouds, like it might rain.
When I reach Charlotte’s house, Theo’s truck and their dad’s BMW fill the driveway so I park on the curb.
When I turn off the engine, the quiet is broken by the shouting going on inside their house.
“That’s not fair!” Sounds like Morgan.
“Those are the rules, Mo.” I recognize Ray’s firm, gravelly voice.
“Well the rules suck!”
Charlotte slips through the door, her face blank while the argument rages on from the depths of the house, and beelines for my truck. She’s wearing wide-leg jeans that hug her narrow hips, her trademark Converse high tops, and a blue puffy coat.
“Hey,” I say as she climbs in. Her shiny, honey-brown hair is loose about her face today, and her lips are a soft pink.
“Hey.”
I nod at the house while she buckles her seatbelt. “Everything okay?”
Charlotte pulls one knee up, wrapping her arms around it like she needs something to hug. I fight the urge to make that thing me.
“Can we just drive?” she asks.
“Sure.” I start the engine and pull away from the curb. The clouds hanging low in the sky have dark gray underbellies now. It’s for sure going to rain later.
“Morgan didn’t come home last night,” Charlotte says after I’ve turned left out of their neighborhood.
“Oh shit. Is she okay?”
“She’s in one piece.”
I nod. If this is her definition of okay , then it must be bad.
“Did she give a reason?” I accelerate, shifting into third, the new tires humming against the road.
“She’s been hanging out with these losers. I’m sure they pressured her into staying out. I just hope that’s all they pressured her to do.”