Chapter 19 #2
I wondered the same thing. Last year, Sons of Eden, a quasi-religious cult from up north, bought up a bunch of land and has since built it up into a small community. Rowdy’s been at odds with them almost constantly for everything from poaching to illegal logging on public lands.
“The girl was forced to marry some church elder,” Zach continues. “The brother was about to get kicked out.”
I wince. This is child abuse. “Kicked out?” I ask as the details settle. “What for? ”
“Because boys grow into men,” Linden says from the driver’s seat. “And the elders want the girls to themselves.”
“That’s fucked up,” I say.
Linden runs a hand through his hair. “They’re called lost boys.”
“I’ve got Protective Services involved,” Zach replies with a heavy sigh.
“Good,” I say, even though CPS is a band-aid at best for a situation like this.
“Let’s hope whoever takes their case can keep them from being sent back,” Linden says, like he’s reading my thoughts.
By the time we put the rig back in service, it’s past shift change. I drive straight home. To my relief, Charlotte’s car is still here. Theo’s Subaru is too, but that’s expected. We keep tabs on each other’s schedules.
When Theo asked if Charlotte could stay with us while she helps Morgan, my heart did cartwheels.
Even though having them both under the same roof complicates things.
Theo’s still my best friend, but we’re all adults now.
Would he really stand in my way? I may not have the best track record with commitment, but it’s outdated.
Charlotte’s not just someone I couldn’t let go of.
She’s it for me. Always has been and always will be.
I was stupid enough to let her walk away once. I won’t make that mistake again.
Even if I have to defy my best friend.
He either comes around, or he doesn’t.
But what if Charlotte won’t even meet me at the starting line? So far her time in Finn River has felt like sand in an hourglass, and I’m losing her again, grain by grain.
When I step out of my car, Ollie gives a little yelp from inside the house that makes me smile. I never thought getting a dog would infuse so much happiness into my life. When I open the door, I squat down and bury my face in her fur while she licks my ear.
“Hey, girl,” I coo, scratching her sides before I rise.
“Morning,” Theo says from where he’s leaning back against the counter, coffee cup in his hands, still dressed in his blue scrubs.
A fire crackles in the woodstove, and the room smells like split pine.
Charlotte stands opposite him, in a similar pose, dressed in jeans and a wool sweater.
They have the same warm hazel eyes and slope of their noses—similarities that get more pronounced as they get older.
They’ve always looked alike, but now they’re more like twins.
“Morning,” I say, and step between them to the coffeemaker. As I help myself to a cup, Charlotte slips down the hallway. A moment later her door shuts.
I pretend I don’t care. “Get any sleep last night?” I ask Theo.
He rubs down his face with one hand and yawns loudly. “A few hours. It was worth it though. Saturday nights are when the interesting stuff happens.”
Last night we had back-to-back MVAs, with a couple of patients in critical condition that I was sure would end up on Theo’s operating table. Then early this morning we had a hunter hike himself out after accidentally gouging his leg the night before. He’s lucky he made it.
“Are you working at the club today?” he asks.
I resist the temptation to glance at Charlotte’s door. “Not sure yet.” I have a to-do list a mile long, and there’s the intel Special Agent Ballard needs me to hunt for, but...
“Charlie needs some help at Thunder Mountain,” he says with a sigh, staring into his coffee.
“What kind of help?” Theo has been very clear regarding his limits when it comes to Morgan, so the only reason he would bring this up is?—
“Bye,” Charlotte says on her way to the door.
I shoot Theo a curious glance, then spin and race after her.
“Wait,” I say, keeping my voice low.
Charlotte glances over her shoulder. There’s genuine fear in her eyes that stops me in my tracks. “What do you need help with?”
Her gaze darts to the house behind me, then shifts to some distant point in the direction of the road. “I can handle it. ”
I run a hand through my hair. Fuck, she is so goddamn stubborn. “Let me help.”
“I overheard. You and Theo have both been up all night.”
“How about you worry less about me and a little more about you?”
Her eyes flash. Yeah, I hit that touchy spot on purpose. If nothing else, to get through to her. To let her know that nothing is going to keep me from showing up for her. Certainly not something as trivial as lack of sleep.
She huffs. “I need to pick up new bedding mats and a repaired saddle. Then…I need to haul some stuff away.”
I arch an eyebrow at her little car. “In that?”
She crosses her arms. “You got a better plan?”
“Yeah, actually.”
I leave her standing on the porch and cross to the detached garage, then pull the door open to reveal my old blue Silverado.
After everything fell apart that summer, Zach told me to sell it.
He saw the torment I was going through. Every time I drove it took me back to those stolen moments when Charlotte and I would sneak away to make out or talk.
But I couldn’t go through with selling it, even though I didn’t understand why.
I understand now.
Footsteps land behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to catch the tense look in Charlotte’s eyes. “You kept it?” she asks in a soft tone that wraps around my heart, like a hug.
There she is.
“Of course I kept it.”
Drinking in the way she stares at the truck where we first kissed feels wrong. I should be sliding my arm over her shoulders and drawing her close. What is she feeling right now? Anger? Regret? Or is this the moment we finally start getting past all that?
“I’ll get the keys.”
When I slip back inside, Theo’s rinsing his breakfast dishes. My chest tightens with the push-pull of everything bottled up inside me, but I tug on my barn jacket and snatch my keyring from the hook, then grab Ollie’s leash. When she hears it jangling, she races over, tail wagging.
Theo glances over his shoulder. “I’m gonna get in a workout, maybe grab a few hours’ sleep. Meet you at Zach and Sofie’s?”
“Sounds good.”
I let Ollie out then follow, closing the door behind me.
Charlotte is leaning against the hood of her car, looking toward the mountains.
I walk to the back of the truck and open the tailgate.
Ollie's already leaping before I have it all the way lowered.
She paces back and forth, tail wagging. I shut her in then squeeze inside the garage and climb behind the wheel, emotions pricking my chest as the memories and hope mix together.
After a quick rub across the dash for luck, I slide my key into the ignition.
The engine purrs to life, and I back out of the garage.
Charlotte gives my house one final glance, her face tense, and then she crosses the gravel and climbs in.