Chapter Ten Charlie
Chapter Ten
Charlie
It had been a day, and now here I was at Sonny’s Ranch House at eight o’clock at night.
Harper had a project I needed to help her with after school, and a bottle of glitter had exploded in my face.
I’d gotten her fed and bathed before Steve Johnson called, sounding frantic because his refrigerator was acting up, and seeing as I’d built the home that he and his wife Cora lived in, he knew he could call for an emergency.
I was fairly decent at fixing things, and I said I could get it going temporarily until he could get it replaced.
I’d called my neighbor Abigail, and she’d come over to the house to sit with Harper until I got back.
She and Cora were close friends, so she was happy to help.
But I hadn’t expected to see Violet sitting at a table with some dude on a date.
I hadn’t expected it to bother me.
It shouldn’t matter.
It didn’t matter.
But for whatever reason, I was agitated now.
I glanced over, and my gaze locked with hers before I quickly looked away and followed Steve into the kitchen.
I spent the next hour working on the commercial refrigerator, and I was fairly certain it was just a wiring issue. I hoped my tweaks had done the trick, because it was up and working now.
“I can’t thank you enough, Charlie. Are you sure I can’t pay you for your time?” Steve asked.
“Nah. It’s not a problem. I’m just going to use your restroom and wash my hands before I take off.”
“All right. Well, the kitchen packed up some steaks and side dishes for you and Harper, and we sent one for Abigail as well, so I’ll have that bagged up and waiting for you when you come out.” He clapped me on the shoulder before I made my way down the hallway to the restroom.
And there she was walking my way. The hallway had very dim lighting, but I could still make out her pretty green gaze as it locked with mine.
“Charles, what brings you here tonight?” she purred.
“Steve was having issues with the refrigerator, so I came down to see if I could help out.”
“And did you get it fixed?” she asked. The smell of lavender and vanilla wafted around me, and I cleared my throat to keep from reacting. She was standing too close, and the hallway was narrow.
“I think so.” I studied her. She was so goddamned beautiful, it got under my skin. Her blond waves tumbled over her shoulders, and those kissable lips taunted me as she smirked.
I couldn’t get that fucking kiss out of my head.
I assumed it hadn’t affected her the same way, as she hadn’t said anything about it since, and she was here on a date with some rich-looking dude who was probably more her type.
Hell, she despised me most of the time.
Her hand came up and grazed along my cheek, and I startled at her touch. “Is this glitter?”
“Yeah. Harps had a project, and I went to battle with a bottle of glitter, and it sort of exploded all over me.”
She smiled, moved closer, and reached up to my hair before running her fingers along the front and chuckling. “You’ve got a bunch in your hair.”
“Sounds about right. I’ll jump in the shower when I get home. You better get back to your date. You don’t want to keep him waiting.” I stepped back, turning my back to her before making my way to the men’s bathroom.
“Where’s Harper?” she asked, and I got the feeling she didn’t want to get back to her date.
“She’s at the house with Abigail,” I said as I shifted to look at her. “She stopped by the guesthouse earlier to see if you wanted pizza. We had to work on her project, and there wasn’t time to cook. So we saved you some in the refrigerator, if you want it later.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. “I do love pizza.”
I nodded before pushing into the restroom. I needed some distance there. Ever since that kiss, I’d been consumed by thoughts of Violet Beaumont, and that was not a good idea.
Hell, the fact that she was on a date with another dude being the most obvious reason. Not to mention the fact that we couldn’t go five minutes without fighting.
I washed my hands and looked in the mirror, laughing as I took in the lingering glitter.
I made my way out of there, thanked Steve for the to-go food, and groaned when I realized Violet and her date were just a few feet ahead of me.
For fuck’s sake. I was covered in glitter, I needed to get home to my daughter, and now I had to watch the woman I couldn’t stop fantasizing about get escorted out by another man.
The dude was holding the door open for her just as I came up behind them.
Once we were outside, Violet turned around and saw me. “Oh, hey, Charlie. This is Brayden. I was just telling him about you and Harper.”
“Nice to meet you, buddy,” Brayden said, extending a hand, and I gave him a quick shake.
“Yeah, you too.”
“Nice of you to offer Violet a place to stay while you renovate her home. Is that common practice?” He smirked, but I didn’t miss the edge in his tone.
“Is what common practice?” My voice came out harsher than I meant it to, but I didn’t like the guy. Not because he’d done anything in particular, but because he was on a date with Violet, and it pissed me off. It wasn’t rational, but I never claimed to be a rational guy.
“Offering your clients housing while you work on their homes? Or do you save that just for the beautiful women you work for.”
Well, now I really don’t like the dude, because that was a dick thing to say.
“It’s a small-town thing. And Violet is best friends with my buddy’s girlfriend, and they asked me for a favor.
But I agree, she’s a beautiful woman, and you’re lucky she agreed to go out with you,” I said, surprising myself as the words left my mouth.
But if he wanted to be a dick, two could play that game.
Violet’s gaze locked with mine, and she cleared her throat.
“Okay. I really do need to get going. I’ve got to call my client back, because you can’t leave a bride in crisis. Brayden, thank you for dinner.” She extended a hand to him, which he did not look happy about, but he kept it together.
“Yeah, of course. I’ll give you a call soon.” He went for the hug, and I started walking toward my truck, unable to wipe the smile from my face.
A fucking handshake.
She shut that shit down, and I wasn’t going to lie, I was happy about it.
I climbed in my truck, watching in the rearview mirror as he stood outside her car and she slipped inside and waved. I started the engine and drove right behind her to my house.
She pulled in the driveway ahead of me, and I put the truck in park.
We got out at the same time, and she sighed. “Sorry. That was a little awkward.”
“For him maybe,” I said with a laugh. “The handshake was cold, Firefly.”
“We’re friends. It wasn’t cold. I just wasn’t feeling it. He probably wasn’t feeling it either.”
I moved closer to her. “Oh, he was definitely feeling it.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m a dude, and we know these things.” I shrugged.
“Well, that was a nice touch, you playing the jealous neighbor and acting like he was lucky to be out with me. You must have picked up on the fact that I wanted to make it a quick goodbye,” she said, her gaze searching mine.
I glanced over at the house, knowing Harper was most likely waiting up for me to say good night to her.
I reached forward and tucked a strand of hair behind Violet’s ear, because I just needed to touch her.
“I didn’t pick up on anything, and I wasn’t playing the jealous neighbor. I was just being honest.”
And I turned toward my house, then paused at the door to find her staring at me from her door with a big smile on her face. “You’re smoother than I would have guessed, Charles.”
“Get inside and lock up, Firefly.”
She laughed as she stepped inside, and I waited for her to shut the door before I walked into the house. Abigail was sitting on the couch, knitting a sweater for Harper that she’d been working on for weeks.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“Oh please, you weren’t even gone that long.
And Harper is sound asleep. She left you a little card on the counter.
” My neighbor moved to her feet. The elderly woman was a lifesaver to me.
I was lucky to have her right next door.
“And you didn’t need to rush Violet inside—you could have continued chatting. ”
I gaped at the woman. “Were you spying on me?”
“Of course I was. I’m old. I don’t get a lot of excitement in my life these days, but I saw some sparks out there.” She whistled.
“We just happened to get home at the same time. She was actually on a date with someone else.”
“Well, from where I was watching, she wished she was on a date with you.” She patted me on the cheek before dropping her yarn into her tote bag.
“You’re letting your imagination get the best of you,” I said before grabbing the bag that Steve had sent for her and handing it to her. I opened the door and left it open as I walked her the short distance to the edge of her backyard, where I could watch her step inside.
“Maybe you should be a little imaginative too, Charlie. You’re young. You don’t need to be so serious.” She chuckled before waving and stepping inside the house.
I wasn’t always serious. But yeah, I had a pretty routine lifestyle. I was raising a child all on my own, which required a certain responsibility.
I glanced at the guesthouse, saw that the lights were still on, stepped in my house, and grabbed a beer.
I put the to-go food away in the refrigerator and moved down the hall to check on Harper.
She was sound asleep, and I kissed her forehead, pulled her comforter up to her chin, and moved back out to the living room.
I opened the note from my daughter, where she asked if I could make her pink pancakes sometime and then wrote that she loved me more than all the pink pancakes in the world.
I glanced down at my phone, wanting to text Violet, and I found the perfect excuse.
Me: Hey. Where does one find pink pancakes?
Firefly: Are you talking dirty to me?
I laughed, just as another text came through.
Firefly: You can make pancakes any color you want with food coloring. Does Harper want pink pancakes?
Me: Yes. Is food coloring safe for me to put in her pancakes?
Firefly: Oh Charles, you clueless man . . . there is food coloring in lots of food that we eat.
Me: Shit. I didn’t know that. Thanks for educating me. How do I know how much to put in the pancakes?
Firefly: How about I handle it for you. Just let me know when, and I’ll make them. Because if you do too much, they will be red. And that’s a whole different vibe.
Me: Ah . . . thank you. Did you have fun tonight?
I leaned back on the couch, then took a long pull from my bottle before setting it on the coffee table. I wasn’t much of a talker usually, but there was something different about Violet.
I always wanted more.
Even when she was pissed at me, I wanted more of it.
More of her.
Firefly: The food was good. He was fine. I just wasn’t feeling it.
Me: He seemed like a good guy. Why do you think you weren’t feeling it?
Why the fuck did I just ask that?
Firefly: I don’t know. It’s all about a connection. Why do you think you weren’t feeling it with Julia? I mean, she was willing to look past the limp penis and the doll collection.
Me: She doesn’t do it for me. And I think you can vouch for me . . . my dick is anything but limp.
He agreed by springing to life the minute she mentioned him.
Firefly: Ahhhh . . . the kiss that we shall not speak of.
Me: Looks like we’re speaking about it now.
Firefly: It was a good kiss, Charles.
Me: It was a fucking amazing kiss.
Firefly: I thought so too. But I feel bad that you didn’t get to walk away feeling as good as I did.
Fuck me. Apparently, Abigail was wrong, because my imagination was working just fine at the moment.
Me: Watching you fall apart, riding up against me all hot and needy . . . I couldn’t walk away any happier, Firefly.
Firefly: Did you take care of business later?
Me: About a dozen times since it happened.
Firefly: It happened yesterday. That’s a lot of relief happening over there.
I finished off my beer and set the bottle on the coffee table. I couldn’t believe I was doing this, but I sure as hell didn’t want to stop.
Me: I guess you must do it for me then, huh?
Firefly: I thought you couldn’t stand me.
Me: It’s not like that, Violet.
Firefly: Tell me what it’s like.
Me: You challenge me. You’re strong and determined, and even if it frustrates me from a working standpoint, it doesn’t mean I don’t admire that about you. And clearly it doesn’t mean that I’m not attracted to you.
Firefly: So you’re attracted to me, huh?
Me: Not going to deny that. But it doesn’t mean acting on it is a good idea.
Firefly: Well, we finally agree on something.
Me: Good night, Firefly.