Chapter 19 Koda #2
The night air is crisp as we walk to my truck. Charlotte leans into my side, still warm and pliant from sleep. I help her into the passenger seat, taking a moment to admire the way her hair falls in waves over her shoulder, catching the porch light.
Even tired and slightly rumpled, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
I slide behind the wheel. The familiar rumble of the engine breaks the mountain silence as we pull away from Dana’s house.
“Your sister is amazing,” Charlotte says. “I was so nervous about tonight, but she made me feel like I’ve always been part of your family.”
“You are part of my family.” I reach across the console to take her hand, her small fingers disappearing into my grip. “You and our daughter.”
Charlotte smiles and squeezes my fingers.
The weight of Jason’s call sits heavy on my chest, dampening my own contentment. I need to tell her, but I hate to break this peaceful moment.
“Something on your mind?” Charlotte turns in her seat to face me better, her intuition sharp as always. “You’ve got that crease between your eyebrows.”
I keep my eyes on the winding mountain road.
“Jason called while you were asleep.”
Her body tenses immediately and fear flashes across her face.
“Did he—”
“No, nothing like that.” I quickly reassure her. “He doesn’t know about us.”
Charlotte relaxes slightly, but wariness remains in her posture.
“What did he want, then?”
The road narrows as we climb higher toward our cabin, tall pines closing in on either side. Headlights illuminate the asphalt stretching before us, the yellow line guiding us home.
“He called about your showcase.” I glance at her, gauging her reaction. “He can’t make it.”
Her face falls, the disappointment immediate and raw.
“Oh.”
“There’s a board meeting that same day for a big construction contract he’s been chasing.” I provide the details, hoping they’ll soften the blow. “If he misses it, he’s out of the running completely.”
Charlotte nods, her eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the windshield.
“That makes sense. He needs that contract.”
Her quiet acceptance breaks my heart.
No matter how mature she appears, she still craves her father’s approval and presence. I know how much she’s been practicing for this showcase, how desperately she wants to make him proud.
“He feels terrible about it.” I squeeze her hand. “He asked me to go in his place.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I’d be there, of course.” I bring her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss against her palm. Her skin is soft and warm, carrying that faint vanilla scent that always makes me want to bury my face in her neck. “Front row, recording everything.”
Charlotte giggles. “You were coming anyway.”
“Yes, but now I have official permission to be your biggest cheerleader.”
We drive in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the truck’s heater fighting off the mountain chill. Charlotte stares out the window, her reflection ghostly against the glass, contemplative.
“We need to tell him.” Her voice is soft but resolute. “After the showcase, we need to tell Dad everything.”
My heart rate kicks up a notch.
“I agree.”
“I’m tired of lying to him.” Charlotte turns back to me, her blue eyes serious in the dashboard light.
Those eyes have always been her most striking feature, clear and honest and completely captivating.
“I’m tired of pretending I don’t live with you, that we’re not together, that I’m not carrying your child. ”
The determination in her voice both terrifies and impresses me.
She rests her free hand on her small bump.
“Our daughter deserves to be acknowledged. She deserves to have her grandfather in her life, and that can’t happen if we keep hiding.”
Pride swells in my chest at her courage.
“After your showcase, then.”
“I was thinking...” Charlotte bites her lower lip, the gesture drawing my attention to her mouth. “What if I asked him to lunch afterward? We could tell him then, with other people around. Might reduce the chances of him murdering you on the spot.”
The practicality of her suggestion pulls a laugh from me.
“Smart thinking.”
Charlotte pulls out her phone.
“I’ll text him now, before I lose my nerve.”
I watch from the corner of my eye as she types, then deletes, then types again. Finally, she hits send and puts the phone down.
“What did you say?”
“Asked if he wanted to meet for lunch after the showcase to catch up.” She watches her phone anxiously. “Nothing about you or the baby. Just lunch.”
The phone buzzes almost immediately, making us both jump. Charlotte reads the message, a small smile forming.
“He says he’d love to, and that he can’t wait to hear all about how it went.” She looks up at me, a mixture of hope and fear in her eyes. “This is really happening.”
“It is.” I take her hand again and bring it to rest on my thigh.
The rest of the drive passes in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts about the confrontation to come. The cabin appears around the final bend, windows dark against the night sky.
Charlotte’s hope might be enough for both of us, but I’m not sure anything can prepare me for the moment I have to look my best friend in the eye and tell him I’m madly in love with his daughter. That she’s carrying my child.
I just hope Jason’s friendship runs deep enough to forgive me.
Because I’m not sure I’d forgive myself if our positions were reversed.