Chapter 5
Charity
Here For You – Kygo feat Ella Henderson
I’d been staring at my phone for twenty minutes, debating whether to call Liam about dinner planning, when it rang in my hand. Perfect timing to avoid making another call that would be ignored.
“Charity, it’s Tally Brown. Do you have a minute to talk about my wedding?”
Was someone reading my mind?
“Tally! Of course. Christmastime, right? That’s going to be beautiful.”
“I know, right. Wilder and I are bouncing off the walls, we’re so excited. You did such an incredible job with Gunner and Cassidy’s wedding—everyone is still talking about it. We’d love it if you could work your magic for us too.”
Her infectious enthusiasm had me grinning. It was why I loved doing what I did. “I’d be thrilled to help. A festive wedding is always incredible, but a Christmas wedding at the Miller ranch? Now that’s going to be spectacular.”
“I know, I’m so excited. Especially if you agree to organize it for us.”
“Absolutely I will.” I reached for a notepad to write down the details. “What I’ll do is get Carla my assistant to call you with dates for an initial planning meeting. How does that sound?”
“Perfect. I already had tons of ideas, can I email those over to you?”
“Absolutely. It’s always good to have an idea of what my brides like.”
“Thank you so much.”
“No problem. I look forward to it.” I really was. The Miller ranch was a great venue, and I liked Tally from what I knew of her.
“Excellent.” She paused and then said, “I spoke to Liam earlier and he seemed… I don’t know, different. He called me and led the conversation, so thank you.”
My heart did a little flip. “Thank me, why?”
“Well, he told me that you persuaded him to host the dinner, and I think him hosting the dinner will be a good thing for him.”
“Are you sure?” I chuckled. “He hasn’t been exactly enthusiastic about it.”
“Trust me, getting him to agree is major. So, whatever you’re doing, or saying, keep going.” She sighed softly. “It would be nice to have the old, slightly less grumpy Liam back. Anyway, we’ll talk soon about flowers and cake and stuff.”
She gave a little squeak of delight, and my heart did a little flutter just like it always did when I had an excited bride. Weddings were my favorite events. Ever.
After Tally hung up, I spun around in my chair, one little victory lap. If Tally thought I was getting through to her stubborn brother, maybe there was hope for this dinner after all.
Placing my pen on top of my leather-bound notebook, I sat back in my chair and looked out through the picture window of my office.
I had the best office in the Sweet Maples hub.
It got the sun all day and had a great view of the park and the Sundance river beyond.
I could practically smell the spring air as I watched a couple of fishermen cast their lines while someone else jogged alongside the copse at the top of the riverbank.
The weather, while still unpredictable, was getting warmer by the day, and each one brought more life for me to watch.
It was peaceful until my phone buzzed with a message.
Roger
Emergency at Liam’s site. Call me NOW!
I rolled my eyes. Roger’s idea of an emergency could be anything from a broken hammer to the apocalypse. But I called anyway.
“Hey, Roger, how can I help you stop the world from ending?”
“Charity, this is serious. They found human remains at Liam’s construction site this morning. Dead body in the dirt!”
My chair stopped spinning. “What? For real?”
“The police everywhere, forensic teams, the whole nine yards. Poor guy can’t catch a break.”
My heart clenched thinking about Liam, dealing with this on top of everything else. After yesterday’s moment in the flower shop, after finally agreeing to host the dinner, now this.
“Has anyone from the cooperative offered to help him?”
“Pru said it wasn’t her problem.” Roger’s disgust was clear. “Said she’s got her own business to worry about. Told me to call you.”
“Of course she did.” Pru Livingstone was our illustrious chairperson, who rarely helped anyone out. She should have been the one making mental lists of lawyers, crisis management, food for his crew, media contacts in case this blew up. “I’m going out there.”
“Charity, it’s a crime scene—”
“Then it’s a good thing I’ve watched every CSI and know how to navigate complicated situations without getting in anyone’s way.” I grabbed my purse and laptop, energy buzzing through me. “Thanks for the call, Roger.”
“Be careful out there.”
Maybe none of it was my business, but the thought of Liam standing there carrying yet another weight squeezed something tight in my chest, and I rushed from my office.
I wasn’t dressed for a building site—tight black skirt, red silk blouse and black patent pumps. Thank God for the rain boots I always kept in my trunk.
Once I had the boots on, I surveyed the chaos of squad cars and yellow tape.
Somewhere in the mess was a man who’d trusted me with his grief the day before, the man who’d surprised me by saying yes when I’d expected another rejection.
It was time to show Liam Brown that when life knocked him down, he didn’t have to get back up alone.
And if anyone had a problem with me being there, well, they could take it up with my rain boots.
The scent of diesel fuel filled my lungs as I moved over the churned earth toward a small group of men huddled together.
The site buzzed with noise and grit, yet a strange thrill lifted through me, like stepping into someone else’s world.
Each step shifted under my boots, the ground unsteady, as I crossed to the crew, going straight to a guy I recognized as Mack Priestley who worked for Liam and lived on the same street as my mom and dad.
Nerves kicked in as I approached them, my stomach somersaulting as wondered how Liam would react to me being here.
I just wanted to help, though, wherever I could.
“Hi, Mack.” Pulling my shoulders back, I attempted to display confidence that I wasn’t exactly feeling.
As much as I wanted to show my support for a member of my community, my business community, it was fifty-fifty whether Liam would accept any help or even welcome it.
“I heard what happened and wondered whether there was anything I could do. As a fellow business owner, as a neighbor.”
Mack moved away from the group, scratching the back of his neck.
“Hey, Charity, it’s a real shit show. Liam is just finishing up with the cops, so I’m sure he could do with seeing a friendly face.
” He gave me a crooked smile, and I got the feeling he wasn’t sure mine was the face Liam would want to see.
“I’m not here to talk business. I promise.”
He chuckled. “I’m guessing someone called you instead of Pru?”
“Something like that. I just wondered if you needed anything. A lawyer maybe.” For some reason, it was important to me that Liam knew he had support. I knew he had a family to help him, but there were times when practical was better than a shoulder to cry on.
“He’s here now.” Mack nodded behind me. “Ask him yourself.”
Turning, I drew in a sharp breath as I saw Liam. His ball cap was on backwards with a tuft of hair peeking through the closure gap. Worry was etched all over his face, from his drawn brows to his pursed lips.
“Ask me what?” he snapped. “But if it’s about your damn business dinner, Charity, now isn’t the time.” He scrubbed a hand down his face.
The fact he instantly thought I was there about the dinner smarted a little, but why wouldn’t he? Every opportunity that I had, I asked him about it.
“I came to offer support.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You know who is lying dead under the shadow of my digger?”
“No but—”
“You know how I’m going to explain to the owner of the land, without them suing me, that my crew just dug a huge damn hole in it.”
Sucking in my lips, I pinned my gaze to his. The man had the weight of the past and the present on his shoulders, and it seemed like he couldn’t dig himself out from under it. Seeing the exhaustion carved into the lines around his eyes, created a dull ache behind my ribs.
Without looking away, I reached into my purse and pulled out a list of the cooperative members that I always had a stack of in my car.
I then took my pen and underlined a few names.
“These highlighted are numbers of some people who might be able to help. I know you probably have a lawyer of your own, but one of those guys specializes in contract law, and the other two in property law.” I flashed him a smile.
“I’ve also indicated a place which delivers food in case you’re stuck here for a while. ”
At first Liam simply stared at the list. I could feel the paper growing damp between my sweaty fingers as the seconds stretched.
His hands hung loosely on his hips, his chest rising and falling slowly.
The silence was almost deafening. The only sounds were distant traffic on the highway and the creak of the digger settling in the mud.
“Thank you.” His tongue darted out to lick his full bottom lip as he reached for the notepaper.
The familiar scent of brick dust and fresh wood hit me as his fingers brushed mine— brief as a spark, but long enough to leave an echo.
He blew out a sharp breath, almost as if annoyed he hadn’t avoided touching me.
As if he wasn’t used to accepting help. “You didn’t have to do this, but I really appreciate it. You think of things no one else does.”
His words felt bigger than they should have, and I didn’t want to think too hard about why that was.