Chapter 26
Liam
I’m So Excited by The Pointer Sisters
I'd spent far too many hours wondering what I was doing. What I'd done. As I stretched and reached to turn off my five a.m. alarm, I had no such regrets or thoughts. I was going to my cabin for the weekend with Charity Dawson.
Of course, I hadn't thought about the dynamics. It was one bedroom, and we were not ready to take that step. We weren't even in a relationship. For me to even ask her was a huge step, some would say stupid, yet she agreed.
The practical side of my brain kicked in, and I thought about the logistics.
One bedroom, one bed, and two people who'd only just shared their second kiss.
My first instinct was to grab the cot from the garage, but then I remembered the look on Charity's face when I'd gotten that second motel room in Dallas.
The hurt in her eyes, like I was rejecting her.
Maybe I was overthinking this. We were adults, we could figure it out when we got there. The last thing I wanted was to make assumptions about what she wanted when I was finally ready to let someone in again.
I jumped out of bed, excitement starting to build up inside me. The idea of being away for a few days was great, no pressures, no work, just the peace and quiet of the lake. Maybe I should have been scared, it was a huge step, but the anticipation of it was greater.
I’d spent the morning at the site, trying to concentrate on work, stuck in the office, filling in paperwork for the lawyer just in case the Rogers family wanted to sue us for digging up their land by mistake.
As well as calling in a couple of favors to finally deal with Faith’s loan.
Let’s just say it was paid, without the extortionate interest the guy was expecting.
It was warm in the office at least. The snow had fallen in the early hours, just as I’d predicted.
It had been a couple of feet of coverage and resulted in most of the morning for the guys being taken up with shoveling the snow away.
Once I’d finished up with the paperwork, thoughts of the weekend kept sliding into my head.
Now I’d made that first small step, I was excited to take bigger strides into my future.
I wanted to make it the best weekend possible for both of us.
Which was why as soon as I could leave the site, I was in Daley’s Delicatessen buying enough cheese, meat, and fancy bread to feed half of Sweet Maple Falls.
As I picked up a bottle of wine and some crackers that I thought Charity might like, I couldn't help but think about Nate's advice, and how it had given me the courage to do this.
Two days of just us, no town drama, no business obligations.
Us figuring out if what happened in Dallas, and last night, was real or just crisis bonding.
“Having a party?”
I turned to see Pru Livingstone, the chairperson of the cooperative. The basket hanging from her arm had a string of garlic in it and something about it made me want to laugh. Surely it was poison to blood-sucking devils like her.
Stifling the laughter, I offered her a smile. “Pru. Don’t often see you out in the day.”
It struck me that when she frowned she looked like she might be constipated. When she looked in my basket, her top lip curled. I then wondered if she was no longer constipated and could smell it.
“I don’t shop here often, it’s very expensive.” She pointed at some cheese I was buying. “I’m not a fan of that cheese. It tastes like it comes out of a tube.”
“Good job you’re not eating it then.” I peered closely at her basket. “Just garlic for dinner? Interesting choice.”
“If you must know, I’m making a goulash.”
“Is that a Romanian dish? You know where the vampires come from, right?” I was enjoying myself and wondered how I’d let myself get so bogged down in misery for so long. I’d never been the most extrovert of people, more the rain to my siblings’ Sunshine, but until Ezra, I’d at least been sociable.
“No, it’s Hungarian.” She looked me up and down. “I thought you’d know that being an educated man.”
“Must have slipped my mind.” I chuckled and turned to walk away. “Enjoy your goulash.”
“While you’re here, can I have a quick word?”
Groaning inwardly, I rolled my eyes and turned back to her. “What about?” As if I couldn’t guess. There were two options, the remains on the hotel site or the dinner.
“The dinner.”
“All in hand, Pru. I’m working with Charity on it. Don’t worry, I’m taking my host duties seriously.”
“I heard that you were working closely.” She arched one of her penciled on brows. “Aubrey mentioned.”
“I bet she did,” I muttered. “So, if there’s nothing else, I need to get going. Got a lot to do.”
“I hear from Carla that we have another huge sponsor.”
My spine stiffened. “It’s not finalized yet.”
“Really? I was led to believe it was.” She shifted her basket higher up her arm, the man-made fiber of her coat making a noise that set my teeth on edge. “His money would be very useful. The storefront of the dress shop needs updating.”
The dress shop that her cousin, Lucille, ran. “I think there are more deserving cases than your cousin’s store.” I dropped my basket to the floor, deciding this was a good time to raise what Charity had suggested. “In fact, Charity and I were thinking that maybe we could consider a new initiative.”
“Like what?” She pushed out her chest, clearly not liking being challenged about the workings of her damn cooperative.
I pushed on, never one to be told what to do, particularly by someone who did the least amount of work possible. “We have our main sponsor and then we have a secondary one who donates to a single charity for that year. We thought that’s what Whitfield’s donation could be used for.”
“That’s most unprecedented.”
“New ideas generally are, Pru. Personally, I think it’s a great idea. It would mean we get to help more than one charity every year.”
“And who are you suggesting benefits from Mr. Whitfield’s donation?”
“A women’s charity. For those who suffer from abusive relationships, not just violent ones.
” The bastard would know exactly why I’d picked that one, and I’d relish watching his face as he handed over the check.
As for Pru, well, fuck it. I’d already lit the touchpaper.
“In fact, I think it should be the host each year who chooses the supplementary charity.”
Pru blinked slowly. “Convenient for you.”
“None of it benefits me, Pru, but I guess I’ll just run it past the rest of the committee.”
She startled at that. Pru was nothing if not egotistical. She wouldn’t dare risk the committee not siding with her, or worse thinking she wasn’t the saintly do-gooder she made out to be.
“It’s fine. It’s probably a good idea to have more than one charity. Just let me know before the dinner who you’ve chosen and then I can add it to my speech.”
The woman was unbelievable. “No need for you to do a speech. I’m the host. I’ll do it.” I didn’t want to, but I’d be damned if I’d let her take the limelight or the credit for something she’d had nothing to do with. The success of the dinner would all be down to Charity.
“I could do—”
“Like I said, no need. Now, I really need to get going. I’m going away for the weekend and have a lot to do.” Grabbing my basket I made my getaway.
It was as I turned into the aisle where the desserts and pastries were, that my phone pinged with a message.
Faith
Charity passed on your number. Just wanted to say thanks for talking to your friend. I’m on trial at his place doing office stuff. Beats shaking my tits for a living. Lola said thanks for the repairs to the apartment.
I couldn’t help but smile, even saying thank you she had to give it with a little acid to the tone.
It didn’t matter, though, she was doing okay which was the main thing.
Besides, I kind of liked that you knew what you were getting with her.
She was most definitely open with her opinion, whether it was one you liked or not.
I was about to pocket my phone when it buzzed again, this time with Charity's name.
Charity
Carla's handling the office on Friday so we can leave whenever you’re ready. Should I bring anything special for the cabin?
Her simple question made my chest tighten with anticipation. She was really doing this, really willing to disappear with me for the weekend.
Me
Just yourself. I’ve got everything else covered.
Charity
See you Friday. Looking forward to it.
Looking forward to it. Yeah, so was I, more than I'd looked forward to anything in a very long time.