Chapter 27
Charity
Long After Tonight is All Over – Jimmy Radcliffe
“Rose, concentrate. What do I take?” With my phone tucked between my shoulder and ear, I stared down at the mess of clothes on the bed. “And do I take a small case or just a duffel bag?”
“And the size of his penis, Charity. It’s damn huge.”
Sighing, I silently counted the number of pairs of panties in the pile. “Do you think I should stick to thongs or take some bigger panties. I mean we’re only going for two nights but I think three pairs per day should be fine, do you?”
“And hard, I’ve never seen anything so hard.”
“Rose,” I snapped. “Will you stop talking about Cole’s donkey’s penis and help me to decide what I take to wear to Liam’s fishing cabin.”
“Jeans, big sweaters, especially ones that slip off your shoulder, so a strapless bra, big fluffy socks, in fact anything that makes you look cute yet sexy. And as for the panties, sexy again, do not take granny panties otherwise the man will never talk to you again. Can we get back to Denver’s penis now please? ”
“No, Rose, we can’t.” Flopping down onto the mattress, a pair of jeans and a pile of underwear slipped onto the floor. “Shit.”
“Please stop stressing. The man clearly likes you. He barely speaks to anyone and yet he’s taking you to his cabin at the lake.” She snorted. “Maybe he’ll take you through the back door.”
“Rose! You are not taking this seriously. And you really need to get laid, you have penis and sex on the brain.”
“I wish I had a penis in my vagina, not on my brain to be fair.” A chair scraped on the floor from the other side of the line, and I heard Rose grumble. “Damn, where did that go?”
“What? Did you lose your damn filter?” I chuckled and reached for the clothes that had fallen to the floor.
“Ha-de-ha-ha. No, my pen and I can’t see it.”
“Rose, put your damn glasses on.” She’d started wearing them for reading recently and hated them.
“I will if you stop stressing about your trip. And if you pack some naughty undies.”
“Fine.” Flopping back onto the mattress, the debris of clothes all around me, I looked up at the ceiling.
“What if we’re not compatible? What if after two days in a tiny cabin together, we end up hating each other?
” My chest pinched at the idea. I’d grown to like having him as a friend.
I was excited about the prospect of us being more.
“If that’s how it ends up then you were never meant to be in the first place.” Rose’s tone was no nonsense and calm. “But the man dropped everything to help you find your sister, so stop over thinking and see what happens.”
I rubbed my temple and took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Good. Now can we talk about the donkey’s penis?”
Liam’s grin was wide, and his eyes were bright as he chuckled softly. The warmth of it filled me with hope for the next few days. Maybe things would work out.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, hugging my arms around my waist, and stopping short at kicking my feet with excitement.
“We’re going for two days, Charity. You’ve brought a suitcase big enough for two months. I thought I might get a hernia lifting it in.”
The way his biceps tightened as he maneuvered the truck made me squeeze my thighs together. His big hands and long fingers were strong on the wheel, gripping it with authority. I wondered what magic he could perform with them.
“I just couldn’t decide what to bring.”
“And so, you brought everything in your closet instead.” His lips twitched as he turned his focus back on the road, which wound upward in tight curves that clung to the side of the mountain.
We dropped back into silence as the pine trees thickened, casting cool, flickering shadows across the cracked asphalt.
I cranked the window down, enjoying the air that was sharp and scented with sap and stone and the hint of water up ahead.
The truck's engine echoed through the canyon before being swallowed up by the dense woods and rising cliffs.
Every now and then a gap opened in the trees to a breathtaking view of the valleys spilled below, quilted in green trees and golden rock. In the distance, peaks pierced the pale blue sky with white-capped precision.
The road was quiet, we hadn’t seen another vehicle since we’d come off the main highway, and it felt like peace. It felt like time had slowed as the road narrowed, the hum of the truck’s tires growing quieter as if everything around us was holding its breath.
When the truck moved slowly around a bend, and then slowed to a stop, the trees parted, and I saw the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen—a still, silver-blue lake, hidden in the safety of the mountains, calm and waiting, like it knew we were on our way.
Nestled close to the water’s edge was a cute single story wood cabin.
It looked like something a child would draw with its door in the middle, a window either side, and a line of flowers either side of the path leading up to it.
There was a short dock with a covered area at the end where two Adirondack seats were placed, and pulled up onto the small sandy bank, was a small red and white boat.
“Wow.” A small gasp exhaled from my parted lips. “Liam, it’s beautiful.”
I turned to him and witnessed something akin to wonder in his eyes. He relaxed back into the seat and dropped his hand from the steering wheel. When his fingers laced with mine and curled around them, my heart stuttered.
For a heartbeat, I wished time would stop right there. Something in my heart told me that I’d still feel this, long after the weekend was all over.
“It’s my favorite place in the world,” he whispered.
“The one place I can find peace.” He turned to me, and every single line that was usually furrowed deep into his brow was gone.
The green of his eyes were brighter, like they'd absorbed the rich color of the pines dusted with frost. “It was my grandpa’s, and he left it to me, Cole and Tally. Tally never comes because you can’t get horses up here, the climb is too steep for a horse box, and as for Cole.
” He laughed deep from within his chest. “Cole never comes up here because he’s scared of spiders. Are you scared of spiders?”
“Nope. They’re just little things with hairy legs. What’s to fear?”
“Exactly.” Giving my fingers a squeeze, he breathed out slowly, like he was exhaling the last vestiges of any stress he’d carried from on the drive from the city. “Okay, let’s get settled in.”
The road curved around the back of the cabin where there was a small, covered porch with another pair of chairs and what looked like a bathtub and overhead shower.
“Is that..?” I turned to Liam who was grinning.
“Yep. The view from that tub is incredible.”
I followed Liam’s gaze, mesmerized. Beyond a weathered fence that hemmed in a patch of sun-dappled grass, the land dropped away in a clean, breath-taking plunge. No gentle slope, just the edge of the world falling into forever. And beyond that edge? Magic.
The mountains spilled out, layer upon layer of age old granite and forested ridges fading into blues and grays.
Sunlight poured through the gaps in the peaks, scattering golden shards of light across the valley like confetti.
Trees hugged the slopes in a deep green, swaying in the breeze like a well-rehearsed dance.
Far beyond that was the whisper of the wind as an eagle soared into view.
Its wings stretched wide, effortless, as it rose from the cliffs and did a slow, regal arc before gliding out toward the horizon, a dark silhouette against the bright sky.
The moment held me tightly, making my heart stop, like I’d just given up a piece of myself to all its splendor.
“Liam.” It was all I could manage past the lump in my throat.
His hand found mine again, his thumb stroking softly back and forth as we sat silently devouring the tranquil beauty.
After what could have been minutes or hours, Liam finally let go, clearing his throat. “We should get inside and get a fire going.”
“A fire?”
“Yeah, it gets cold up here at night. There’s a thick duvet on the bed, but I would hate for you to be uncomfortable.”
Just the mere mention of a bed made my body heat up and wonder if I’d even need a duvet. When his fingers flexed, I shifted in my seat and moved to unclip my belt, suddenly feeling too constrained, too close to him in too small a space.
“I can’t wait to explore,” I told him as I opened the truck door.
“I’ll get the bags.” He chuckled. “Including your huge damn case.”
I groaned. “Sorry. Want me to help?”
He jumped down from the truck, laughing.
“I have no clue how you managed to get it out of your house, never mind in the back of this truck.” With a wave of his hand, he moved away calling over his shoulder, “Come on, Sunshine, let’s get unpacked, and then we can take a walk.
You do have walking shoes in that huge case, right? ”
I followed him around to the back of the truck and poked him in his side. “I had to be ready for every eventuality.” Which was also why I’d bought the sexy undies that Rose had insisted on.
“Okay, if you say so.” His smile was easy, his movements loose, and it was clear that this really was the place he felt most at peace. “Can you take the bags of groceries?”
Holding out my arms, I waited for him to drop the brown bags into them. “I bought wine, cheese and different meats too,” I told him. “In that carrier there. Hook it on my wrist.”
“I’ll come back for it. Now come on let’s get inside. And remember,” he said, arching a brow. “No talk of the dinner or that snake Whitfield. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Then, as I watched him walk up the porch steps to the door, I couldn’t help but wonder how I was going to get through two days without jumping him.