Chapter 12
Oliver knocked on the outer door that led up the stairs to Charity”s apartment. As soon as his knuckles rapped on the metal door, he realized that he wasn’t sure how she would hear him since the sound would need to travel to the second floor. That led him to ponder how she would respond to any knock on the door if she weren’t expecting someone. Then he began to wonder how she would know who was outside since there was no security peephole.
Frustration washed over him for not considering this when he initially assessed her apartment. He made a mental note to ensure these concerns were added to the security plans. Scoffing, he felt sure that Poole had already thought of those details. Lifting his hands to knock again, he was surprised when his phone vibrated. Looking down, he spied the text. Is that you at the door?
Smiling, he typed a return text. Yes. It’s me and not a serial killer
He heard the quick footsteps of someone descending the stairs on the other side of the door before it was flung open. He opened his mouth to talk about the security plans needed for her front door when all thoughts vanished as she smiled up at him. Her glossy hair flowed down her back in thick waves. Her makeup was subtle but highlighted her eyes and long lashes. The tinge of blush on her cheeks was so natural that he wasn’t sure if it was makeup or a sign of nerves.
Her lips were tinged with a soft pink gloss, and he had to resist the urge to see if they were as kissable as they appeared. His gaze continued downward. Her clothes were hidden behind a green coat, belted at the waist, flaring out over her hips. Her feet were encased in low-heeled boots. She lifted one leg and wiggled her foot. “Not great for distances, but I could run in a pinch.”
He chuckled and extended his elbow for her to take. She locked her door, then turned and slipped her arm through his.
“It’s not far, but we can drive.”
She nodded her agreement and allowed him to assist her up into his SUV. It was only a five-minute drive, and then he parked near the restaurant. Once inside, he ignored the appraising look of the same hostess he’d avoided when he was here before. He only wanted to look at one woman, and his hand rested on the small of her back as they walked to a booth near the back.
Comfortably seated, their order was taken, and he leaned his forearms on the table and fixed his gaze on the woman who was such an enigma to him.
A crease furrowed across her brow, and she lifted her fingers to her chin. “You’re staring at me in a funny way. Do I have something on my face?”
He reached over and wrapped his hand around hers, pulling it down while shaking his head. “No! Not at all!” he felt the tips of his ears heat and wished he had a way to keep his embarrassment from showing. “I was just thinking how beautiful you are.”
Her lips curved as her cheeks blushed. “Thank you.”
“I’m sure you hear that a lot.”
She had sipped her water, and her eyes widened before she could swallow. Coughing, she finally shook her head and laughed. “I’m afraid it’s been a while since I’ve been on a date.” Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she amended, “And I should warn you that it’s been even longer since I’ve made it to a second date.”
“That’s hard to believe. There must be something wrong with any man who wouldn’t want to ask you out for a second date.”
“Don’t make assumptions too early, Oliver. I might be really terrible at dating.” She tried to hide her grin as she rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and ticked off her imaginative list with her fingers. “You could discover that I’m narcissistic, or a gold digger, or a self-absorbed influencer, or maybe order the most expensive thing on the menu.” She suddenly dropped her mirth and held his gaze as she shrugged. “Or maybe you’ll be bored out of your mind and discover I have little life outside of work.”
He gently rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “I’ve already seen where you work and know what you’re passionate about, even though I want to hear more. I’ve already witnessed you chasing teenagers down an alley and watched you give away your leftovers. I’ve met your coworkers and can tell by the look in their eyes that they think you’re amazing. So even though this might be our first official date, I don’t doubt that I’ll want a second date.”
They were interrupted by the server bringing their pizza. When ordering, he’d been pleased to discover they liked similar toppings—meat lovers with extra cheese. Digging in, they slowed their conversation as they both ate heartily.
She ate two pieces of pizza, then leaned back against the booth cushions and patted her stomach. “I’m so full! You’re going to have to finish it.”
He looked down at the platter on the table between them. Normally, he’d have no problem polishing off the rest of the pizza, but remembering her carrying home leftovers, he hesitated.
She shook her head as though she understood where his thoughts had gone. “Seriously, Oliver. Please, eat whatever you want.”
He took another slice. “The first time we met, I asked you why you wanted to save those kids. You told me I needed to educate myself.”
She winced. “I’m so sorry, Oliver. That was incredibly rude of me.”
He shook his head with it. “No, it wasn’t. You were exactly right. I was looking at the world through my military mission optic, but not what was happening around me when I wasn’t on a mission. I was fairly single-purposed in my focus.”
“I can only imagine what you needed to be to survive as a Ranger. And we all owe you a debt for your service.”
He waved away her praise. “That may be true that I did what was necessary to survive, but I’m no longer in the Army. I’m a Keeper, and I need to understand the community around me. And that’s what I’ve tried to do in the past couple of weeks. I’ve looked at the news and read some reports, so I’m much more aware of youth homelessness.” He leaned closer and added, “And I want to understand you better. How did you get involved with the center?”
She stared at him in silence for a long moment, and he wondered if she would speak. “I was fortunate enough to earn a scholarship to college. It was the only way I would’ve been able to attend. I earned a master’s in social work and completed a residency at a homeless shelter. It was an area of interest for me, and I worked with students and families at a local high school who were homeless, connecting them with the services in the area.”
“And Bright Futures Home?”
“There is a huge need for shelters and services for homeless youth and teens. The state is working to open more, and I spent a year working at one before being offered the position of helping to start the one here. I’m young to be the Director, and it’s not false modesty to say that I really shouldn’t be. I’d like to be more hands-on with the kids, but no one else wanted to take the leadership position. The last thing I wanted was for the services not to reach the kids because no one would step into the leadership position.” She shrugged in a self-deprecating manner. “So here I am. I’d do anything for those kids, so stepping out of my comfort zone to become the director has also been good for me.”
“Until I started reading about the issues, I had no idea of the scope of the problem. And I know I’ve only touched the surface with what I’ve read.”
She squared her shoulders and stared straight into his eyes. “Every year, over four million youth and young adults experience homelessness in this country. Almost one million of those are considered unaccompanied minors. They’re not part of any family or accompanied by a parent or guardian. Do you know what that equates to?”
Mesmerized by her voice and words, he shook his head.
“Almost one in thirty youths between the ages of thirteen and seventeen will experience homelessness every year. And that amount is probably greatly underreported due to the challenges with contacting them. Often, they don’t go to shelters, or they transition by sleeping on sofas and floors of friends or acquaintances. And if you think this is an inner city problem, it transcends rural, suburban, and urban communities at the same rates.”
The slice of pizza he started now lay unfinished on his plate as he listened. Hearing the words from Charity gave so much more emotion to the subject than just reading them from the website article. “I can’t believe how prevalent it is.”
Her face was tense as she held his gaze. “Oliver, the ramifications are horrendous. Food, shelter, and clothing are our most basic needs. And when those aren’t being met, most people will do anything to obtain them. One in three teens on the street will be lured into prostitution within forty-eight hours of leaving home. Almost forty percent of homeless youth report using alcohol, and almost fifty percent report drug problems.”
He leaned back, his appetite now waning, and the food he’d eaten now felt like a rock in his stomach. “Fuck,” he breathed. “That’s heartbreaking.”
She glanced down at his plate, and then her eyes darted up to his as she grimaced. “And, now you can see why I rarely make it to a second date. My dinner conversation is depressing. Although, I’ve never had anyone on a date ask me why I do what I do. Usually, we don’t get past them asking what I do. As soon as I tell them I work with homeless youth, either they don’t know what to say, try to make a joke, or tell me that it’s not society”s place to care.”
He jolted, his mouth dropping open. “You can’t be serious! Charity, the problem with the date isn’t with you. The problem is the pricks you’ve met.”
Laughter bubbled up from her, and he grinned. She was beautiful as she spoke passionately about the needs of young people. And she was breathtaking when her eyes were lit, and the sound of her laughter filled his ears.
“Okay, change of subject. Tell me about becoming a Ranger.” She crinkled her nose. “To be honest, I know nothing about special forces other than what I see in the news. I’d love to know what made you want to join.”
It hit him that she didn’t ask what he had done or where he had gone. She wanted to know why he joined. He was sure no previous date had ever asked him that.
“I have an older brother. Leo. He was only eighteen months older than me, so sometimes we seem more like twins than just brothers. My parents were great about not comparing, but as the younger one, I looked up to him. And while he was a wonderful big brother, I also felt a certain competitiveness.”
He thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Not a bad competitiveness, like I had to try to be better than him. But it’s just that I often fell into doing many of the same things that he did. Looking back, I suppose that could’ve been bad if he’d been a negative influence. As it was, he was a fucking amazing brother. So we did a lot of the same sports. Since I was two grades below him, I had my own friends, but we also shared many. He joined the Army and then went through Delta training. It’s not like I didn’t consider anything else for a career or thought I had to follow my brother blindly. It’s just that I was interested in the same things he was. So I joined the Army, too, but decided to become a Ranger.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Still a bit of competitiveness?”
“Oh, no,” he said with great exaggeration while pressing his hand over his heart. “Rangers are clearly more badass than Deltas.”
A beautiful smile curved her lips. She took another sip of wine and asked, “What made you decide to get out?”
“Leo was injured in an accident, which had him decide to leave the service. He joined Carson as a bodyguard to the stars when Carson started that business. Believe it or not, he was the bodyguard for Hollywood’s sweetheart, Camilla Gannon.”
Charity gasped. “You’re kidding. She’s no longer an actress, is she? In fact, I think I read she lived in a little beach town on the East Coast.”
“Yep. Believe it or not, she and Leo are still friends. She’s married now and is satisfied to be away from the LA madness.” As he settled into his story, his gaze stayed on the way her eyes sparkled in the candlelight on the table. She seemed to listen with her whole being.
“Carson hated that business, so he joined forces with a company in Maine that dealt with security and investigations and opened an office in California. Leo was his first employee. I was still in the military, but I loved the direction Leo had taken with his career. He kept telling me that I”d have a job as soon as I wanted to leave the military. An accident also had me get out sooner than I thought, but I was lucky. I interviewed with Carson and got hired.” He grinned as he placed his hand over hers. “And I met you on my very first assignment as a Keeper.”
She looked down at their joined hands and smiled. Then lifting her head to hold his gaze, she asked, “What exactly is a Keeper?”
He thought about the newest tattoo that he’d just gotten on his shoulder and smiled. “It’s everything.”