Chapter 29
chapter twenty-nine
Charlotte
The momentary worry escapes Caleb’s face as soon as he realizes what I’m getting at. It’s replaced with a sultry smirk. “Oh I think that kiss went very well. Best kiss of my life.”
He’s not making it very easy to stick to what I know is safe for me—being single. In fact, that stupid grin of his is making me want the exact opposite of that. “That’s the problem, Caleb. I tried to get you out of my system, but it only got worse.”
He clears his throat, shifting on his feet. “I see.”
It is at this very moment that I suddenly realize I have no idea how I wanted him to react.
What did I expect by confessing feelings to a man who is very adamantly against them?
Deep down, did I think he’d agree with me?
Confess his enduring love and adoration for me and we’d sail off into the sunset, happily ever after?
We’re not even on a sailboat.
My chest tightens. “You know what, forget I said anything.”
I turn. He catches my arm. Gingerly, unlike Bobby’s greedy grasp earlier. Caleb’s fingers slide down my arm to my wrist, where he lets go as soon as I look up at him.
“I don’t want to forget you said anything.”
“Okay…well you’re being very quiet.” My eyes flit toward the night sky, then to the kennels across the property, not exactly sure where I should be looking right now.
“I’m processing.”
I roll my eyes. “I said I couldn’t get you out of my system and you said I see.”
He grins. His gaze looks all over my face, like he’s trying to memorize me for an exam later. “Charlotte,” he says, taking both of my hands into his. “Are you saying you’d like me to resume the relentless flirting that you have, in previous encounters, banned me from doing?”
“Yes!” I toss my hands in the air. In the time between when the gala ended and now, crickets have taken up their nightly song. The chirpy buzz fills the air and blends into the anxious ringing of my own ears. “Or maybe no. I don’t know.”
“Is it yes or no, Charlotte?”
I fold my arms over my chest. “What do you want it to be?”
The silence is just a few seconds long, but Caleb seems to take years to figure out his answer.
The crickets have no problem vocalizing their thoughts, and way up above us, a gorgeous full moon casts a shadowy glow on the beautiful landscape.
In that glow are two people staring intently at each other.
When Caleb finally speaks, his eyes peer deep into my soul.
“I want you,” he breathes. “I want you, and only you, in a serious way, forever.”
My breath catches. This is exactly what I wanted, but why am I so scared to just accept it?
“Why now?” I ask, voice shaky. “Why now, why me? Why are you suddenly so sure of something you were very adamantly against just a few weeks ago?”
“It’s not that crazy to believe,” he says. “I fell in love.”
“You barely even know me.”
“I know enough,” he says. Concern flickers in his eyes. “Charlotte, I thought we were having a romantic little moment but now you’re backing away from me. What’s wrong?”
Was I backing away? My back presses against the scratchy barn wall. My eyes sting with the threat of tears. My heart is pounding, and yes part of that is from this insanely attractive man telling me he’s in love with me, but the other part is fear.
“I think I'm just overwhelmed. There’s too many new things in my heart and I’m scared about all of them.”
“Let’s take a walk,” Caleb says, extending a hand to me. “And tell me everything on your mind.”
I take his hand. The warmth of his fingers wrapping around mine is like downing a bottle of anxiety pills.
We keep to the sidewalks, walking slowly under the moonlight.
Caleb is still wearing his gala suit, looking like some kind of fashion model with his tie loosened and top button undone.
I reach down and pull off my heels, tossing them by the door of the admin building.
“I’m just filled with problems,” I say, letting out a nervous chuckle because the words are ridiculous but true.
“Unload them on me,” he says.
I shake my head. “Saying everything out loud won’t take them away. I still have to deal with all of this.”
“Let me help.”
I swallow. “Problem One: I want to quit my job and start my own party planning business. Just a one-woman thing, no office building. I can work from home and meet clients and vendors and keep all of the profits instead of giving most of the money to the main corporation. Less overhead should mean I can still pay my bills with only a few clients a month, but there’s never any guarantee. What if this is a huge mistake?”
“It won’t be, but if it is, you’ll just find another job.”
“I guess that’s true…” I consider it a moment, which is hard to do because half of my brain function went out the window when Caleb took my hand. It’s been ages since I’ve held hands like this. “I could always go get another job.”
“Easy,” he says. “I went through the same fear when I quit. But I can always go back to law enforcement if everything falls apart. Fight for yourself, and work hard, but don’t not do something because you’re afraid it won’t work.”
I nod, gripping his hand harder. “Okay. Problem Two…”
I stop, glancing toward the kennels. He follows my gaze, then turns to me.
I take a deep breath. “I want Rex.”
His whole face softens into the biggest, childlike smile. “Really?” He lifts on his toes, grinning. “I knew it! Yes. Yes, absolutely, Charlotte. You are the perfect person for Rex.”
“But this is crazy!” I shake my head, imagining everything that’s wrong with this idea. “I don’t have a big enough yard, I have no idea what I’m doing—”
“Your apartments have miles of walking trails behind them. It’s perfect for Rex.”
“You sound like you’ve already thought this through.”
I don’t realize we’re walking toward the kennels until we arrive, and Rex is waiting for us by the fence. Waiting for me, maybe.
“He’s bonded with you. You may not see it, but I do.”
Caleb walks over and opens Rex’s kennel.
The big dog bounds out, running straight toward me.
I don’t scream, and I don’t duck away from him.
I stand firm as he playfully crashes into my legs, tail wagging hard as he begs me for pets.
I kneel down and pet all over him. He leans into my touch, then licks me right across the face.
“You’re a good boy,” I tell him. He licks my cheek. His breath stinks and his fur smells like corn chips. But I can’t stop smiling when he’s soaking up all my attention, begging me for more.
“You’re the only person he hasn’t gotten grumpy with,” Caleb says. “If we work with him, one on one, you can learn his commands, get comfortable with him here at the kennels, and then take him home for a trial run.”
“He’s already had a trial run at my home,” I say, scratching his ear. His stiff pointy ears turn to mush when you scratch them just right. Luckily, they always pop right back up into position. “But maybe if you teach me everything I need to know…I’ve never been a dog person.”
“You don’t have to be a dog person. You can just be Rex’s person.”
I smile. “I like that.”
“The heel command sounds like ‘foos’,” Caleb says. “Try it out. Say it with authority.”
“Rex… foos.”
Like magic, the dog whips his body around until he’s standing right next to me. He watches me with bright eyes and mouth open, waiting patiently for another command. “Let’s take a walk,” I say. It’s not German, but he seems to understand.
“He can stay here as long as he needs,” Caleb says. “I don’t want to rush you into taking him.”
“Maybe after I put in my two weeks’ notice with Perfectly Planned? Then I’ll be on my own all day and have lots of time to take care of him. I could even bring him with me to meet with clients.”
“He would love that,” Caleb says. “Working dogs like going everywhere. He’ll be your protector for life.”
“Awesome.” The possibilities unfold in my mind.
There’s already a great spot for a dog bed in my living room.
We do have all those walking trails which I already walk as often as possible.
Now I’ll just have Rex with me. There’s probably a pet fee at my apartment but I’ll figure it out.
I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like Rex knew I was terrified of him, but he liked me anyway. I really like him too.
Rex trots off leash, keeping close to me as we walk. Every few moments, he’ll smell my foot or lick my ankle. He’s such a big dog, I can just reach my hand out and touch his head. I feel like Little Red Riding Hood with the Big Bad Wolf next to me.
“Problem three,” Caleb says.
“Hmm?” I look away from Rex for the first time since I gave him the heel command and he glued himself next to me.
“You were telling me your problems,” he says. “What’s the next one?”
“Problem three is you.”
“I’m not a problem,” he says, lightly bumping into me with his shoulder. “I’m a solution.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We’ve walked around the back of the main house, and a massive chunk of wood catches my attention. It’s at least four feet tall, made from a giant tree trunk. “Is that… a bench?”
“Yep. Hurricane Harvey.”
“The bench’s name is Hurricane Harvey?”
He grins. “This old tree fell over during Hurricane Harvey years ago. My dad cut it up and used it for firewood, but he carved this piece into a bench. It was too heavy to really move anywhere, so he kept it here. The tree used to be right there.”
“It looks awesome,” I say. “It looks exactly like a fallen over tree that had a bench seat carved into it.”
“Have a seat,” Caleb says, flourishing his hand toward the wooden tree-turned-bench. It’s been carved down smoothly and covered in some kind of shellac to make it shiny and more like furniture. Rex sits at my feet, resting his chin on my knee.
Caleb sits beside me. “We can sit here as long as it takes to convince you I’m in love with you, Ms. Charlotte Brooks.”
My insides dance. I lean forward, letting him wrap an arm around my back and bring me closer to him.
When we kiss, it’s like we’ve done this a million times.
Like our lips can find each other even in the dark, even with our eyes closed.
I breathe him in, soaking up the feel of his arm around me, the warmth of his body so close to mine.
He smells good. Intoxicating, really. He’s always attractive but being all fancied up for the gala did something else to his natural good looks.
We kiss until Rex lets out a bored whimper. I pull away, looking at the dog. He’s just sitting in front of me, watching. “Platz,” I tell him. He lays down.
“You remembered the lay down command,” Caleb says. “I’m impressed.”
“I still think I need hours and hours of lessons from you,” I say, running my finger down his tie. “Just to make sure I fully learn everything I need to know.”
“You can have all the hours you want,” he says, kissing my forehead. “I’m hopelessly addicted to you.”
“What made you change, all of a sudden?” I ask. “Why now? Why are you suddenly wanting to be a one-woman man?”
“It wasn’t sudden,” he says, brushing a stray hair behind my ear.
“It was pretty much the day I met you. I just lied to myself every day since then, trying to push you out of my mind. Trying not to admit that I was falling for you.” He wraps both arms around me, kissing my hair and cheek and shoulder as I snuggle up close to him, swinging my legs over his lap.
“It’s easy to be happily single when you haven’t met the right person.
Now that I’ve met you, I can’t let you go. ”
“I feel the same way,” I whisper. I tip my head up and his lips meet mine. I can feel him smiling as he plants several small kisses on me. We sit like this, tangled up in each other on a giant tree trunk bench, talking about everything.
We come up with names for my new business, talk about Rex’s feeding schedule and how German Shepherds often drink so much water they immediately throw it up.
We talk about Alden K9, and his brother’s viral social media posts.
I tell him about Jenny, and my crazy but loving mom.
He tells me about his parents’ mid-life crisis and traveling the country in an RV.
Rex curls up on the grass, softly snoring.
I tell him about the neighbor's dog who tore into my arm when I was a kid. How blood went everywhere and I was rushed to the ER in an ambulance with an EMT who was short and rude with me, and how my mom cried because we couldn’t afford the hospital visit.
I tell more about myself than I’ve told anyone. He holds me, listening to every word.
“What's that?” I ask, noticing a glow on the horizon.
“That would be the sun,” Caleb says, resting his chin on top of my head.
“Wha—how?” I check my watch. It’s six in the morning. “Did we really stay up all night talking?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says. “I think this counts as our first date.”
I sit up, stretching out my tired limbs. “I should probably go home and sleep…”
“Yes. Then later today, I’ll take you out on our second date.”
“I’ll put in my notice at work.” Just saying the words sends a nervous zap through my stomach, but I don’t stress over it. This will be scary, but it needs to happen. “Maybe we can get dinner afterward?”
“Absolutely. And then I need to hire you for a party I’m throwing.”
“You just had the gala. Why would you need another party so soon?”
“It’s a personal party, not a foundation thing,” he says, sliding his arm around my back as we walk to my car, Rex trotting along beside us. “You see, my girlfriend is starting her own business. And I want to throw a party to celebrate.”
“Your girlfriend, eh?”
“Yep. She’s beautiful. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She’s crazy smart, too.”
“I am a premiere event planner,” I say with a fake haughtiness to my voice. “I don’t know if you can afford my services…”
Caleb slides both arms around me and lifts me into the air. “I’ll pay whatever it costs. But I need one thing added to the fine print.”
“What’s that?” I say, holding back laughter as he gently swings me in a circle. Rex barks, wanting in on the fun.
Caleb sets me down but keeps his arms wrapped around me. “Let’s remove the clause that says you can’t fall in love with me. It didn’t really work out so well last time.”
I grab his face in my hands and lift up on my toes to kiss him. “Deal.”