18. Henry and Charlotte #2
Disappointed that Henry had backed up, she smiled to cover it, assuring him, “It’s one of my favorites.
” Together, they walked to the front door, and she locked it behind them.
“How did you know just what I wanted?” He stepped off the porch, holding his hand out to her.
Neither of them wore gloves, and his warm palm pressed into hers.
When his thumb grazed the tops of her knuckles, her shiver had nothing to do with the freezing temperature.
Lacing his fingers through hers came naturally, and they walked hand in hand to his car.
Under the lightly falling snow, the urge to kiss her only increased.
He opened her car door and struggled to quell his desirous hunger for her as pink bloomed in her cheeks and snowflakes dusted the top of her head.
Instead of getting into the car, she took a step closer to him.
“Henry.” Craving his touch, she reached forward, fingers clasping his coat, wanting nothing more than the press of his lips on hers. Just one kiss, she could survive on that for the rest of the evening. Her heart hammered as his arm lifted from the door.
Hypnotized, he cupped her cheek tenderly, resting his thumb at the curve of her smile. In the soft winter light, she was exquisite. His intense desire made his voice hoarse. “Charlotte, can I kiss you?”
The moment she had been anticipating for two years.
“Yes.” Henry lowered his head, tenderly brushing his mouth over hers.
One kiss was not enough, but at least now he could spend their date with the taste of her on his lips.
Forcing himself to pull his mouth from hers, he pressed his forehead to hers, his hand still on her cheek as their breaths tangled.
Turning her head slightly, Charlotte let her lips touch his thumb before she collapsed into his car.
Hot, despite the frigid air, she fanned herself discreetly as he gently closed her door.
Once he started the car, the soft strains of “Peaceful Easy Feeling” played.
Reeling from their erotically chaste kiss, she struggled to control her breathing.
Henry shifted from reverse to first, knuckles accidentally grazing Charlotte’s thigh, and his fist tightened on the gearshift.
Because the car had a manual transmission, he’d have to shift again soon, so he gritted his teeth as her soft heat seared his hand.
Desperately needing a distraction, he asked, “How is the Tempest? Still running okay?”
With Henry’s hand resting against her leg, she was not making any progress slowing her racing heart.
Instead, taking advantage of every bump in the road, she moved her leg closer to him, fantasies wild with possibilities as the hem of her dress inched further above her knee.
“Charlotte?” Realization dawned that she hadn’t answered him.
“Sorry. Yes. I’ve only taken it out a few times this winter, but it runs beautifully.
” She cast him a sidelong glance. “You’re very good at what you do. ”
Henry cleared his throat. “It’s the only thing I’ve known, really.
People always need something done with their cars, so I have job security.
That’s the first thing my dad taught me.
I’m sure you know from my sister that my dad and brother have a shop in Clover Lake.
Really, it’s just George now, because my dad has mostly retired.
When my dad first started there, he worked with our grandfather. ”
“Really? It’s been in the family that long?”
Henry nodded. “When my grandpa got back after World War Two, he was a newlywed and didn’t want to farm, so he started the shop.”
“Did your grandparents marry during the war?”
“Yes. They met in England when he was there. Her family was originally from Ireland, but had emigrated at the turn of the century. My grandparents settled in Clover Lake. After my dad got out of the army, he went to work full time with his dad.”
“So that’s how you got started being a mechanic. It’s pretty impressive that you created your own business. You should be proud,” Charlotte commented when Henry grew quiet.
“What I enjoyed most about working in my dad’s shop was seeing him and my grandpa and my brother every day.
” Forgoing college to work in the shop had unsettled him for years, even though it was what had been best for his family.
Pride in his work hadn’t come until he opened his own shop; then he felt like his life was his own.
“Your family sounds so close, from what Trixie has said.”
“Yeah, we are. Sometimes too much. George is the oldest, and he thinks everything should be his way. He and my grandpa used to have some clashes, since they are both incredibly stubborn.”
“Not your dad, though?”
“No, my dad is very chill, sometimes too much. And patient as the day is long. My mom can be a bit of a firecracker. She’s an amazing cook.
” Henry stole a glance and found her eyes on him.
He dropped his gaze down to the gearshift, which he still held.
Every so often, her thigh pressed firmly into his hand. “Tell me about your parents?”
“Well, my dad was in the army during World War Two, too.” Her heart swelled talking about her dad.
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Technically, I guess, he was in the Air Force. He was on a bomber crew that trained in Sioux City. He was born in a little town called Washington Depot in Connecticut and met my mom at a diner in Sioux City. She was eighteen and taking secretarial classes at the college, so she was studying while having lunch. In walked the most handsome man she’d ever seen, she used to say.
My dad was eight years older, but my mom had this…
” Charlotte twirled her hands in the air, the way her dad used to when he described meeting her mom.
“Mom had this wisdom. My dad always said that Mom was beautiful, but the first time he saw her, with her school books spread out in front of her, she barely noticed him walk past. Said he knew she was probably too smart for him,” Charlotte laughed.
“Less than a month after they met, his training was done, and he was sent overseas. They wrote to each other every week for three years.”
“Wow, really? Must’ve fallen hard for each other,” Henry remarked.
“Definitely. My mom said she couldn’t even look at another man after she met my dad.
Spent every night dreaming of him, even though part of her believed she might never see him again, since he wasn’t from Iowa.
Then one day the war was over. She was a secretary by then and was pulling up to her parents’ house after work.
There was a strange car in the driveway, and when she opened the door, my dad was there, hat in hand, asking my grandpa for his blessing to marry her.
” Charlotte dabbed at her eyes with a tissue from her purse.
“Sorry…I always cry telling their story.”
“No need to be sorry,” Henry assured her. “They have an against-the-odds love story. It’s beautiful.”
Charlotte nodded as they pulled up to La Hacienda.
“They got married the following year and tried to start a family right away, but they didn’t have any success.
They thought maybe something had happened to my dad in the war, that he couldn’t have kids.
Then one day, when they’d been married twenty years, my mom got pregnant. ”
Henry put the car in park. “That’s incredible. They must have been stunned.”
“That’s one word for it. They called me their little miracle. Now they’ve been gone longer than I had them as my parents. It’s unbelievable.” She unbuckled her seatbelt, turning to find Henry facing her.
“You’re unbelievable.” In the close confines of his car, longing reverberated between them. Gently tracing her cheek with the back of his hand, her breath, shallow and warm, swept across his wrist. “And unforgettable.”
The air was so electric Charlotte was sure they would combust if they moved any closer to each other. “I was thinking you’d say unavoidable after I pressured you for a date.” Some part of her needed assurance, despite their kiss earlier, that he wanted to be here as much as she did.
“Never. I never wanted to avoid you.” His eyes held hers.
Emotions too intense, she gave a small laugh. “I’m glad we got that straightened out.”
“Me, too.” Her huge chocolate eyes stared at him. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”