Chapter Fourteen
“What the hell was that?” Nancy asked, pointing her arm in the direction of the outside.
Doc glared at his ex-wife. He was still holding onto Savage’s jacket and reeling from Charlotte’s outburst. They had both betrayed him. He didn’t know how long this had been going on, but Charlotte deserved better. She should be with a man that was not a fucking biker.
“I’m trying to take care of our daughter, while you want to pimp her out to every single fucking loser that walks in that door.”
“Are you fucking insane?” she asked. “Are you even thinking straight?”
He looked toward Maeve who was also in his office, and she offered him a smile, although it didn’t quite reach her lips.
“We’re not going to talk about this,” he said.
He was done talking. Right now, he wanted to deal with the fact he had just lost a good man, but he had also lost his freaking daughter.
“You know, one of the bullies from her high school sent you that video,” Nancy said. “I knew you were a hothead, but I didn’t think it would come at the cost of your own daughter!”
“Nancy, I suggest you give it a fucking rest,” he said, no longer in the mood to entertain her antics.
“A fucking rest!” Nancy let out a scream. “She’s our only child, Doc. That may not matter to you because you’ve got a new woman and all that, but Charlotte is still our girl.”
“I love our daughter,” Doc said.
“You know, you have a bad way of showing it, and I am going to leave now, because you might want to cut our daughter out, but I’m not a fucking asshole like you.
I love her, and whoever she wants to be with, I will learn to accept it.
” Nancy stormed toward the door and turned back to glare at him. “Fucking waste.”
She slammed the door, and Doc turned toward Maeve.
“You’re quiet.”
“I’m just listening, and observing.”
“You’re judging,” he said.
She shook her head. “I’m not judging. I know Charlotte had a hard time of it, and the way it took four of us to pull her off that kid who was apparently her bully, that is a lot of repressed rage. I am curious, though,” Maeve said.
“About what?”
“If not Savage, then who would you have in mind for Charlotte?”
“I ... someone good. Someone who will treat her right, who puts her first, and will love her.”
“So, someone exactly like Savage. You’ve said yourself he’s a good man.
Loyal, hardworking, and you trust him with everything, or nearly everything, since you don’t trust him with your daughter.
However, I would say that man showed that he is completely, one hundred percent committed to your daughter,” Maeve said, getting to her feet and rounding the desk.
She put her hands on his shoulders, then leaned over and kissed his cheek.
“And trust me on this, you are going to regret pushing them away. You love them both, we know this.”
She kissed him again.
And he knew his woman was right.
****
The following morning, Charlotte got up early, used the bathroom, and snuck into the kitchen, where she got the coffeepot fired up.
She and Savage hadn’t said a lot last night.
They had made love well into the night, but words hadn’t exactly been necessary.
One brief look at him, and she saw he was covered in bruises from her father, and she couldn’t help but wince.
No matter what was going on with her and Savage, her father shouldn’t have done that.
Opening the fridge, she grabbed breakfast sausage and eggs, as she had used the last of the bacon yesterday, and she needed to run to the store.
She was partway through cooking the sausage and beating the eggs, when Savage walked out of the bedroom, and she winced. He had a lot of bruises.
He’d pulled on a pair of sweatpants and ran a hand down his face. “Hey, beautiful,” he said, moving around the kitchen and wrapping his arms around her. “How are you feeling?”
“How am I feeling? Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? You’re the one that got the life beat out of him.”
“Yeah, I know, and it fucking sucks, but I’m here now. The bruises will fade.”
“I don’t know how you can be so calm,” she said.
“It’s easy. I’ve got you in my arms, and that gives me the reason to remain calm.”
She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “You say the lamest things.”
He laughed. Savage didn’t let her go, he kept hugging her, and she was not going to complain about that.
She snuggled up against him and got to work pouring the beaten eggs into a pan and stirring them into the hot liquid.
She let out a little hum because, even though everything had gotten messed up the previous night, she was actually really happy.
Yes, everything else was messed up, but they were going to be able to handle it.
They had each other and that was all that mattered.
“So, um, do you want to talk about what happened yesterday?” she asked.
“I love you,” he said.
“And I love you. So, that wasn’t a lie?”
“I don’t lie, Charlotte. Not to you, not ever.” He put his hands over hers, and together they stirred the eggs. “Your dad will come around.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Didn’t you see the look on his face?” she asked. “He wasn’t exactly happy. In fact, I would say he was pissed. Like, super pissed. Like, more pissed than I had ever seen him before.” This was exactly how she saw it.
“I know, but you’re also his little girl, and do you really think your mother is going to let him push you away?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
“Do you really not want to have a relationship with your dad?”
“Right now, I don’t know what I want, but I know I’m hungry.”
They finished cooking the eggs together, and once they were a deep golden brown, because that was the way she liked them, Savage stepped back and gave her some space to serve them up. She added a few pieces of breakfast sausage, and then the toast she had also buttered.
They made their way to the dining room table, and she looked over to Savage. “What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“I can get a job at the mechanic’s shop. There are a few places that will take me. It will all be good.”
She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. The club had been Savage’s life for a long time.
“Why don’t you go and talk to my dad?” Charlotte asked.
“No,” Savage said. “I made my choice last night, and until he is ready to talk to you, I’m not going to do that.” He reached out and took her hand.
“You’re being stubborn.”
“No, I’m giving him the chance to calm down. I broke his trust last night, and I’ve got to give him time. I’m not going to insult him by rushing back and forcing him to accept this. It’s not right,” Savage said.
“What is right?”
“Time.”
Charlotte sighed. “You know, you’re a good person, don’t you?”
He kissed her knuckles, and they ate breakfast together. They didn’t linger long afterward.
Savage got changed, and she was already dressed and ready, and he dropped her off outside the salon. Stepping inside, she saw Maeve was there, as well as Kristin, and her mother.
“Mom, I never knew you were so obsessed with hair and makeup,” Charlotte said.
“You know I’m not, but you’re my daughter and I want to be where you are right now.”
“Did you get a chance to talk to Dad?” Charlotte asked.
“We didn’t exactly talk.”
Charlotte groaned. “I didn’t expect Savage to walk away like that last night. I didn’t want it to end up like this, but I know how important the club is to him. Isn’t there anything you can do?”
“You’ve just got to wait it out. That’s all. Your dad is a stubborn man and a complete asshole, but he does have sense.” Nancy looked behind her. “No offense.”
Maeve smiled. “I was waiting to see what the catch was. We all know Doc can be stubborn, and a pain in the ass, and not the easiest man, but that’s why Rivermont Ridge is so safe.” She shrugged.
At that moment, Maeve’s cell phone pinged.
Charlotte looked at her mother. “Do you think he’ll come around?”
“When he realizes the alternative, he is not going to have a choice. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to deal with the stubborn man he can be. Tell me, sweetheart, do you really love him?”
She nodded. “Yes, I love him. I love him so much.”
“That was Martha,” Maeve said. “She would like us to squeeze in an appointment today. It’s slow here, so I told her we could go on over, but she gave me a new location, which is cool.”
Charlotte smiled. “Do you want company?”
She loved her mother and appreciated her being on her side, but it was a little disconcerting to also have her like this. She wasn’t used to this kind of love and attention, and it was making her a little unnerved.
“Of course, I was thinking you could take the lead and show me what you’ve learned the last few months of working on her mature skin.”
Charlotte smiled at her mother, feeling like she had accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. She never knew makeup would be her passion. It had taken her by surprise.
Grabbing her bag, she followed Maeve out to the car. Nancy gave them both a wave, but she actually went back into the shop and took a seat, chatting with Kristin.
They were on the road before Maeve started to talk. “So, how are you, for real this time?”
“I’m fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yeah, I just ... I had hoped it wouldn’t go this way. Savage and I, we did think about talking to my dad, but I always put it off.”
“Why?”
“I wasn’t ready, and I just knew he wasn’t going to be happy about it, and...
” She stopped and groaned. “I was trying to avoid this, because my dad is unreasonable. He only sees one solution, which is his, and he doesn’t for a second think he is wrong about anything.
He has to be the one that is right.” She threw her arms up in the air. “It is how he has always been.”
“You know he means well, don’t you?” Maeve asked. “He does love you and he just wants the best for you.”