Chapter Twenty-Five #2
"If you take a quick look at what I just sent you, I think you'll see enough to bring him in. Breaking and entering, assault and battery. It's a long list."
"Did he hurt you?" Brennan asked Charlie, examining her with his sharp gaze. She shook her head.
"Not really. I tried to hit the panic button but—"
The door swung open again and Aiden stepped into the room, his face pale and his jaw set. When his eyes landed on Charlie, they softened in relief.
He was at her side a second later, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing tight. To Brennan, he said, "I'm taking her home. If you need anything from her, you can get it tomorrow."
"Aiden, I'm okay," she said. Aiden was having none of it.
Brennan said, "I've got plenty to keep me busy until Charlie wants to give me her statement. Bring her by tomorrow."
The last part he directed at me. I nodded. Charlie didn't object, which I took as a good sign, though Aiden, Cooper, and Evers all narrowed their eyes at me.
I ignored them.
Aiden whisked Charlie out of the house and to his car. I could hear her saying that she had to at least get her things, but he must have bullied her into going with him, because the next thing I knew, the engine rumbled to life and his car pulled out of the driveway.
Evers gave me a long look and said, "You fixing that?" I knew he meant Charlie.
"Working on it. I was making progress before you three interrupted."
Evers shrugged, unrepentant. Cooper said, "You take a look at the job proposal?"
I had. The salary was competitive, and the position they outlined would be an intriguing challenge. I missed working on a team, and Sinclair was the best.
"I'll call you tomorrow to set up a time to come in and go over the details, but it looks good."
Cooper grinned and slapped me on the back twice before passing me on his way to the door. "Lock up on your way out."
"Got it," I said, resigned.
Charlie was out of reach for the moment, but this wasn't done. I'd let her brother fuss over her for a night, but I'd be at Winters House first thing in the morning.
We had a future to settle and I wasn't giving up until Charlie agreed to be mine.
For the first time in over a week, I slept well. Charlie hadn't forgiven me, but she would.
I loved her. And she loved me.
I just had to get her to admit it.
I woke up early, as usual, and went for a run to kill some time before hitting Charlie's house next door to pick up the essentials she'd need.
The first hurdle was the imposing outer gate at the Winters House property. The other times I'd visited, the first gate had already been open in expectation of our arrival.
This time, I had to press the button on the intercom to call the house. I wasn't expecting Aiden to answer.
"Jackson. What are you doing here? Charlie's been through enough."
"I have her things," I said. "You rushed her out of her house so fast last night, you didn't give her a chance to get what she needed."
"You going to drop it off? Or do you want to talk to her?"
"I want to talk to her, Aiden. If it helps, I already apologized for fucking things up. I'm in love with her, and I should've trusted her to make her own decisions."
"You told her that?" Aiden sounded like he might be softening. I pressed my advantage.
"I did."
"And what did she say? How do I know she wants to see you?"
"I don't know if she wants to see me. You guys showed up in the middle of the conversation. Look, if she wants to tell me to fuck off, fine. But I want to hear it from her. If she wants more time to think, that's fine too."
Aiden didn't say anything, but the heavy metal gate swung open, admitting me to the Winters estate.
Aiden met me at the door, his chilly expression belied by a speculative look in his eyes.
He took the backpack I held in my hands and said, "I'll give this to Charlie. You can wait in there."
He lifted his chin in the direction of the formal living room.
Sitting and waiting for Charlie wasn't what I was going for, but at least I was in the house. I took a seat on the couch and stretched my legs out in front of me, prepared to wait.
A few minutes later, the housekeeper brought me a tray with steaming biscuits, a pot of jam, and a small silver carafe of coffee. She delivered the food and left without speaking. I wondered if I should worry about poison.
I figured if Charlie wanted revenge, she'd probably poison me herself. The coffee smelled too good to ignore. I'd finished half the pot and polished off the biscuits before the door swung open again.
Charlie stepped through, her hair pinned back from her face, wearing the clothes I'd brought for her, a scoop-neck fitted T-shirt the same blue as her eyes and her favorite pair of jeans.
She closed the door behind her and stuffed her hands into her back pockets, her eyes uncertain.
"Hey," she said.
"We didn't get to finish talking last night."
"I know. I'm sorry. Aiden was freaked and—"
I shook my head. "No, it's better this way. Too much happened last night between Hayward and everything I had to say. It's better to talk about this stuff with a clear head."
"I don't think I've ever had a clear head when it comes to you," she said. "I had a thing for you before we even met. I used to stand in my window and watch you mow the lawn."
I grinned. "I know."
I'd teased her about watching me mow the lawn before, but Charlie's cheeks still turned red and she dropped her eyes to her feet.
"I used to watch you too," I admitted. "I used to wonder what a woman like you was doing messing around with that disaster of a house.
Then I got to know you and I realized that woman, with her pearls and her suits—she's not you, Charlie.
Not all of you. There's so much more to who you are.
You have courage, and imagination, and strength.
I saw that, but you scared the hell out of me so I made excuses and ran away. "
"You're not the only one who's scared, Lucas," she said softly.
"Sometimes, I think I'm scared all the time.
But I've learned that life is too short to be afraid.
I've spent too many years doing what I thought I should to make other people happy.
None of that worked. I tried to be perfect and I ended up making myself miserable. Now I just want to be Charlie."
"I love Charlie," I said, coming to my feet and crossing the room to her. "I love you. Whoever you want to be, I love you."
She took a step forward and threw herself into my arms. "I love you too, Lucas."
I dipped her back and kissed her, unable to wait a second longer to taste her again. It had been a week and it felt like a lifetime. Her arms wrapped around me, and I lifted her, carrying her back to the couch and sitting, pulling her into my lap.
Opposite me, the door cracked open and an unfamiliar face popped in. A set of sharp, ice blue eyes identical to Jacob's peered at us, capped by a head of white hair. As abruptly as she'd interrupted, the stranger withdrew, but not before a grin spread across her wrinkled face.
The door shut with a click.
Through the thick wood, I heard her shout, "Charlie's good, but I don't think she's coming to breakfast."
Charlie leaned into me and erupted with giggles.
"Aunt Amelia?" I asked.
She nodded. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed one cheek, then the other.
"We have time for this later," I said. "But I want to show you something now. Will you come with me?"
"Let me just tell Aiden I'm leaving."
I followed her out to the hallway and snagged her backpack from where she'd left it at the base of the stairs. Good to know she hadn't planned on staying.
She darted into the dining room ahead of me, told Aiden she was okay and she was leaving, then met me in the hall before I could go in. Slapping her palms on my chest, she pushed, backing me up.
"Don't go in there, trust me. If you go in there, Aunt Amelia will invite you to breakfast, Aiden will insist you stay, and we'll be here for another hour."
Seeing the wisdom in Charlie's words, I took her hand and led her out of the house.
We were back in the Highlands twenty minutes later.
When I drove past our street, Charlie looked at me, her eyebrows raised.
I turned half a mile down from where I usually did and wound through the back of the neighborhood, coming to a stop in front of a mid-century modern house that had seen better days.
That style of architecture wasn't unknown in the neighborhood, and some of them had been rehabbed into works of art, but they required a careful hand or no amount of time and money could keep them from looking outdated.
This was the house Charlie had been stalking on her tablet. I'd looked into it and it had potential. It was a foreclosure, which meant a slow buying process but potentially a great purchase price.
The bank had already done an inspection. It had major issues, one of which was the foundation, but at the right price, we could turn a tidy profit.
I got out of the car and rounded the front to open her door. She stepped out, looking from the house to me and back again.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"What do you mean? I've had my eye on this one, but it's a little out of my price range right now."
"What if we went in on it together?" I asked. "Fifty-fifty. I'm taking a job with Sinclair Security, so my schedule won't be as flexible as it is right now, but I can still do my half."
"You want to buy a house with me?" Charlie asked.
She usually wasn't so slow on the uptake. I pulled her close, tilting her face up to mine. Nothing in my life had ever felt as right as Charlie Winters in my arms. Her gorgeous pink mouth beckoned and I kissed her, at home for the first time since I'd walked out a week before.
Hoping she'd understand, I said, "I want to do everything with you, but we can start with this house."