2. Charlie
Chapter 2
Charlie
I told myself that while I’m here, I wouldn’t rush, for once. It’s quiet out in the middle of nowhere and I’m determined to enjoy the peace. I thought being out on an abandoned farmland would be eerie, but that isn’t the case.
Somehow, I feel like I can breathe easier out here. It must be all the fresh air. The open skies look otherworldly compared to my real life in the city. This place is more woodsy than I’d imagined it would be too.
When I hear prairie, I don’t think trees… I guess that just goes to show how much I know. This is nothing like the city. I was dreading coming so much that I put it off for weeks. Now that I’m here it seems like a shame that I’ve got to get back to town so quickly. But my law office sleeps for no one.
The wildflowers are stunning, they dance in the breeze with each step I take. I feel like I should be wearing a massive, old-timey dress with a hoop skirt my hair pinned into curls, and a candle a la Bridgerton while someone plays Arianna Grande songs on a string quartet.
“Am I going to my dad’s house this weekend? Is it next weekend? I don’t really want to go, it’s so boring over there.” Paisley chatters on and it interrupts my peace. “I do think it’s weird that I haven’t seen Dad very much since Christmas. But I think we’ve both been busy, so it’s not that big of a deal… It’s weird though, right Mom?”
“That is… weird. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens with your dad for this weekend. You might go, but you might not too. It’ll be an adventure.” And only Paul can choose the path we go down. I try to bite back my sarcasm. I can’t tell whether or not Paisley sees right through it. “Look at all the flowers out here, Pais! Aren’t they beautiful?”
“They are!” Paisley clasps her hands in front of her chin and I know my distraction is working.
It’s heartbreaking not to be able to give my daughter a definite answer about seeing her dad. I let out a sigh. My ex-husband Paul isn’t a terrible person, but he’s also not exactly big on following through. This whole uncoupling process has been going on for two years and it hasn’t gotten any easier.
The silver lining, if there is one, is that the process has made me more empathetic toward my clients. Going through a divorce is, as it turns out, a lot harder when you are the one with the failed marriage on your hands.
“Wow!” Paisley covers her mouth with her hands and then lets out an excited shriek. “Mom, do you see these?” She climbs on top of a weather-worn, splintered, picnic table holding up a fistful of wildflowers and shaking them in my direction. “There is a horse down there behind that fence. A horse! It’s brown! I have to see it, have to.”
She lets out another squeal. From there, my girl is a blur of pigtails dancing in the sun as I watch the top of her head bounding away from me. I trail behind her in the distance. I didn’t have inheriting a full-on farm from Paul’s great-uncle, on my bingo card for this year, but here we are.
We found out about the inheritance of Findlay Prarie midway through our divorce. Paul wanted nothing to do with the land and immediately offered it to me as a bargaining chip. I was in favor of anything that would convince him to sign quickly.
Now I own it and the process of managing this property needs to be cut and dry. I’ve already served the ownership papers and given the official eviction notice months ago. This place should be vacant by now with all the extra time I allotted.
This land can legally be parceled out now. At first, I thought I’d sell it to a developer. But now that I’m here, I think I’ll be a little more discerning about how the land can be used. It’s so pretty, it’d be a shame to see it reduced to track homes. I can’t stand the thought of taking down all these old oaks.
As I wander the path in the direction of the alleged horse, I play out scenes from Bridgerton in my mind. Right now I’m not Charlie Marshall, Esq. I’m simply Charlotte, a newly single woman promenading on my way to Lady DanBury’s house. I burn for you… you are the bane of my existence and the object of all my desires. It isn’t my real life, but it’s the closest I’ve been to a love story in a long time and the thought tastes sweet on my lips.
I keep making my way down the trail when I hear a man’s deep, drawling voice. The sound comes from the direction Paisley disappeared towards and it makes me sick to my stomach. What was I thinking letting her run ahead like that?
Breaking into a full sprint toward the horse fence, I can hardly breathe. With each step, my anxiety grows and I fish around in my bag for my pepper spray. This isn’t a stupid Netflix series and there isn’t some knight in shining armor coming to defend me. This is real life and there is a strange man somewhere out here. If this creep thinks he’s going to talk to my daughter, he’s got another thing coming.