“Getting stronger every day. Apparently, I need to include more fiber into my diet. The dietician has me adding this powder to my water and it’s revolting. But, other than that, everything is coming along.”
“I must admit, May, you’re looking great. It’s been how many years since I’ve been here?” Dad asks.
“Easily fifteen. Maybe you shouldn’t be such a stranger,” Aunt May replies.
“I’ll be returning as often as my daughter wants me to.” Dad grabs my hand and presses gently.
“Hello,” Charlie’s deep, sexy voice sends chills up my spine. He leans down from behind me, and kisses my cheek and massages my shoulders.
Turning in my seat, I look up at him, and smile broadly. Jesus, he’s so beautiful. His gray eyes have a sprinkling of brown flecks through them, and his perfect, square jawline has a covering of stubble that’ll soon develop into a beard. Yum, sexy.
I stand up from my seat and turn so I can hug him. “I’ve missed you,” I whisper.
“I’ve missed you too.” He hugs me tighter, taking a deep breath. “I like this shampoo. Keep using it.”
A sudden flush of heat travels through my body, making me crave his tender touch. “Um.” I pull away from Charlie, because I want to introduce him to Dad. “This is my father, Cole. Dad, this is Charlie.”
Charlie moves beside me, and Dad stands holding his hand out for Charlie to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Charlie says in a tone that tells me he’s nervous.
“Please, take a seat.” Dad drags a chair out beside him. Oh crap, Dad wants to talk to Charlie. His eyes carefully watch as Charlie smiles awkwardly at me. “So, you’re dating my daughter?”
I turn to Aunt May, who’s angled away from us and is speaking with Hope and Elle about something. Crap, she’s not going to help.
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“And you flip houses too?”
“I’m the plumber. Hope, River and I own the company together. Hope is the mastermind though, and River and I are just her lackeys.” Charlie chuckles nervously.
“How long have you been a plumber?”
“It’s what I’ve done since I got out of school. I successfully completed my apprenticeship, and worked for about a year or two, then Hope bought her first house. I did the plumbing work for her, ever since then I’ve worked with Hope as a contractor until she made me a partner.”
Dad steeples his fingers together, and nods his head. Shit, should I say something? Is this where I need to step in and defend Charlie? “Have you been married before? Do you have children?”
Oh my God. This is worse than I thought. “No, and no.”
“And what about stability? Do you move around a lot?” Shit, Dad. Calm it down.
Charlie sits back in the seat and shakes his head. “My parents moved a couple of times when we were younger, but they’ve been in the same house now for a good ten years. And, if you want honesty, I’ll tell you that when Hope bought Old Roger’s house, and asked me to come down here, I was counting the days until it was done so I could leave.”
“Why haven’t you?”
“Because now my home is wherever Tabitha is.” Wow, Charlie just faced that question without an ounce of fear. And that makes the fluttering in my stomach even more intense.
Dad stares at Charlie with a cold, hard stare. Charlie isn’t backing down from Dad’s tough gaze. “Tabitha, please excuse Charlie and me, we’ll back in a few minutes.”
I suck in a breath, terrified of what’s about to happen. I grab Charlie’s hand, but he leans across, gives me a kiss on the forehead and whispers, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”
“Okay,” I whisper. But my heart is racing and my hands are trembling. What could Dad possibly have to say to Charlie? Shit, how is Charlie going to react?
Dad and Charlie walk a distance away where I can’t hear them. I try to read their body language, but neither seems agitated or angry, so I relax a little.
“You little bitch!” I hear the familiar annoying screech of my mother. I swing around to see my mother stomping toward me. What is going on? “You stupid little bitch!” she shrieks again, louder. Loud enough to make everyone who’s sitting at the table or just milling around in a twenty-foot radius turn to see what the commotion is all about.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” I ask as I jump to my feet and try to get her away from everyone before she continues yelling. “Who are you calling a bitch?”
“You, Tabitha. You. You’re the stupid bitch I’m talking about.”
“What?” I look around again, trying to grasp what’s happening. “What?” I say again in a smaller breath. Mom brings her hand up, and slaps me across the face, hard. “What did I do?” I cry as I clutch my burning cheek.
A strong set of hands grabs me by the waist, and Charlie whisks me behind him. He’s moved between Mom and me, and Dad is beside Charlie. “What are you doing here, Leah?” Dad asks.
“That little bitch cost me millions of dollars.” Mom angrily spits and points toward me.
“Hey!” I hear someone else shriek. It’s all happening too fast, I don’t know what’s going on. Aunt May stands from her seat, grabs the walker, and makes her way over to Mom quicker than I expect. “What is your problem, Leah?”
“She is!” Mom’s deadly stare burns into my soul. “Do you know what he wants to give me in alimony? Twenty thousand dollars a month. How am I supposed to live on twenty thousand a month? All because apparently I made her feel like she was nothing.” Mom keeps pointing at me as she’s yelling and sputtering with anger. “She’s going to get his money now, as I’m sure she planned. And after all the years I put up with the two of them.”
“You don’t talk to her,” Charlie says as he stands tall in front of Mom, shielding me from her vile words.
“Who the fuck are you? Some kid who thinks because he’s fucking my daughter he’ll be entitled to my money? I don’t think so, boy,” she growls condescendingly at Charlie.
“Leah, I’ve deposited ten thousand dollars into Tabitha’s account every month since she left home. To this day, she has never touched it, not one penny. She doesn’t care about my money. You need to leave now, or I’ll cut that twenty thousand I offered you down to one thousand,” Dad warns. His face is hard, his eyes stern with warning.
She looks Dad up and down. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me,” Dad replies.
“What are you even doing here?” Aunt May asks.
Mom looks at Aunt May, and scrunches her nose. “Age hasn’t been kind to you has it, big sister? Look at you. Now you’re getting around with a walker? Jesus, why don’t you just die already? You took my kid, isn’t that enough for you?”
“What the hell is wrong with you, Leah? You’ve never shown Tabitha an ounce of love or even kindness. You never paid any attention to her. All you ever did was reject her. Do you know anything about her? I bet you don’t even know her birthday.”
“Enough!” I scream as I push past Dad, Charlie, and even Aunt May. I have to stand up to her. She’s hurt me for way too long, and I need to do something to stand up for myself now, or I won’t be able to lead a full life. Mom folds her arms in front of her chest and arches a brow at me. “I never really saw it, not until now.”
“Saw what?” she spits with passionate rage.
“Just how ugly you are. Look, I’m sorry you’re going to be lonely, and I’m sorry I’m not good enough for you, and I’m definitely sorry you’ll never know love. But you really are horrible. And there’s no place for that here.”
Mom’s arms loosen slightly as she stares at me. “I never wanted you,” she hisses, hoping to drive that nail further into my heart.
“It’s okay, because I never wanted you either. I’m so ashamed you’re what I got as a mother. I’ve always wished Aunt May was my mom. She’s loved me and has always been there for me, unlike you.”
Her smile fades completely. “You didn’t want me?” she asks in a small, s
hocked voice.
“The only thing I ever wanted from you was love, and you didn’t have it in yourself to give it to me. These people are my family. You’ve never been anything more than an egg donor.”
Mom stumbles back a step. She doesn’t like my words of truth.
“It’s time you leave,” Charlie says as he stands next to me, reaches for my hand and holds it tight.
“I’ll cut you off completely if you don’t turn around and walk away right this moment. One more word from you, Leah, and I’ll make sure you get not a single dollar. Not one.”
Mom opens her mouth, and brings her finger up to point at Dad, seething with pure fury, her nostrils flaring as she breathes heavily.
“Get on your broomstick and fly back to your cave,” Aunt May says, then flicks her hand at Mom as if she’s nothing. “Go on.”
Mom’s jaw is tight, and her eyes are so wide the whites are really illuminated. She lets out a guttural scream, turns, and kicks over a chair that’s not occupied. I notice Jake and Lex are walking behind her, making sure she doesn’t return.
I turn to look at Charlie, and the pounding in my ears, and my rapid heartbeat make me burst into tears.
“It’s okay, Pop Rock, she’s gone.” Charlie swoops me up into a hug, and carries me away from everyone who’s gathered to watch my intense confrontation with Mom. I feel him step up, then the door closing behind us. I know he’s carried me into Elle’s café, so we’re away from everyone’s prying eyes. Sitting, he holds me in his lap. “She’s a terrible woman, and she has no right to call you her daughter.”
“All I ever wanted was for her to love me.”
“I think you were right, Tabitha. I don’t think she’s capable of love, honey. I’m sorry she said those things to you, and I just wanted to take you away. To protect you from her, and make sure you were safe.”
“My entire life I’ve been rejected, and I always thought it was because I did something wrong. Like I wasn’t enough. But now I see. I don’t think anything or anyone could be enough for her.”
Charlie strokes my face, and with the pad of his thumbs, he wipes away my tears. “You do know you’re loved by so many people, right?”
A forced smile tugs at my lips. “I know Aunt May loves me, she always has. And I’m fairly sure Dad does too, because he’s really changing, and making an effort.”
“And I love you,” he says effortlessly.
I feel my chin quivering as more tears fill my eyes. I place my arms around his shoulders, and try to find the words I’m desperate to say. My body is hyper-aware of his, and my entire soul wants to reach out and entwine tightly with Charlie’s. “You do? How can you love me when all I’ve done is fought you all the way?”
“I’m strong enough to carry both of us until you finally figure out that you love me too.”
“Do you know what’s scary?”
“Nothing, as long as we’re together,” he says.
My lips draw up into a smile. “I’m petrified,” I admit.
“Good, it means you’ll fight harder for us than you ever have in your life. You just have to let go, open your arms, and fall.”
I nod my head slightly. “Charlie?”
“What is it?”
“Take me home?”
He moves forward and places a light kiss on my nose. “Okay.” He stands us together, then places me on the seat. “I’ll let them know we’re going, okay?” I nod and slightly smile as he places his palm on my cheek, and I nestle into his warm, perfectly strong hand.
Charlie
Fuck me. What a damn night. Tabitha’s father decided he wanted to interrogate me, then her psycho mother shows up, causing a scene. What the fuck is wrong with that poor excuse for a woman? She’s a nasty piece of work. I walk out of the café, and take a deep breath, just trying to get my thoughts in order. But right now, I have to push past this, and take care of my girl. I notice May, Hope, River, and Cole are all staring at me.
Cole stands and heads straight over to me. “Is she okay?”
“She’s hurting, and she’s asked me to take her home.”
Cole nods, and takes a step back. “Perhaps I should speak with her?” he says with uncertainty.
Shit, how do I say no to her father? Easy. “I’m sorry, Cole, but for now she just needs to relax and calm down.”
His shoulders pull back, and he raises his chin. Great, this is going to become another tense scene. He runs his hand through his hair and nods. “Tell her to call me tomorrow.”
“Will do.” Gee, that didn’t go how I thought it would. I turn to River. “Hey, can you do me a favor?”
“What do you need?”
“Can you bring May home when she’s ready? And, can you or Hope drive Tabitha’s car? I’ll grab the keys.”
“Yeah, whatever you need, buddy, we’re there. Actually, May can stay at ours tonight if you want.”
“She can’t get up all those stairs.”
“Shit, yeah. Okay. Let me know if there’s anything else we can do.”
“Thanks. Give me a second.” I jog back in and grab Tabitha’s car keys then head out to give them to River.
“Charlie,” Tabitha’s dad stops me again. “Take care of our girl.”
“Always, Cole.” I shake his hand, before turning to May. “I’m taking Tabitha home, and River will bring you back later.”
“Oh no, it’s too late for me to leave later. I spoke with Elle, and she and Jake will have me tonight. Elle will bring me home in the morning before she opens the café.”
I look to Elle, who’s nodding. What a great fucking town. Thank you, I mouth to Elle. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I give May a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” I whisper.
“She’s already in love with you, Charlie,” she murmurs when I bend to give her a kiss.
I smile before leaving. I know Tabitha loves me. And I know she knows it too. She just needs to admit it out loud.
“Are you ready?” I ask as I head back into Elle’s café.
“I’m ready. Can we leave through the back?”
“Of course.” We head out through the back alley, avoiding everyone. And when we’re in the car, there’s a different, heavy feel in the air.
I know Tabitha is thinking about the horrible things that disgraceful woman said to her, and I also know that has to be playing on her mind and her heart. She hasn’t spoken a single word since we’ve been in the car.
Tonight, I’m going to do everything in my power to make her realize how loved she actually is. Pulling up to May’s house, we head in and Tabitha collapses on the sofa in the living room. She curls up, and lays her head on a pillow. “You okay?” I ask, even though I know the answer already.
“I will be.”
No, she won’t. She needs to admit how she feels, but the longer she stays on the sofa, balled up, the worse it’ll become for her. I head into the bathroom, and start filling the claw-footed tub. While it’s filling, I go into her room, and find sleep pants, and a tank top. I grab two towels, and hang them on the hook behind the door. Feeling the water, I make sure there’s a nice warmth to it, before heading into the kitchen, and filling two glasses with cold water and taking them into the bathroom. I see some decorative candles on the window sill. What good are candles if all they do is sit there and gather dust?
I find a lighter in one of the kitchen drawers, and take the candles to the bathroom. I feel the water once more, then turn the faucets off, wipe my hands and flick the light switch so the only illumination is coming from the candles.
“Tabitha?”
“Yeah,” she replies in a groggy voice.
“Come on, sweetheart.”
“I’m tired.”
“I know, but it’s not time to sleep yet.” I hold my hand out to her, which she takes. When she’s up, I lead her to the bathroom, closing the door. The flicker of the candles gives just enough light for me to see what I’m doing, but not enough to blind us.
“Am I taking a bath?�
�
“We’re taking a bath,” I correct.
“Oh, okay.” Her actions and responses are zombie-like. She’s saying and doing things with no emotion or feeling.
I unzip her jeans, and slide them down her legs. She holds onto my shoulders as I tap her foot for her to lift it. When her jeans are off, I clutch the hem of her t-shirt, and bring it up over her shoulders, tossing it to the side where her jeans are. I quickly strip myself, then carefully take her panties and bra off. I get into the bath first, then guide her to sit in front of me. I cup my hand and gently drizzle her with water. “I feel numb,” she says.
“I know.” I keep dripping the water over her. Slowly, her shoulders soften, and she lays her head back on my chest.
“I’m struggling with her.” She’s talking about that thing who calls herself a mother. “Do you think I’d ever be like that if I had a child of my own?”
“You’re nothing like your mother,” I say. Picking up the soap, I begin lathering Tabitha’s body. My hands gently touching every inch of supple skin.
“But do you think I’d be a good mother?”
“I think you’d be a spectacular mother, and do you want to know why?” With her eyes closed, and her lips slightly parted, she nods. “Because you know what she’s shown you all these years is anything but love. And this.” I place my hand over her heart, “is bursting full of love.” Tabitha’s eyes leak with tears. She sobs as she keeps her eyes closed.
“What if I can’t love?”
“That’s impossible, because you love me.” She hasn’t said the words yet, but I know she does. She just needs to find the courage to speak them aloud. Tabitha turns to hide her face in my chest, making the water slosh up and over the sides. I hold her in my arms, and can feel her shaking as she keeps crying. “You can let down your walls with me, because I’ll always protect you.”
She lowers her hands to look into my eyes. “Where did you come from?” she asks in a soft voice.
Even when she’s been crying, and her eyes are puffy and red, she’s still the most perfect woman I’ve ever known. I smile at her question, and shrug while wiping the tears from her reddened, blotchy face. “I’ve been searching for you.”
Healing Hearts: A friends with benefits, small town romance (Hope River Book 3) Page 20