It was a picture. Charley’s hand trembled as she took it. From edges yellowed with time, a much younger version of her uncle smiled down at the woman he was holding tightly against his side. The woman was Maggie Jordan. From the flag draped bandstand behind them, it must have been taken at the annual Fourth of July picnic.
A sob caught in her throat. “No, I don’t believe it. I can’t let you do this.” Clutching the picture until her knuckles were white, Charley stood. “I have to leave.” Her voice was a scratchy whisper.
“Charley, wait, please. Darlin’, you’re too upset to drive. Stay. Let me take care of you.”
“No!” She backed away from his outstretched hand. “I have to get away from here. I have to think.” Spinning on her heels, she ran from the room, the echo of her frantic footsteps on the wood floor sounding as hollow as the emptiness in her chest.
Gravel flew from the back tires of the Blazer as she gunned the motor. The tears that cascaded down her cheeks blurred her vision, turning the flower-lined driveway into a soft haze of color that flew by outside her windows.
She wouldn’t believe it. Couldn’t allow herself to believe it. And yet, there was the picture, lying on the seat next to her where she’d dropped it. She had to get herself under control, had to think logically.
Charley pulled the Blazer onto the shoulder of the highway and reached for the box of tissue in the glove compartment. Taking a deep breath, she blew her nose. There had to be a way to find out the truth. Her gaze went back to the picture. There had to be, and there was. Maggie Jordan.
Pulling the cell phone from her purse, she made one quick call, then hung up and dialed again. “Frannie? It’s Charley. I need you to do me a favor. Call Cole and tell him I had to go out of town suddenly and I’ll see him tomorrow.” She paused for a minute, listening. “No, I’m fine. I’ll be back late tonight. You’re in charge of the Red Dog if anything comes up. I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up before Frannie could ask any more questions and turned the cell phone off.
There was a flight to California leaving in an hour. Putting the Blazer in gear, Charley made a U-turn and headed toward the airport. She didn’t see the dark green sedan pulled into a turn-off two hundred yards behind where she’d stopped. Nor did she see it back out and drop in behind her.
* * * * *
The silver Blazer wasn’t hard to follow. Sunlight glinted off its roof like a beacon, allowing him to stay far enough back that he wouldn’t be detected. Not that he was too worried about it anyway. If she did see him, he could always say he wanted to make sure she was okay.
It had surprised him when she stopped. Luckily, he remembered the turnoff in time. He also hadn’t expected her to turn in the other direction. Where was she going?
He got his answer thirty minutes later when the Blazer made a right turn toward the airport. Cursing under his breath, he watched her climb out and head into the terminal. There was only one reason she would be here.
So, she hadn’t believed the lies. Somehow, he had known she wouldn’t, but he had still hoped. Hoped it would drive her away from Jordan for good this time. Slowly, he got out of the car and walked through the midday heat to the terminal. Even though he knew where she was going, he had to be sure.
Mingling with a group of people waiting on luggage, he watched Charley stop at a ticket window, talk to the woman behind the counter, then pull out a credit card. When she headed for the gates, he trailed after her. His eyes scanned the number over the debarkation exit. Flight 729, to Los Angles. He’d been right. She was going to see Maggie Jordan.
Choosing a spot across the terminal, partially shielded by a pillar, he turned his back to her and pretended to gaze out at the planes taking off and landing. In the wide expanse of glass, he watched her reflection.
Chapter Thirteen
As soon as the cab pulled to a stop in front of the Tudor-style house, the door flew open and Maggie Jordan ran down the steps. The tall blond man with her moved more slowly, a welcoming smile on his face. Charley only had time to register that he was a masculine version of Kristy before she was swallowed in Maggie’s arms.
“Charley! Sweetheart, I can’t believe you’re here. Lord, I’ve missed you.” She stepped back, holding Charley at arm’s length while she looked her over. “You haven’t changed a bit since the last time I saw you. I was so thrilled when you called from the airport.”
Charley had to smile at the enthusiastic greeting. Maggie didn’t look a day older than she had the first time Charley met her. Her light brown hair was cut shorter now, but her body was still slim and girlish. “I know this was rather spur of the moment, Maggie. I’m sorry if I’ve interrupted your plans for the afternoon.”
“Nonsense.” Maggie waved away her words. “Seeing you again is more important than anything else we could have done today.” She turned to the man next to her. “Jim, this is Charley Hart. Charley, this is my fiancé, Jim McIntire.”
“Mr. McIntire. It’s a pleasure.” While they shook hands, he was looking her over even more intently than Maggie had.
“I assure you, the pleasure is all mine. I’ve heard a lot about you from both Maggie and Cole.” A mischievous grin split his face. “So, do I call you Saint Charley, or is just Charley good enough?”
The laugh that bubbled up inside her felt good. “Charley will work. I don’t know what they told you, but I promise, I’m no saint.”
“Charley it is. And call me Jim. Why don’t we go in? You don’t have luggage?”
Charley shook her head. “I’m only here for a few hours.”
Maggie took her arm and led her inside. “We were just finishing lunch when you called. There’s plenty left if you’re hungry.”
“Thank you, but I ate a little on the plane.” Charley looked curiously around the house. The hall floors were a deep, rich polished wood, and the rooms she could see into were elegantly furnished with antique pieces chosen to complement the light, airy spaces they filled. “Your house is beautiful, Maggie.”
“Thank you, dear, but it’s not mine. It belongs to Cole.” She ushered Charley into a sitting room off the hall. “It really seems a shame that it’s going on the market in a few months.”
“On the market?” Charley’s curiosity deepened. This was the place Cole had called home for so many years, and now that she thought about it, she could see his touches everywhere.
“Please, sit down.” Maggie patted the leather couch next to her. “Yes, I’m afraid Cole is going to sell it. There’s really no need to keep it. After the wedding I’ll be moving in with Jim, and Cole doesn’t plan on coming back except for business trips. The house would just be sitting empty.”
It felt like the whole world went still around her. “He’s not coming back here?” The ticking of the grandfather clock against the wall seemed unnaturally loud in her ears as she waited for Maggie’s response.
“No. As much as I’d love to keep him close, this has never really been home to Cole. He never made a secret of the fact that sooner or later he was going back to Canyon Bend. Now that he’s there, I don’t think dynamite could move him.”
Charley tried to force back the tears that were suddenly threatening to spill over, but Maggie saw them anyway.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Her hand covered Charley’s. “If Cole did something to upset you, tell me. I’ll take care of that son of mine.”
Charley bit her lip and fought to get her emotions under control. “It’s not Cole. Not exactly.” She looked up and met Maggie’s sympathetic eyes. “I need to talk to you about the past, Maggie. I didn’t know where else to come for the truth.”
Jim rose silently from the chair he’d sat in. “I think I’ll go make a pot of tea.”
Maggie nodded absently as he moved out of the room. “If I know it, you can be sure I’ll always tell you the truth, Charley. Now, what seems to be the problem?”
Without a word, Charley reached into her purse and pulled out the picture, handing it across to Maggie. The older woman to
ok it, stared at it a second, then smiled softly.
“Your uncle certainly was a handsome man, wasn’t he? I had no idea this picture was still around.”
Charley’s heart plummeted. “You mean it’s true? You did date Uncle Victor?”
Maggie’s eyes lifted to hers. “It’s no big secret, Charley. I dated Victor for about two months.” She glanced back at the picture. “This was taken at the Fourth of July picnic. It was the day I met Jack.” Her smile was back. “After I met him, I knew there could never be another man for me. He completely charmed me right from the first.”
She gently touched the photo with one finger. “I’m afraid I disappointed Victor terribly. You see, he thought he was in love with me. He proposed later that night. But even if I hadn’t met Jack, I wouldn’t have accepted. I wasn’t in love with Victor.”
Maggie sighed and handed the picture back. “I’m afraid Victor blamed Jack for my refusal. And he had enough connections in Canyon Bend that it was almost impossible for Jack to get a job.”
Charley slipped the picture back in her purse. “It didn’t bother you that your husband worked in a factory?”
Maggie shook her head. “Heavens, no. I loved Jack Jordan. I would have lived in a shack and starved to death if it meant being with him. Jack and I had something that money can’t buy. And it was enough. More than enough. Things like you see in this house are nice, Charley. They make life comfortable. But they are just things. Without love, without someone to share them with, they have no meaning. Jack and I may not have had the fancy trappings, but we had our love, and we had our son.”
Charley looked down at the purse strap she had twisted into a knot. “Maggie, forgive me, but I have to ask this. Did you have an affair with my uncle after you married Jack?”
She didn’t have to see Maggie’s face to hear her shocked gasp.
There was an instant of silence. “No.” Maggie’s voice was calm. “And I think I’m beginning to see the problem. Is that what Victor told you?”
Charley merely nodded her assent.
Maggie hesitated. “Charley, I know how you feel about your uncle. He’s been more than a father to you, and I don’t want to say anything that will change your feelings for him. But please remember that Victor is only human, with the same faults we all have. He lied to you, Charley. We never had an affair.”
“But why did he lie? You know, don’t you?”
“I have my suspicions. However, they are just suspicions. And it’s not my place to talk about them. Only Victor knows his real motivation. Whatever his faults, he loves you. No one can doubt that.”
“I know he loves me.” Charley watched Jim return with a tray and quietly pour tea. “But he hates Cole, doesn’t he? I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”
Maggie took the cup her fiancé handed her, and Charley saw their eyes meet in a silent communication. Jim gave her a slight nod.
“Cole looks so much like his father.” Maggie sipped her tea. “He was a constant reminder to Victor that I’d loved another man. I believe that Victor convinced himself that if it weren’t for Cole, I wouldn’t have stayed with Jack. He was wrong, of course.” She set her cup on the table next to her. “You know, soon after I married Jack, I heard Victor was dating a woman from another city. I really hoped he’d gotten over me. But the relationship didn’t last long.”
Charley hadn’t touched her own tea. “Why did he give you a place to live after Jack died?”
Maggie shrugged. “I like to think it was because Victor is a kind man, and he is, you know. But I think he was also hoping that I’d turn to him. What he couldn’t seem to realize was that, after Jack, no man was good enough for me. At least, until recently.” She smiled at Jim and he returned the look with so much tenderness that Charley felt a lump swell in her throat.
She wanted so badly to have what Maggie and Jim had obviously found with each other. If she could only be sure of Cole… Charley forced her mind away from what she might wish. “Does any of this have to do with why Cole left Canyon Bend ten years ago?”
Before Maggie could answer, Jim interrupted. “You need to talk to Cole about that, Charley. It has to be his choice to tell you himself when he’s ready.”
Maggie shifted restlessly on the couch. “I have a question for you, if I may?”
Charley looked from Jim to Maggie. “Of course.”
“Do you still love my son? Ten years is a long time, Charley. It can do funny things to people.”
The gold ID bracelet glittered on her arm, and she turned it slowly. “Yes, ten years is a long time. A long time to wonder what you did wrong, wonder why the man who said he loved you vanished from your life without a trace. And it’s an even longer time to love someone when you think you’ll never see him again.” She paused to wipe away the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. “But I did. Cole is the only man I’ll ever love and time won’t change that.”
Maggie was wiping a few tears of her own. “Then trust him, Charley. If you can do that, everything will turn out wonderful for both of you.”
“I’ll try, Maggie. That’s all I can promise. And at the least, I’ll listen to what he has to tell me.”
“That’s all I ask for, sweetheart.” She gave Charley a tremulous smile and pulled her into her arms for a hug.
* * * * *
The ringing of the phone pulled Charley from sleep the next morning, and she glanced at the clock as she answered. Almost ten-thirty. But then, she’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, not going to sleep until exhaustion had overpowered her.
“Hello?”
“Hi. Did I wake you?”
She snuggled back down in the bed and closed her eyes, letting Cole’s voice wash over her. “Yes, but that’s okay. It’s time to wake up if we’re still going on that picnic.”
“We are. Can you be ready in about an hour?”
“Sure. I just need to take a shower. Do you want me to bring anything?”
“Just yourself. Mrs. Paulson has the food under control.” His tone softened, took on a husky quality that had Charley’s heart beating faster. “I missed you last night.”
“I missed you, too.”
“You should have called me.”
A smile played across Charley’s lips. “I thought about it, but it was late when I got home. I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Being with you is never a bother, day or night.” There was a brief hesitation on his end of the line. “How was your trip?”
Her smile increased at his subtle attempt to gain information. “Tiring. I’ll tell you all about it later.” Her smile faded. “As a matter of fact, I think there are a lot of things we need to talk about.”
This time the hesitation was more pronounced. “Did you visit your uncle yesterday?”
“Yes, before I left.” She heard him sigh, could picture him rubbing his forehead.
“You’re right. There are some things we need to talk about. I’ll pick you up. And Charley?”
“Yes?”
Another pause. “Never mind. I’ll tell you later.”
She dropped the phone back into its cradle and crawled out of bed, heading straight for the shower. Apparently Maggie had honored her request not to tell Cole she’d been in California. She wanted the chance to talk to him first.
As soon as she had the water temperature correctly adjusted, Charley stripped off her nightshirt, delaying long enough to stretch before stepping under the warm spray. She took her time, tilting her head back, arms raised as she turned slowly, letting the water flow over her. If she kept her eyes closed, she could imagine the liquid was Cole’s hands running over her.
Instantly, her nipples peaked into hard tips, and the heat that curled low in her stomach shot tendrils of fire between her legs. Damn. She shook her head vigorously, her wet hair sending droplets of water splashing against the tile-covered wall and shower door. If she didn’t stop, she’d jump him as soon as he walked through the door, and she was determined
they would talk first. With something akin to resignation, she grabbed the soap and got busy.
After rinsing the shampoo from her hair, Charley shut off the water, and slid the stall door back, feeling blindly for the towel. She frowned. It had to be there. Her hand reached farther.
“Looking for this?”
Her eyes flew open and a squeal of surprise burst from her lips. “Cole! How did you get in?”
“It’s amazing what you can do with a credit card and a lock.” He grinned wickedly and tossed the towel to one side as he started toward her. “I decided an hour was too long to wait.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Long enough to know I was right. There’s nothing like watching a woman take a shower to harden your resolve.”
Charley held him off with one hand on his chest. “Now, Cole. You’re going to get your clothes wet.”
“I can take care of that.” He began to unbutton his shirt.
Her gaze followed every movement, drinking in the sight of his flesh as each inch was uncovered. God, he was magnificent. His thick hair spilled down onto his forehead, framing those smoldering brown eyes.
The heat that had started earlier was fanned into a conflagration as she watched him unfasten his belt, watched as his jeans slid down narrow his hips and exposed long, tightly muscled legs. He paused only long enough to take a condom from his pocket and remove it from the foil wrapping. They could talk later, Charley decided somewhat dazedly.
“I’m still wet.” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded choked.
Cole reached for her and lifted her from the shower, letting her slide slowly down his body until her feet touched the floor. His arms went around her, pulling her tightly against him. The edges of his hands skimmed the water down the skin on her back. “I’ll dry you. One inch at a time. Starting here.” His tongue marked a path up her neck to the hollow below her ear, then across her jaw to the corner of her lips.
Lightly, teasingly, he traced the full outline of her mouth. “Charley,” he whispered, his breath sweet on her lips. “I missed you so much. There isn’t a part of me that doesn’t ache for you.”
For Love of Charley Page 13