I have a bunch of missed called and texts from Charlie. Wes and I walk outside so he can give me a ride back to the bar so I can get my car. I call Charlie right away. She doesn’t answer. Hoping she’s not too mad, I text her telling her I’m sorry I missed dinner but have a good reason.
“Thanks,” I tell Weston as he drops me off at Getaway. “For everything.”
“You’re lucky it was me.”
“Oh, I know.” I shut the door and race to my truck. I call Charlie three more times and don’t get a hold of her at all. I race to my house, not sure what to find.
She’s not there, but Tulip still is. That’s a good sign, right?
Exhaling, I sit at the kitchen table and put my head in my hands, letting out a sigh. She’ll come home. She has to. Her stuff and her cat are here.
I get up to plug my phone in to charge the battery. Pacing around the house, I pick up the black-and-white cat.
“Where would she go?” I ask the cat. “To her parents’? Yeah. That’s the only other place I can think of too.” Tulip follows me into the kitchen, meowing for food. I don’t think Charlie came home to feed her yet, so I open a can of cat food, slop it into a bowl and hurry out of the house.
The old Mustang isn’t parked along the street, but that doesn’t mean much. There’s a covered garage in the back yard, butting up to an alley. I’m starting to freak out a little, and am worried Charlie is hurting, thinking that I blew her off because I don’t want the same thing she did, like she said in her voicemail.
I check my security system activity log and see that no one opened or closed any doors at the house, so she hasn’t gone back there. Too upset to go home and sit in the house by myself, I go to Wes and Scarlet’s place. They’re only a few blocks away anyway. Jackson is outside with Scarlet, and Violet is in the stroller in the shade, fast asleep.
I put on a fake smile, not wanting to freak Jackson out. Scarlet took the kids into the office when the other cops arrived, letting Jackson play games on her phone while I was cuffed and arrested.
“Uncle Owen!” Jackson kicks a soccer ball over to me.
“What’s going on?” Scarlet asks. “Are you okay?”
I slowly shake my head. “Yeah. Fine.”
“Hey, Jackson,” she calls. “Do you want your Kindle time now?”
He gets excited to be able to watch videos and play games on the tablet and runs inside.
“Owen,” Scarlet starts. “What happened?”
“I think I fucked shit up with Charlie.” I sit on the top porch step.
“Why? Because of the fight?”
“Not entirely.”
Scarlet checks on Vi and then sits next to me. “Then why?”
“I broke up with her back in college because she wanted to settle down and I didn’t. I’ve regretted it every damn day, and then she finally gave me a second chance. I was supposed to meet with her for dinner tonight and obviously couldn’t. Now I can’t get a hold of her and I’m not doing a very good job showing her I changed. Getting arrested doesn’t say I’ve grown up and changed, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t. But you have grown up and changed. You have just in the short time I’ve known you. And getting arrested was bullshit. You didn’t do anything wrong, and you have Wes to back you up on that.”
“I know. It feels…it feels like I blew this second chance, though.”
“I get it,” she tells me. “And I know how weird a second chance can feel even when you don’t blow it. I haven’t always made the best choices, as you know.”
“True.”
“Go find her and kiss her and tell her you love her. We all know you do. Acting like you only get one shot is the best way to actually blow your second chance, you know.”
I inhale and feel a little better. “Thanks, Scarlet.”
“Anytime. And Owen?”
“Yeah?”
“You do deserve a second chance. Even if you don’t think so.” Violet starts to fuss, and Scarlet gets up to get the baby. Her words hit me deep, though, and only someone who’s lived the kind of life Scarlet has would see the pain I’ve hidden from myself. I don’t feel like I deserve Charlie, and I’m going back to fucking up just like I did the first time.
Thinking that she’s better off without me because I love her more than I’ll ever love myself.
Taking another breath, I walk down the sidewalk and run down the street. I don’t stop until I’m at Charlie’s parents’ house. This time, the blue Mustang is parked out front. My heart swells in my chest when I see a flash of blonde hair in the fading sunlight. She’s on the porch swing, and I’m going to race up the steps and kiss the breath right out of her.
But then I see that she’s not alone. Todd is sitting on the swing next to her.
Chapter 35
Charlie
A slight breeze rustles my hair, and I look out at the street. My heart is sitting at the bottom of my chest, and all the cracks are starting to separate. It won’t be long until it shatters into a million pieces again, and this time, there’ll be no putting it back together.
My ex-fiancé is sitting on the porch next to me, waiting for his ride to come pick him up. He cheated on me. Embarrassed me. But it’s not him who’s hurting me.
It’s Owen, and I don’t understand how I could have been so wrong. Again. Things were so perfect between us. And then he didn’t even have the decency to call me. I need to get Tulip from his place, and it’s going to be so fucking awkward.
“I can put in a good word for you at another firm,” Todd says. “It’s the least I can do after…after…”
“After fucking your assistant while you were in a relationship with me?”
“Yeah. That. I’m sorry. Really, I am.”
I hold up my hand, stopping him right there. “What do you want me to say? That it’s okay and I forgive you? It’s not okay and I don’t. Live with that.”
“I miss you.”
“Too bad.” I let out a breath. The only reason I’m sitting out here is because I don’t want my niece and nephews asking about Todd. They’ve met him and don’t need to see him again. Because it doesn’t matter.
“If you’re handing out second chances…”
“I’m not.”
“Really? You’re back in town less than a month and you’re with your ex.”
“That was different.
“What’s so different about Owen?”
“Yeah,” a deep voice comes from the sidewalk. I turn and see Owen’s handsome face. His eyes are filled with hurt and his jaw is tense. “What is different about Owen?”
“What are you doing here?” I get off the swing, heart swelling in my chest when I see Owen. “You…you ditched me.”
“I didn’t, and I don’t know what that asshole has been telling you, but it’s his fault.”
“You’re supposed to be in jail.” Todd gets up and rounds on Owen.
“What?” I go down the porch steps, putting myself between Owen and Todd, hoping to prevent a fight from breaking out. Because Owen looks like he wants to tear Todd apart limb from limb.
“I told you, Charlotte. He hit me and got himself arrested.”
“Is that true?” I ask Owen.
“Yes,” he says and takes a step closer to me.
“Because he caught you with another woman?”
Owen makes a face. “No. There is only one person for me, Charlie, and it’s you. It’s always been you. He threw the first punch and then fell onto Marty Pickens. It’s all on camera. Irrefutable evidence right there.”
I look back at Todd and squeeze my eyes closed. “You lied to me?”
“Char, look at him. Look at this town. You don’t belong here. You belong in New York, at a real firm with real cases. Making real money.”
I put my face in my hands, head spinning as I try to process everything. “You came all this way just to manipulate and lie to me?”
Todd lets out a nervous laugh. “When you say it like that, it sounds bad.
If we rephrase—”
“Shut the fuck up, Todd. I’m not a client.”
“He doesn’t deserve you,” Todd snaps.
“It’s true,” Owen says. “I don’t deserve you, Charlie. I never thought I did, and that’s why I broke up with you all those years ago. I was certain you’d be disappointed if you stayed with me. I felt selfish making you settle, so I ended things. I’ve regretted it every single day since then, but I thought it was the right thing to do. That I was holding you back and you’d someday resent me for it.”
My lips part and tears fill my eyes. My emotions are all over the place.
“I missed dinner tonight because I was in a holding cell while this prick had some fancy lawyer putting in calls and pulling favors that held shit up and not even Weston could get things smoothed over right away.”
I blink and a tear rolls down my face. “I wish you told me sooner.”
“About the fight?”
I shake my head. “About why we broke up. All those years, I thought it was something I did. That I wasn’t enough.”
“No, Charlie, that’s not it at all.”
I wipe away a tear and shake my head. A black Toyota pulls in front of the house to pick up Todd.
“Charlotte,” he starts.
“Just go,” I say, voice thin.
Hanging his head, he walks down the sidewalk and gets into the car. A sense of relief washes over me when the car pulls away. Owen steps up next to me and takes me in his arms. It feels so good to be here again. It’s where I belong.
But I can’t. Not yet. Not right now.
“Owen,” I start, pushing away. “I…I need some time.”
“Okay,” he says, voice shaking. “Like a minute? Fifteen?”
“I…I don’t know.”
He runs his fingers through my hair. “Okay,” he says again. “Whatever you need.”
Sniffling, I turn and walk into the house. Tears fall as soon as the door closes behind me. Mom, who I’m sure heard the whole thing, comes rushing to me from the kitchen. She takes me in her arms and guides me to the couch.
“I don’t know why I’m crying,” I say as she hands me a tissue. “He didn’t really do anything wrong, did he?”
“What happened, honey?”
“I thought Owen blew me off on purpose, but the situation was really out of his control. But then he told me the only reason he broke up with me was because he thought I could do better. That’s not fair, though. Who is he to decide what’s good enough for me?” I blow my nose. “I spent years, Mom, years wondering what I did wrong. Why I wasn’t enough. Why he left me when we were so happy and in love. He was everything I wanted.”
“I know. And I agree with you. It’s not right to decide what someone else does or doesn’t deserve. It sounds like he had your best intentions at heart, though.”
“How can you say that? Because we broke up, I moved to New York and almost married Todd. Everything that happened after Owen broke up with me is all his fault.”
“You won’t agree with that after you calm down,” Mom says gently. “But I see your train of thought. If Owen hadn’t broken up with you, you wouldn’t have left Eastwood.”
“That’s exactly what I just said!” I grab another tissue and lean against the back of the couch. “I wish he hadn’t told me. Because now I’m mad and questioning everything.”
“Do you think he cares about you now?”
I nod. “Yeah. I do.”
“Can you forgive him for breaking up with you?”
Swallowing hard, I shake my head. “I don’t know. I hurt so much for so long after.”
“I remember.” Mom lets out a deep breath. “I wish I had better advice, honey. You’re happy when you’re with him, and people make mistakes in the past. Especially when they’re young.”
I just nod and mop up more tears. Mom puts her hand on my shoulder and stays with me.
“Charlie?” Carly says softly, coming downstairs. “Are you okay?”
I glare at her with tear-filled eyes. “Peachy.”
“I was listening to what Mom said, and I agree.”
“Then we all can agree we don’t know what to do. Great.”
“Only you can decide what to do.” Carly sits on the floor by me.
“That helps me even less. Maybe the only thing Owen and I are good at is hurting each other.” I’m being dramatic right now and don’t care. Not at all.
“You were blaming Owen for Todd, but right now, we can blame Todd for Owen. If Todd hadn’t shown up, Owen wouldn’t have missed dinner. And you wouldn’t have assumed the worst, right?”
“Right.”
“What if he told you about why he broke up with you during dinner? If he said the same exact words. What would you have done?”
I shake my head, trying to really think about it logically. “I don’t know. I think I’d still be upset for having to go through years of my life feeling like I let the only person I ever loved down.”
“But would you go home with or without him?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I don’t know.”
“Look, thinking he knows what’s good for you is shitty. But breaking up with you hurt him too, especially if he did it because he loved you enough to let you go.”
I take in a shaky breath. “I didn’t think of it that way.”
“Good thing I’m here.” Carly smiles. “You should talk to him. Get everything out in the open. If you can’t move past the past, then you can’t go into the future.”
Nodding, I wipe my eyes and smear the rest of my mascara down my cheeks. “Where’s my phone?” I ask. “I’ll call him.”
“No need.” Carly winks. “He’s still on the porch.”
Chapter 36
Owen
The front door opens, and I spring up, half expecting it to be Carly telling me to fuck off. But it’s Charlie. Her eyes are red and swollen from crying, and it kills me to see her like this.
“Can we talk?” she asks, voice thin.
“Of course.”
She motions to the porch swing and we both take a seat.
“What do you want to talk about?” My heart is beating so fast I fear it might beat right out of my chest. I’d pick it up, dust it off, and offer it to Charlie. It’s hers to keep. It’s always been hers.
“First things first,” she starts. “Do you still feel like you know what’s best for me?”
“No. Though if I were to give you advice right now, it would be to come home with me tonight.”
Her lips curve into a half-smile. “Okay. Did it hurt when you broke up with me?”
“Yes. And I hurt every day since then. I’ve had a void in my heart, Charlie, and nothing could fill it. Nothing but you.”
She nods and looks down at the boards on the porch. “Do you want to get married and have kids?”
“Yes. I do. Part of me was scared to start a family back then too. Being a dad…that sounded terrifying.”
She smiles again. “We were young. I thought I’d want to pop out babies right away but changed my mind too. It would have been hard to finish law school with an infant.”
“I like being an uncle,” I assure her. “And I was happy with that, but only because there was no one in the world except for one person who I could even imagine settling down with.”
“And who is this lucky girl?” She looks up, eyes locking with mine.
“It’s you. It’s always been you.” I take her hands in mine. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Charlie. We lost so much time that I don’t want to waste another day. I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
Her eyes fill with tears again, but this time she’s not sad. “I love you too, Owen. Even when I tried not to.”
I pull her to me, kissing her hard. “Come home with me, Charlie. And spend forever with me.”
“That does sound nice.”
“Will you?”
“Are you proposing?”
“If I was, would you
say yes?” I give her a smirk.
She smiles right back. “I would strongly consider it.”
“Then I’m not quite proposing because I don’t have a ring. Yet. But keep this in mind.”
“Trust me, I will.”
“I love you, Charlie. I’ve always loved you, and I always will.” She moves closer and I wrap her in my arms. The swing sways back as we kiss, and I have to remind myself that I’m on her parents’ front porch and her mother is most likely watching.
“Say it again,” she whispers, cupping my face with her hands.
“I love you.”
Smiling, she closes her eyes again and kisses me. “So, can I get another cat?”
I laugh and kiss her again. “You can get whatever you want.”
“You don’t think we’re moving too fast if I move in with you?”
I pull her to my chest and push off the porch, sending the swing back again. “It feels right to me, and I know there might be unwritten rules or timelines or whatever, but fuck ‘em. Move in with me. I’d say we should get married at the courthouse tomorrow, but I know you want to plan a wedding. And I might have thought about how I’d propose to you a time or two if things had been different.”
Her face lights up and we kiss again.
“Can we go home?” she whispers. “You’re turning me on, Owen, and if this was our first fight or misunderstanding or whatever, then I think makeup sex is the next step.”
I take her hand. “What are we waiting for?
She really is perfect for me.
* * *
I put my hand on the small of Charlie’s back and bring my beer to my lips. “It looks good, babe,” I tell her.
“Are you sure?”
“I am. This is the first time this dining room has ever been used like this, you know.”
Charlie laughs and spins around. She takes the beer from my hands and puts it on the table. It’s been three weeks since I told her I love her, and things have been perfect.
Fight Dirty: A Dawson Family Novel Page 22