by Leanne Davis
But how could she not love Charlie? It seemed so obvious. After all these years, and all the days they spent together, which amounted to hundreds, they always sought each other out first, above everyone else, even their own parents. After the River’s End fire when her house and belongings had burned, Charlie held and comforted her. AJ and Kate tried to offer their solace, but Charlie was the only one she trusted. She always trusted him.
Her stomach knotted, and heat flushed her neck and cheeks. She could hardly raise her eyes to meet his, since this was such a new phenomenon for them.
And that kiss. Her entire body was still tingling and her stomach fluttering. All at once, he even looked different to her. He was slender with a small frame and a shock of red hair that set off his bright blue eyes and countless freckles.
“Cami? Am I wrong? Did I read this all wrong?”
She sucked in a deep breath and tears filled her eyelids. She finally turned to him, and slowly nodded before her entire face blossomed like a flower when she smiled. “No. No, I don’t think you are.”
He stared at her, looking almost stunned, which would have made her smile if they were their normal selves. She would have teased him for saying one thing and being floored that she felt the same. She would normally tease him for making all the right moves and getting what he wanted before he froze up. But they weren’t that Charlie and Cami anymore. Not now. Maybe never again. They were both different. Yet the same. They were still friends. Yet Cami was feeling new things, like being turned-on, and other wonderful things she never felt before.
“You think, you might feel something back for me?” His tone was incredulous.
She pushed on his upper arm. “First you kiss me like that, and now you don’t know how I feel?” Tears rolled down her cheeks and she brushed them away. “Come on, Charlie, you know me better than anyone else. You know me…”
His face suddenly burst into the biggest smile she’d ever seen. He grabbed her just as quickly and she held on, laughing and crying. At the same moment, her stomach fluttered with butterflies when Charlie spun her around. He kissed her again, long and hard, using his tongue and lips until he set her back on her feet. His gentleness returned to his touch and he cupped her face, holding it up to his. After smooching her again, he whispered, “I didn’t think you’d feel the same.”
She nodded, gripping his hands with her own. “I think I always did. But if we went there, too soon or too young, we could have screwed it all up and I never wanted that. But we’re graduating now. We’re no longer kids. We can do this, Charlie. Us. You and me. Against the world.”
He smiled, staring dreamily into her face. She knew her eyes were glistening with all the hope and love that was rapidly filling her. “You and me against the world. It’s always been that way, and now it can be forever.”
“Forever,” she echoed as he hugged her. Burying her face against his chest, she noticed that even their breathing fell into sync. As compatible as their personalities and friendship were, why not their love? Why not have everything she always dreamed of? She’d yet to have any of it in her life, but maybe she was finally ready for it.
Chapter Two
CHARLIE HELD CAMI’S HAND for a long moment before he let go. It was minutes from her curfew hour and he knew better than to violate it. Cami was notorious for being late and unaccountable. She spent half her life grounded for one minor offense or another. Most of them were easily avoidable stunts, like being too late or not calling home. She drank and smoked and sometimes added getting high to the equation, although how often AJ and Kate realized it, Charlie wasn’t sure. Whenever Charlie was involved, she usually arrived home on time, sober, or like tonight, pretending to be. They trusted him to keep her on the straight and narrow path, although no one could really manage to keep her from doing anything.
Charlie couldn’t understand Cami’s insatiable need to constantly test AJ and Kate. It was endless, all the time, every week. Cami began living with AJ when she was thirteen. She was just six months older than Charlie and in the same grade. They slowly warmed up to each other that first summer because there weren’t any other kids their age so they naturally formed an easy friendship. That was the same summer Charlie learned Kate was actually a long-lost sister of Charlie’s dad and therefore, his aunt.
Kate was the only reason Cami stayed, although she ran away once. Kate was the one who figured out where Cami ran off to and went after her. Kate gave Cami the assurance that someone was actually capable of understanding her.
Cami was bullied at school quite often, owing to her style, her quiet reserve, her rebellious look, and general indifference toward everyone. She hated school. Charlie didn’t love school too much either. He wasn’t popular or well liked, not like his brother, Ben, was. He was quiet and studious, which failed to draw the right kind of attention. Their shared hatred of school was what first bonded Cami and Charlie.
They settled back into the truck he borrowed from his dad for tonight. It was a big, shiny, black truck, all cleaned up for the Senior Prom. She scooted in and adjusted her dress. He started the truck, his heart still hammering. They exchanged a smile as the dome light lit up before it dimmed after Cami slammed her door shut.
He couldn’t believe what was finally happening. He made his move on Cami. How many sleepless nights had he dreamed of this, only to choke at the last minute? Now he finally did it. He imagined it happening in dozens of different ways. From super smooth pick-up lines and romantic opportunities to totally screwing it up. But tonight, all dressed up under the stars, listening to loud music, it finally felt like the perfect moment. The perfect moment to tell Cami that his friendship and feelings for her went far deeper than he had ever revealed before.
“Do you think our families will be surprised?”
“In some ways, yes. On the other hand, they might wonder why it took us so long to admit it.”
“I think… I think AJ will be happy.”
“I hope so.”
They pulled into her driveway after spending those heavenly minutes up on the mountain. AJ and Kate owned the land directly across the road from the ranch. In all the years Cami had been living at the ranch, she had not quite adjusted to the fact that she had both a home and parents. Parents who truly cared about her.
Charlie put his truck into park. Taking Cami’s hand as she came around the front of the hood, he watched her lips tilt up before her gaze dropped in a surprisingly shy glance at him.
She wasn’t used to him holding her hand.
He wasn’t used to doing it either.
They walked up to her front porch. “This feels… kinda odd.”
“It’s going to take a little while to get used to the change,” he agreed.
His headlights shone on them. He should have clicked them off, but hadn’t thought of it, although now he knew he would remember in the future.
He stepped closer to her and her eyes widened as her head tilted back. With his hands around her waist, he tugged her closer as he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers in a quick and easy movement. So easy. He had to give Cami plenty of time to get used to this. She was so skittish with everything and suspicious of everyone. Even Charlie after all these years. He was the closest she came to trusting anyone. Her miserable childhood left a deep scar on her sense of safety. Naturally shy and quiet with anyone she didn’t know, she never could muster the necessary inner strength required to deal with all the upheaval that surrounded her. By the time she came to the ranch and finally had two stable parents, it was almost like Cami had PTSD. The lasting effects impeded her willingness to accept her new reality as it actually was.
After he lifted his head, she blinked, and a small smile lit up her face. She touched her lips with her fingers. “Charlie? What happens next? How do we do this?”
“I’ll call you. Tomorrow.”
“You always call me tomorrow.” Her brow wrinkled.
He gave her a half smile. “Well, now I’ll call you as your boyfriend.�
� He took her hands in his and squeezed them. “We’ll figure this out. Together. I don’t have an answer yet, but I know I care about you and want to kiss you… so we’ll just have to figure it out.”
She nodded, but her gaze was apprehensive. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He smiled again, feeling the heat rushing over his cheeks.
“It was… magical tonight. I never expected to experience that. Not at the Senior Prom. I thought I didn’t care about such things. But with you beside me, I did.”
He leaned forward and touched her lips again with a soft kiss. “Me too.” Pulling back, he peppered little kisses to her ear. “Just don’t speak directly to your dad and Kate. They’ll smell the booze.”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah… right.”
Then they could only grin at each other until they heard thumping on the other side of the front door. He immediately dropped her hands and she reflexively stepped back. When AJ opened the door, they stood like they normally did.
AJ was a massive guy. He was extra tall and about as wide, maybe not literally, but enough so that Charlie had a healthy respect for him. AJ worked as the foreman on his family’s ranch. Technically, Charlie’s dad employed him, but lately, AJ worked for himself. He had almost complete autonomy at the ranch to do whatever needed to be done on his own schedule. AJ was already considered part of their family, but it became a reality when he married Kate Morgan, Jack Rydell’s half-sister.
“Right on time, as always. I love it when she’s out with you.” AJ beamed at Charlie, who fought to ignore the stab of guilt he felt. For the first time, he placed his hands on Cami in ways AJ didn’t know about, nor would he want to know. But AJ would soon have to learn about it since Cami was eighteen, soon to be nineteen, and he had to realize they were very much ready for this relationship.
Several things about Cami were still childlike. She seemed lost and unsure with anything new or difficult, and AJ often felt the strong urge to shield her. Not only from being bullied by other kids her age, but even the people at the ranch.
But on the flip side, Cami expertly tried to shield AJ from knowing all the underage drinking she did, or how frequently she skipped school or broke the rules in general.
“I always try to be on time. I should get home now. Dad will be looking for me.” AJ nodded and smiled at Charlie as he turned to leave.
“Call you tomorrow?”
“Okay,” she said, her cheeks flushing, both from what she drank and the recent change in their relationship status. She wasn’t known for keeping her cool, so it would be a matter of time before everyone in the valley knew about them. That is, if she didn’t get grounded for drinking tonight.
Charlie left her place and pulled into his house about forty seconds later. Originally, Charlie was living with his brother, Ben, his dad, Jack, and his dad’s three brothers. After Dad met and married Erin, they built the house on a piece of land closer to the river. The house was an A-frame with two wings off each side. The front was all glass and the magnificent view spanned to include the pines, the river, and the mountains. The original farmstead possessed a more sweeping and majestic view, but that house had tragically burned up in the fire.
The fire. That was how anyone who lived through the fire of a few years ago remembered it. How they lived their lives today stemmed from that one single night of tragedy.
After the fire, his dad seemed to have completely lost his way. Disillusioned, his spirit was broken, and he appeared unable to handle much. He succumbed to a nearly debilitating depression for close to a year. Charlie noticed the changes, of course. He grew quiet and stayed out of his dad’s way. Charlie had always lost himself in books and schoolwork, but he did even more so during that time. He also chose to spend all of his spare time with Cami. He feared that after her mobile home had burned, she might just move away. However, AJ and Kate rebuilt their house and so his best friend in Cami didn’t leave.
The fire also brought about the relationship of Hailey Starr with his dad’s youngest brother, Joey. Significant to Charlie was that she had two kids, and that also provided Charlie and Cami with built-in friends: Brianna and Jacob Starr. The Starrs lived permanently in the Puget Sound area, approximately four hours away from River’s End, but spent a lot of vacations and summers on the ranch. In fact, they were due to return to the ranch next week to spend the entire summer there and everyone knew it would be awesome.
One last summer before their real lives began.
Erin turned at hearing Charlie enter, setting down the hardback book she was reading beside her. With an almost ridiculous reverence, she reluctantly set any books she was reading down. She read only hardbacks and never balked at the expense of any of her books because they were more valuable than gold to her. Having been illiterate until she was thirty years old, she only found out then that she suffered from an undiagnosed and untreated learning disability called dyslexia. Watching her read for pleasure was still surprising and uplifting to Charlie. “Hey, Charlie. How was it?”
He walked in and flopped down on the opposite end of the couch. “It was good.”
“Really?” Erin’s eyebrows rose in curiosity. She knew how much he didn’t like school, more specifically, the people his age who attended it. Not to mention that the teachers often insulted his intelligence by dumbing down the material or treating the students like small children.
“Really. We stayed for an hour and went up in the hills. Staring out over the valley, listening to oldies.”
Erin sighed. “An hour, huh? Not exactly worth the cost of the tux rental and dance fee. But you had fun?”
“We always do.” He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.
“Uh huh. And Cami? She behaved?”
“As much as Cami can manage to…”
“AJ’s got his hands full with that girl.” Erin muttered. “I’m always grateful I never have to monitor your comings and goings like they have to with her.”
“Well… she’s not that bad. You know, she’s my best friend.”
“Then, as you’re always telling me, why does she violate the rules so damn often?”
“You’re right. I do say that.” He shook his head and Erin’s gaze remained sharply focused on him.
“Why does your tone sound so different?” Erin sat up straighter. “Did something happen? With… with you two?”
Charlie cleared his throat. Erin entered his life when he was already eight years old. He couldn’t remember his real mother and Erin had eventually assumed the role of his mother. He never called her that, however, although she and Ben were friends. To Charlie, she was not classified as a friend. She was his parent, and the parent that he felt closest to. His dad and he occasionally clashed because they were very different. Ironically, he and Erin were very similar in their personalities.
Jack was all rancher, farmer, and horse trainer. He had to run the ranch entirely on his own until his brothers were old enough to help. He also was tasked with raising his family, and all on the back of constant physical labor. But Charlie? He was studious and quiet from an early age and didn’t like physical work. He helped out whenever he was assigned any chores, but he personally had no interest in ranch management or any of the animals. Having dozens of horses at his disposal, he rarely took advantage of his situation and barely noticed them except as pretty scenery in the landscape.
“Yeah. Something happened.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Um… what, exactly?”
“I asked her out.”
“Like on a date?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t elaborate any further or try to describe all the feelings they shared, much less, his actions. That had to remain totally between Cami and him, at least for now.
“You and Cami? After all these years?”
“Well, I guess we finally felt ready.”
“I used to wonder about it, but after so many years went by, nothing happened.”
“Now it’s happening.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Why? Do
you think it’s a mistake? You seem hesitant.”
“It’s just Jack and Kate… My only concern is that if things don’t work out, you were such good friends. And—”
“And what? You’ve started it, you have to finish what you were thinking.”
“And it’s Cami. She’s… you know, so emotional. Impulsive. I trust you to know when you’re ready but what if she isn’t yet?”
“Okay, the Aunt Kate thing is pretty weird. But I can’t help it if she came here and somehow managed to hook up with Cami’s dad. That was before Cami even knew her dad or started to live here. Besides, we are the best of friends. So doesn’t it kind of make sense?”
“You always make sense, Charlie.”
He frowned at Erin. “Meaning, Cami doesn’t?”
“Well,” she shrugged, “that isn’t totally off the mark.”
He smiled. “No. I get her.”
“And this is what you truly want?”
“Yeah, Erin, it is.”
She got up and passed him, patting his head before she turned to go to bed. “You know, I only want you to have the best and live the life you deserve to enjoy. Ben had such a hard time over the last years. Your dad and I just hope you have an easier path and make better decisions.”
He snorted. “As if that is hard to do,” he scoffed. “To act smarter than Ben did?”
Erin shook her head. “You were always hardest on him. He is well aware of all the mistakes he made. And remember, you haven’t dated that much. Sometimes unexpected things happen that cause you to do things you normally would not do. So before you get too critical, don’t.”
“Okay.”
“And Charlie?”