Return to Glebe Point

by Patricia Paris

  “Charlie will have to fill us in on the details, but you’re just in time to see Cory arrest this piece of shit,” Justin told him.

  Phillip straightened the collar of his suit jacket and looked Justin over as if he were delusional. He turned to Cory and tried to look down his nose at him, even though the officer had two or three inches of height on Phillip.

  Cory wasn’t having any of it, and put a firm hand on Phillip’s shoulder.

  “Take your hand off me,” Phillip said with an ugly sneer.

  “Does that mean you’re going to come with me peacefully?”

  Phillip laughed. “I’m not coming anywhere with you. Do you know who you’re dealing with?”

  “Are you Phillip Connelly?”

  Phillip hiked his nose a little higher. “Yes.”

  Cory nodded. “Then I know who I’m dealing with. I’m placing you under arrest, sir.”

  “You’ve got no authority to arrest me.”

  Cory reached into his back pocket and pulled out a white envelope. “This warrant says otherwise, Mr. Connelly.”

  Disbelief filled Phillip’s eyes. Charlie saw clearly that he couldn’t believe what was going down.

  “This is ludicrous! What trumped-up crime does that warrant say I committed?”

  Charlie had to give it to Cory. The man never changed his expression, just looked at Phillip with steel-blue eyes and a conviction that said you can bluster all you want, pal, but you and me are going for a ride together.

  “You’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit fraud, but don’t worry, even scum like you get to have their day in court.”

  Phillip turned and stared at Charlie. Anger burned in his eyes, and she was sure if he could get her alone at that moment, he might kill her.

  He curled his lip with distain and looked down his nose at her. “None of this is going to stick. And when your little search fails to turn anything up, I’ll slap a lawsuit on you and all your redneck friends that will make your heads spin.”

  “Not this time, Phillip.” She cocked her head and regarded him a moment, unable to comprehend how anyone could be so evil. “What I didn’t mention earlier was that Joseph made a second copy of the new will. One he didn’t tell you about. Justin also arranged for a court order to search the safe he told Deirdre was hidden behind a picture in his bedroom. And guess what?”

  Phillip’s mouth parted and the color began to drain from his cheeks. A look of fear began to replace the one of shock that had turned him slack jawed when she mentioned the secret safe. She didn’t have to spell it out; clearly he realized his uncle had turned the tables on him.

  Once the new will was presented and Joseph’s signature verified, her ex would be facing jail time.

  Justin, who had the foresight to seek a warrant for Phillip’s arrest in the event of just such an incident, walked over and stood next to Cory. He took the warrant from him and gave it a wave in front of Phillip’s face.

  “You’re not the only one with a few connections.” He stepped within a couple of inches of Phillip and skewered him with an unblinking amber intensity that would make even the most confident of men back down. “Let’s see how many of yours want to risk associating with you after today.”

  He handed the warrant back to Cory. “You better get this sleazeball out of here before the natives get too restless, Cory. I don’t think pretty boy here would fare too well against a couple of good ole country boys.”

  Cooper helped himself to one of the cupcakes Charlie had put out for dessert later that evening while he waited for her to come back from the main Inn where she’d gone a few minutes earlier to take some to Mary O’Meara.

  Justin had it right, Charlie could be a smart-ass. He hadn’t needed her cousin to point it out, though. He’d experienced it enough on his own, but Cooper didn’t mind. She had pluck, no question, which suited him just fine.

  He still had a hard time imagining she’d ever been involved with that bastard, Connelly. What an asshole.

  Cooper walked into the living area, snagging his scotch off the island on the way. He put the drink on the coffee table, picked up the remote, and flicked on the television. It was set to the Cooking Channel. He scrolled through the guide until he found ESPN and then dropped onto the couch to watch the sports coverage.

  His mind roamed back to that afternoon and how frightened he’d been when he got to the store and saw Charlie’s ex manhandling her. At first he’d thought he had a choke hold on her neck. If he really had, the guy might be in the hospital tonight instead of sitting in the local jail cell awaiting transport back to New York tomorrow.

  Cooper shook his head, unable to picture Charlie letting any man control her—not the woman he’d come to know and love.

  Despite having told him she’d lost herself so completely she didn’t even recognize who she’d become, she’d found her way back.

  Unlike his mom, Charlie had refused to stay down. She fought back, fought the fear, the doubts, and took charge of her life again. That took courage. Something his mother had lacked.

  No, his mom hadn’t been strong. He couldn’t remember her doing much of anything but wasting away in her room with a bottle.

  He’d resented having to take care of her. Christ, he’d only been ten when his dad split, and he’d felt like the weight of the world had fallen on his young shoulders.

  Cooper reached for his drink and took a sip. Maybe she’d tried to stand up to his old man in the beginning, and he just wore her down until he broke her completely. Maybe she’d done the best she could for as long as she could.

  A memory of sitting in his mother’s lap drifted into his head. He was very young, and she was reading to him—Winnie the Pooh. He swallowed. Maybe she’d loved him at one time…and maybe she had tried.

  He closed his eyes and sighed. And maybe it was time for him to let go of the resentment. He didn’t know what his mother’s hell must have been like. For all he knew she could have stayed with his dad because of him. It might have been the only choice she thought she had.

  The cottage door opened and Charlie walked in, her long dark hair a mass of curls framing her beautiful face.

  “Did someone die?” she asked. “You look like you’ve been brooding.”

  Cooper put his drink down and stood up, going to her. He wasn’t brooding, not now. In fact, there was a feeling of lightness in his heart that hadn’t been there before.

  He took hold of her by the waist and looked down into her amazing whiskey eyes. Until her, he’d never been able to think of his mother as anything but a burden. He hadn’t understood just how hard it would have been for her to leave his father, and that it might have meant deserting her child, too.

  Charlie raised her brows in question. “Are you okay?”

  “Never been better.” He angled his head and kissed her.

  “Really? What happened to bring that about?”

  He smiled against her lips. “A woman named Charlene Morrison happened.”

  She leaned back and grinned up at him, and he felt as if he’d been doused with happy juice. He’d never use that description to one of his buddies, but damn she made him feel good.

  “I’ll bet I can make you feel even better,” she teased, her eyes dancing with mischief.

  Cooper dragged his teeth over his lower lip at her not-so-subtle suggestion and chuckled. “Oh, I’ll bet you can, too.”

  She reached for the first button on his shirt and slowly slid it through the eyehole. A shiver of anticipation raced along his nerves.

  When she’d undone the last button, she took his hand and started leading him toward the bedroom door.

  Cooper hitched his head in the direction of the cupcakes sitting on the island counter. “You didn’t have your dessert yet.”

  Charlie looked up at him through a thick feather of lashes and her lips twitched. “No, but I’m about to.”

  HE WAS the one temptation she couldn’t resist, didn’t want to, and enjoyed too much to consider doin
g without. He’d needled his way into her life, against his own will and hers. He’d nudged her heart to take another chance, stitching a seam of love so fine over the last few months she’d been unaware how seamlessly he’d helped her to mend the ragged tears…until now.

  He was hers. And, she was his—not through manipulation or fear, but by choice. Her choice. Her heart given freely and with no strings attached.

  Charlie led Cooper into the bedroom. A willing follower, he made her chuckle with his wiggling eyebrows and ever-so-sexy grin.

  His hair fell roguishly over his forehead, and she wanted to reach up and run her fingers through the soft silk of it, push it away, and watch it fall back again insistently. She knew she had it bad when she found a man’s hair tendencies endearing.

  Cooper turned her to face him when they reached the side of the bed.

  “Let me undress you.” His voice sounded rough with emotion as he gazed down at her. He reached for the hem of her sweater and pulled it up slowly, his knuckles a sweet torture as they brushed over her skin.

  Leaning down, he kissed the side of her neck and she shivered. He trailed his lips along the curve, over her shoulder, and as he flicked open the clasp on the front of her bra, they covered her mouth.

  Charlie melted against him like chocolate on a hot pier in August. Just like that he turned her into a puddle of molten need.

  He dispensed with the rest of their clothes and as if on a cloud they floated down, onto the softness of the bed, into the depths of desire, under the magic of his spell.

  Her body became his instrument, straining as his masterful fingers increased the tension, giving her a pleasure so pure, so sweet, tears washed her eyes with the beauty of it.

  “I love you,” he whispered against her ear harshly as he sent her soaring so high it was a wonder she didn’t get a nosebleed. His proclamation sent off an explosion of fireworks in her heart, but she couldn’t respond. She was too engulfed in the flames.

  So she flew, convinced she couldn’t possibly get any higher, would burst any second, and then he eased back, bringing her down, and her moan echoed through the shadows cast by the moonlight that filtered into the room through the bay window.

  “Please, don’t stop,” she begged him, her body taut as a bow.

  Cooper rolled over and pulled her on top of him. “We’ve just begun, sweetheart. I’m not going to leave you stranded, but let’s take the final ride to paradise together this time.”

  No, he’d never leave her unfulfilled; he was an extremely generous lover, to say nothing of his skill. She’d never experienced the kinds of fulfilling orgasms she had with Cooper. She could chalk part of it up to his talent and attentiveness, but she knew it was more than that. It was a completion that came full circle—body, heart and soul—he touched every part of her. He gave every part of himself, and therein lay the aphrodisiac.

  He took her up again, reaching between them and teasing a feverish flame of need that burned hot, moist, and demanding. When she didn’t think she could stand any more, he flipped her over and drove into her slick center of desire.

  Their mutual moans of pleasure filled the room as he pumped and ground into her, quickening and slowing the pace that drove them both into a fiery frenzy.

  Then they flew, unable to regulate the pace any longer, surging forward, giving, taking, and losing themselves in the moment to a force more powerful than either could control.

  Charlie found his hands and gripped his fingers in hers, her body rising and tensing as he stiffened above her and drove into her one last time.

  A rainbow of sparklers exploded in her head as they hung on the edge of the precipice, holding on, squeezing every last drop of the glory from pleasure they’d given each other.

  And then they crashed, Cooper falling on top of her, his breath coming in short bursts, heart pounding, body slick with sweat, and a grunt of exhaustion.

  Neither of them spoke for a long time. Cooper held her against him, occasionally caressing her shoulder lightly, a soothing touch, a gentling after the storm.

  She could get used to this, to having him around on a more regular basis. Charlie stilled in his arms, realizing she didn’t want him to just come around on a more regular basis. She wanted long-term…she wanted forever.

  Cooper had said he loved her. Were they more than words whispered in the heat of passion? Did his feelings for her go as deep as hers for him?

  Her heart told her they did. She would give it a little time, a few weeks at the most. Now that she knew exactly what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, she didn’t want to waste any more time than necessary.

  A week and a half later, Delaney handed Charlie a cutting board and pointed to the two perfectly roasted chickens that were resting in the large cast iron pan on the counter waiting to be carved for dinner.

  “There are platters in the cabinet underneath the counter there, Charlie,” Delaney said, waving her finger in the general direction. “We’ll probably need two. If you carve the chicken, I can get started on this gravy.”

  She pulled a whisk out of the drawer near the range and turned the flame on low. “I’ve got to keep an eye on this, so if the two of you want to get everything else on the table, it should be done by the time we’re ready to eat.” She started flicking her wrist, slowly adding flour to the pan drippings and tending it with a light touch. “Gab, before you finish setting the table, would you call the kids in to get washed up?”

  “I’ll round them up.” Blake, who’d wandered into the kitchen to get more beer from the fridge, volunteered.

  “Thanks, hon,” Delaney said, and lifted the whisk to test the consistency of the gravy.

  Blake walked behind her and gave her a light smack on the behind, and she let out a little squeak.

  “No problem, sugar.”

  She threw him a look of mock disapproval over her shoulder and he laughed. Trying not to smile, but failing, she turned back to the business of making a perfect gravy.

  Charlie grinned. She wanted the kind of deep, committed, but playful love her cousins had found with their wives. They’d been lucky to find two such wonderful women to walk through life with, and she felt blessed to have Gab and Delaney in her life now, too. And she adored their kids; they were about the sweetest icing on the cake anyone could want.

  “Do you want to go with us to the festival next Saturday, Charlie?” Gab asked as she counted out silverware.

  “Thanks, but I’ll be going with Cooper. Do you know he’s lived here for three years and never been to a single one?”

  Gab and Delaney exchanged approving smiles just as the back door opened. Chloe and Ben charged in with Blake, Ben’s dog Hunter, and Whitney, lopping right behind them. They’d only gotten her a couple of days ago, but Whitney had quickly endeared herself to the family, and it made Charlie tear up when she thought about how happy the dog had been to see her.

  “Upstairs and wash up,” Blake directed the kids. “And I’m going to inspect under your nails when you come back down, Ben, so use soap.”

  Ben rolled his eyes and took off behind Chloe. Blake pulled the three beers he’d originally come into the kitchen for and started toward the living room door.

  “We’ll be eating in about five minutes,” Delaney told him, “so tell the big boys to wash up, too.”

  “Will do,” he promised as he walked out of the kitchen.

  “You and Cooper have been spending a lot of time together lately,” Gab tossed out.

  “Umm hmm.” Charlie cut the legs off the second chicken and put them on the platter with the dark meat.

  “I’ve noticed that, too,” Delaney chimed in as she whisked some cream into the gravy mix. “Like, a lot more time.”

  Gabriella chuckled. “I’d say enough time to make one wonder if things weren’t getting serious.” The two of them weren’t even trying to be subtle.

  “I was thinking that when Cooper opened the car door for her this evening and smothered her with a kiss before c
oming into the house. For a minute I was worried maybe he was going to eat her face, he looked so ravenous!”

  “Oh, you saw that, did you?” Charlie asked, trying her hardest not to snigger.

  “Well, I heard the car pull in and looked out the window to see who’d arrived. I wasn’t spying.” Delaney reached for a pretty blue gravy boat that had tiny sprays of pale-yellow rosebuds scattered here and there. “And just saying, he looked like he knew what he was about.”

  “You can’t help but swoon over a man who knows how to give a woman a proper kiss.” Gab grinned broadly. “Like my Justin. Hot. Hot. Hot.”

  “Blake, too.” Delaney flashed them both some deep dimples. “His lips are magic. Every time he kisses me I swear I die and go to heaven.”

  “I’m thrilled for you both.” Charlie felt a rush thinking about the moment Delaney had just cited. She caught the edge of her bottom lip between her teeth, a half-hearted attempt to appear unaffected, but Gab and Delaney’s enthusiasm was too infectious to ignore.

  She arranged the last piece of chicken on the platter and put the knife down on the counter. “If it’s accolades time, there aren’t enough adjectives to describe Cooper’s mouth, or adverbs to capture how he can use it.” A delicious shiver raced through her core. “I’m thinking the man is simply unparalleled.”

  “Well, you haven’t kissed Blake,” Delaney defended.

  “Or Justin,” Gabriella added.

  “Well, yuck!” Charlie lifted the platter of chicken to take to the table. “They’re my cousins. And, I have too kissed them. I’d say Cooper—” She stopped dead when she turned away from the counter.

  Standing in the kitchen doorway were three very amused men, Blake and Justin each with a kid on their hip, and Cooper in between them. They all looked so pleased with themselves Charlie burst out laughing.

  “We knew you were there the whole time.” She took the platter of chicken to the table and set it down. “We were just trying to massage your egos.”

  “Liar.” Justin grinned at her and then swung his gaze to Gabriella, where it rested humorously, glowing with amber love. He wiggled his brows. “Hot, hot, hot, huh?”