Welcome To Redemption: Series Collection (Books 1-6)

by Donna Marie Rogers

  He grinned and her heart leapt. Self-preservation spun her around. She felt him move closer, then he pulled the scrunchie from her hair and his fingers combed through the length of her curls. Her scalp tingled as he extended one arm over her shoulder to show her a handful of grass clippings.

  “Oh. Thanks.”

  They floated to the ground in front of her, but when she started to turn back around, his hands grasped her shoulders. “I’m not done.”

  His touch ignited the physical attraction she’d felt since first meeting his gaze yesterday. And though she wasn’t looking at him now, she felt his hands in her hair, caught the underlying scent of soap and the more prominent, but not unpleasant, smell of physical exertion. Nothing like a heated male body to make her insides quiver. Dana quickly stepped out of reach.

  “Good enough. I have to shower when I get back anyway.” She snagged her scrunchie from his fingers and raked the tangled mess into another ponytail.

  “Do you run every morning?”

  That obvious? Dana glanced down at her workout clothes. Yeah. “Usually.”

  “Want some company tomorrow?”

  Could she say no without sounding like a bitch? Because getting any kind of physical with this man would be very hazardous—too much temptation.

  “Don’t you work?” She gave herself a mental eye roll; no thank you would’ve sounded friendlier.

  “I’m…on vacation.”

  “Oh.”

  She swept her gaze down the length of his body, but quickly realized she couldn’t say anything about him not keeping up. If his tight muscles and trim waist were any indication, clearly he was in prime physical condition. So she looked over at Sugar, who must’ve caught the scent of a squirrel or chipmunk because she snuffled her black snout deep into a burrow of some kind.

  Charlie shifted his gaze to Sugar, too. “If you prefer to run alone, just say so. It’s no big deal.”

  Take the out. Grab it and run.

  “No, it doesn’t matter to me. I’ll be ready by eight.”

  His attention swung back to her. “You’re sure?” He looked all-together way too appealing with a surprise hint of insecurity in his eyes. Dana nodded helplessly, and his expression cleared.

  “Then I’ll meet you at Allie’s at eight.”

  Chapter 3

  Charlie mounted the porch stairs with a twinge of nervousness. He hadn’t spoken to Lauren Frazier since the night of the fair when he’d decided it was time to stop hinting and just ask her out, only to find out Caleb Hunter had beat him to it. Since then, he’d seen them together a time or two over the past month, but their open affection kept him at a distance.

  After a deep breath, he reached for the doorknob, but then paused and took a good look around. Besides a new sign in the yard for Lauren’s beauty shop, the screen door looked new, the handle most definitely was, and the rest of the house also showed signs of revival. Realizing Caleb had been good for Lauren in more ways than one, Charlie had the answer to his first question.

  When he stepped inside, Lauren leaned back from behind a cupboard door in the mud room she’d converted for her salon. “Hey, Charlie, it’s been awhile.”

  He managed a smile. “Yeah, well…” He couldn’t think of a good excuse, so he pointed to the chair. “You got time for me?”

  “Sure, have a seat.”

  He watched her in the mirror as she secured the cape. She looked great. Happy.

  “How’s everything going?” he asked. Lauren hesitated. Charlie saw her expression in the mirror and understood she didn’t want to rub his face in her happiness, so he gave her a reassuring smile. “Honestly.”

  Her smile reflected relief. “Really good, actually. Caleb’s been great for all of us. Max is becoming quite a little man, Emma’s totally in love, and I certainly can’t argue that fact.”

  Second question out of the way, he thought with a small smile. And it didn’t even bother him. Lauren looked like she was about to say more, but then she grinned and met his gaze in the mirror.

  “Someone went to Krause’s,” she accused.

  Realizing she’d spotted the nick on his ear, Charlie said, “That happened before he even cut one hair. I shot out of the chair so fast Old Man Krause nearly had a heart attack. After I made sure he wasn’t going to keel over, I told him my beeper went off and hightailed it out of there.”

  “Charlie,” Lauren chided.

  “He’s deaf in one ear and can’t hear out of the other,” he retorted, then gestured toward his ear. “Look—can you imagine what my head would look like if I’d sat back down?”

  Lauren smiled before letting out a little sigh. “It’s kinda sad, really.”

  Charlie agreed and they made small talk as she cut his hair. By the third time he found himself comparing something about Lauren to Dana McClain, he had the answer to his last question. Oh, Lauren still qualified as supermodel gorgeous, but she didn’t get his blood humming like the thought of Dana did. His feelings for Lauren had definitely settled on friendship. Letting out a sigh of relief, he felt the last of the tension leave his body.

  Lauren raised her eyebrows. “Krause traumatized you that bad?”

  Her hands rested on his shoulders. Not even close to the thrill of pulling grass clippings from Dana’s soft, silky curls as he breathed in the apple scent of her shampoo. Charlie chuckled as Lauren removed the cape. “I was thinking of something else. Everything’s fine.”

  ***

  “You need to behave, Sugar,” Charlie warned as they made their way up the walk at Allie’s house the next morning. Sugar looked up at him with her brown eyes, and he would swear she smiled at him before giving one small woof.

  Charlie narrowed his gaze in suspicion. That bark was a little too—

  The door swung open, and Allie let out a low whistle. “Damn, Charlie, you clean up good.”

  Dana stood next to her, a small frown marring her brow. Charlie tightened his grip on the bottle of water he’d brought, resisting the urge to run his hand through his hair in that self-conscious motion he was prone to do. So he’d gotten a haircut and shaved, and his sleeveless tee, shorts and shoes didn’t have a single hole. This was normal, not the other day when he’d been feeling sorry for himself.

  “Nothing you haven’t seen before, wise-ass.” Then he said good morning to Dana, who just nodded.

  “Have you heard how Jenny’s doing?” Allie asked.

  Charlie tensed even though the news had been good when he called the hospital last night. He didn’t want to discuss the reason for his suspension in front of Dana, so he cast her a quick glance before saying to Allie, “She’s going to be okay.”

  “Good,” Allie said. “Now I just pray she doesn’t go back to her jerk husband.” Charlie thought he couldn’t agree more when Allie added, “Hey, you want me to keep Sugar?”

  “Aren’t you leaving to walk the dogs in a few minutes?”

  “I only have Bennie and the doxies today, and I can take them after you get back.”

  “In that case, sure.”

  It’d be nice to get to know Dana without having to worry about Sugar the whole time, though her unrelenting frown had him a little uneasy. He handed Allie the leash. Dana took a moment to say hello to Sugar with an abundance of friendliness that Sugar soaked up like a dry sponge. Charlie admired the enticing line of Dana’s neck exposed by her braided hair and the snug black baby doll T-shirt paired with gray cotton shorts that hugged her hips.

  Until she stepped off the porch and fixed him with a challenging look; then his nervousness increased.

  “Did you stretch already?” she asked in a no nonsense voice.

  No amateur, Charlie nodded.

  “Then let’s go.”

  Charlie cocked a brow at Allie. His friend lifted her shoulders with a smirk. When he turned back, Dana had already started down the sidewalk, and he had to sprint to catch up.

  “Something wrong?”

  “Nope.”

  Once they settl
ed into an easy rhythm, he tried again. “Was it something I said?”

  She cast him an annoyed glance, but didn’t reply.

  “Need some caffeine?” he asked pointedly.

  “Shut up and run.”

  Charlie picked up the pace, giving her a challenging look of his own. Her gaze narrowed, and she drew even in three strides, then ahead in two more. He wasn’t macho enough to attempt another raise, so he matched his stride to hers and didn’t voice his confusion. If she didn’t want him to run with her, why not say so yesterday? Now he was just the jerk whose dog had dumped coffee on her again.

  About the three-mile mark out of town, they took a water break, and then Dana turned back. Charlie was surprised when she took the loop around the pond and headed to Carrie’s coffee shop, but he wasn’t about to say one single word about the detour. They walked the last block to cool down, and before they went in, he put a hand on her arm.

  Energy pulsed between them. Her startled gaze rose to his and quickly bounced away. Unnerved himself, Charlie dropped his hand to clench his fingers at his side. “Listen, whatever it is I did, I’m sorry.”

  She seemed extremely fascinated by the tattoo on his right arm, the one of the eagle with the Good Old Red, White, and Blue on its wing. Then she shook her head with a sigh.

  “I should apologize to you. I had something on my mind and took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

  He allowed a small smile. “So we’re okay?”

  She nodded. He should’ve felt better, but considering she promptly avoided his gaze and hurried into the shop with a wild jangle of the bell, nothing seemed different. Charlie joined her at the counter, noticing with interest that Carrie had company behind the register.

  What was the librarian doing on man-hater Carrie’s side of the counter? Charlie wondered. Oh, she was friendly with customers, but didn’t have much use for men beyond that. Hard to blame her after an abusive husband and nasty divorce. In fact, rescuing Carrie and having her ex press charges laid the foundation for Charlie’s employer to enforce his current ‘vacation’.

  “Morning, Carrie. Matt.”

  Carrie replied, “Morning, Charlie,” but Matt didn’t say a word.

  When Carrie looked at Dana expectantly, Charlie quickly supplied, “This is Dana McClain, Allie’s cousin.”

  “Oh, we’ve met,” Carrie said. “I just didn’t expect—”

  “To see me a third morning in a row?” Dana interrupted rather quickly. “What can I say—your coffee is to Chai for.”

  They all laughed, but the two exchanged a look Charlie didn’t understand. He shifted his gaze from Carrie, to Matt, and cut his gaze back to Carrie in silent question.

  “Dana, this is Matt Jacobs…town librarian, and my new business partner.”

  As Dana said hi, Charlie noted Carrie said the word partner with a hint of sarcasm, as if not entirely happy with the situation. Charlie snuck a quick glance at Dana and saw she’d caught it, too.

  He cocked a brow at Matt. “Partner? No shit?”

  “No shit,” Matt confirmed, crossing his arms over his chest, his tone borderline hostile. Charlie wondered what his problem was.

  Carrie muttered, “We signed the papers last night.” After an uncomfortable beat of silence, she pasted a smile on her face. “What can we get you guys?”

  Charlie deferred to Dana, who ordered a Chai, and he asked for his usual.

  Carrie turned to Matt. “Would you like to make the Chai?”

  “Since I have no friggin’ idea what Charlie’s ‘usual’ is, what else would I make?”

  Carrie gave Charlie an apologetic look as he paid for their drinks and settled his tab from the past two weeks. Something odd was going on between the two of them, and his curiosity wanted answers like a kid begging for a lollipop.

  “You want to sit?” Charlie asked Dana after Carrie slid their cups across.

  She accepted her tea, then with a last glance at the two behind the counter, said in low undertone, “For a few minutes.”

  Charlie pretended shocked outrage and whispered, “You’re going to eavesdrop.”

  For the first time that morning, she smiled at him. “Oh, come on, you’re dying to see this, too, or you wouldn’t have suggested sitting inside after that run.”

  He fought the tugging at the corners of his mouth to deadpan, “I’m mildly curious.”

  She rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her drink. Sneaking a glance toward Carrie and Matt after they sat, she asked in a normal tone, “So, what is it you do when you’re not on vacation, Charlie?”

  She obviously intended the question as cover, but just like that, his humor evaporated. He kept his tone even with effort. “I’m an emergency medical technician.”

  Dana’s attention switched directly to Charlie. “EMT? Really?”

  “Certified for six years now.”

  “Wow. I’m…impressed,” she murmured.

  Impressed my ass—shocked was more like it. Maybe it was the tattoos; he got that a lot. Too bad she hadn’t met him when he was riding his Harley dressed in his leathers, then her snap judgment would’ve really been justified. So hypocritical, that she’d preach to him about not judging people, yet she did it herself.

  Irritation over her reaction swelled. Heat climbed his neck and into his face—and then reality hit. Was this how she felt when he’d made that crack about her being a dog shrink? The humbling realization went no further as Carrie’s raised voice caught his attention.

  Charlie happened to glance at Dana and was captivated by a wide smile spreading across her face. His gaze zipped from her, to the unfolding action behind the counter, and back again.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked in a low tone.

  Dana drew him in with the merriment dancing in her green eyes. “Don’t you see it?”

  “They’ve practically started World War Three—of course I see it. I hear it, too.”

  “Not that,” Dana said. “It’s Matt. He’s got it bad for her.”

  “What?” Charlie sat up straight and openly listened. After a moment, he gave a snort of disbelief. “Yeah, right.”

  “I studied human behavior,” she reminded. “I know what I’m talking about.”

  “And that’s why you only work with animals now?”

  Dana’s eyes widened. A fleeting expression of hurt was quickly replaced by anger. The first emotion made him wish he could take the teasing, sarcastic words back. The second resulted in the remainder of her tea being dumped in his lap.

  Chapter 4

  Dana didn’t stay to savor Charlie’s shocked sputtering or explain her actions in the suddenly silent coffee shop. She swept outside and stalked toward Allie’s house. Charlie caught up with her on the outskirts of the park.

  “Dana, hey, hold up—”

  She shook off his hold on her arm and kept going. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. It doesn’t matter anyway. I knew it. When I first saw you, I knew it, and yet I still couldn’t keep my stupid mouth shut.”

  He moved to block her path. “Knew what?”

  “None of your business.” She pushed past him. “I grew up with a brother just like you. Always making fun of what I did so he’d look better than me. He thought it was hilarious when I switched from people to animals, too, but never once asked why or tried to understand. You’re both jerks!”

  “Would you please slow down a second?”

  Dana swung around to face him. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  Charlie froze, and his expression went blank. “Two sisters.”

  “God, do I feel sorry for them. Growing up with you must’ve been a real treat.”

  A depth of anguish such as she’d never seen before darkened his eyes. In one blink, grief vanished, replaced by a frigid mask. Dana’s heart lodged in her throat with the realization she’d said something wrong and she held out a hand in silent apology. He stepped back, turned without a word, and walked away.

  “Charlie—”
<
br />   He broke into a jog, heading out of town. Not once did he look back.

  Dana slowly headed back to Allie’s, wondering all the way what the heck had just happened? When she joined her cousin in the backyard, her cousin glanced behind her with a frown.

  “Where’s Charlie?”

  “I don’t really know.”

  “Did he say when he’d be back?”

  Sugar was still there, so he’d have to come back some time, right? Dana shrugged at Allie and relayed what had happened in the park. To her surprise, Allie sunk onto a patio chair, her hand over her mouth. Tears welled in her cousin’s rounded hazel eyes.

  “Oh my God, I can’t believe I forgot.”

  “Forgot what?” Dana asked.

  “It’s been fourteen years, but I should’ve realized it. God, I am such a jerk.”

  Dana sat on the edge of the chair next to Allie’s, elbows braced on her knees. “What are you talking about?”

  “Annabel died in August.”

  “Who’s Annabel?”

  Allie wiped her eyes and drew in a breath. “Charlie’s sister. Someone spiked her beer with ecstasy at a party. She was only sixteen.”

  Dana closed her eyes with a grimace. Charlie’s reaction made complete sense now. “I’m the jerk here.”

  “You didn’t know.”

  Allie lapsed into silence, and Dana sat back to watch the dogs nosing about. She wished she could redo the whole morning. Instead of being so bitchy because he’d sent her pulse into overdrive when Allie opened the front door, she’d have been nice to him. Maybe even flirted. Like those couple minutes in the coffee shop before he’d made that sarcastic comment—that’d been nice. And maybe instead of being so defensive and insecure about what she did for a living, she could just shut up and do her job and let her actions speak for themselves.

  That’d certainly get her a lot further than the road she’d taken so far. Hindsight being twenty-twenty really sucked.