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

by Donna Marie Rogers

  “If she’s so scared, why do you bring her out here?”

  His back stiffened at her accusing tone. “I don’t have a choice.”

  “You could’ve left her with Allie.”

  “No.” He brushed past her to the door. “Come on, Sugar, all set to go.”

  Dana grabbed his arm. “Leave her in the cabin, then.”

  The Great Dane slunk down the stairs towards them, tail tucked between her trembling legs.

  “You don’t understand.” Charlie pulled free and hunkered down with a big smile for his dog. “Good girl, Sugar.”

  Dana wanted to hit him, or kick him—right into the water. Instead, she clenched her teeth and demanded, “Try me.”

  Charlie praised Sugar again, then walked her to the boat and held it steady while the dog climbed in. Sugar crawled onto the back bench seat and lay down, head planted on her front paws. Her gaze shifted to Charlie, her eyebrows quirked pitifully.

  “That’s my brave girl,” he crooned before standing aside for Dana. “Let’s go.”

  “This is cruel,” Dana accused. “I’m not going to do this to her.”

  “She likes being out there, it just takes her a little while to settle down.”

  “I don’t understand why you don’t leave her here?”

  He huffed out a breath. “I can’t. She goes crazy if she’s left alone. And I can’t leave her at Allie’s, she knows when I go fishing, even if I shower before picking her up. Don’t ask me how, but she does. If I don’t take her, she mopes and whines the whole night like someone who’s lost their best friend. Believe me, this is easier. And she’s been getting better each time.”

  Dana looked from Charlie, to Sugar, and back again, not quite convinced even though her anger faded some.

  His steady gaze met hers. “Trust me to know my own dog, Dana.”

  It felt as if he asked for her trust beyond the dog. She wanted to, more than was wise. “If we get out there, and I feel you’re doing her more harm than good, will you turn around?”

  He nodded. “All you have to do is say the word.”

  His solemn tone convinced her he wasn’t simply pacifying her. The look in his eyes conveyed his trust in her and validated the profession he’d previously scoffed at. Dana felt her world tilt slightly and took the hand he held out to assist her into the boat.

  Chapter 5

  Charlie watched as Dana hooked another fish and knew he’d be buying dinner. Not that he would’ve held her to the unofficial bet if things had reeled the other way, but she had some sort of magic touch with that fishing pole.

  Rubbing Sugar’s head as she hugged his side—still a little anxious, but not terrified anymore—he wondered if Dana had any clue how appealing she was when she worked to bring the fish in, a natural beauty basking in the thrill of the fight. Though the sun had indeed disappeared, her cheeks were flushed under the visor of her baseball cap, soft curls escaped her ponytail and blew across her lips until she tucked them back behind her ear, and her light green eyes sparkled every time they met his.

  She’d said she’d out-fish him, but he had no idea he’d have so much fun watching her win. In addition to enjoying time with her, though, the morning was pure torture. Countless times he’d had to fight the impulse to take the pole from her hands and haul her against him. Full body contact—not that frustrating half-second brush of soft breasts against his chest like last night on the hammock.

  Don’t you dare hurt her, Charlie.

  Allie’s soft warning by the door kept echoing through his mind and was the sole reason he kept his hands to himself. Not even a friendly, congratulatory pat on the back for each walleye she reeled in. He watched another fishing boat pass by some fifty yards away, and returned their neighborly waves with a lift of his hand.

  Why, he wondered as he stared across the water, did Allie think he’d hurt Dana? It wasn’t as if he had a history of lovin’ ‘em and leavin’ ‘em. Serial dating had lost its excitement in his early twenties and these days he preferred to establish a friendship before moving into something more serious. Unfortunately, he’d also discovered once he became friends with the woman, the attraction usually faded.

  Watching Tara jump into a full-blown relationship with Wes Carter this past month had bothered him at first because he vowed years ago to protect her as he hadn’t protected Annabel. Lately, though, he’d concluded Tara didn’t need his protection and wondered if he’d ever find anything like what he saw when she and Wes looked at each other.

  “You do realize if you want to catch a fish you have to actually cast the line?”

  He shifted his attention back to Dana and got a little nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. He forced a small smile. “Is that how it works?”

  Slowly reeling in her line, she cast an assessing glance over her shoulder. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just thinking.”

  She nodded. “Another reason I love fishing. Lots of time to think.”

  Charlie grimaced. “Not necessarily my favorite pastime lately.”

  After a few more minutes of silence, she set her rod aside to reach for the cooler before sitting in the swivel bucket seat across from him and Sugar. “We could talk instead,” she suggested.

  Seeing as he couldn’t do the other things he’d like to with her, talking appeared to be his only option. And, given that she was a psychologist, and he had a lot of crap going on in his life, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. She might be able to help him make some sense out of the tangled emotions that made it harder to breathe each day.

  She took out two beers from the cooler and handed him a bottle. “Tell me something about yourself,” she urged, holding out a rawhide bone for Sugar. The fact that she remembered his dog added yet another emotion to the jumbled knot inside him.

  His heart pounded a little faster as he twisted the cap off his bottle. Still, he found himself resisting. “I don’t want to talk about myself.”

  “Come on, give me something good.” She opened her beer, lifted it to her lips and took a long swallow before giving him an encouraging wink. “Something no one else knows.”

  Mischief made her eyes sparkle, but Charlie knew exactly what he wanted to say and fear constricted his throat like a noose. Swallowing hard, he set his bottle down without taking a drink.

  “I drove my sister Annabel to the party the night she died.”

  Dana blinked, hand and beer lowering to her lap. “I was thinking more along the line of ‘I secretly adore romantic movies’, but okay, that works, too.”

  “I’ve never told anyone.”

  She set her own bottle aside with a frown. “Not even your mom and dad? Your sister?”

  He shook his head for each.

  “Why not?”

  Guilt crashed down around him. He met her eyes, then had to look away, fearful if he’d looked too close he’d see condemnation. “They all thought she got a ride with a friend.”

  She leaned forward. “But what does that matter, Charlie?”

  His throat hurt. He had to clear it twice before he could get the words out. “It was my fault. If I hadn’t agreed to take her with me—”

  “No.” Dana shook her head. “It’s not your fault.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Did you put the pills in her drink?”

  His head snapped up. “Of course not!”

  “How old was she?”

  “Sixteen.”

  “Why’d you take her?”

  Reasons sprang forth but they only made him feel worse. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It sure as hell does.”

  The anger in her tone surprised him, until he wondered if she blamed him exactly as his family would if they knew what he’d done.

  “Why, Charlie?” she demanded when he didn’t answer right away.

  He clenched his fists and glared at her. “Because she threatened to tell my parents I put a dent in the car. I’d been out drinking the night before and backed into a light pole.”
Self-loathing made his eyes burn. “She’s not here right now because I was afraid to get in trouble for a damned dent.”

  “Oh, God, Charlie, don’t do this to yourself.” Dana knelt in front of him and grasped his clenched hands. “Listen. Look at me.”

  Her fingers tightened on his. He had to blink to bring her face into focus. Her eyes were tear-bright, but dead serious. “You were what—eighteen? Nineteen? Anyone would’ve done the same thing. Even I used to blackmail my older brother into taking me to parties.”

  “I should’ve protected her. Instead I was making out with some girl in the bedroom.”

  “You know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t taken her?”

  “She’d still be here.”

  Dana shook her head. “She’d have found another ride. I always did.”

  Charlie started to protest, until Dana’s words sank in. Clear as day, he remembered Annabel staring down the street all nervous looking. When he came out the door, she’d given a guilty start, but then flipped it around and started interrogating him. She’d always been so good at weaseling information out of him and that day she figured out where he was going right away. Much as he’d argued with her about taking his little sister, he wanted to go to the party more.

  They’d backed out of the driveway when Roy Adams drove by and Annabel waved at him. Even back then Charlie hadn’t liked the guy and yelled at her for acknowledging the scumbag, but now he wondered, had Roy been there to pick her up?

  No. He was just looking for a scapegoat to get rid of the guilt.

  It’s the biggest party of the summer, Charlie! I’ll hitch if I have to.

  Don’t talk so stupid, Annabel.

  I will. And then think how bad you’d feel if something happened. It’d be all your fault, so quit being a jerk and just give me a ride.

  She would’ve hitched, too. She’d been that bullheaded when she set her mind on something. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and shook his head, even as the heavy weight on his chest eased a tiny bit.

  “Stop blaming yourself for something you had no control over,” Dana said. “Even if you hadn’t been in the other room, would you have been standing right next to her? Probably not. Someone still could’ve spiked her drink and you would’ve had no idea until she had the reaction.”

  She was right about that, too. Annabel had warned him to ‘be cool’ and not shadow her every move.

  “We should’ve both stayed home,” Charlie said, not feeling right about the softening guilt.

  “And it might’ve happened another night.”

  “It might not have.”

  “You’re arguing your way back into it—you’ve got to let it go.” Dana slid her hand along his thigh, comforting him with her touch. “You can’t change what happened, and you can’t live your life based on what might or might not have happened if you’d stayed home that night.”

  He stiffened. “Well, I’m sorry, but it’s not as easy as you telling me it’s not my fault and then I’m just magically okay.”

  A soft sigh escaped her lips. “I didn’t say it was. Of course it’ll take time, but you have to start somewhere.”

  He finally nodded. “I know, you’re right.” Her hand was beginning to distract him, rubbing up and down his leg. “How is it after all these years you can make some sense out of it in just a few minutes?”

  She moved back to sit across from him again. “You just needed to talk, that’s all.”

  He immediately missed the warmth of her touch, then noticed her turn away while lifting a hand to wipe her eyes. “You’re crying? You’re the professional here.”

  Dana gave a short laugh. “This is exactly why I can’t work with people. I cried as much as my patients did.”

  “You’re sympathetic—that’s a good thing.”

  “No, I can’t keep my emotions in check. I get too involved.”

  Charlie reached across to put a hand on her knee. “Well, for what it’s worth, thank you. You’re the first person I’ve been able to talk to about this.”

  Their gazes met, and an unexpected shimmer of pain in her eyes caught him off guard. It disappeared too fast for him to be sure about it, and then she reached for her fishing pole.

  “No problem. This one’s on the house, but next time, I’m billing you—and I’m not cheap.”

  Her teasing tone didn’t match the tight smile she gave him before turning to cast her line. Charlie’s brows drew together. Had he caused the pain in her eyes or was it something else? Is this what Allie had warned him about? But what had he done? He wanted to ask, but couldn’t force the question out. What if professionally she’d assured him he wasn’t to blame for what happened to Annabel, but personally, she didn’t believe it?

  His chest tightened all over again. Her opinion mattered, he realized. A lot. In a conscious attempt to shake off the unexpected emotions, he took a swig of his beer, scratched behind Sugar’s ears, and then reached for his pole.

  Dana glanced around when she heard him cast. “Going to try and make a run at it?”

  “Too late for that,” he said, “but I should at least catch one.”

  She smiled, this time more genuine, and Charlie relaxed a little. By the time they decided to pack it in for the day, he’d caught three walleye to her seven, and their easy camaraderie had returned. Dana kept him on his toes with sassy wit, open candor, and insightful commentary on everything from current events to politics to movies. Any lulls in the conversation had been natural and comfortable. It was the best afternoon he could remember in a long time.

  The light breeze had turned to a brisk wind, the temperature much cooler than when they’d left. Dana squinted at the gray clouds. “Is it supposed to rain?”

  Easing the boat into the boat house, Charlie answered, “Not that I heard this morning.”

  She rubbed her bare arms.

  “Should’ve let me get you that sweatshirt earlier,” Charlie said.

  “I’ll be fine once we’re in the truck and out of the wind.”

  Charlie’s gaze focused on the alluring curve of her backside as she leaned over to plunk the cooler and her beach bag on the dock before pulling herself up. Their budding friendship had done nothing to diffuse his physical attraction to her. If anything it’d doubled. He shifted his attention to the boat before things went too far in his imagination.

  Once he secured the lines, he helped Sugar up and joined her and Dana on the dock.

  “Hey, um, there’s something else I wanted to say…about your sister…”

  His heart stopped for a moment, then raced as he clicked the lock into place on the boathouse door.

  “You need to tell your family.”

  His stomach dropped as he faced her. “I don’t—”

  Sugar gave a sharp bark and dashed between them. Her nails sought traction on the slick aluminum surface of the dock as she headed for the shore. She bounced off Charlie, careened into Dana, and scrambled on her way. The cooler flew from Dana’s hand as she flailed her arms in a losing battle for balance. Charlie saw her going backward and lunged to catch her. He secured the strap of her bag, but his forward momentum and gravity combined with inescapable force. They both landed in the water with a huge splash.

  Charlie fought for the surface, back-paddling out of Dana’s way. She came up coughing, and he spanned his hands around her waist to keep her from going back under.

  “Geez, what was that all about?” she managed to get out.

  “Chipmunk.” Charlie shook his hair back and the water from his eyes. After a moment, he asked, “You gonna make it?”

  Her hands clung to his shoulders. “I think so.” Her voice broke on the last word as she gave a couple more hoarse coughs.

  Charlie became aware that she’d floated closer. Her hips brushed his. Despite the cool water, heat inundated his entire body. He shifted back a step, but because he could touch the sandy bottom, and she couldn’t, she came right with him. Her bare thigh slid against his. He sucked in a silent breath
and gave up the fight.

  “I’m afraid you may need mouth to mouth resuscitation,” he said.

  Her wet, spiky lashes lifted as she cleared her throat. One corner of her mouth twitched. “Is that your expert opinion?”

  He nodded solemnly. “You offered your services, I’m offering mine.”

  “A professional exchange.”

  “Exactly.” The caress of the water added a sense of eroticism. He pulled her closer for the full body contact he’d fantasized about earlier. “I’m somewhat concerned by your shallow breathing.”

  “I don’t seem to be able to catch my breath,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck with a slow, sexy smile.

  Drawing in an unsteady breath of his own, he closed the distance between their lips. “Must be something in the water.”

  Chapter 6

  Dana knew the best thing for her was to swim away, but she’d already experienced the effects of Charlie’s kisses and this time common sense didn’t stand a chance against his magnetism. The length of his hard body was as heady as the rasp of his tongue, the warmth of his breath mingled with hers, and the caress of his hands across her back, ribs, breast. She inhaled sharply when his palm brushed her hardened nipple.

  He kissed his way under her jaw toward her ear. She tilted her head back and to the side, encouraging him to continue. He traced the outer shell, then nipped her lobe. “You could boil this water.”

  Desire spiked through her with the caress of his warm breath against her ear. She gave a soft sound of pleasure. “Look who’s talkin’.”

  A low whine registered through the haze of sensation. Dana opened her eyes as Charlie lifted his head to look toward shore. He groaned before capturing her mouth again. Moments later, the whine escalated. This time they both looked to see Sugar standing at the shoreline, her front feet in the water. Little ripples radiated from her trembling legs.

  Charlie’s hand slid back down to Dana’s waist. “Darn dog.”