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

by Donna Marie Rogers

  Dana gave him a sharp look.

  “What?” he asked with a sheepish grin and kissed her quick. “Can you blame me?”

  “Yes.” Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she used her weight to dunk him. She swam toward shore as he came up sputtering behind her. Sugar made it into the water as far as her belly, her courage piercing Dana’s heart.

  “You’re going to pay for that,” Charlie warned. Dana heard him splashing after her and couldn’t hold back a laugh as she moved faster. He caught her leg in the shallows and started to drag her back, but Sugar came between them, anxiety and excitement doubling her usual animation. Dana got out of the way of that large pink tongue and huge paws, scooped up the forgotten floating cooler, and went to drip in the sand, looking down at her sodden clothes.

  She laughed with resignation. “I guess I’ll take that sweatshirt now.”

  Charlie handed over her wet Minnesota Twins baseball cap, and then he and Sugar led the way up the bank toward the cabin. “Or you can just strip down and I’ll throw your stuff in the dryer.”

  The thought of taking off her wet clothes in front of him was completely crazy, and yet a titillating thrill flamed to her most intimate parts. She followed him across the lawn, enjoying the view from behind.

  “I notice you’re conspicuously absent in that sentence.”

  He tossed a grin over his shoulder. “Absent? Most definitely not.”

  “I meant in the stripping part.”

  “That an invitation?”

  “Most definitely not,” she retorted, partly in denial to herself.

  “Damn.” He pushed open the cabin door and pressed his back to the door jamb so she could pass. “Come on, let’s see what we can find for you to wear.”

  She ended up in a pair of his mother’s jeans and his sister Tara’s tank top and flip-flops, but decided to dry her clothes back at Allie’s. As she stuffed the wet items into a plastic garbage bag, she tried not to think about Charlie getting naked in the back bedroom. A minute later, he joined her in the living room fully dressed. He held out a dark green sweatshirt with ‘Green Bay Packers’ printed across the front in gold.

  Dana wrinkled her nose and put her hands on her hips. “You don’t seriously expect me to wear that.”

  “What? It’s clean. See?” He showed her front and back.

  “The Packers suck.”

  His brows rose as he smiled in disbelief. “Oh, so that’s how it is, Little Miss Minnesota. At least we’ve won a Super Bowl—or four.”

  “Shut up.”

  He laughed. “Brilliant comeback.”

  Dana ground her teeth together because she almost repeated it.

  “Please tell me you don’t wear the horny helmet with those ridiculous yellow yarn braids,” he added.

  In a pointed move, she flipped back her damp, blonde curls. “I braid my own hair, and besides, it’s better than those stupid cheese heads.”

  He let out an exaggerated sigh and shook his head. “I had such high hopes for us.”

  Her heart thumped until his gaze dropped slightly. To his credit, he jerked his attention back up after no more than a glance, but she suspected Tara’s size-too-small-for-Dana tank top and no bra left little for his imagination, especially since inside the shaded cabin was cooler than outside. Her cheeks flushed as she stalked past and snagged the shirt from his hand on her way out the door. His low chuckle echoed after her.

  After turning it inside out, she pulled the ugly garment over her head. A heady whiff of Charlie made her lift it back up for a deep inhale.

  “You don’t paint your face, too, do you?” he asked from right behind her.

  Dana yanked the shirt back into place and stuck her nose in the air while he walked around the front of the truck with the bucket of fish they’d caught. “On occasion.”

  He gave another dramatic sigh. “Yeah, sorry, it’s definitely over.”

  She jerked the passenger-side door open. “Who said it’d even begun?”

  He only grinned as Sugar climbed in the back. She shoved her bag of wet clothes on the floor next to the cooler while he put the bucket in the truck bed.

  As they headed northeast back toward Redemption, she sat up straight. “I’ll have you know, the Vikings are second in the league for most games won in a season at fifteen wins, and we’re number one for most passing touchdowns in a game.”

  “Yeah, and that’s shared with what—six or seven other teams?” He glanced at her with a placating smile. “Poor, deluded, Viking fan. You don’t really want to play this game.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “We’re second for most points in a season.”

  “Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and much as I hate to even say it, Brett Favre was MVP three years in a row before he defected.”

  Dana shook her head. “I won’t dispute that Rodgers is a great player and Favre, too, in his day, but I’m talking about the whole team.”

  “Okay. We hold the all time record with twelve seasons as league champions, and have finished first in the regular season eighteen times. Third best in the NFL. Not to mention we hold the first and third spots for most consecutive home games without a defeat.”

  She needed something fast. “Vikings hold the record for most passes attempted in a season—seven hundred and nine.”

  He laughed. “You’re grasping at straws, Dana. How many did they actually complete?”

  Darn it—the one thing she didn’t know, but before she could come up with something else, he said, “I just know this is going to come off as horribly sexist, but I can’t believe you know all this stuff.”

  “You think I’m making it up?” she asked, indignant.

  “No, I know you’re not. But I’ve never met a woman who could quote stats off the top of her head.”

  “Oh.” She took a deep breath to release the tension in her shoulders and gave a small sigh. “Fine, sexism aside, the thing is, anytime I throw out a football stat it drives my brother absolutely nuts. Since it’s about all I got on the egotistical heart surgeon, I memorize everything and then make a point to bring it up as often as possible.”

  “Ah. Sibling rivalry at it’s best. It’s exactly the sort of thing Annabel would’ve done.”

  She cast him a quick glance and was encouraged that his expression was merely pensive, not pained.

  “And what about Tara? What’s she like?” she ventured.

  A smile curved his lips as he negotiated a sharp curve. “Everything opposite of the rest of us Russells. My dad’s a caption at the state prison in Green Bay and my mom owns a tattoo shop. They ride Harleys, go to bars with their friends on the weekends and just generally have fun while living life. And while Tara’s independent and stubborn as the rest of us, she’s more quiet and proper.”

  He paused with a small smile. “Or she was until she met Wes.”

  “Who’s Wes?”

  “Her boyfriend. They met at the county fair last month. Anyway, she’s a real estate agent...works at a nice respectable office and wears fancy clothes like you did the other day, only has one tiny tatt—and as her brother I don’t want to know where it is. She does have a Harley, but rarely rides anymore. She doesn’t drink at all, prefers to stay home and watch TV, and she can’t cook anything besides pancakes. All that being said, I couldn’t ask for a better sister.”

  “So, you’re more like your parents?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “I like to think I meet them in the middle.”

  “Then the real question is, can you cook?”

  “I’d give Wolfgang Puck a run for his money.”

  Dana laughed. She wanted to meet the whole clan and envied his relationships—guilt notwithstanding. Her relationship with her dad these days was limited to rare phone calls from whatever hotel he was staying in at the moment; her mother drove her nuts; and, while she loved her brother, she didn’t like the egotistical snob all that much.

  That was a small part of th
e reason she hoped to move here. Limited contact meant limited opportunities for them to bring up her past failures. Because although she didn’t see Brad’s cheating or James’ emotional deficiencies as her fault, for some unknown reason, her mother, her brother, and his Barbie doll, socialite wife did. In Dana’s opinion, her only mistake was falling for the client. Twice.

  But that was one benefit to recognizing the signs—she wouldn’t do it again. Her gaze strayed to Charlie’s hands on the steering wheel. Just the thought of him touching her with those strong hands sent her pulse skyrocketing. And since she worked with animals now, she wasn’t breaking any of her new rules.

  Almost immediately, she remembered that flash of doubt on the boat. He hadn’t come to her as a paying client, but his soul unquestionably needed healing, and she was the only one he’d been able to talk to about his guilt.

  Those few thoughts succeeded in doubling her doubt like the flip of a light switch. Signs were flashing neon in her face and all she’d done was block them out with the memory of his arms holding her against that hard body. She really did need to back away.

  Charlie pulled into Allie’s driveway and told Sugar to stay in the truck as he carried Dana’s things to the front door. “I’ll clean the fish and bring yours by.”

  “That’s my least favorite part of fishing, so I won’t argue with that.”

  “What time should I pick you up for dinner?”

  Dana looked up quickly. Had she missed something? Her confusion must’ve showed, because he said, “Loser buys dinner, remember?”

  Delight sped through her at the thought of spending more time with him. Easy, girl. Slow down. Red. Hot. Neon. She gave him a sassy grin. “Too bad I don’t date Cheese Heads.”

  He backed her up against the column on Allie’s front porch, cushioned the back of her head with his palm, then proceeded to kiss her so thoroughly she felt like she’d just run a hundred-yard dash. She clung to the column with waning self-preservation as he skimmed his lips across her skin and nipped at her throat. Desire ignited.

  “What time?” he repeated softly.

  She tried to stand firm. “I don’t…think…that we—”

  He sucked gently where his teeth had scraped. Dana drew in a sharp breath, heart pounding, knees weak. Lord help her.

  “Charlie—”

  “Dana.” He pulled back a few inches, his expression solemn. “I know you feel this thing between us. Don’t tell me you don’t.”

  She stared into his darkened brown eyes and felt her chest tighten. The hand that’d been burrowed in her hair slid down her arm to capture her hand. He lifted it and pressed her palm against his chest, where his heart beat a thunderous rhythm to match hers.

  “Feel that?”

  She swallowed hard and nodded.

  “You’re different from any other woman I’ve ever met. I can talk to you like no one else, as if we’ve known each other for years.”

  “Occupational hazard,” she quipped, wary that he’d mentioned that fact first.

  He shook his head. “It’s deeper than that. The brain under all those blonde curls blows me away, not to mention you’re funny and just plain fun to be with—even when you’re being difficult. And…” A slow smile curved his lips. “I want you like crazy.”

  The husky timbre of his voice tripped Dana’s heart.

  “Let me take you to dinner, and we’ll see where this goes,” he coaxed.

  Resisting at this point was beyond her ability. His sincere words struck a cord, convinced her Charlie really was different, and convinced her inner cynic it was okay to take another chance on love. With him.

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  She felt the muscles in his chest relax slightly with her positive reply. Knowing he was nervous reaffirmed her optimistic feeling about his motivation. He was interested in her as a person and a woman, not for what she could do for him as a psychologist.

  “Can you be ready by seven?”

  A glance at her watch told her she’d have just over an hour, and then she remembered. “Shoot, I forgot Allie planned a night out, just the two of us, since we haven’t had much chance to visit yet.”

  “Tomorrow, then.”

  Dana shook her head. “We’re meeting her parents in Green Bay for a charity wine tasting.”

  His muscles tensed under her fingers again. After a noticeable pause, he asked, “Saturday?”

  She nodded with a smile. “Saturday I can do.”

  ***

  Dana stepped out onto Allie’s patio the next day with two grande cups of iced caramel macchiato and gave one to Allie.

  “Mm, thanks.”

  “Thank Charlie. He still owed me from the ones Sugar spilled.”

  “You said you weren’t seeing him until Saturday,” Allie accused around the straw in her mouth.

  “I didn’t see him.”

  Dana sat in a neighboring lounge chair. The dogs her cousin watched were laying in various areas of sunlight in the yard, except Bennie the Bassett hound, who lumbered up to nudge Dana’s hand. Patting his head, she looked up to see Allie’s doubtful expression.

  “I didn’t.”

  Allie set her cup down on the patio table. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

  “Change of subject please.”

  After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Allie lifted her macchiato. “I heard Carrie took on a partner.”

  Relieved, Dana nodded. “I met him the other day—Matt, I think. Does that ring a bell?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Allie’s sigh contained an unmistakable sigh of pure feminine longing. “The librarian. I really should get in there to check out more books. I never thought a library could be sexy until Matt Jacobs showed up.”

  Dana laughed. “I’ve noticed that about this town. It’s got a fair share of eye candy.”

  “Redemption may be small, but it redeems itself with its men.”

  Allie grinned and Dana cast her a sly look. “Speaking of eye candy, what’s the story with your resident veterinarian, Rick Wilde?”

  “What do you mean?” Allie’s casual question was undermined by her sudden focused carving of some design in her cup with her fingernail.

  “He seems really nice.”

  Allie made a face, avoiding direct eye contact. “Yeah, he’s good at that.”

  “Hmm…no resentment there.” When she remained silent, Dana gave another push. “The longer you’re quiet, the more convinced I am there’s something you’re not telling me.”

  “He used to pick on me in school, no big deal. I’m sure he’s very nice now.”

  “He asked about you in my interview—more than once,” Dana said.

  Twin spots of red appeared on Allie’s cheeks. “So?”

  Dana wasn’t fooled for a second but before she could pursue the subject more, the phone rang, and Allie jumped to her feet to rush into the house. She came back out a moment later and handed Dana the phone.

  “Speak of the devil.”

  Dana’s stomach flipped over. Was he calling to offer her the job or let her down easy? She hoped it was the former. Redemption was a town she wanted to hang around for a good long while.

  “This is Dana.”

  “Did you miss me last night?”

  Charlie’s deep, suggestive question sent her pulse racing faster than when she thought the caller was Rick Wilde. “Don’t be egotistical,” she told Charlie with a soft laugh. The thing was, she had thought of him much too often. And yes, she’d missed him.

  “I’m optimistic. So did you and Allie have fun?”

  “I think so. I have a vague recollection of drinking too much, which led to a very embarrassing round of karaoke.”

  “See, now that’s not fair. I’d have paid to see that.”

  “And I’d have paid to make sure you didn’t,” she shot back with a laugh.

  “Saturday’s too far away.”

  His abrupt statement left her absurdly pleased. “It’s only a day away.”


  “I know. Would you like to go for a walk?”

  “Right now?”

  “Sugar and I are a block away.”

  “Now it is.”

  When she hung up the phone, Allie crossed her arms and stared at Dana. “You’re totally falling for him.”

  Dana realized she was grinning like an idiot. Even though she suspected Allie was right, she waved off her concern. “We’re just going for a walk.”

  Charlie showed up looking a little rough and tumble in a faded Bruce Springsteen concert tee shirt and jean shorts, but sexy as all hell as he handed over a package of fish he’d cleaned as promised. The heated sweep of his gaze made changing her clothes, brushing her hair, and adding lip-gloss well worth Allie’s skeptical looks.

  They took a trail around the park, which was quickly becoming her favorite area of town. Sugar had greeted her with enthusiasm, but now walked between them, perfectly behaved.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you switched dogs on me,” Charlie joked.

  “Hey, give Sugar some credit. She’s extremely smart, and very eager to learn.” Dana slipped a small treat from the pocket of her Capri’s and gave it to the Great Dane. “You want me to show you?”

  “Do you mind?”

  “Of course not.”

  In the clearing near the pond, she showed him a few simple exercises to practice with Sugar over the next couple days and explained the importance of rewarding the dog. Each time she passed Charlie a treat, her fingers tingled when they touched his skin. Every contact triggered memories of that kiss in the water, and the second one on Allie’s porch. More than once he sidled up beside her, his smoldering glances promising more to come and making it difficult to concentrate.

  On the way back to the house, anticipation built, until he left her on the porch step with a smile and a wink, her lips cold and wanting. Disappointment and confusion shared equal space in her chest.

  Saturday morning he showed up to run with her, and his smile made the bright summer morning even better. After a brisk five miles, he bought her a peppermint mocha latte, reeled her in a little more—not that she was fighting—and again left her on the porch, aching for the touch of his lips, while his promise to pick her up at seven rang in her ears.