C.J. looked around the place, his gut clenching and his investigative instincts kicking in full force. What if Caroline and even Shelby were hiding something and it was dangerous or they could get hurt? From what little Bender gathered it was enough to give C.J. crazy thoughts. He would make certain to talk to his mom tomorrow. Just as he would make certain to stop in to see Caroline at the clothing store on Monday.
* * * *
Caroline was standing by the book display table next to Marlena Courts. The library set up a booth and tent for the display outside of the library on the grass. One of her three boyfriends, Deputy Mike Spencer, was talking to them. It was odd, but she was curious about these ménage relationships and how they could work. Seriously, one woman being shared by two or more men? How could that be a good thing? Wouldn’t they hurt her, even unintentionally? She shivered from the thought of even being touched by a man, never mind more than one at once. She overanalyzed everything. Like even about Hunter. He was huge in all aspects of the word and he was a soldier. His mom said a Navy Seal. Now she didn’t know much about those types of things but from movies she had seen over the years, men like that were way beyond resourceful. They were killing machines geared toward violence, maybe even acquiescent to it. Not that it was their fault. Especially if they saw action in the military. Did Hunter see action? Was he in Iraq or some other military operation in the Middle East?
She swallowed hard. He scared her, but when she thought about him, she thought about his brothers, York and C.J. They were just as charismatic, hard, and authoritative. She understood how these ménage relationships got started. That a group of men, brothers or best friends, chose a woman and made some sort of commitment to her. Other than that she knew nothing more. She didn’t want to know more because it made her feel anxious and on edge. Like maybe coming here to hide out wasn’t a smart idea at all.
“So what do you think about our town, Caroline?” Mike asked her as he rested one hand on his holster and smiled. He was very nice, and she could see the love he had for Marlena. It was obvious.
“It’s a beautiful town. It’s clean and well maintained, and the people are very friendly,” she replied as a little girl came up to the table and stared at her with wide eyes.
“Hi, sweetie, are you looking for a book?” she asked the little girl.
“I…uhm…are you a princess?” she asked Caroline, and Mike and Marlena chuckled as the girl’s mother approached and placed her hands on her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, she has a bit of an imagination,” her mother said as she stroked her daughter’s hair.
Caroline walked around the table and squatted down to talk to the little girl.
“Do you like stories about princesses?” she asked the little girl.
“Yes. Ones with beautiful long hair like yours.” Carline smiled and then looked at the little girl’s long blonde hair and big blue eyes.
“Well, you have beautiful long blonde hair just like a princess would, too, and great big blue eyes as well.”
The little girl stepped closer. “And yours are kind of green but a different kind. They’re special.”
“Well thank you. So are you looking for a book about princesses?”
“Maybe. I have a bunch already.”
Caroline looked up at her mom who smiled and nodded.
Caroline reached up and took a book from the table.
“This is a very special story. Have you heard of it before?” She showed her the cover.
“The Secret Princess? I don’t think so. What’s it about?” the little girl asked.
“Mora, the nice young woman has work to do, maybe we can read the back of it and decide,” her mom suggested.
Caroline smiled. “It’s okay, I have help and I love books, so if Mora is interested in this one I would be happy to tell her just a little bit about it.”
“Really?” Mora asked.
“Sure. You see, this is a very special story. It’s about a young woman who has had a really hard life.”
“Like Cinderella?” Mora asked. Her mom chuckled and so did Marlena and Mike.
Caroline smiled. “Kind of, but this is her own special story.”
“Go on,” Mora said with confidence.
“She doesn’t have a lot of money. She doesn’t have a big family, only a grandmother that she lives with and helps out. Despite the hard times, and the hard life she has, she always gives back to the community and is a kind person to everyone she meets. She touches them in ways they can’t explain, but it’s magical.”
“Does she have powers?” Mora asked, taking the book from Caroline’s hand.
“Oh, she has some great powers, but I don’t want to spoil it for you if you’re interested in it,” Caroline said.
Mora smiled wide, hugged the book to her chest, and looked up at her mom. “Can we get it, Mom?”
He mother had already handed over five dollars just as two men joined them. “Daddy, Father, look what I got.” She showed the two men who each placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder from behind her and smiled with love and adoration for the child. Caroline felt the tears fill her eyes and she was shocked by the scene.
“This is.” She looked at Caroline. “What’s your name?” Mora asked.
“Caroline.”
“This is Caroline, and she’s a princess, and she knows lots about princess stories. She chose this one for me. Will you read it to me?” Mora asked and they all chuckled at the fact that Mora truly believed that Caroline was a princess.
“Sure thing, doll. Let’s go grab some lunch and start it,” one of the men said. The mom whispered a thank you as they headed off.
“Princess Caroline. I think I like the sound of that.” Caroline heard the deep voice and turned around to see C.J. standing there next to Mike and Marlena.
She was a bit embarrassed as her cheeks warmed and she walked back around the table. She started fixing the books and then felt C.J. press closer to her. He towered over her, and she sensed the utility belt against her lower back and it reminded her of Cameron, and how he would stop in when he was working and she was home, and he would use the butt of his gun, or another police gadget to intimidate her.
She jerked and stepped away from him but pretended to fix the books.
“Caroline, are you okay?” he asked. She glanced up and she realized by the concerned expressions on Mike and Marlena’s faces as well as C.J.’s that maybe she reacted on instinct too quickly and brought attention to herself.
“I’m fine, and you?” she asked and then looked away from them and out toward the crowd, hoping someone else came along to buy some books.
“Caroline, I already grabbed lunch. It’s your turn if you need a break,” Marlena said to her.
“That’s great because I was just going to take a lunch break. I’ll walk with you to the café or something,” C.J. said to her.
“I’m not interested,” she said and he smiled.
“Not interested in eating lunch? Have you had Rita’s grilled cheese bacon tomato sandwich on fresh sourdough bread? It’s awesome,” he said and then started to walk.
“Come on, my treat. It’s the least I can do considering you’re a princess,” he teased and bowed before her. Some people around them chuckled, including Marlena and Mike.
“You’ll be safe, Caroline,” Mike said to her, surprising her.
She reached under the table for her bag and started walking with C.J.
She didn’t want to make a scene back there, especially when Mike and Marlena were looking at her so suspiciously already. She looked toward the park and saw the empty picnic tables as most people enjoying the sunny day were on blankets on the gorgeous green grass. There was even a large gazebo with white beautiful hanging baskets of red flowers in them. She smiled.
“We could get the lunch to go and eat it at one of the tables in the park?” he suggested as they walked onto the sidewalk and were one store away from Rita’s.
“I guess so,” she said, and he
smiled as he pulled the door open for her.
He was a very attractive man, older than her, but not by much. If she had to guess maybe he was twenty-seven or so. He had dark brown hair and scruff along his cheeks and chin that made him appear more sexy than rugged. His very distinguished nose and firm lips added to his masculinity and of course the man looked good in uniform. The thought had her looking around them and waving hello to a few people she had met from working in Martha’s clothing store.
Mike ordered the sandwiches to go as well as two ice teas while she spoke to Doreen, one of the waitresses who asked when the new shipment of bathing suits were coming in because she wanted to get a new one for some big BBQ event next month at one of the marinas and beach clubs. Caroline was telling her that she had yet to venture out to any of the beaches but that today her sister and some friends were at the beach. Doreen went back to working, and C.J. gave her a nudge. She turned to look up at him. He really was tall. Not as tall as Hunter but pretty close.
“How come you didn’t tagalong with Shelby and the girls?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I like books and Marlena had mentioned that volunteers were needed today.”
Rita passed them a small box with their ice teas and lunch in it and they said thank you and left the building to head to the park.
“Thank you for buying lunch.”
“My pleasure. So, you were really sweet to talk to Mora and get her interested in that book.”
“Well she was looking for something with princesses so I thought she might like it. The story is one of my favorites.” They set everything onto the table and she helped C.J. place the food down. Instead of sitting across from her, he sat next to her so they could look out at the rest of the park.
“Why is it your favorite story?” he asked as she took a sip from her ice tea and then began to unwrap her sandwich.
“God, this smells incredible,” she said to him.
He winked at her and smiled. “I told you that it was worth it,” he said, and she smiled softly and then took a small bite as he bit into his.
“Wow,” she said and then wiped her mouth.
“So tell me about the story.”
“Oh, you don’t want to hear about the princess story.”
“I do. If it’s a story you like, I want to know about it,” he said to her.
She felt a little embarrassed but figured it would pass the time while they ate so she could get back to the book table.
“Well, it’s just a sweet story about a young woman going through some hard times. No matter what happens to her, she always finds it in her heart to do good deeds even for strangers. She struggles and wishes that she were a princess with special powers and an ability to make her wealthy, to live in a mansion, and have all the things she ever wanted including a family and people who love her. So then she makes a bad decision, in hopes and desperation to get what she thinks she wants. It nearly cost her everything. Because of those kind deeds, when she gets into a predicament and is about to get hurt, someone she helped comes along and intervenes. She learns that she had this power all along. The power of love, of compassion that come along with giving, not receiving. The magic she feels when she does a good deed to help a stranger or someone in need, those people feel it, too, and so they do the same thing and it continues. It’s a beautiful story,” she told him.
He held her gaze and reached out to gently stroke her cheek with his finger.
“God, you’re beautiful. You brought that magic to Mora, to everyone that heard you talking to her, including me.”
She swallowed hard. She couldn’t believe the attraction, the desire she felt for C.J. just from his touch. It shocked her speechless, until he started moving toward her as if he might kiss her. She quickly turned away and lifted her sandwich. “It’s a story, C.J. Everyone can make another person smile if they just take the time to do it. It wasn’t a big deal,” she said and took a bite of sandwich even though she felt nervous and excited. This was a mistake. To be friendly with him. To know that he more than likely just wanted to share her with his brothers. Her stomach felt like she was eating rocks instead of food. She placed the sandwich down and then took a sip of her drink. Then C.J. placed his hand on her lower back.
“Why didn’t you show up at Spencer’s last night?” he asked her.
She swallowed hard and tried not to fidget or jump off the bench just because C.J. was touching her again.
“What do you mean? I wasn’t planning on going.”
“Hunter mentioned that he told you he was going. You told him your sister was attending and that they wanted you to go see the band play.”
“I don’t know. I don’t like crowds,” she said and looked away from him.
He scooted closer as he stood up and straddled the bench seat. His knees were touching her legs. He had his hand on her waist and she turned toward him, surprised by his bold behavior and shocked at how she felt being touched by him.
“Don’t be scared of me. God, Caroline, you look as white as a ghost, and as if you think I could hurt you. My gut clenches with concern about you and about your reaction, but damn it, I like you. I want to get to know you and so do my brothers.”
She shook her head and lowered her eyes. “No,” she said and clasped her hands on her lap.
“Look at me, baby.” His tone of voice and his warm breath against her cheek had her looking up at him and those gorgeous blue eyes.
“I don’t know where you’ve been, or who hurt you, or made you mistrust people, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to try real hard to make you smile.”
“Why are you doing this?” she asked him.
He squinted his eyes at her and reached up to caress near the not-so-swollen bump on her forehead. She cringed.
“I just want to be alone,” she whispered.
“I don’t think you do.” He licked his lower lip and scooted closer. He was way bigger than her even sitting on the bench and he smelled really good, too. So when he reached up and cupped her cheek, she froze and stared into his blue eyes.
“Tell me something, Caroline. Be honest. Please,” he said to her and she swallowed hard. She absorbed his firm jaw, the sincerity in his eyes, and also how charismatic he was. He represented her greatest fear, a man with a gun in uniform. A man with large hands that would surely hurt something terrible when they made contact with her body. She shivered and the tears filled her eyes.
“Oh, baby, you’re hurting. Honestly tell me that you don’t like me. That you aren’t interested, even a little in me. Tell me you don’t feel this attraction. That it doesn’t have you the least bit curious as to if it’s something worth taking a risk for.” He used his thumb to gently brush along her cheek and she felt under a spell of sorts.
“It.” She was about to force the words from her lips. That it wasn’t anything and that she didn’t feel anything but then he leaned closer and pressed his lips to her bare shoulder. His lips felt like they singed her skin and she closed her eyes.
He pressed his lips to her cheek and it felt so sweet, so compassionate. She hadn’t even realized a tear leaked from her eye until his thumb pressed it away. That instantly brought her back to reality. Her eyes popped open and C.J. stopped her from taking off.
“Don’t run. I get it now. You don’t even have to tell me anything right now. Someone hurt you, but the past is the past. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
He lifted her cast up and held her fingers, bringing them to his lips. He kissed each one as he held her gaze.
“Friends first, Caroline. You’ll see that I can be trusted. That I’m not like him, and nor are my brothers.”
“I just want to be left alone. Please, C.J. It won’t work. I can’t give you anything.”
He smiled softly. “You just did, whether you realize it or not. You just did by letting me close, by giving in to the power of this attraction and letting go in the magic of our connection. It was raw and it was real, but ultimately, it’s a beginning. Our beg
inning, Caroline. Let’s finish up lunch and I’ll walk you back. After all, I don’t want to be responsible for you missing out on any other opportunities to do your princess work.”
He winked and then eased back and took a sip of his iced tea. Caroline sat there speechless, wondering what exactly just happened and how the hell she was going to fix it.
Chapter 4
“What are you going to do?” Shelby asked Caroline as they walked along the path that led through the park and around the entire perimeter. The path zigzagged in between the pond, the playground, and tennis courts.
“What do you mean?” Caroline replied.
“You know, about the Mantel brothers and their obvious interest in you. Come on now, Caroline, they thought you would show up at Spencer’s and then C.J. talks to you, brings you to lunch in the park, and you talked to him, practically opened up to him.”
“I don’t know. I can’t think. I can’t even make simple decisions without second-guessing them. I stood at the shopping center yesterday after working at the book fair all day and stared at the toothpaste. At the toothpaste,” Caroline exclaimed and Shelby could see the frustration on her face and sense it in her voice, too. Shelby rubbed her back as they walked.
“I know that feeling. I lived with that for the better part of a year. Just know that those feelings pass, and eventually as you push yourself to move forward, you gain more and more control of your life and the decisions you make. I can remember getting to the point, similar to where you’re at, and when I just couldn’t take not having the confidence to make small decisions. I decided that I needed to take control. This was my life, my choices, my mistakes, my achievements and failures and no one was going to have control over that and especially not Skip. It wasn’t instant, let me tell you, but small steps, and every time I did that, I got stronger, more confident, and gained more control.”
Caroline looked at her with sadness and uncertainty in her eyes.
“I’m so scared, Shelby. I analyze everything. From appearances, to comments, to conversations, to sounds.”
Town of Chance: Sweet Caroline [The Dare Series 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 7