Love's Embers (Canon City Series)

by Marie, Lauren

  “Sweetheart, you’ve been up here for over an hour. Our company is downstairs. Comb your hair and come down. Dinner’s ready,” Gran huffed and turned to leave the room.

  Lark shook her head and tried to clear out the cobwebs. “Great, just freakin’ great.”

  Chapter Four

  Lark stood in the hallway outside the kitchen and listened to her grandmother and Charlie talk.

  “Were you able to find a new hot water tank?” her Gran asked.

  “Yeah, I had to get a plumber to come out and he brought a new one all ready to put into place. I’m going to have to get the downstairs re-piped, though. At some point, the pipes froze and busted. At least the bathroom upstairs works and I can take a shower. Its crazy getting water from upstairs and bringing it down to the kitchen just so I can make coffee; I’m starting to think I should just take the pot upstairs. The plumber will be back on Monday.”

  “That’s good,” Gran replied.

  Lark heard tension in her grandmother’s voice. Guilt stabbed at Lark and she knew she might have put the older woman into an uncomfortable situation. She just wanted to run upstairs and lock herself in her bedroom. She looked down and saw a set of light amber eyes stare up at her. It was a huge dog and she felt the wall press against her back. The dog woofed at her and wagged its tail. It seemed to wear a grin on its face.

  “Breaker, to me,” she heard Charlie call. The dog turned around and went back into the kitchen. She let out a breath and pushed away from the wall. She pulled her thermal shirt down and turned into the kitchen. A man sat at the table. He looked down at the dog and rubbed its ears. He glanced up at her and stood up, moving the chair back. He was tall, very tall, with dark hair hanging down around his shoulders. She recognized the blue eyes. They sparkled in the light that hung from the ceiling.

  “Lark, you remember Charlie,” Gran said and pulled a pan of cornbread out of the oven.

  “Sure, hi,” she said and turned to the refrigerator. When she opened the door, she heard him say hi back. She pulled a bottle of juice out and closed the door. She sat across the table from him and watched as he folded himself back into the chair.

  Gran cut the cornbread and set the pan in the middle of the table. “Well, isn’t this nice? It’s been a long time since we were together and I’m very thankful to have you both here.” She smiled at Lark.

  “That’s Thanksgiving, Gran,” Lark said and focused on her bowl. She felt very warm and looked up to see Charlie stare at her. “What?”

  “Nothing. Sorry,” he mumbled and picked up his spoon.

  Lark found it difficult to eat. She didn’t have much of an appetite. She poked at the chili and counted the minutes until she’d feel it was okay to excuse herself.

  “Breaker is a gray wolf, Lark,” she heard her grandmother say.

  “What?”

  “Breaker is a gray wolf,” Gran repeated.

  “Who’s Breaker?”

  “Charlie’s gray wolf. You met him in the hallway,” Gran said and finished her cornbread.

  Lark felt confused. She wasn’t sure what Gran meant and shrugged. Then she remembered the big dog that found her hidden in the hallway. “Oh, you mean the dog,” she said

  and put her spoon down.

  “Breakers not a dog, he’s a gray wolf,” Charlie said and frowned.

  Lark looked across the table at him and instantly wanted out of the room. “Yeah, Gran said that a couple of times. I have work to do. Terrific seeing you again,” she said and started to stand. She needed to get away from this situation before she went crazy and said something she shouldn’t. Gran would be hurt and she didn’t want to do that to the only person on the planet who really cared about her. Charlie could go jump off a cliff for all she cared.

  “No, no, sit back down. I made dessert and I have something I want to show you two. Stay put for just another couple of minutes, sweetie.” Gran got up from the table and looked at Lark until she sat back down. “I’ll be right back.” She quickly turned and left the room.

  She could hear Gran’s footsteps on the stairs and then in the room above the kitchen. She and Charlie sat at the table. She felt uncomfortable and tried not to look at him, but noticed him stare at her - below the neck.

  “Stop staring at the girls, Charlie,” Lark said and crossed her arms over her chest.

  Charlie took a gulp of air and looked up at her. “Sorry, you didn’t have those when we were fifteen.”

  Lark stood, picked up bowls and plates from the table and took them to the sink. “Yeah, they’ve grown up since you’ve been gone. You need to get your hair cut.” She walked to the coat hanger by the door and grabbed a sweater. She pulled it on and buttoned up the front. She went back to clearing the table and stopped. She looked at him. “What did I do wrong? Why did you cut us off?” she asked.

  The silence in the room could be cut with a knife. Lark took her handful of dinnerware to the sink and put it down. She turned to head out of the kitchen, but met her grandmother in the

  hallway.

  “I can’t talk to him, Gran. I’m going upstairs.”

  Her grandmother grabbed her arm and turned her back to the kitchen. “No you’re not. Now sit down,” she said and steered Lark to her chair. “I never told you about this, but while you were in college I needed a project. So, I put the pictures I’d taken of you two into an album. It’s called ‘scrapbooking’ and I had a great time with a group of ladies. I put it together for you. This evening, I thought you might find it fun to look at and maybe find some good memories.” She put the book at her place on the table. She looked at Lark and Charlie. “You two will have to scoot in so you can see.” She sat down and looked at them again.

  Lark felt horrified. The last thing she wanted this evening was a walk down memory lane with Charlie Stone. She stood up again. “Gran, I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. I’ll be in my office.” She walked out of the kitchen and raced up the stairs to her office in the attic. She slammed the door behind her and leaned against it with her eyes closed. She wished the tears would go away, but they burned her eyes. Her throat felt tight and she wanted to sob uncontrollably, but wouldn’t let herself break down over Charlie Stone.

  She went to her desk and sat down. When she opened the bottom drawer and took a couple of things out, she saw the folder at the bottom. She took it out and the letter fell out onto the top of the desk. She hadn’t looked at it for a few years. Charlie only wrote to her once the whole time he was in detention, but once was enough.

  She picked up the envelope and gently took the letter out. Unfolding it she read:

  “Dear Lark, I don’t want you to come back here anymore. I hate you and we are not friends. Charlie.”

  A single tear slid down her cheek and dropped onto the page. Lark was heartbroken for weeks after that letter appeared in the mailbox. She’d never shown it to Gran.

  After a month, she’d written him back and wanted to know what was wrong. She never got any reply from him. It took her a long time to get over the hurt feelings and now all that began to resurface.

  She didn’t want to know if he could explain it all away. She only wanted one question answered. What had she done wrong?

  ****

  Charlie looked at Gran and smiled. “I guess we’ll look at those pictures some other night.”

  “I’m sorry, Charlie. She went through a lot back when you were taken away. I never understood what happened between you two, but I thought she’d gotten over it. I guess not.”

  “It was my fault,” he said. “I was pretty stupid back then.” He looked at Gran who seemed confused. “It doesn’t matter now. Will you tell her thank you for taking care of Fox all these years? I was going to tell her, but got sidetracked.”

  Gran put her hand over his. “You could tell h
er. She’s up in her office. It’s in the attic upstairs. You know where it is.”

  “No, she’d just feel trapped. I don’t want to do that to her.” He stood up from the table. “We’ll do dessert another night. Thanks for a great dinner. It’s terrific having home cooking for a change.”

  “Let me fix you a leftover bag.” She jumped up and moved to a cupboard.

  “That’s okay. It gives me an excuse to come back for seconds. Breaker, come on, boy.

  Let’s go.” Charlie grabbed his coat from the hooks by the door and walked out into the dark, cold night.

  He tried to figure out what he’d expected. He didn’t think it would go so rough with Lark. He understood why she was upset, he’d hurt her deeply. When he first saw her in the kitchen doorway, he’d wanted to jump up and give her a hug. She’d grown into a beautiful woman and his body turned warm as it did when she’d entered the room. He could tell by the look on her face, though, that she didn’t find him all that attractive. She’d never smiled once.

  Breaker ran around the driveway in the snow and stopped a couple of times to sniff around the bushes and a tree.

  “Breaker, to me,” Charlie said and walked across the fresh snow to his house.

  ***

  Aurora walked out of the kitchen and looked up the stairs. She knew her granddaughter held some sort of pain deep in her heart, but she was tired of it and wanted some answers. She went up the stairs and at the end of the hallway continued up the stairs to the attic. She knocked on the door and poked her head in. She saw Lark at her desk with a tissue in her hand.

  “Hey Gran, come on in.” Lark moved her chair around and faced her.

  “Sweetheart, I don’t know what happened to you back in June or thirteen years ago. I do wish you’d tell me, but I’ll understand if you don’t. I love you, and you’ll always have my support, but this pity party you’re having and taking it out on those around you doesn’t make me happy.”

  “Gran, I know. I’m sorry I’ve been in a snit.” She looked at her and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t know how you put up with me sometimes.”

  Aurora walked over and leaned on the desk. She reached her hand out and when she held Lark’s, she squeezed it tight. “I wish you’d let me know what happened. In June, you just stopped talking to me and I’ve been worried sick. Now with Charlie’s back...”

  “It has nothing to do with Charlie. He just showed up at the wrong time and it brought up some bad memories.” Lark stood up and wrapped her arm through Aurora’s.

  “That mail you received from the doctor’s office...Lark, you’re not sick or something?”

  “No.” Lark laughed. “Ironically, that was good news. I’m healthy as a horse with no bugs or anything.”

  “That’s good.” She held onto Lark’s arm.

  “Gran, I’ll try not to fly off the handle anymore. I’ve got two really difficult decisions to make and once I get those figured out, I should calm down.”

  “It would be nice to see you smile again. I’ve missed that. Is Thomas still pushing for you to move to Denver?”

  “Yeah.” Lark sighed and wiped her eyes. “The last time I talked to him, he made noises about how I should sell out my half of the business. We had a pretty good argument.” She pulled free of Aurora’s arm and sat back in her chair. “He’s being very obstinate about it.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. He does tend to act very snotty sometimes. I hope he’ll make you happy, sweetheart.” She saw Lark trying to look at her with a blank expression, but could read the pain and confusion in her eyes.

  “Well, that’s a good thought. I’m tired and going to bed, Gran.” Lark stood again and kissed her cheek. “Love you.”

  Aurora saw the note on Lark’s desk and turned it to look at it. “Sweetheart, what is this?”

  Lark turned and she showed her the note. “It’s nothing, Gran,” she said and tried to pull it out of her hand. They locked eyes and she could tell Lark was sad. “Charlie sent me that when he was in Pueblo detention.”

  Aurora read the note. “Oh my Lord, no wonder you were so upset. Lark, why didn’t you tell me about this note?”

  “You always cared so much for him. I didn’t want it to break your heart, too.”

  She could see Lark’s eyes start to tear up again. She looked at the note and shook her head. “What was he thinking? Didn’t he know that we wouldn’t care where he was and no matter what he was a part of our family?”

  “I don’t know. Tonight I asked him what the problem was, but he didn’t say a word. I still don’t know what I did to make him write that note.” Lark sniffed and wiped her eyes again.

  “Let’s get a good night’s sleep. Things will be brighter tomorrow.” Aurora said and set the note back onto the desk.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning, after Lark and Gran ate breakfast and drank a couple of cups of coffee, they got the decorations out of a storage closet and began to get the Christmas tree set up.

  They spent a couple of hours at work on it to make it look just right. While Lark packed up the boxes, Gran went into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

  Lark tried all morning to be as cheerful as possible. She thought the tree looked wonderful and for a moment forgot all her bad memories. She loved Christmas and putting the tree up with Gran was a tradition she didn’t want to ever lose.

  She turned into the kitchen and saw Gran stir a pan of soup on the stove. “I can’t believe it’s one o’clock.”

  Gran turned to her and smiled. “Didn’t we say last year we were going to put the lights away a little more neatly, so they’d be easier to unwind onto the tree?”

  “I think we’ve said that for the last twenty Christmases.” Lark sat at the table and saw the photo album. She pushed it aside and did her best to ignore it.

  There was a knock at the back door and when Lark looked up she saw Charlie. In an instant, she felt her anger return and didn’t move from the table.

  Gran looked at her and frowned. “I’m busy here. Would you please get the door?”

  Lark looked at her and scowled. She shook her head, stood up and walked to the door. She opened it halfway and didn’t greet Charlie, but just stared at him.

  “Hi,” he said. “I don’t have a phone and I need to get someone to come and turn the heat on or at least figure out why it won’t come on. The fireplace doesn’t keep the house warm.”

  Lark wasn’t going to open the door any further, but felt her grandmother’s hand on her back.

  “Open the door, sweetheart. Yes, Charlie, you can use our phone. Come on in. Would you like some soup to warm you up?”

  Lark pulled the door open and let Charlie walk in. She felt like all her good Christmas cheer flew out the door. As she closed it and turned, she saw him take off his coat.

  “That would be great. I have electricity, but I don’t really have anything to cook with at this point. Thank you,” he said to Gran.

  “How convenient,” Lark mumbled and went around him into the kitchen. She thought about going back up the stairs and let them have lunch without her, but decided she needed to keep Gran happy. She sat back down at the table.

  Gran showed Charlie where the phone and phone books were and he spent a few minutes calling around to get emergency service.

  She could see him in the living room. He looked at the tree and smiled. For some reason it pissed her off. As she watched Charlie talk on the phone and make notes, she felt something stir deep in her chest. She wasn’t sure what it was, but spent a moment convincing herself that he wasn’t attractive. Sure he was tall and fit, but that shoulder-length brown hair and five o’clock shadow looked stupid and sloppy. She was glad she’d told him last night that he needed a haircut.

  Lark suddenly felt w
arm and realized he stared at her, while he spoke on the phone. He smiled a little and she couldn’t tell if he was smiling at her or if the person on the phone said something humorous. She looked away, got up and poured herself a cup of coffee.

  Gran latched onto her arm and whispered, “Just because you’re angry doesn’t mean we’re bad hostesses. You need to offer him a cup of coffee, too.”

  Lark grabbed another cup, stepped into his line of vision and pointed at the cup. He smiled again and nodded. She poured it, took it into the living room and set it on the table by him.

  She walked back into the kitchen. “He has coffee. Are you happy Gran?”

  Her grandmother turned from the stove and huffed at her. “Don’t act that way, young lady. Just be nice.” Gran scowled at her and turned back around.

  Lark sat at the table and heard Charlie hang up the phone. He carried his cup into the kitchen. “Well, that’s one thing done.” He sat across from Lark and took a sip of coffee.

  “Will someone come out today?” Gran asked.

  “Yeah, they said there would be a repairman out sometime between three and four o’clock. I hope they can get the furnace started.”

  Charlie and Gran chatted up a storm during lunch. Lark commented very little. The minute the soup and bread were finished, she excused herself and ran upstairs to her attic office. She claimed her work needed her attention. It did, but she found it difficult to concentrate. Her brain kept floating back to memories of her childhood and growing up with Charlie. She remembered the lanky kid who taught her to roller skate and ski. They rode their bikes all over Canon City and made their own adventures. They played cards and marbles and then Gran got her the first computer either one of them used and they’d discovered electronic games.

  There were times, when Mr. Stone would be on one of his rampages, that Charlie climbed the cinderblock fence behind her house and showed up at her window. When they were young they had sleepovers and she always felt good about keeping him safe from his dad.