by C. S. Janey
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Blurb
Love Renewed
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Other Books
About The Author
Love
Renewed
By
C.S. Janey
Love Renewed ©2013 by C.S. Janey
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review or article, without written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design &Editing by Danielle Taylor
(http://authordtaylor.wordpress.com)
First Edition: October 2013
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DEDICATION
~*~
To my friends, family and fans.
Thanks for all your support. It means the world to me.
And to E.
You know who you are.
I’ll always love you.
I’m loyal like that.
And love is still worth the risk.
Always.
Returning to her hometown after fleeing ten years ago, the last person Charlotte Reylin wants to spend time with is the man who had broken her heart and her trust, yet Trevin Green seems determined to show her that their love never died.
Though she'd sworn to never live in Oakford again, Charlotte Reylin is back after the death of her husband, living with her mother and her autistic five year old son. She never imagined she'd run into the man who had broken her heart, or the maelstrom of emotions seeing him anew would induce...
Trevin Green has loved Charlotte for as long as he can remember. After discovering that she has returned to their hometown, he resolves to let nothing get in the way of renewing their love - including Shelby, the woman who screwed things up the first time and seems to want to do so again...
Is it possible for Trevin to convince Charlotte to let go of the past and give love a second chance, or will she turn her back on it - and him - for good?
LOVE RENEWED
Prologue
This couldn’t be happening to her.
Charlotte stood frozen in the doorway immediately after catching sight of Trevin. Feeling as if her heart had jumped into her throat, she didn’t want to believe what she was seeing.
The man she loved was standing in the middle of his father's living room with his shirt unbuttoned and his semi-long black hair ruffled, barefoot. A woman with blond hair and who was a little taller than Charlotte had her arms wrapped around Trevin's neck. She was standing on her tiptoes with her body pressed up against his, kissing him on the mouth. Charlotte noticed that the woman didn't have a top on and her satin pink bra seemed to wink at her as she stared at the scene before her, eyes wide with disbelief.
At that precise moment, the only thought in her mind was to leave; she couldn't believe Trevin would do something this horrible - tossing aside their love for each other - but she was witnessing the evidence before her very eyes.
She started to back away so she wouldn't be noticed, attempting to make a silent retreat but she must have made a noise. At that very moment, Trevin looked up and stared straight at her. He automatically lifted his hands to the woman’s shoulder, apparently intent upon pushing her away from him as he ripped his mouth away from hers at the same time.
It was too late. Charlotte could feel her eyes starting to water, her nose tingling; she knew the tears would soon escape and trail down her face. She spun around and rushed out of the house, the door punctuating her exit with a loud bang as it slammed back into the frame.
~*~
He had just started to raise his arms and push Shelby away after she’d unceremoniously thrown herself at him when he’d seen something moving out of the corner of his eye. He had known it would be Charlotte before he even looked; he had been expecting her to show up any moment since they’d planned a date for this evening.
Watching her turn around and flee before he could say anything, he felt his heart drop into his stomach, instantly feeling like he was going to get sick.
"Damn it Charlotte! Wait!" Trevin called out to her, hoping she would come back. He couldn't run after her immediately due to his disheveled state along with Shelby having her arms still wrapped around his neck. "Get off of me now!"
"Why would I do that? Don't you love me Trevin? What is so special about her anyway?" Pouting, she stretched her body up, trying to plant another kiss on his lips.
Trevin quickly turned his head and growled in frustration. He pushed her away from him roughly, causing her arms to dislodge from around his neck and sent her staggering backwards. She caught her footing, frowning with displeasure at his rejection of her advance.
Stalking away, he grabbed his shoes and shoved them on quickly, intending to go follow Charlotte to explain, while addressing Shelby.
"Look Shelby, I don't like you. And I don't like being accosted in my home; I only let you in because you said you needed to make a phone call. I should have known better."
Shelby's lips curled in a cat that got the cream smile. "She's long gone by now, you won't catch up to her," she remarked snidely while picking up her shirt, which she'd taken off while Trevin had gone to get the cordless phone for her. “You may as well give me a chance now!”
Her smile disappeared as Trevin looked up at her, his face contorted with hatred, his voice low and forceful. "Get out. NOW! If this drama you caused has any permanent effect on my relationship with Charlotte, you will regret it."
"Regret it? Please. You will thank me for doing you a favor. That girl is not for you."
"What makes you think such a thing? How can you believe that you are better? You know she's my fiancée and yet you come inside my house and thrust yourself upon me just a few moments before she showed up. You did it deliberately! Why the hell would I choose you over her?" Trevin asked incredulously, his voice rising until it was very close to a roar. "Like I said, get out."
"I did do this deliberately. I've loved you for years and you just reject me without even giving me a chance!"
"I rejected you because Charlotte and I have dated for six years now. I love her and only her, why can't you get that through your thick skull? Now leave!"
When she let out a laugh, he stalked up to her and stood really close to her face. "Since I've had to repeat myself, if you don't get out immediately I am going to call the cops and tell them you are trespassing."
Shivering, Shelby recoiled from the angry look on his
face, automatically taking a step backward. She opened her mouth to tell Trevin that she wasn’t afraid of his empty threat but he cut her off with a nasty smirk.
With menace in his voice, he informed her, "This is a small town and I know everybody in it. You may know them too but you've been nothing but a trouble maker since you were a little girl. If you don't leave right this instant, I will make sure everyone knows everything bad about you that never got around, including the fact that you slept with the entire damn football team in your senior year. Now, for the last time, get out!"
Jumping at his raised voice and realizing he was entirely serious with his threat, Shelby gathered her things and ran out of the house like her feet were on fire. Trevin followed soon after, climbing into his truck with the explicit intention of going to Charlotte’s house and begging her to listen to him. He couldn't lose her; she was the most important thing in the world to him.
Just as he was about to pull out of his driveway, his cell phone vibrated. He answered it without looking at the screen, hoping it might be Charlotte.
"Hello, this is Trevin speaking."
"Hi Trevin, this is Jeremy. We've got a bit of a situation here in the dorms and I need your help right away. How fast can you get here?"
Trevin cursed, chastising himself for not checking his caller ID before answering. “Is it not something you can handle yourself? You are the resident assistant in training, after all.”
“No, I can’t handle it myself, sorry. You told me to only call you during emergencies and well,” he coughed before continuing. “We busted some minors without alcohol and the cops need you here to sign some papers…they said I couldn’t because I am not in charge.”
Sighing in frustration, he said, "I'm at my father’s house so I will be there in roughly forty-five minutes."
"Okay, see you then. I’ll let them know you are on your way." Jeremy informed him, and then hung up.
Trevin headed towards the college, hoping that when he came back Charlotte would have calmed down enough that they could talk without fighting.
~*~
Charlotte was in her room, packing up her things as quickly as she could. She was frantic to escape - the pain in her heart, the sickness in her stomach and this small ass town she'd always wanted to leave. She was nearly done when her friend Jack showed up. She'd forgotten about inviting him over to spend time together before he left town.
"Oh Jack! I am so glad you are here!" Her voice came out rather high-pitched like she was fighting tears.
"What's going on, Charlotte? Is something wrong?" He walked close and seeing that she was close to tears, he wrapped her in his arms.
Charlotte clung to Jack, loving him in that moment for his perfect timing as the tears coursed down her cheeks, her sobbing uninhibited in her sorrow. Jack maneuvered them to the bed, sitting down so he could cradle her better in his arms.
"Tell me what happened darling. Was it Trevin?" As Charlotte nodded, she heard Jack let out a sigh that indicated he knew what was coming next. "What did he do?"
She sniffled, her tears subsiding. Swiping the tears off her face, she stared at her lap. After a few moments, she spoke softly and Jack had to lean in to hear her, her words coming out haltingly.
"I went...to his father's house. We were...supposed to meet there and...when I walked in...he was...," Charlotte lower lip quivered and she took in a quick breath to steady herself, and then frowned. "He was partly undressed...and this...blond woman was all over him. She wasn't even wearing...a shirt and she was kissing him on the mouth!" She put her face into her hands, the tears flowing again like a dam had finally caved under the weight of the water.
Jack gathered her up in his arms again. "Oh hon, I am so sorry. Some men can act like such dicks. I guess this means the engagement is off? Are you sure it was what you thought it was?"
Charlotte nodded. "I can't trust him, Jack. I know what I saw, she had her arms around his neck and they were definitely kissing. I just...can't believe it but I do know I'm leaving. I want to go with you."
Jack was staring at her with wide eyes, his mouth opening slightly in apparent shock at her declaration. He used to live next door and was four years older than Charlotte. He had graduated when she was just a freshman in high school, going off to college that fall, only visiting during school breaks and holidays. They had stayed in touch by phone and email.
Now Jack lived halfway across the country and had a job doing what he loved. Charlotte knew he had no desire to live back here and took advantage of the opportunity in front of her.
"You just want to run off, with me? Are you sure? Why don't you talk to Trevin first before making any rash decisions? I have to leave this evening as it is which is pretty fast." Jack was pretty sure Charlotte wasn't going to change her mind and tried to dissuade her because he didn't think this was such a good idea.
Charlotte looked up at him then, her eyes red and swollen thanks to crying. She pleaded with him. "Please Jack, take me with you."
In that instant, Jack could see that if he didn't take her with him, she was probably going to end up leaving on her own and ending up in an even worse situation so he caved, nodding at her with sympathy in his voice as he spoke
"Finish packing," he told her. "I am due back to work in three days so we have to get on the road."
When she had finished packing as he’d told her, Charlotte went downstairs to talk to her parents. After telling them what happened with Trevin, she simply told them she wanted to get away. They tried to talk her out of it, to wait and see what Trevin said, but Charlotte refused to consider it.
He cheated on her, and she had seen it with her own eyes. He would deny it and unless she chose to believe him, she'd still be stuck here in this town and running into him all the time when all she wanted to do was yell at him. No, she told her parents, she was better off leaving and starting a new life where Jack lived so at least she'd have support.
They were sad but they loved her and wanted her to feel happy so they let her go without putting up more of a fight. Charlotte asked her mother not to tell Trevin where she went or who she had left with and after her mother agreed, they were on the road.
As they were driving away, Charlotte couldn't help but look back, hoping to see Trevin chasing after her even. Of course, there was nothing but darkness behind her, so she turned back around, hoping her future would be brighter than she could summon up the energy to imagine at this point.
~*~
The situation at the college had taken longer than Trevin had thought it would. He finally arrived back at his father’s house around eleven p.m. He was staying there for the weekend, as his father needed some work done around the house and wanted Trevin's help. He thought it was probably too late to call Charlotte but did so anyway.
Her voicemail picked up once again.
"Charlotte, please call me back. I am so sorry about earlier. It wasn't what it looked like, and I know that is a horrible line but it is the absolute truth. I would never hurt you; I love you and want to marry you. I left to come after you but got an emergency call from the school and had to leave immediately. I have left you two other messages telling you what happened. Please call me, Sprite. I will be waiting for your call but will call your parents' house tomorrow if you don't call me back."
She didn't call him back by the next morning, so he rang up the house phone.
"Hello?" It was her mother, Anna.
"Hi, Mrs. Reylin, this is Trevin. Is Charlotte there?"
"No, she isn't Trevin and she told me not to tell you where she'd gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"I said gone, as in she is no longer here. She left a few hours after she found you kissing another woman. We tried to talk her out of it but she wouldn't change her mind." Her tone was accusatory and he knew that Charlotte had told her everything.
Trevin squeezed his eyes shut at this point, looking down slightly while pinching the bridge of his
nose. He felt like crying in that moment and was trying to hold off the flow. "It wasn't what she thought. I even left her messages on her phone, hoping she'd call me back but she hasn't called me back."
Her mother scoffed. "Oh yes, I'm not surprised to hear you say that but the point is, she saw it and decided anywhere else was better than being here. Also, Charlotte doesn't have her phone, it is laying right here by me. So she's gone and obviously doesn't want to listen to your excuses in person or on the phone. I'd recommend you not to call me again, especially since you have hurt my daughter so bad she has left town!" She slammed the phone down and Trevin winced.
After several moments, he went into his bedroom, closed the door and sat on his bed. So angry at Shelby in that moment for doing what she did and angry at himself for not ignoring that call so he could go see Charlotte without interruption, he put his head in his hands and cried for the first time since he was a child.
At Charlotte's house, her mother turned on her phone and listened to the messages that Trevin had left on voicemail. By the end of the third message, she was crying too.
Chapter One
10 years later...
It was a bleak day. Rain was tap-tapping rapidly against the house, like a woodpecker against a tree; the sun was nowhere it could be seen, missing as it had been for the last week.
With the storm raging outside, Charlotte Reylin sat at the table staring out the window of her kitchen, sipping some tea while pondering her day. The rain was coming down so hard you could barely see the tree that was nine feet away from the window.
The bleakness seemed like it was competing with the amount she felt in her heart. Today was the one year anniversary of her husbands' death and she wasn't sure what to feel.
She didn't think she was wrong to feel this way. Her perfect marriage had been an illusion; a house of cards built on a foundation made of quick sand that she hadn't known about. Jack was the one who had proposed, declaring his undying love for her in a way she'd found cheesy and endearing, impossible for her to resist when he'd been so kind to her.