“A ne’er-do-well? Unh-uh. Pain in my rear? Yes.”
“But you love me anyway?”
“I certainly do,” Jamie sighed. “For reasons I’ll never understand.”
Charleigh leaned over for a smooch. “You better not question it, either.”
“Your flattery is endearing.” He laughed. “Are you itching again? Do you need me to put some more ointment on it?”
“No, I’m on fire. Pass me the Aloe Vera, will you?”
***
It was strangely the most erotic thing Jamie had ever done, and yet it had nothing to do with sex. He sat back on his haunches beside Charleigh on the bed as she lay on her stomach. The French doors in the bedroom were open to let in a slight breeze. The cool air was helping to alleviate some of the burning sensation, but not enough, which was why Charleigh was topless. The material of the tank top was rubbing against the sunburn, making it more painful.
“Does that make it feel better?” Jamie asked, spreading the gel around on her back and shoulders. She only let out a satisfied moan as an answer. “You know I can’t stand when you do that.”
“I’m sorry.” She kept her eyes closed, moaned again. “You just keep your mind out of the gutter and on the task at hand.”
“Then stop making all those noises.”
“You know you’re kindness is greatly appreciated and will be…” She paused to sigh. “… rewarded once I’m back to normal.”
Jamie tossed the Aloe leaf— Charleigh had a plant in her kitchen for this specific reason, she told him— into the trash before going into the bathroom to wash the crud off his hands. When he came back, he laid down on the bed beside Charleigh and kissed her poor, little sunburned nose.
“I love you,” Jamie said when she opened her eyes.
Charleigh smiled. “I love you, too. You’re a dream come true for me.”
“I can’t say the same, Char, because I never quite pictured myself with anyone like you.”
“Am I supposed to thank you for that, um… generous comment?” The smile faded into a look of confusion.
It made Jamie smile. He pushed a curl back behind her ear. He loved to watch her face transform with emotion. “You’re better than anything I could have dreamt up.”
“Thank you,” she yawned, closing her eyes.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. You know that?”
“Unh-uh.” It was no louder than a whisper. She was beginning to drift into a peaceful slumber.
“And I’ll always be here for anything you need. All you have to do is ask.”
Charleigh didn’t hear the last part. She’d fallen asleep with her face in the crook of Jamie’s neck and a hand covering his heart, which he covered with one of his own. He could feel the warm, steady air from Charleigh’s breath as she slept.
To watch her resting, eyes closed was Jamie’s favorite activity. The silky, golden skin of her face held a rosy blush from the burn. Her long chestnut curls were splayed over her pillow. The long, lean line of her body that ran alongside his own. The breast that was pressed against his chest. To Jamie, she was an angel. Maybe some people wouldn’t think of Charleigh as worthy for the cover of Vogue, but, in his opinion, she was perfect. His own, personal share of heaven on earth.
He’d been thinking a lot about what Charleigh had told him about God on their campout the previous weekend. It was a subject Jamie couldn’t completely understand. He was still a little confused, but he couldn’t help thinking that there must be a God out there somewhere, because only something or someone as powerful as Him could bring Charleigh into his life.
He knew he wasn’t nearly deserving enough, and… yet there she was beside him.
Chapter Six
There were so many elaborate details when it came to planning a wedding. So many more ideas, because everyone wanted an input. After a lot of debating, on Jamie’s part at least, Charleigh decided against wearing the cowboy boots with her dress. As much as she would’ve loved to see Claudia’s eyes bug out at the sight— and she knew the woman would seek out and find even the smallest problem— Charleigh wasn’t going to give ole Leatherface the satisfaction of ruining her happy day.
It surprised Charleigh at how involved Jamie was in it all. Ever since Lenore gave him a book that was called Grooms Should Have An Input or something like that, he’d come up with all kinds of wild ideas for the engagement party— which was to take place in four days, on Saturday— the wedding or the reception. Yeah, thanks a bunch, Lenore!
With a half dozen lists on the table in front of her, Charleigh sat at the table with Lenore and Madie, who was busy putting intricate beadwork on her future granddaughter-in-law’s wedding veil. She worked silently, glancing every now and then at the older lady working on a veil she wasn’t even sure she wanted. It was beautiful, but Charleigh had been there, done that, and spent way too much money on a ceremony and reception when the nuptials didn’t last longer than a few hours.
This wedding was going to be simpler but elegant— that was what Charleigh and Jamie had both wanted, until Lenore gave him that stupid book. Now it was turning into a complex issue, and her Nana, who had insisted on a swanky ceremony the first time around, was nowhere to be found.
Luckily, the only hitch Mellisande had had was that she wanted her granddaughter to have a beautiful dress, ‘which is what every bride deserves,’ she’d said when finding out the wonderful news. Charleigh appreciated the assistance, but she just wished that everyone except Jamie would butt out. How am I supposed to tell them that, though? Charleigh brushed the thoughts away and went back to work.
“You know, I like the idea of the white tent for the engagement party,” Lenore said after disconnecting a phone call to the caterers. “It’s fun and easy, and it keeps everyone from getting wet just in case it rains.”
“Don’t say that, please,” Charleigh begged, “It’ll just be something else for Claudia to hold over my head. As if it’s not enough that I’ve stolen her child away, she thinks I’m making him live in a sod house in the middle of nowhere.”
“Is she going to come? I thought after that outburst she had…” Jamie had told his grandmother and great-aunt about what happened when they announced their engagement to his parents. The explosion she had when he called back with the details of the engagement party was even worse.
“Jamie says she won’t come, but she sure loved watching me squirm in New York. Who’s to say she won’t make the trip to our neck of the woods just to do it again?” Charleigh sat back in her chair, threw her pencil down on the table. “She wants to have a soiree for all of her fellow socialites…”
“…because having them come to Podunk for the wedding is out of the question,” Madie finished the sentence for the younger woman.
“Yeah, almost exactly what she said. How’d you know?”
“Same thing Claudia said when she and Greg were married, dear. Because she thinks we southerners are some kind of unwashed pariahs who deserve to live our lives without the company of polite society.” Lenore made a rather un-Lenore-like hand gesture, making Charleigh laugh.
“Aw, polite society can kiss me on the rump,” Madie added. “I thought I’d left all that behind when I married Paul.” She got up from the table, went over to the stove to pour herself another cup of tea. She set the cup down on the counter and turned to look at her sister and Charleigh. “Sure, he came from a rich family…”
“A richer family than our own,” Lenore interjected.
“The Matthewses lived comfortably, but they lived simply. Every generation of the family has lived in this house at one time or another for the last two hundred years. When Paul and I married and we moved back here, his grandparents, his parents, and two of his brothers and their wives and children were living here in this very house.” Madie shrugged. She lifted the teacup to her lips and took a sip.
“Some people just never realize that it’s not what you have that counts but what you do with it. That’s something tha
t Emily Matthews, my dear mother-in-law, taught me. If Claudia had spent more time around me, that‘s some advice I would have loved to pass on.”
“Good advice.”
“She thinks I’m a golddigger. She says that I’m only marrying Jamie for his trust fund and what he’ll inherit from her parents when they die.” Tears welled up in Charleigh’s eyes.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry,” Madie tried to console her. She patted Charleigh on the shoulder.
“Tsk, tsk, Tsk. That woman is supercilious and petty.” Lenore shook her head in disgust. She held a hanky out to Charleigh, which the younger woman accepted.
“The only reason she wants to have that party in New York is to abuse me in front of all her uppity friends.” She wiped her eyes. “Greg says we ought to give in and let her have her way, but I…”
Charleigh didn’t want to give in and let Claudia have her way. It would turn out worse than Jamie’s birthday party, she knew. The malevolence, on Claudia’s part, and the embarrassment, on Charleigh and Jamie’s parts, would be a thousand times worse because it would be in front of a whole lot more people. Greg promised that he wouldn’t let that happen. But no matter what Greg or anybody else said, it would end up the way Charleigh imagined it.
“It’s okay, dear.”
“No! No, it’s not. She is determined to put me in my place. If she only knew what I do, she’d keep her big mouth shut.”
“What? Why do you say that?” Madie asked, intrigued.
“What do you mean?”
The sisters watched Charleigh with quizzical eyes.
Oh my God! Why did I say that out loud? “I, uh…It’s just… Never mind me.”
***
It was late. After nine o’clock when Jamie left the office, and it was long past eleven by the time he turned off on Highway 70E, because it was the quickest backroad home.
He had called earlier in the evening to tell Charleigh that he was having to work later than usual and not to wait up for him. Without a doubt, she hadn’t listened, and Jamie knew he would probably find her asleep on the couch when he got home.
The stereo was booming with the music of 3 Doors Down, a cd Jamie had ‘borrowed’ from the Tahoe when he left that morning. It was something he was sure Charleigh greatly appreciated, since they were her favorite band.
As the beat became faster, his foot got heavier on the accelerator. The only thing he wanted was to get home and crawl into bed beside the woman he loved. Jamie didn’t worry about being pulled over by the fuzz. They hardly traveled the old highway, anyway. But…
Jamie passed Hotel Road in Albany, and there it was, sitting in the darkness by the old dilapidated building that was once a filling station. The car pulled out behind Jamie’s Wrangler, with the sirens blaring.
“Oh, great,” he said, slapping the steering wheel as he pulled the Jeep onto the shoulder.
He had his brand-new Oklahoma-state license— Charleigh had laughed hysterically at the goofy-looking picture when he’d had it done— and proof of insurance in his hands when the patrolman stepped up to his door.
“Do you know how fast you were going, young man?” the officer asked.
“I, uh…” Jamie looked over to find the Bryan County Sheriff, standing outside his door. “Aw, Josh, it’s late. I wasn’t paying any attention.”
“Trying to get home to my beloved niece, were you?” Josh took the cards, shined his flashlight on them. He looked back up with obvious amusement at the photo, but spoke seriously. “You were going fifteen miles over the speed limit, Jamie.”
“Can’t I just have a verbal warning, Sheriff, sir?”
“I can’t do that. Partiality towards my family is not a part of the job, I’m sorry.”
“That’s fine.” Jamie sighed, wondering what Charleigh would have to say about it.
“I’ll be back with your ticket, then.” Josh went back to his patrol car.
With fingers tapping on the dash, Jamie impatiently watched in his rearview mirrors. Josh had turned off the siren, and Jamie wished he would also dim his annoyingly bright headlights. And those lights on top of the car. Like it wasn’t nerve wrecking enough.
He looked at his cell phone. There wasn’t enough reception for him to call Charleigh. She was probably worried about him. Jamie searched the radio stations for something non-hillbilly to listen to. You can’t get anything out here in the middle of nowhere!
He just about jumped out of his skin when Josh tapped on the window.
“Here’s your ticket, Jamie. Court date’s on the bottom there.”
Court date? Terrific!
“And make sure you wear your seatbelt in this thing,” the sheriff advised. “I don’t want to have to come scrape you off the highway.”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Jamie took the ticket and his license. He started the engine.
“Take your time getting home. Charleigh will still be there if you drive the speed limit.”
“I will, Josh. Thanks.”
It was several minutes later than Jamie saw another set of bright headlights in his rearview mirror. The other vehicle, as it came dangerously close to his back bumper, seemed to appear out of thin air.
Jamie looked down at his speedometer. Sixty-five. He wasn’t going to go any faster. With one speeding ticket already for the night, he figured that was about it.
The car sped up to bump the back of the Jeep. Jamie gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.
He felt the ire rising, causing his blood to boil. He was not going to go any faster. It was just… Something about what Josh had said earlier was sticking in his craw.
“Go around, you stupid redneck,” Jamie said only to himself, as he pulled onto the shoulder and waved the other car on.
Only they didn’t. The car followed onto the shoulder behind him. Jamie’s eyes were on the rearview mirror. Whoever was in the car, he couldn’t tell. He looked up just in time to see a second car pull out from a private drive and stop in the middle of the highway, flashing their headlights.
The second vehicle stayed in the middle of the road. Jamie didn’t know what was going on, but he was sure it wasn’t a good thing. Someone got out of the passenger-side and began waving their arms in the air.
What is going on?
The Jeep didn’t seem to be slowing down fast enough as Jamie stomped on the brakes.
“Oh, God,” Jamie begged. “No! Please, no!”
Continuing to press the brakes into the floorboard, Jamie cringed with thoughts of impact flooding his mind. He didn’t want to die. He couldn’t die and leave Charleigh to grieve him when she was still coping with the loss of her father.
Tires screeched. Jamie turned the steering wheel. He was able to stop the Wrangler only a few feet away from where the stranger stood in front of the parked car. The smell of burning rubber flooded his nose and lungs as he breathed a deep sigh of relief.
But now that was the least of Jamie’s worries.
Three other men had piled out of the second car and joined the other. Jamie glanced in his side-mirror in time to see another four people getting out of the car that had been chasing him.
What now?
One of the men walked up to the driver’s side door and stopped. The other three came to stand behind him. With wide eyes, Jamie saw it was his cousin.
“How ya doin’, Jamie?” Gavin asked with a look of pure hatred on his face.
“What do you want, Gavin?”
“Why don’t you get out of the vehicle so we can have a little chat?”
Fear rose in Jamie’s throat. Without a doubt, he knew Gavin hadn’t gone through all that trouble just so they could ‘chat.’ He looked through the windshield at the other four men. They were coming closer to his car.
“I don’t think so, Gavin,” Jamie replied, taking a deep breath. “Not with all these other guys around. You want a fight, we’ll fight. Fair.”
“I don’t want to fight. Just—” Gavin yanked open Jamie’s door. “Ge
t out of the car, Cuz, and we’ll talk.”
“Fine. Fine.” Jamie held his hands out in front of himself. He got out of the Jeep and stood like that for several minutes. “What do you want to talk about?”
“You know what I want to talk about. Charleigh. Break off the engagement and leave town.”
Jamie shook his head. “No.”
“Do you really want to mess with me?”
“I don’t want to start anything, Gavin, but I’m not breaking off my engagement with Charleigh. She didn’t love you when you were together, and she doesn’t love you now. It wouldn’t change anything if I left town or not; she won’t take you back.”
Gavin stared at Jamie as he spoke. When he was finished, Gavin nodded and smiled. He turned to look at the other guys around them and smiled, saying something Jamie couldn’t quite understand. The others laughed in unison.
“That’s what you think, huh?” Gavin turned back to Jamie.
“I know so. Now, I’m going to get back in my car, and I’m going to leave. I’m going to go home to Charleigh, and I’ll forget all this happened. As long as you leave us alone.” Jamie turned his back on his cousin. It was a huge mistake.
Gavin grabbed Jamie by the collar and pulled him backward. Startled, Jamie knew he didn’t have time to react. The other guys ganged around him, grabbed onto his arms as Gavin took the first punch. One, two, three blows to Jamie’s chest, his face.
He could feel his cousin’s flesh and bone meeting with his as Gavin continued with the beating. Jamie could feel the blood beginning to flow from his nose. The pain was agonizing, and yet he was powerless to do anything to defend himself.
“Look what you made me do. I hurt my hand,” Gavin said with a momentary pause.
The pain was becoming more and more unbearable. Jamie could hear his heart beating in his ears. It made everything else around him no louder than a whisper.
The grip on Jamie’s arm was loosened and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Several swift kicks from every direction met with his body.
“Bring me my bat.” Gavin said to someone Jamie couldn’t see.
“I think he’s had enough.” Someone said from behind.
You're Gone (Finding Solid Ground) Page 5