Somewhere along the way, they had become friends. They actually had a lot in common, after all. Two orphans.
Gavin took a sip of his beer and looked over at where Cord and Charleigh stood side by side at the stove. They were laughing at a joke that, apparently, he hadn’t heard. Brad was laughing, too, so it must have been at Gavin’s own expense.
“Dude, wake up,” Brad laughed, elbowing his best friend in the side.
“Hey, what?” Gavin stuttered. He put a foot down on the floor to prevent himself from falling backwards.
“I asked if you wanted your burger rare, medium-rare, or well-done,” Charleigh said. She took a sip of orange soda, watching him over the rim of her glass.
“Um, medium,” Gavin replied after he took a moment to clear his mind and think about it. “You know I don’t like them well-done, Char. You make them charred.”
“Well, I like to make sure that my meat isn’t still mooing.” She took a platter piled high with raw beef and headed toward the backdoor.
“Hey, Charleigh, let me help you with that,” Brad exclaimed and quickly moved to her side.
“It’s ok. I really could have carried that on my own,” she told him as they disappeared out the door.
“What’s with your friend?” Cordell asked as he peeled potatoes for fries. He tilted his head toward the exit.
Gavin knew exactly what the other man meant. He could only smile. “Brad’s had a thing for Char since high school. First, I got in his way. Then, Jamie. I guess now he thinks he has a chance.”
Cord shook his head, “Hope he’s not holding his breath…”
“He’ll turn purple,” both guys said at the same time. It made them laugh, since apparently that was one of Charleigh’s more familiar sayings.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she never gives any other man a chance. Did you ever see Charleigh and Jamie together?” Cordell asked as he sprinkled Lowry’s Seasoning salt over the slices once he was finished.
“Once or twice,” Gavin replied, not wanting to say too much. He remembered the last time he’d seen Charleigh with his cousin, and it hadn’t produced the prettiest of memories.
“Well, I’d never seen that girl look at anyone else the way she looked at him. Not even at you.”
“Well, what’s your attachment to Miss Charleigh, then?” Gavin was a little peeved by this man who thought he knew her so well.
Wasn’t Gavin the one who’d dated her for four years? Wasn’t he the one she walked down the aisle toward? If Cordell Allen knew Charleigh as well as he thought he did, then why weren’t their positions reversed?
“I’m her friend, Gavin,” Cord replied confidently. “I have no need to possess this woman. Just to be her friend and a shoulder to cry on if ever she needs one. You should know all too well that that wild heart of hers can’t be tamed.”
That was something about Charleigh that Gavin did know for a fact. She never let anyone tell her what to do or think. You could only provide her with what you believed, and she set out to make up her own mind. But even when she agreed with you, Charleigh still went about things her own way, on her own terms.
“What about my cousin then?”
“Your grandmamma and great-aunt would say that Charleigh tamed him,” Cord replied. He slowly dumped some of the raw potatoes into a deep-fryer on the opposite countertop, and then he turned to look at Gavin. “You still have your mind set on putting a bridle on that pregnant mare, don’t you?”
“What’s it to you?” Gavin stood on the other side of the island. His palms were flat against the smooth surface, fingers spread wide apart.
The two men stared pointedly at one another. One was daring the other to say or do something. Anything. Like two bulls fighting for the same heifer. One wanted her for himself, at all cost. The other wanted her to be able to make up her own mind, if and when the time ever came. Cordell wasn’t going to hold his breath that Charleigh in fact would ever choose him. He had nothing to offer the woman who had everything, except friendship. That’s all he asked for in return.
Finally the sound of the telephone ringing from the living room broke the staring match that the two men were in. Gavin struggled to clear his throat. Cord shook his head at the younger man, chuckling under his breath as he went to answer it.
“Hello,” Cordell said, answering the phone on the fifth ring.
“May I speak to Charleigh, please?” A woman’s voice asked from the other end of the line.
“Yes, ma’am. Who should I tell her is calling?” Cord asked as he moved back toward the kitchen.
After a moment of silence, the woman answered, “Tell her that it’s Jenna.”
“Okay. Just one second,” He told her, exchanging a look with Gavin as he passed through the room, and out the door into the backyard.
Charleigh was sitting on a wicker chair in the gazebo, where Brad was happily flipping burgers as he chatted her up. Judging by the tone of the other man’s voice, he knew Brad was trying his best to impress her. Joking around. Trying to make her laugh. Cord could tell, though, that Charleigh was merely being nice to the guy.
“Charleigh, telephone call for you,” he said, stepping up into the gazebo. She looked up at Cordell, with a genuine smile on her face, thankful for the escape. “It’s Jamie’s sister.”
That announcement brightened Charleigh’s face even more as she took the phone from him.
“Jenn, how’s everything been going lately? Haven’t heard from you in a while. I was meaning to call you, but we‘ve both been really busy, I guess,” Charleigh began as she slowly took the steps from the pergola, one at a time, until she was headed back toward the door.
“Hello, Charleigh,” the woman on the other end said.
It was immediately apparent to Charleigh that she was not speaking to her friend but to the girl’s devious mother instead. Oh, my Lord! Claudia?!
She took a deep breath and turned back to look at Cordell where he was still stood next to Brad at the gas grill. Even though she was several yards away, he could see that all the blood had drained from his friend’s face. He quickly came down the steps and headed toward her.
“Um… Hello, Claudia. How are you?”
“I’m going to cut through all the chitchat and get straight to the reason for my call. I don’t like you anymore than you like me,” the older woman spat over the phone line.
“I’m glad that you share my sentiment,” Charleigh retorted. “Why do you even bother me if you can’t stand me?”
“Because you are carrying my grandchildren.”
“Grandchildren?” That word sounded funny coming from Claudia Matthews. Charleigh knew she was up to something. “Why would you attempt to have a relationship with them when you can’t even stand your own children? They were raised by nannies.”
“My reasons are plain and simple. I don’t want them brought up as uneducated rednecks, just as their mother was.”
“Just as…” Ooh, you wicked witch!!! “Claudia, didn’t you attend college in Oklahoma? OU, right? The same year as Greg and my own parents? Now, I have pictures of their graduation, and you’re not in any of them.”
Charleigh took a short pause to add effect, “Oh, I take that back. I do remember one of you with them, but you were the only one not wearing a cap and gown. Why is that?” She gasped,” Did you not graduate that year? Did you graduate at all?”
That added fuel to the fire, Charleigh assumed. Claudia said nothing in defense of herself, though, Charleigh could hear the woman breathing, which meant that she was still on the line.
“Now, I admit, Claudia, that I may be a redneck, but at least I have a college degree. At least I’m not living on my trust fund alone.”
Claudia laughed. “What do you have other than a sinking company?”
“It’s the same company your father almost sank. If it hadn’t been for my parents’ money, it would have. If I sink it, well, then that only means it’s finally meeting the fate it should’ve had all those years
ago,” Charleigh said, laughing a little herself. It caused Claudia to stop, because she knew that Charleigh couldn’t be intimidated this time. “And I have compassion for other people, discounting you, and I’ll pass that along to my children. The only things that you could ever teach them are about the latest plastic surgeries and about hate, because you don’t even love yourself. That’s why I’ll die before you ever lay eyes on mine and Jamie’s children.”
“We shall see about that,” Claudia yelled and disconnected the call on her end.
“Yes, we shall see,” Charleigh mimicked sarcastically as she hit the power button on her own telephone. She turned around to see Cordell standing behind her. “Ooh, that woman!”
“I’m taking it as that was Jamie’s mama and not his sister.”
“You guess right, Cord,” she replied, shaking her head. “I’ve got to do something to keep her away from us. She has her mind set on taking the twins from me.”
***
A couple of hours later, Madie and Lenore sat on the love seat in Charleigh’s living room. Gavin, Brad, and Cord were seated side by side on the sofa, and Charleigh was leaned back in her leather recliner next to the picture window. Her Granddad sat close by on a straight back chair from the dining room. Terry, who recently became the head of RandallCorp’s legal department, knelt next to the coffee table in front of them.
“Missus Davidson-Matthews has no legal right to your children, Charleigh,” he told her, writing as he spoke, “Biologically, she is their grandmother, but that doesn’t entitle her to visitation. Oklahoma has no law that says otherwise.”
“That doesn’t mean that she won’t try something, though,” Charleigh replied, shaking her head. “She has the kind of mentality… It’s about revenge, settling a score with my mother, who is long dead. If she attempts to do something to me, or to take these babies once they are born, I can guarantee she won’t be taking any legal measures to do it.”
The four other people arrived at the home shortly after Charleigh called them, frantically asking for their help. She knew that they would be able to help her figure out how to protect the babies from that horrible woman.
Especially Terry, with his legal expertise. He had gladly handed off all of his other cases to a trusted colleague, for not only a higher-paying job, but for less stress, in his opinion. He had also agreed that he continue to handle Charleigh’s personal affairs, if and when the need ever arose. This, Terry thought, was one of those times.
“Well, I can petition the court for an emergency protection order against her. I can call Judge Gordon and explain the situation to her,” Terry told her, nodding. He made a note for himself.
“And then what will happen?” Charleigh asked nervously. She looked around the room at the others who were silent.
“There will be a hearing ten days later to give Missus Matthews the opportunity to rebut.”
“Great,” Charleigh thought out loud. She shook her head, looking at her attorney. “Maybe we don’t need to do that. She’ll just make it worse on me if she comes down here.”
“It’s not a subpoena, Charleigh. She doesn’t have to show up for the hearing if she doesn’t want to,” Terry said, holding her gaze. “In that case, a Permanent Protective Order will be issued.”
“She won’t be able to call you anymore. She can’t come within one-hundred yards of you. If she does, you can call Josh who can contact the authorities in New York, and have her arrested,” John said, patting his granddaughter on the knee.
“From here on out, somebody will be with you at all times, if you want us to,” Gavin offered. “We can stay with you here at the house…”
“Or you can come stay at the ranch with us, right, Sister?” Lenore offered. “Cordell will be right there on the property, in case we need him.”
“That’s right, darling,” Madie nodded. She sent Charleigh a supportive look across the room. Her horrible daughter-in-law wasn’t going to do anything to this girl, she would make sure of it.
“And you’re welcome to stay with me, Char,” John added. “And I’m sure Uncle Josh and Aunt Carrie will love to have you stay with them, if you don’t want to be alone.”
Charleigh appreciated all of the offers, but she didn’t think Claudia would physically harm her. She knew the woman wouldn’t bother coming to Hicksville. It would upset her sensitive system by being surrounded by such lowlife, for goodness’ sake. She just wanted to harass Charleigh, which was just fine. Claudia could call every hour on the hour and spout off all the insults that she wanted to, and Charleigh would do the same. But for her to threaten to take the babies away. That was crossing the line. That was what Charleigh wanted to prevent.
But she wasn’t worried about Claudia coming to Magnolia. She wouldn’t bother to leave the comfort of her Manhattan townhouse. No, Claudia would be sending someone else to do her dirty work. Charleigh didn’t know if the other people in the room realized that fact.
“I appreciate all of the offers for company,” Charleigh nodded, looking around the room at everyone there. “Tonight, though, I think I’ll stay at home. Cord, would you mind staying with me?”
Chapter Forty-four
“I like the name Adam,” Lauren said as she sat in the nursery floor. Her older sister Liz sat a few feet away, flipping through a book of baby names.
In the middle of the room, Charleigh was lying on her back, hands on her belly as she stared up at the outlines of puffy, cumulus clouds on the ceiling that she’d yet to paint. She was thinking about a deep Cerulean blue for the sky.
Charleigh smiled to herself. “That’s Jamie’s middle name.”
“Have you thought of any names?” Liz stopped looking at the pages and turned to her cousin. The bright blue eyes of the gorgeous seventeen-year-old stared at Charleigh from beneath heavy, sooty lashes. Oh, to be that kind of seventeen.
“Thought about names? I have a list with about a thousand downstairs in the office,” Charleigh laughed. “I really like Jacob and Caleb, though. Those two really stick out a lot for me.”
“Rhyming names? Are you going to dress them alike, too?” Liz asked.
She wasn’t being sarcastic, but simply wondering what had changed. Because Denise had done exactly that with Kyle and Connor, Charleigh always swore she’d never name her children anything that sounded remotely like, and they would be able to have their own distinct sense of style.
“No, I want to be able to tell them apart.” She laughed again. Rolling over onto her side with some difficulty, Charleigh looked from Liz to Lauren. “Well, what do you suggest, then?”
“Alexander,” Liz offered.
“Justin,” Lauren injected.
“Riley,” the older sister continued.
“Lance,” the younger one insisted, emphatically.
“Ryan.”
“Christopher.”
“What about Joey or J.C.?” Charleigh asked, catching on to where Lauren was headed. Her cousin wanted the babies to be named after the members of her favorite boy band. Although she agreed with her and favored ‘NSYNC over the other groups, it wasn’t enough to actually name her children after any of them.
Instead of shooting down the suggestion, Charleigh just smiled.
“We’re being serious here, Laur,” Liz told her sister, and gave the littler one a nudge on the shoulder.
“I am being serious,” Lauren defended. “What’s wrong with those names?”
“For one, Char, can’t name either one of her babies Christopher because that’s our brother’s name. There can’t be two Christopher Randalls,” Liz explained.
The little girl nodded. “Oh, ok. But what’s wrong with Justin or Lance? Joseph is a good name.”
Charleigh laughed as the older sister went on to explain her reasons against naming her baby cousins after the other four members of the band. She had to admit, Liz’s reasons were pretty legitimate, including the fact that J.C.’s real name is Joshua, which also happens to be their father’s name, Charleigh’
s uncle.
“Oh, you two,” she said, pushing up from the floor to go pee for the tenth time within the hour. It was like the babies were camped out on her bladder here lately. “We’ve got two months to narrow the field. I’m going to go pee and then take you home, so get your stuff together.”
“Can’t we stay the night?” Lauren asked hopefully.
“Ha! Are you kidding? It’s a school night. You know your parents will never go for that,” Charleigh called over her shoulder, leaving the room.
“Well, then, will you stay the night with us?” Lauren asked, poking her head out the nursery doorway.
“We’ll see what your mama and daddy say when we get there.”
As she walked down the hallway to her bedroom, Charleigh felt a strange sensation in her lower abdomen. It was painless, but she thought it could only be the babies shifting position.
Until she sat down on the toilet and saw the small red dot on the crotch of her white cotton granny panties. Charleigh felt that first surge of panic as she stared at it. Oh, no!
Immediately, Charleigh reached for the toilet paper, yanking some from the wall dispenser. She wiped quickly and brought it up to reveal even more blood soaked into the white.
Oh, no! Oh, God! Please, no!
Charleigh stood up to find a red cloud in the toilet. She put a hand to her head, feeling a warm sensation trail down her thigh. For a moment longer, Charleigh stayed there frozen.
Pulling her thoughts together, she sat back down on the toilet. She knew that she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. And as for Liz and Lauren. Well, of course, they would have to go, too.
“Liz,” Charleigh called out to her cousin as loudly as she could, trying not to let them hear the fear in her voice.
She couldn’t get all bent out of shape because then they would, too. Oh, Lord. Just don’t let me lose my babies, please? We’ve come this far.
“Yeah?” Liz appeared in the doorway a few minutes later, holding the straps of her backpack in her arms. Lauren was a foot or so behind her sister.
“I need both of you to do a couple of things for me. It’s important,” Charleigh insisted. “Now, Lauren, I need you to get me a maxi pad out of the pack beneath the sink and bring it to me. Liz, I need you to get my bag and keys. You have to drive us to the hospital.”
You're Gone (Finding Solid Ground) Page 33