by Leah Brooke
The woman smiled up at Beau in a way that made Charity bristle, the possessive hold she had on Beau’s arm making her grit her teeth.
Keeping his arm protectively around her, Beau smiled. “Charity, this is Anna. I hope you don’t mind that I brought her to the Grand Reopening, but I thought she could use some time away from the house.”
Remembering what a rough time the other woman had, Charity forced a smile, fighting back jealousy. “Of course. There’s always room for one more. Hello, Anna. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Let me just get you a name tag.”
Anna smiled up at Beau adoringly, fluttering her heavily mascaraed lashes. “Thank you so much. Wasn’t Beau sweet to bring me here?”
Forcing a smile, Charity reminded herself that Beau loved her. They were going to be married. This woman meant nothing to him. “Of course. Beau is always sweet.”
Ignoring Beau’s searching gaze, she gestured for Anna to go inside. “Help yourself to refreshments. We’ll be starting soon.”
Holding Anna’s arm, Beau frowned. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Quite a turnout, huh?”
“Yes.” He didn’t appear convinced. “I’m just going to introduce Anna to—”
“No.” Embarrassed by her jealousy and rude behavior, Charity smiled wider. “I’ll introduce her around. I think Ace wants to talk to you.”
She hated her jealousy, but couldn’t resist the chance to get Anna away from Beau.
Once she introduced her to Hope, Charity made her way to the table where Jesse sat with her sister, Nat, along with Rachel Jackson, and her sister, Erin Preston. Smiling at the way Erin rubbed her swollen abdomen, Charity nodded to each of them.
“Hi. This is Anna, a friend of Beau’s.” Aware of the women’s looks of interest, Charity introduced each of them to Anna.
“Anna doesn’t know anyone, and the four of you know just about everyone here. Would it be all right if she sat with you?”
Nat smiled, a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Sure. Have a seat, Anna. Charity, you go back to what you were doing. I know you’re busy. We’ll take care of her.”
Charity left the table on shaking legs, her gaze automatically going to Beau’s as she crossed back to the table set up in the front to greet people.
Beau grinned from across the room, winking at her as he listened to whatever Ace said to him.
Reminding herself that she had nothing to worry about, she greeted several more women, gave them name tags and schedules of upcoming events before inviting them to help themselves to refreshments.
When she finally got to the end of the line, she looked up, smiling to see Beau striding toward her. “Quite a turnout, huh?”
Taking her hand in his, Beau rounded the table. “I didn’t expect anything less.” Kissing her hair, he moved in behind her.
Charity moaned at the warmth of his hands on her shoulders. “Most of the people from the last opening showed up again, along with several more. I hope they didn’t come looking for the excitement we had last time.”
“God forbid. Hell, honey, you’re tight.”
Smiling at the concern in his voice as he began to rub her shoulders, Charity turned to look at him. “You’ve said that before.”
Beau blinked, a slow smile curving his lips. “Are you by any chance flirting with me?”
Charity shrugged and turned back as Hope stepped on to the small stage, stiffening when she saw Anna watching them. “Could be. Would you mind?”
Moving in close behind her, Beau bent to nuzzle her neck in that spot he exploited at every opportunity. “I like when you flirt with me. It makes me weak in the knees.”
Charity laughed at that. “Liar.” Turning her head, she looked up at him over her shoulder. “Nothing makes you weak in the knees.”
“You do, cher. Every day.”
“Excuse me, Beau, but I don’t feel very well.”
Gritting her teeth, Charity turned her head again, her hands fisting at her sides to see Anna standing in front of the table, looking up at Beau through her lashes.
Her pout made Charity see red.
Beau released Charity and hurried around the table. “What’s wrong, Anna? Do you need a doctor?”
Anna leaned into Beau, pressing her face against his chest. “No. It’s just one of those headaches. You know how bad they get ever since we started the divorce proceedings. I’m just so tense.”
Straightening, she wiped at her eye as if there’d been a tear there, but Charity could see clearly that there hadn’t been one. “Is there anything I can do? Perhaps you’d like to sit in my office where it’s quiet.”
“No, thank you. I need to go home and lie down.” Turning, she pressed against Beau’s chest, laying her hand on what Charity considered hers. “Beau, I wouldn’t want to take you away from your little friend’s party. Maybe you could call me a cab…”
“Of course not. I’ll take you home.” Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, Beau led her toward the door. “I’m sorry, Charity. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Charity smiled, but inside she was seething. “Of course.”
Fisting her hands at her sides, she watched Beau leave with Anna.
“If she didn’t wear such high heels, she wouldn’t have to hold on to him to walk.”
Charity smiled at Nat’s comment, and turned to find her friend watching Beau and Anna leave. “When Beau told me about her, I pictured someone a little younger—you know needy and naïve.”
Nat’s lips thinned. “All that makeup she wears might be designed to make her look younger, but it doesn’t. As for needy, she is that, but that woman’s not the least bit naïve. She knows exactly what she’s doing. All we heard at the table was how wonderful Beau is, how he’s helping with her divorce, and how much more of a man he is than her own husband.”
After the door closed behind Beau and Anna, Nat turned to face the stage, leaning back against the table. “She kept saying that it was real sweet of Beau to watch over you, and to help you after your accident, and kept insinuating that Beau wants her to get divorced so he could marry her himself. I asked her if she knew that Beau already had a fiancée, and she told me that I must be mistaken.”
Charity blinked, lifting her left hand. “She didn’t see this?”
Nat grinned. “Honey, a man on the moon could see that.” Her smile fell. “Be careful. She’s out to get Beau, and as you can see, she’s not above playing dirty to do it. She didn’t have a headache until she saw Beau rubbing your shoulders.”
Charity looked toward the doorway, and then at the clock, wondering how long Beau would be gone. “How can Beau not see what she’s doing?”
Nat snorted. “Honey, when it comes to women, men can be remarkably stupid.”
* * * *
Charity kept a smile plastered on her face until the door closed behind the last of the women. Leaning back against it, she let her smile fall, meeting Hope’s furious gaze.
“He’s been gone for four hours, Charity. Four fucking hours.”
Charity straightened, and began cleaning up. “Four hours and twelve minutes.”
She didn’t want to think about what Beau had been doing all that time. She only knew that she was so mad, she didn’t want to see him. “Let’s get this cleaned up. I want to go home.”
Hope shook her head. “You’re not going home alone. I have a plan.”
“Oh, hell.” Charity dropped into one of the padded chairs. “I always get nervous when you have a plan. I want to go home, take a nice long bubble bath, and talk with Beau when he gets back. That’s it.”
“My plan’s better.”
“Your plans always get someone in trouble.”
Hope grinned. “Oh, I think the men in Desire can handle a little trouble. Let’s see. Who should I call?”
Charity sighed, rubbing her temple where she had the start of a headache of her own. “Hope, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but—”
“You’re rubbing your head. Great! You have a headache, and I’ll bet your shoulder’s bothering you, too. Too much lifting and cleaning up. Yeah. That’s it. We had to clean up alone and it was too much for you. I’ll bet you’re exhausted. Who knows? You may have a relapse!”
Charity frowned at her sister, knowing that whatever Hope had planned would cause trouble. “You don’t have to sound so happy about it.”
Hope waved a hand negligently. “You’ll be fine. Just as soon as we get you back to the hospital.”
Charity jumped to her feet, holding on to the table as her head spun. “I don’t need to go back to the damned hospital.”
Rushing forward, Hope frowned, her gaze full of concern. “You really don’t feel well, do you?”
Charity gritted her teeth. “I’m fine. Just tired. I have a headache, and want to go home.”
Kneeling beside her, Hope shook her head. “No. We’re going to rush you back to the hospital, but we need a couple of strong men to take us.”
Blinking, Charity wondered if Hope wasn’t what made her dizzy. “Since when do we need help driving to the hospital? Why don’t I just call Doc—”
“Nope. Stay put.”
Hope turned away to dial her cell phone, putting several feet of distance between them as she started cleaning off the tables, throwing things in the garbage with a speed that stunned Charity.
“Oh, Hunter! Thank God, you’re home. This is Hope. I need your help.”
Charity’s mouth dropped open. “What the hell are you doing?”
Waving away Charity’s objection, Hope moved farther away. “It’s Charity. You know we had the Grand Reopening tonight. Well, we were cleaning up, and Charity doesn’t feel well. Ace has the shift tonight and I can’t bother him, and Beau isn’t around. He had to take a sick friend home. He never even came back to help us clean up, and I think it was too much for Charity. Her head and shoulders hurt and she’s dizzy. I’m so upset, I can’t drive her to the hospital. Can you and Remington take us? Please? I’m so scared something’s wrong with her.”
Jabbing a fist in the air, Hope grinned, but kept her voice shaky. “Oh, thank you! We’re at the club.”
She hung up and raced around, throwing cups, plates and napkins away. “They’re on their way.”
Charity sighed and dropped her head on the table. “Sometimes I can’t believe we have the same parents.” Lifting her head, she propped it on her fist, watching her sister clean up. “I’ve never seen you move that fast. Have you thought about the consequences of this? What’s Ace going to say? What happens when Mom and the dads find out?”
Hope shrugged. “I’ll call them when we get there. They’ll blame it on my over imagination, praise me for taking such good care of you, and chew Beau a new asshole. See? It’ll work out well for everyone.”
“Except Beau.”
Hope grinned. “Except Beau. Maybe he’ll think twice before he abandons you for his lady friend again.”
Hunter strode into the club a few minutes later, his face dark with fury and concern. Rushing to where Charity sat, he knelt at her feet, his expression softening. “How are you, honey?”
Charity slid a glance at where Hope stood wringing her hands. “I’m fine. Really. Hope shouldn’t have called you.”
Remington came around to kneel at her other side. “Of course she should have. We take care of each other in this town, or have you forgotten?”
Hunter’s jaw clenched. “Especially if your man isn’t around to do it.”
Remington slid one arm under her legs and another at her back, lifting her against his chest. “Hope said your head hurt and that you’re dizzy.”
Pushing against his chest, Charity shot another glare at her smirking sister. “You don’t have to do this. I’m sure it’s just a headache.”
“So your head does hurt. How about the dizziness? Do you feel dizzy?”
Charity wanted to lie to him, but her nature prevented it. Resigned, she blew out a breath. “Just a little. Look, I’m sure it’s because of the stress of getting the club ready. I haven’t slept much.”
Remington slid into the back seat of the car while Hunter helped Hope into the front. Settling her on his lap, Remington turned her face to his, frowning as he looked into her eyes. “I can see you have a headache. How about the shoulders? Hope said that your shoulders were hurting. You’re probably not healed all the way.”
Hope turned in her seat, her expression full of concern. “I told her that she shouldn’t be doing all that lifting. Then when we went to clean up…”
Hunter started the truck. “Where’s Ace?”
Hope sighed pitifully. “He helped all night and then only got a few hours sleep before he had to go to work. He’s on patrol now, and since Linc and Rafe went out of town this afternoon, he can’t take off. I didn’t want to bother my parents. Oh, I hope you’re not upset that I called you. I should have just driven her, but Ace doesn’t like me driving out of town at night by myself, especially since there are still patches of ice on the road.”
Hunter turned to frown at her. “Ace is right. You’d better not be out driving at night. You did the right thing, calling us.”
Hope turned in her seat to look at Charity again, waiting until Remington stared down at Charity before winking.
Meeting Charity’s gaze in the rearview mirror, Hunter smiled, a smile that people in Desire knew meant trouble. “And where did you say Beau is?”
* * * *
Beau scrubbed a hand over his face, glancing at the clock on the dashboard again.
He’d missed Charity’s Grand Reopening, and he was mad as hell about it.
But, what could he have done?
With a curse, he pushed a button on his dashboard and dialed her cell phone with the intention of telling her to leave the cleaning for the night. He’d go in the morning to take care of everything.
“Hello?”
Hearing a man’s voice, Beau frowned, wondering if he’d dialed the wrong number. He’d thought that Hope had gotten the same number, but now he wasn’t so sure. “Hello. This is Beau. Where’s Charity?”
“Well, it’s about fucking time you called. I swear, if I thought you were fucking that other woman, I’d kick your ass.”
Beau’s stomach clenched at the sensation that something was very wrong. “Who is this, and why the hell are you answering Charity’s phone?”
“This is Hunter. Hope called us about an hour ago because Charity wasn’t feeling well. Remington and I brought her to the hospital. Hope’s back there now. Ace knows we’re here and is waiting for us at home. Charity’s going to stay there tonight—if they don’t admit her.”
Beau’s heart pounded furiously. “Oh, God. What’s wrong with her?” He pressed on the gas pedal, once again cursing himself for not being there when she needed him.
“She had a bad headache and was dizzy. They’re x-raying her head and her shoulder. It seems her shoulders have been bothering her for hours and she never said anything. Hope called when Charity got dizzy while they were cleaning up. Ace was patrolling and Hope was smart enough not to drive out of town at night, and not when there are still icy patches on the road.”
He paused meaningfully. “I’m just glad Charity wasn’t alone.”
Beau gritted his teeth. “I already feel like shit, Hunter. How the fuck is she?”
“I don’t know. Wait. Hope’s coming out now.”
Running a hand through his hair, Beau listened to the sound of the phone brushing against something and the low sounds of voices in the background. Frustrated that he couldn’t understand anything being said, he tightened his hands on the wheel.
Charity. Christ, he’d never survive if something happened to her.
“Beau?”
Beau stiffened. “Hope? How is she? What’s going on? I’m on my way.”
“Don’t bother. She’s been checked out, was given a strong muscle relaxer, and is being discharged. I’m taking her home with me.”
“She’s okay? What did the doctor say?” Beau wanted to kick himself in the ass for not being there.
“He said that she’s probably been doing too much, which is no surprise. Damn it, Beau, where the hell were you? I thought you were going to keep her from overdoing things. Apparently, you’re too busy taking care of another woman to take care of your own!”
Beau didn’t think he could feel any worse. “Damn it, Hope! If I’d known, I never would have left. Anna needed me and—”
“Charity needed you! She’s being released now. I’m taking her home with me.”
“I’m on my way. Tell Charity that I’m on my way, damn it. I’ll take her home with me.”
“No. Anna might call you in the middle of the night, and you’ll have to run over to help a woman who’s trying to get into your pants, but you’re too stupid to realize it. I’m taking her home with me, and you’d have to get through Ace to get to her. Just go home, Beau.”
The sound of the phone disconnecting stunned Beau. “What the hell?”
“Fuck!” Slamming the steering wheel, Beau threw himself back in his seat, pressing the gas pedal even harder in his race to get to Charity.
He’d known her shoulders were tight, and had already blamed himself for letting her push herself too hard again.
He knew she’d been sore, and had planned to take her back to his house, open a bottle of wine, and give her a long, slow massage until every knot in her back and shoulders melted.
The thought of her being hurt and needing him ripped his heart to shreds.
Hunter and Remington were with her instead of him.
Clenching his jaw, he sped down the road to Desire, anxious to get to Charity.
He pulled up in front of Ace’s house, unsurprised to find Ace sitting on the porch waiting for him. “Where is she?”
Ace, still dressed in his uniform, gestured toward the chair next to him. “They’re on their way. The emergency room was busy and it took them longer to get her signed out than she’d planned.”
Ace smiled, but his eyes remained hard and filled with concern. “Apparently, Charity hasn’t eaten much today, and the muscle relaxers they gave her knocked her out.”