Love Letters: Saving Gideon (The Angel Chronicles Book 4)

by Mary May

  Charlie stuttered to a stop, realizing that she may have said too much when Logan’s face hardened.

  “So, did you hope that he would come home and fight for you? Did you hope that he would regret letting you go and want you back? What if he did, Charlie? Then what?”

  Charlie looked up at him helplessly, unable to answer. She didn’t know what to say. Logan looked down at her, his expression unreadable; then he turned without another word and walked away.

  Later that night Sabrina knocked on her door. “Honey, I brought you some pain medicine. Are you hurting?”

  Charlie was curled up on her bed. “Yes, but that’s ok. I deserve to hurt.”

  After setting the prescription bottle and the glass of water down on the bedside table, Sabrina lay down beside her daughter, pulling her close.

  “What happened with Logan?”

  She felt Charlie shake her head. “I don’t know…maybe he wised up.”

  “What do you mean? Wised up about what?”

  Charlie rolled over onto her back then looked at her mother. “About me. Maybe he decided that I wasn’t worth it anymore; maybe he’s right.”

  Sabrina tried to figure out what Charlie was talking about. “Baby, just tell me what happened. What made Logan leave the hospital?”

  After Charlie explained what had happened while she was filling out the paperwork, Sabrina looked at her with wide eyes. “Oh…well, I can see where he would feel a little upset. Charlie, what do you want? Do you want Nate to fight for you? Is that the reason you are with Logan? If so, then that’s not right.”

  Charlie looked up sharply at her mother. “No, Mama, that’s not why I am with Logan at all! I really do love him. I was just as surprised by my reaction as he was. I guess I was hurt that Nate could let me go easily…again. Does that make sense?”

  Sabrina nodded, as she finally understood. “Of course it does. But can I ask why you think it was easy for him? Did he say it was?”

  “No…but he made it look easy,” Charlie mumbled.

  She was surprised when her mother chuckled softly. “Oh, sweetheart, men are very good at covering their feelings. It’s ingrained in them from birth, I think, to never show too much. Do you know what I think? I don’t think it was easy for Nate at all. I know how much he loved you…how much he still loves you. He was trying to make things easier for you. I bet he feels like he owes you that much. Now the question you have to ask yourself is what does your heart say? Do you stay with Logan or work things out with Nate?”

  Charlie sat up on her bed. “Mama, I made a promise to Logan. He has been so wonderful to me. I fully intend to keep my promises. Whatever feelings I may have for Nate will just have to go away.” After making her statement, she got up and took the bottle of pain medication and shook one out in her palm.

  A few minutes later once the pain medication had eased Charlie to sleep, Sabrina dropped down onto the sofa next to Devon with a sigh.

  “I feel so sorry for her right now.”

  Devon picked up the remote, hitting the mute button. “Why? Is her hand hurting her a lot?”

  “Probably, but that’s not what I’m talking about. She is so confused right now. When Nate was gone she was pretty certain of her feelings for Logan, but now she isn’t so sure.”

  Devon frowned. “Did she tell you that? Because she seemed pretty sure about them to me.”

  Sabrina got up and walked over to the window. “No, but she had the same look I had when I was torn between you and Eric. My head said that Eric made sense; being with him would be so easy. But my heart wouldn’t let you go.”

  She smiled when she felt strong arms slip around her waist. “I’m so sorry I caused you pain, but for the record I’m really glad you listened to your heart!”

  Turning around to face the man that she loved more than she could ever believe, she smiled. “Me, too.”

  After giving him a warm kiss, she sighed again. Devon lifted her face with a finger under her chin.

  “She will be ok. Charlie girl has a good head on her shoulders and she has a strong faith in the Lord. He will guide her to what is best for her…just like he did with her mama.”

  Sabrina chuckled as she shook her head. “I know, it’s just hard to stand back and watch her go through something so painful without being able to help her.”

  Nate rubbed his sore jaw gently. Charlie must have been practicing or something, because she packed one heck of a right hook. If he hadn’t turned his head at the last second, he would most likely be missing some teeth right now. Well, missing some more teeth. He was already a few short from the accident. But they would be replaced in a month or two, or whenever he got around to having it done.

  Mac grinned at him as he looked at the darkening bruise in the bathroom mirror.

  “That little lady missed her calling! She would make one heck of a cage fighter!”

  Nate grinned slightly as he shook his head, watching Mac bounce around on his toes, jabbing his fists into the air. “That would only work if she fought me all the time. I seem to be the only one that brings out that side of her. This isn’t the first time she has tried to lay me out.”

  Mac flounced down in the middle of the bed, letting his white wings fan out beside him. Folding his arms behind his head, he grinned some more. “Oh yeah? Well… do tell!”

  Nate told him the story of when Charlie popped him at her fifth birthday party for pulling her curls at school. Mac laughed.

  “Little spitfire, isn’t she?”

  Nate nodded ruefully. “You have no idea.”

  “So tell me again why you’re letting her marry that Logan dude? It’s obvious that you two still have some serious feelings for each other.”

  Nate glanced over at him as he picked up the TV remote. “Where did you get that idea? Was it her chewing me out or her barroom haymaker?”

  Mac nodded enthusiastically. “Yes!”

  Setting the remote down, Nate turned to face the angel that was currently sprawled all over his bed.

  “Not to be rude, but I don’t think you’re the best one to give me love advice.”

  Mac glowered at him. “Listen, puny mortal…you happen to have in your presence one who has seen the rise and fall of kingdoms and dynasties, the formation of the very continents that your country sits upon. I have seen wars and rebellions that would curdle your blood. I have watched the courtship of men and women from the beginning of time, so I may have garnered a few tidbits of information along the way.”

  Nate’s eyes rolled slightly as he gave the now pouting angel a droll look before muttering. “Okaaay…. touchy much?”

  When Mac huffed, he laughed as he raised his hands.

  “Alright! I get it! Please enlighten me, O great one. Why do you think Charlie still has feelings for me?”

  “It’s really quite simple. Only great feelings bring about great reactions. If she felt indifferent towards you, she wouldn’t have gotten all upset. The fact that she was fuming hopping mad proves that you still get to her.”

  Nate shook his head. “I wish it was that simple…I really do. I won’t deny that I still love her, but I know that I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. She seems happy and I don’t want to hurt her again.”

  Mac leaned forward, bracing his hands on his knees as he sat up on the side of the bed.

  “Well, you’re forgetting one thing…She loves you, too…a lot…punch you in the face a lot. What do you want to bet that she has never once popped old Logan a good one?”.

  Chapter 18

  Charlie sighed as she snuggled into Logan’s arms. It had been a week since her meeting with Nate, and her hand, while still very sore and bruised, was starting to heal. She was so happy that Logan had actually forgiven her for her brief moment of sheer stupidity. Nate showing up had sent her into a tailspin that she was grateful she was able to pull out of before she crashed and burned, destroying the world she had so carefully reconstructed.

  “So, this isn’t exactly a bi
g town. What are you going to do when you run into him?”

  Shrugging her shoulders carelessly, she answered. “Say hello, then go about my business. No problem.”

  He arched an eyebrow at her quick reply. “That easy, huh? Just a breezy how-do-you-do then carry on with your day?”

  Charlie nodded. “Uh huh…why don’t you think I can do that?”

  Logan grinned down at her, unwilling to be goaded onto that landmine. “Baby, I think you can do anything you set your mind to do.”

  Later that afternoon Charlie got to put her resolve to the test when they pulled up at her house and saw Nate’s blue car sitting in the drive. Logan glanced over at her. She answered his unspoken question with a shake of her head. She had no idea why he was here, perhaps to see her parents?

  Nate was sitting on the couch and smiled when they walked in. His eyes briefly landed on Logan’s arm around Charlie’s shoulder before he got to his feet, offering the other man his hand.

  “Hello, Logan, it’s good to put a face with the name. I have heard a lot about you since my return. I would like to offer my congratulations on your engagement. You are a lucky man.”

  Logan took Nate’s offered hand, shaking it firmly.

  “Thank you. I appreciate it. I would like to thank you for your service to our country and I’m glad to see that you are recovering.”

  Sabrina and Devon were sitting next to one another on the love seat. Sabrina got up and offered to fix them some sweet tea. “Thanks, Mama, but I think Logan and I will just go into the den so you can visit with Nate.”

  Logan pulled her to a stop when she started to walk away. “I would like to stay if you don’t mind. I have some questions for Nate about his time overseas.”

  Charlie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh! Well, ok then…Mama, I will help you with the tea.”

  Two hours later Charlie didn’t know who she was most annoyed with, Nate or Logan. The two men had hit it off and had been chatting non-stop. Charlie sat there holding her now watered down sweet tea. Finally Nate looked at his watch then got to his feet.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take up your entire evening. I’ll be going now. Hey, Logan, if you would like I can show you some of the pictures that I brought back with me. I’m staying at The Pines Lodge in town, room 312.”

  Devon looked over at him. “You’re staying at the lodge? I assumed you would be staying with your parents.”

  Nate shook his head. “No, sir. I haven’t seen my parents yet.”

  Sabrina looked shocked. “Nate, why on earth not?”

  He sat back down and sat for a minute looking at his folded hands. “Miss Sabrina, my parents have a real hard time dealing with loss. Most people don’t know that I had a baby sister. She died of cancer when she was barely three years old. It nearly killed my folks, my mom especially. Truth be told, she never really got over it.” He glanced over at Charlie who was looking at him with large sad eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Charlie. I know this was something I should have told you. It would have helped you to understand why they couldn’t be at the hospital.”

  Charlie shook her head. “I’m sorry for your loss…I can’t even imagine losing a child at that age or any age, but in my mind that still doesn’t excuse them not being there for you.”

  Sabrina started to scold Charlie, but Nate raised his hand.

  “No, I understand her feelings. Most people would see it that way, but what most people don’t know is that we nearly lost my mom when Ellie died. She just went inside herself and we almost didn’t get her back out. I know that my dad was scared to death that would happen again if they lost me, so he protected her the best way he could. I knew that they wouldn’t be able to stay at the hospital with me. I would ask that you would keep them in your prayers. I know that they have the same relationship with God that I had before I was saved, which is one of bitterness and anger. I will go see them soon, I was just trying to work up the courage.”

  Devon got to his feet. “Nate, let’s pray right now for your parents. I believe that there is no time like the present and you are in a roomful of believers and the Word says that where two or more are gathered in His name, He will be there also.” The group gathered in a circle. Joining hands, they lifted Nate’s parents up to the Lord…

  After Nate left, Charlie walked with Logan to his truck. When he turned to kiss her good night, she held up her hand, stopping him. “What the heck was that all about?”

  Looking at her with wide-eyed innocence, he asked what she meant.

  “Oh…I think I would like to stay and ask Nate some questions.” She dropped her voice to mock Logan’s much deeper one. “Since when did you have such a burning desire for knowledge of all things military?”

  He looked down at the ground then up at the sky then across the fields, basically everywhere but at Charlie. Finally he shrugged. “Ok, fine, I really have zero interest in the military. I wanted to see how you could handle being in the same room with him because it’s going to happen.”

  “Especially when you arrange it.” Charlie rubbed her face, growling into her hands. “So, now what? Are you still going to go over and look at pictures at his hotel? Are you going to be BFF’s now? Because I got to tell you that might prove to be a little awkward for me.”

  Logan laughed as he pulled her into his arms. “No, no, no. I’m not planning on being best friends with your ex, but I do want to know for sure what his plans are and I would like to at least be able to be civil when we run into each other.” After assuring Charlie that everything would be fine, he gave her a kiss; then he left for home. She stood watching his taillights fade into the night, not feeling the least bit reassured.

  Charlie wasn’t the only one feeling uncertain about what was happening. The group of angels on the roof was just as confused. Skye turned to Charlotte.

  “So…what just happened?”

  Charlotte looked up at him then back to fading red taillights of Logan’s truck. “Ummm…he left?” she answered.

  Frowning, he shook his head. “Not that… I mean the whole evening…Why did he want to talk to Nate, why did Charlie punch Nate, why…”

  “Why are you asking me?” Charlotte interrupted. She looked at Gideon. “Why is he asking me?”

  He grinned at her. “Because he beat me to it?”

  When that didn’t make her stop frowning, he tried again. “Well, you seem to have an insight into the love thing more so than we do.”

  Charlotte visibly preened under Gideon’s praise, fluffing her feathers and smiling.

  “Oh, well, then…let me see if I can explain.” She walked to the front of the group and faced them. Taking a deep breath, she folded her hands in front of her, smiled sweetly then bellowed, “I DON’T HAVE A CLUE!”

  Once the startled flurry of four sets of wings had settled down, she spoke once more in a calmer voice. “Seriously, all I have is speculation the same as you do. I still think that Charlie and Nate will end up together, but I don’t know how it will work out. So please stop expecting me to have all the answers!”

  “I’m sorry, Charlotte. I guess we just think that because you’re a girl you naturally know about all of this stuff.” Skye looked so remorseful that Charlotte felt bad about her outburst.

  “Listen, I may be a female, but you need to remember that I am a female angel. I haven’t had any experience personally with matters of the heart. What little knowledge I have is from watching the humans that I have guarded.”

  “Then why are you so sure that Charlie will be with Nate?” Raphael asked.

  Charlotte shrugged her slim shoulders. “I don’t know. I just do. Don’t any of you feel that way? What about you, Gideon? Surely you must have some clue what’s going on inside Charlie’s mind and heart. What do you think?”

  Gideon walked over, leaning a broad shoulder against the brick chimney. “I know she loves them both, maybe in different ways but just as equally. Logan has come to mean a great deal to Charlie and I know she f
eels a lot of gratitude for him pulling her out of her heartache.”

  “There has to be a lot more than gratitude to sustain a relationship. Even I know that,” Zareck said.

  Gideon nodded in agreement. “You’re right. At first that may have been what she felt for Logan, but not anymore. She honestly loves him now. So I guess my honest opinion would be I could see it going either way. I think she would be happy with either man. The question is, who will her heart decide on?”

  The next few weeks were strange for Charlie. Logan and Nate actually seemed to be getting along well, which made her feel very odd. She didn’t want them to hate one another, but their new budding friendship made her feel a little left out. The closer they became, the darker her mood grew. It didn’t help that Nate was now everything she had ever hoped he would be. Turning his heart over to Christ was something she had prayed about for so long. She was happy that he finally did it, but why couldn’t he have done that when they were still together? Before, the accident had made him so hard and cold. Her heart was a mess of conflicting emotions and she truly wished that Nate had just stayed away.

  Gideon was standing by the corral watching Charlie work one of the young colts she had taken in. The feisty animal trotting around the corral was a new creature compared to the skin and bones he used to be. The black coat was sleek and shiny and new lean muscle could be seen covering his hipbones. Charlie laughed as the colt pranced and snorted on the end of the lunge line.

  “Feeling your oats this morning, aren’t you, Prancer?” The colt snorted again in response, tossing his head and stepping high around the corral. After releasing the lunge line, she stepped up onto the top rail of the corral and watched as the young horse flew around the corral bucking and releasing all the pent up energy from being in the barn all night. After about ten minutes the colt stopped and walked over, lifting his muzzle to nuzzle and sniff at Charlie’s boots. That was his cue that he was ready to settle down and do his lessons.