by C. A. Harms
Charlie remained strong; even when she sobbed in my arms after the adrenaline had faded, she was still strong.
I don’t know if a lot of people would have the strength and the courage to face the things she had.
And to come out stronger in the end.
I meant it when I said she inspired me.
In more ways than one, Charlie had given me hope.
She made me better without even trying. Just by simply being herself, she gave me the courage to be more than I had allowed myself to be.
Our drive back home was one of reflections.
She smiled and watched out the window as we drove. She was so relaxed and carefree. The way she sang along to the music on the radio, the way she threaded her fingers with mine, it was just another reason why I adored her so much.
“Still going straight to your dad’s?” I asked.
“Yep,” she said, letting her head rest back against the seat behind her.
When we pulled into his driveway, I turned off the car and started to reach for the handle when her words stopped me.
“I love you, Brock.” She still held my hand in hers. “I know you didn’t sign up for all this, but I’ll never be able to express just how much your support has meant to me.”
“I’m here for you no matter what the circumstances.” I may not have signed up for this specific situation, but when it came to Charlie, I was in it for the long haul.
“I don’t know if I could have gotten through today without you,” she confessed.
I leaned over the center console, bringing my body closer to hers. I pushed back the hair that had fallen in her eyes and cupped her jaw. “I’m by your side, no matter what the circumstances may be,” I told her. “But just so you know, sweetheart, there is no doubt in my mind that you would have kicked ass regardless of me being there. Because you, Charlotte Murphy, are a fighter.”
I kissed her softly, and she sighed.
When we walked up to the front door of her father’s house, she used her keys to unlock the front door. The moment she stepped over the threshold, she immediately stumbled backwards into my arms.
“Oh my god,” she whispered.
I looked past her and found the house in shambles.
A protectiveness rushed through me, and I placed her behind me to shield her from what I didn’t know.
“Go back to the car and lock the doors,” I told her, and she began shaking her head. “Damn it, Charlie, don’t argue with me.”
The girl was trained to cause some damage if necessary, but it wasn’t in my nature to let her. I had to protect her. Granted, she could most likely beat my ass if she put her mind to it, but not today.
“Go,” I said again, and she began to back away even though I could tell she wanted to fight me on it.
Once I heard my car door close, I moved into the house in search of her father.
“Mr. Murphy,” I called out.
I moved slowly through the living room and into the small dining area that was part of his kitchen. Still no signs of him but definitely signs that something went down here.
The chairs were toppled over; the refrigerator door stood wide open. Cabinet doors were left ajar, and the contents I assumed were once inside were now scattered around on the countertops and floors.
“Mr. Murphy,” I called out once again. “It’s Brock.”
Though we had only met a couple times, I felt there was no need for further introduction.
I heard a noise from the hall that led off the dining area. I slowly stepped over the items that littered the floor and moved in that direction just as Charlie’s father stumbled out of a room to the left and practically bounced off the wall on the opposite side.
My first thought was that he was hurt. But as I rushed for him and used my own body to support his weight, I realized I couldn’t be more wrong. He smelled of hard liquor.
“Brock,” he said, trying his best to stand upright.
And it was like someone flipped a switch and the man I knew as calm and rational was now panicked. “Charlie, where’s she at?”
“She’s outside in the car,” I assured him. “She’s fine.”
“She can’t see me like this,” he said, shaking his head as he started to back his way toward the bedroom behind him. “I don’t want her to see me. She needs to leave. Please,” he begged.
My heart broke for this man.
I understood his need to remain the strong one all these years, but now he was falling apart. I had to help him.
“You wait here,” I told him as I led him toward the bed and helped him sit. “Just give me a few minutes.”
He nodded his head just before allowing himself to lie down on the mattress.
I moved through the house, trying to figure how I was going to convince a very determined woman to leave me alone with her father. She would fight me on this, I already knew that, but I had to try.
She was out of the car and moving toward me before I even stepped off the porch. “Is he okay?” she asked. “Where is he?”
“Charlie.” I gripped her forearms and forced her to calm down enough to listen to me.
“Where’s my father?” she said with a fearful look on her face. And in that moment, I imagined she had so many possibilities running through her mind.
“He’s okay,” I assured her, and her body sagged in relief.
“I need to see him,” she said as she attempted to push past me.
“No,” I said.
She looked at me in confusion.
“Remember when I told you that your father needed to grieve?” She nodded her head. “That time is now, sweetheart, and he doesn’t want you to see him in this state.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head, attempting to fight me. “He’s my father,” she whispered. “I should be here. I owe him that.”
“And you will, just not now,” I replied, still holding onto her arms.
“Why?” she asked, obviously worried, as she had every right to be.
“Let me get him through today, baby,” I asked, hoping she could just give me that. “He’s hit bottom, and his pride won’t let him allow you to see that. I’ll stay with him; I won’t leave his side. I promise you that.”
Her lower lip trembled, and she looked over my shoulder toward the house before returning her concerned eyes back to meet mine. A gentle nod of her head was offered just before she leaned in and allowed me to comfort her as she cried.
***
It had been three hours since I called Adam and asked that he and Natalie come pick up Charlie. I didn’t want her driving upset.
Never had I guessed that when they showed up, Adam would refuse to leave. Natalie took Charlie home to take care of Romeo and Roxy and told us she would remain there until I arrived.
Adam and I both began cleaning up the remnants of Louis’ binge, room by room. There was little talk exchanged between the two of us, but it wasn’t needed.
My brother understood this was time I needed to reflect on everything that had unfolded. Today was one of emotional highs and lows.
We allowed Louis to sleep it off as we did our best to put his house back in order.
I was in the living room picking up lamps and trying to reorganize the movies covering the floor when I smelled the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
When I turned around, Adam was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. “I thought when he woke up, he could use some.”
“Thanks,” I said as I went back to the task at hand.
I felt raw.
I was exhausted, and I knew Charlie had to be a wreck. She was most likely sick with worry over her father’s wellbeing.
Adam knelt at my side and began helping me organize the items that still remained on the floor.
I didn’t look at him; I couldn’t. I was fearful of it being my undoing.
My time with Charlie had been an emotional rollercoaster but not always caused by us. We’d had a few rough times, but with the ex
ception of that once, it usually was something that a talk settled. But today, or actually the last week, had been draining.
Charlie had been unable to sleep peacefully as the impending hearing approached, which meant I also got too little sleep.
Then watching her today fight with all she had to share with a panel of people why she knew in her heart that allowing Wallace to go free was the wrong choice. That in itself was draining enough.
But then to arrive home finding her father in shambles was the final piece. I could feel my own strength and resolve slowly slipping.
“I’m proud of you,” Adam spoke from my side, and damn it if his words didn’t make my chest ache.
I wanted to tell him to stop. I wanted to make some smartass comment that would for sure change the tone of the moment, but I couldn’t speak.
“You’re a good man, Brock,” he continued, and I tried to breathe through the emotions that were running through me.
“Not only have you stood by Charlie’s side but her father’s too.” He had stopped cleaning up the items on the floor. “You could have walked away and given him time to heal himself, but you didn’t. You took charge and stepped up. Takes heart, man, and I’m proud of you.” Adam’s voice cracked, and I turned to look at him.
Adam was not the emotional kind of guy. At least not outside of Natalie and Lucas. He generally kept his feelings in check. But his eyes were glossy as he looked back at me with something I’d never seen from Adam before.
He and I had always hassled one another. Looking for anything to irritate the other. But never had I ever had him look at me with such pride.
I felt like I couldn’t form the words I wanted to say. I nodded my head, fighting against the raging need to cave inside of me.
As if Adam knew what I needed, he reached out and wrapped me in his arms, allowing me to break.
I knew this would be the exception to the rule. He and I were always looking for anything big or small to fuck with one another. But this, this wouldn’t be one of those times.
This was two brothers sharing an emotional moment between the two. One of pride and love.
Chapter
Thirty-Five
Charlotte
I was woken by the soft touch of fingertips along my jaw. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but the exhaustion I felt from an emotionally draining day had taken over.
I looked up to find Brock hovering over me, wearing nothing but his boxers. He was freshly showered; I could smell his shampoo.
The look he was giving me was full of such love that it made my chest ache and my throat burn. “Thank you,” I whispered.
I had spent hours thinking of what Brock had done.
He didn’t have to stay with my father. He didn’t have to choose to help him through this dark time, but he did. And he did it without a moment of hesitation.
“Thank you for helping him,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and pulled him close.
Our lips met, and his body lowered to mine.
It was a moment that could not be explained by words. It was more a deep connection that only actions could reveal. Nothing I could say would ever show this man just how much he truly meant to me. No words could explain the depth of my appreciation for everything he had done for me and now my father.
Brock was selfless, something not many would expect from him. He had such a loving heart, and he’d shown me that on multiple occasions, but today, the measures he took to ensure my father’s wellbeing were something I would never be able to express my gratitude for.
No one outside my immediate family had ever shown me such love.
My heart was so full.
“I love you,” he whispered, “so much.”
I didn’t hesitate when our kiss become more intense. I wanted this connection between us. I craved it more than my next breath.
“Make love to me,” I said in return.
He tried to move away, I assumed to grab a condom, but I stopped him. “No,” I whispered, and he looked at me in confusion. “Nothing between us,” I said in explanation.
It was an indication of my commitment to him. A complete trust of what we had built together. I no longer allowed myself to fear the future. I wanted it all, and I wanted it with him.
We were protected, so the chances of getting pregnant were minimal, but this was my way of saying I no longer feared him hurting me. It was my way of letting go of the past and moving forward with the man who had stolen my heart.
***
“Hey, Dad,” I said as I walked into his kitchen to find him sitting at the table drinking his morning coffee. Brock followed close behind carrying the bag that we had just picked up from the family restaurant right down the road.
It had been a week since the hearing.
A week since my father fell to his lowest point.
And a week since he had seen firsthand why I’d fallen so deeply in love with Brock.
The day Brock picked my father up, dusted him off, and gave him the strength to continue was the day that everything changed. It was the beginning of a new chapter in our lives.
Each day since, we’d been visiting with my dad, and each day I’ve seen that light in his eyes slowly return.
We convinced him that maybe it was best he found someone to talk to about the feelings he had bottled up for years.
So twice a week he saw a therapist.
And each day I saw my father, the man who raised me and loved me so dearly, return.
“Good morning,” he said as Brock set the bag down on the table.
I leaned over and placed a kiss on my father’s cheek before turning to get three plates from the cabinet.
I didn’t know the exact details of everything that transpired between my father and Brock that night. I knew that Adam was here too, but those secrets had never been revealed.
And I was okay with that.
Because I saw the bond that had now been formed between Brock and my dad. They laughed together as if they had been lifelong friends. It felt great to see my dad let go. They would hassle one another like Brock did with the guys, and it gave me peace.
Brock had even recruited my dad to help him find the perfect location for his shop and told him that he was about to learn the trade. I laughed at the surprise in my father’s eyes. Apparently Brock had found an apprentice. I still wasn’t sure how confident my dad was in his ability, but I was confident in Brock. I knew he wouldn’t let my father fail.
Epilogue
Brock
Six Months Later
“Like this?” Charlie asked as she moved her hand, dragging the sander over the table top.
“Yeah, baby,” I told her as I stepped up behind her. “Just like that,” I whispered as I moved her hair to the side and began to kiss along the side of her neck.
“You’re distracting me,” she said breathlessly, making me smile against her neck.
“Shh.” I hushed her. “Pay attention to what you’re doing. That is an eight hundred dollar table.”
She stopped sanding and looked back over her shoulder at me, her eyes widened in surprise. “Eight hundred dollars?” she asked in shock.
I nodded and pointed back at the sander she held in her hand. “Get to work or you’re not getting paid.”
She rolled her eyes, making me chuckle.
“You’re not paying me,” she added as she turned back toward the table.
I gripped her hips and pulled her ass back toward me as I flexed my hips forward. “Oh, I plan on paying you very well.”
She giggled when I ground my hard cock against her again so there was absolutely no mistaking my intentions.
“Maybe we should move this upstairs,” she said breathlessly.
When I bought this building four months ago, it had a loft apartment upstairs. I assumed it would be just something I used for storage, maybe a place to crash on late nights here at the shop, but I was wrong.
Charlie instantly loved the place, an
d together we decided to make it a home. We enclosed the back lot with a privacy fence for the dogs and went to work on making it exactly what the both of us wanted.
Just last week, we officially moved in.
It was our home.
“What’s wrong with right here?” I asked her as I hooked the side of her leggings and began to lower them down her long, gorgeous legs.
“I just thought…” she began, only to stop abruptly when I began kissing up her thigh, licking and nipping. Teasing her because I knew that she wouldn’t be able to withstand it. “Never mind,” she panted. “This is good, too.”
I knew her so well.
The sound of the sander had stopped long ago; she was leaning forward, bracing herself on the table before her.
“I’m gonna have to dock your pay,” I told her. “You’re slacking.”
“It’s your fault,” she added.
“I can stop if you want me to.” I started to back away, and she grabbed for me, shaking her head no. I chuckled and repositioned myself behind her as I began to work my pants free.
Planning to tease her more, I gripped my hard cock in my hand and slouched just enough to line myself up with her pussy, but she didn’t let me take the opportunity. She reached around, pushed my hands out of the way, and took charge.
And when Charlie wanted something, she got it.
I always made sure of that.
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