Brides on the Run (Books 1-4)

by Jami Albright

  He sucked clean country air into his lungs and headed for the door. It opened before he could get there.

  “Why, Hank Odom, you good-looking devil, get into this house.” Honey Jenkins pushed open the screen door and held it for him.

  “Thanks, Honey.” The smell of salmon croquettes hit his nose before he made his way over the threshold.

  “Sorry ’bout the smell,” Honey said sheepishly. “I was on my way to open the door to air it out in here. We had sal-mon croquettes for dinner. They’re delicious, but Lord, they smell up the house.”

  Hank bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing at Honey’s pronunciation of salmon.

  Wardell extended his hand. “Honey makes the best sal-mon croquettes in three counties.”

  “How are you feeling these days, Wardell?”

  “Right as rain, Hank. Right as rain. Isn’t that right, Honey?” He winked at the older woman and heat shot between the two of them like a laser beam.

  Honey chuckled. “That’s right, Wardell.” The pink tint to the lady’s face made Hank shuffle his feet in place. He wasn’t sure when he’d been more uncomfortable.

  “So, what brings you by?” Wardell asked.

  What? Hadn’t Charlie told them they were going out? Dual slices of pain and annoyance cut through him. “Charlie and I have a date.”

  Their reaction would’ve been hilarious if he hadn’t been so irritated. They looked at him, then toward the stairs and back to him.

  “Oh, well isn’t that nice.” Honey’s unsure tone was like kindling on the spark of anger inside him.

  “It’s not a date.” The cagey woman he was in love with sauntered down the staircase.

  “Don’t you look pretty, Charlie.” Honey’s words were high and a little hysterical, probably due to the tension shoving against the air in the room.

  “Thanks, Honey.” Charlie made her way to her grandfather and kissed him on the head. “I’m going out for a bit. Will you be alright?” She glanced up at Hank and held his stare. “I shouldn’t be long.”

  Wardell patted her hand resting on his chest. “Don’t you worry about me. Honey’s here to meet my needs.”

  Honey snorted.

  Charlie shook her head. “Do we need to go over the list of things that are inappropriate for the two of you to say in front of me again?”

  Both senior citizens laughed full-on belly laughs. “You’re just so easy to bait, Charlie, darlin’,” Honey said.

  She kissed the older woman’s cheek. “Take care of him.”

  “You know I will.”

  Hank went to the screen door and opened it. “Shall we?” The statement came out sharper than a Bowie knife.

  If she walked any slower, she’d have been going backward. This night wasn’t starting the way he’d hoped it would. He’d hoped that by the end of the night they’d have their relationship sorted, but it was obvious that she wasn’t ready to forgive him yet. That was fine. She was his, and he could understand her reluctance to accept that, given everything that had happened. And he was prepared to take whatever shit she felt like she had to dole out to even the playing field. He deserved that.

  But that baby she carried was his too, and he wouldn’t take one ounce of shit when it came to his involvement in that child’s life.

  Chapter 41

  Charlie had considered running back upstairs when she saw the pissed-off look on Hank’s face. She might’ve gone too far with the whole “this isn’t a date” thing. But all afternoon she’d been trying to figure out how to draw the appropriate boundaries around their relationship. A relationship that now would last forever due to Pod.

  He followed her to her side of the truck and opened her door.

  His Hank smell hit her square in the heart. She ignored it. “Thank you.” She may be drawing boundaries, but she still had the manners her grandmother had drilled into her head.

  Without a word, he closed the door. He made his way to the driver’s side of the vehicle, climbed in, and turned the key. They were two blocks away from the house before he spoke. “I’m sorry.”

  Well, that wasn’t what she thought he’d say. With as upset as he seemed, she thought he’d demand an explanation. “For what?”

  His thick fingers rubbed across his mouth. “For putting you in a position where you thought you couldn’t trust me. Where you’d have to build barriers to keep me out.” He glanced at her. “I know I’ve done that to you, but I want more than anything for you to let me in.”

  Wow. Her hands shook, and she fiddled with the strap of her purse. She had no idea what to say to that. “Um…”

  His chuckle sounded like dry autumn leaves being crunched underfoot. “You don’t have to say anything, just know that I’m not giving up, Charlie.”

  “Hank—”

  “Charlie.” The sly smile he gave her slipped under her clothes and caressed every sensitive place on her body in the most intimate way.

  “You have to…” Her voice ran and hid when she saw where they were. The little piece of land that his family owned just outside town. Butterflies with velvet wings flew back and forth in her belly. This had been their place, where they’d hide from the world all those years ago. Oh, he was playing hardball.

  “What were you saying?”

  She didn’t buy his innocent routine for one minute. “You brought me here on purpose. I said we could talk about Pod, not stroll down memory lane.” He was the devil for bringing her here. This was their place. Where they’d dreamed, schemed, and planned for a future that would never happen. Her heart broke for both of those stupid, lovesick kids that had no idea about how hard life really was, or how each of them would eventually hurt the other.

  Not anymore. She was a woman with eyes wide open and a baby to consider. Her arms went involuntarily around her womb. A baby. She’d never allowed herself to think of Pod as a baby. It made it too real, too terrifying, too big of a gift for her to wrap her head around. Her heart melted and rearranged into a Pod-shaped form. Even more reason to protect herself from the man sitting next to her.

  He didn’t want just her. He wanted her because of Pod. And that didn’t count. She’d lived too long with people pretending to love her, when what they really wanted was what they could get from her. Not anymore.

  “Here.” He handed her a black and white polka dot gift bag with yellow tissue paper sticking out of the top.

  Her first reaction was to jerk back from the package like it was filled with venomous snakes. “What’s this?”

  This time his chuckle sounded like hot fudge being drizzled over her nipple.

  What. The. Hell.

  “Open it.”

  The crinkle of the tissue paper filled the cab of the truck. She fished out an antique doorknob complete with the plate and a keyhole. “What is this?”

  “It’s a doorknob.”

  “I know it’s a doorknob, Hank. But why are you giving it to me?”

  He reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out a skeleton key with a white bow tied to the end. “I’m hoping this key will open that door that you say is locked.” He ran his knuckles down her cheek. “Let me in, Charlie.” He watched her like she was a flight risk fugitive. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  He’d turned the truck off, but left the radio on. Kenny Chesney sang about some woman and tequila, while every word that would’ve come out lined up in her throat, ready to be said as soon as her head caught up. She turned to him and decided to be as honest as was possible. Maybe it would prevent any more situations like this.

  “I think that you’re a dirty rotten manipulator to bring me here. I’ve spent the last eight years being managed and manipulated, and I won’t involve myself in relationships like that anymore.”

  It broke her heart when his hopeful grin slid from his face. “I swear, that’s not what I’m trying to do.”

  She arched her brow.

  He gazed out the front window. “Maybe I was.” His eyes found hers again. “But I just want
ed you to remember the things we promised each other when we were here.” He took her cold hand and rubbed it between his. “Charlie, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but the biggest one I’ve ever made was letting you leave that hotel room in Austin without me. I was a fool…am a fool. But I want you. I want this baby. I want us all to be together. I just want to take care of you like I promised.”

  The tan line around his fourth finger where his wedding band had been until six weeks ago glowed in the light from the radio. “Because it’s the right thing?” She tried to keep her tone as even as possible.

  “Yes, that, but there are so many other reasons too.” His warm breath fanned across her skin.

  Ice crystalized up her spine, and she extracted her hand from his hold. She met his confused stare. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me, Hank, and I sure as hell don’t need someone taking me on because it’s the right thing to do. I want to be the thing you do even though you know it’s not the right thing because your heart won’t let you do anything else. I deserve that, and I won’t settle for anything less than that.” She hadn’t really known what she wanted until the words started coming, but now that she’d said it, nothing else mattered.

  “That is how I feel about you, about us. I swear—”

  “Hank, there is no us. This baby is healthy, I’m due in June, and anything else you want to know about him or her, I’m happy to talk to you about it. But there is no us.” She shoved the gift bag with the doorknob in it at him. “The door is locked.” She swallowed down the bawling tears that wanted to escape. She’d save them for later when she was alone in her room. “Now, could you please take me home?”

  “Charlie—”

  The ring of his phone cut off anything else he might say. He fished the device from his pocket. “This is Hank.”

  “Hank! Thank God!”

  She could hear Hailey yelling on the other end of the line.

  “Hailey, what’s wrong?” Hank went into full cop mode and put Hailey on speaker while he started the car.

  “It’s Lottie! There’s been an accident. They’ve taken her to the hospital.” Her voice stuttered on a shaky breath. “Hank, they had to Care Flight her to Austin.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Roxanne is driving me to the hospital.” The tears made it hard to understand her. “They wouldn’t let me ride in the helicopter with her.”

  “Have you called Derek?” Hank was doing a three-point turn out of the drive and onto the highway.

  “I tried, but he didn’t answer. I left a message for him to call me.” Her nose was stuffy, making her sound younger than she was. “Will you call Charlie?”

  “I’m here Hailey. We’re together.” She laid her hand on Hank’s arm. “We’re on our way.”

  Chapter 42

  Charlie chased Hank through the emergency room doors. The warm air of the lobby did little to thaw the icy dread flushing through her veins. Lottie just had to be okay. She just had to be.

  Hank rushed the reception desk with her right behind him. “Can you tell me where Lottie Odom is?”

  “Are you family?”

  “Yes.” Charlie placed her hand on his arm. “This is Lottie’s uncle.”

  “And you are?” the man behind the desk asked.

  Hank slid his arm around her shoulder. “Her aunt.”

  She leaned into him, and his big body offered the comfort that her tattered nerves craved. Considering the conversation they’d just had, she shouldn’t take comfort from him, but there was little she could do to stop herself.

  “Alright, give me a minute,” the receptionist said.

  When he disappeared through a door that presumably led to the main ER, Charlie’s heart seized. “Why wouldn’t they tell us? What if—”

  “No.” A muscle spasmed in Hank’s jaw, and he never took his tortured eyes from the door.

  She bit her lip and nodded. For him, she’d hold back the tears that begged to fall freely. “Okay.”

  “Hank!” Hailey burst through a set of double doors to their right. Tear tracks covered her pale face. She ran into Hank’s arms and fell completely apart.

  Roxanne followed Hailey out the doors. Her gentle hand went to her sister-in-law’s back. “Shhhh, Hailey. It’s gonna be alright.” Roxanne glanced up at Hank. “She’s been like this since I picked her up from the bar,” she said on a sob.

  Hank wrapped his other arm around Roxanne and held Hailey tighter.

  Charlie was on the outside looking in, and was ashamed of the jealous spike piercing her chest observing these three. They had each other, and they all knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. “I’m going to…” She hitched her thumb over her shoulder toward the waiting room.

  “Charlie, oh Charlie.” Hailey disentangled herself from Hank and fell into Charlie’s arms.

  “What happened?” The jagged edge of Hank’s question sliced through the air.

  Roxanne looked around. “Here, let’s sit over here.”

  “Do you need to get back to Lottie, Hailey?” Hank led them to the empty section of the waiting room.

  Hailey only shook her head against Charlie’s chest.

  “They’ve taken her back for a CT scan. They wouldn’t let Hailey go with her.” Roxanne mopped her eyes with a tissue.

  Charlie smoothed her best friend’s hair and rocked them back and forth. “Can you tell us what happened, Hay?”

  Hailey didn’t lift her head but motioned for her sister-in-law. “Roxy?”

  “I’m here. I’ll tell them.” She blew her nose and cleared her throat. “Lottie was playing with the neighborhood kids. Tammy, her babysitter, was there along with a couple of the other children’s moms. The kids were racing, and according to Tammy and confirmed by the other moms, Lottie said she could beat Sam Fox, even running backward.” She chuckled and wiped her nose. “You know how competitive she is. Anyway, Lottie’s feet got tripped up, she fell, and hit the back of her head.”

  A keening noise came from Hailey. She pulled away from Charlie, grabbed her stomach, and bent forward. The sound was so haunting that gooseflesh broke out on Charlie’s skin.

  “She was unconscious until she got here, and now she…she can’t see, Hank.”

  Every molecule of air disappeared from the space they occupied. She couldn’t have heard Roxanne correctly. By Hank’s stark expression, he was feeling the same way.

  Hailey grabbed his hand. “My baby’s blind, Hank.” Body-wracking sobs rolled through her.

  “Hailey, don’t do this to yourself,” Roxanne coaxed. “The doctors said it could be temporary. That’s why they’ve taken her back for a CT.” She wiped her face on her shoulder and glanced at them. “The doctor said that she could just have some bruising and that’s pushing against Lottie’s optic nerve.”

  “Oh, my Lord.” Charlie took Hank’s hand. “When will they know?”

  The tender kiss Roxanne pressed to Hailey’s head was full of devotion. “Pretty soon. In fact, she’ll be back in her room shortly. I’ll take Hailey back, unless one of you want to go back with her—there can only be two people at a time.”

  Hank shook his head. It killed Charlie to see tears threatening to spill from his red-rimmed eyes. “I’m…” He swallowed several times. “Give me a minute to catch up. I’ll come back when she gets settled back in the room.” His fingers tunneled through his hair. “Shit. Mom?”

  Roxanne patted his arm. “She knows. She has the twins, and I called her just before y’all got here.”

  He nodded. “Okay, good.”

  Roxanne led her sister-in-law to the double doors, but Hailey stopped and looked at Hank. “Can you try to get in touch with Derek? His phone is either off, or he’s avoiding my calls. I texted him, but I haven’t told him what happened.” She wiped her hair from her face. “I didn’t want him to hear it in a text.”

  “I’m on it.” The smile he gave Hailey wobbled at the edges but held. “I’ll take care of it.”

  As soon as Hailey
was through the doors, Hank headed for the exit without a word.

  “Hank.” Charlie raced after him.

  She found him pacing the sidewalk. After several steps, he placed his hands on his knees and panted through his mouth.

  “Hank.” His tormented body was a magnet for her hand. She rubbed his back and let him pull himself together.

  He stood with his hands on his head. Still he said nothing, just continued dragging air in and out of his lungs.

  No matter what was going on between the two of them, this man was a steady and fierce protector, so not being able to do anything for Lottie or Hailey must be killing him. “Can I do anything?”

  His arms came down around her. “You’re doing it.”

  As naturally as breathing, her arms encircled his waist. “Good.”

  She’d worry about the implications of all of this closeness tomorrow, but today they needed each other.

  Chapter 43

  Hank’s heart thrummed against his ribcage and refused to find a regular rhythm. He glanced around the ER waiting room. Actually, there was nothing regular about this whole evening. Charlie had made him come back inside the hospital, where she’d shoved a cup of coffee with cream and sugar into his hands and forced him to drink it. It’d been horrible, but he did feel somewhat better.

  Now his blonde nursemaid was curled in the chair next to him. He glanced at the empty Styrofoam cup and then to her. “How did you know the coffee trick?”

  “On an episode of Charlie Takes the Town, Charlie had to triage a group of senior citizen women after the police officer she scheduled to speak at their luncheon group about self-defense turned out to be a stripper. They were all in shock, and the staff nurse at the senior home said coffee with cream and sugar would help.”

  He snorted. “How would that even happen?”

  A small smile pushed at the corners of her lips. “Charlie’s mischievous best friend gave her the stripper’s number. Of course, good, wholesome, Charlie had no idea.” Big blue eyes went round as saucers, and her delicate hand went to her chest. “You didn’t watch my show?”