Chapter 10

Charlotte didn’t have the strength to fight Ares and his extravagance. How could she when he wanted to spoil Greta? Pride was one thing, but getting in the way of her kid having nice things? Her ego took a back seat. Greta deserved this. Heck, so did she.

Seeing the destruction at her place had broken something inside her. She’d thought herself safe. Wrong. Thought she could start over. Wrong. Thought she could do it alone. She could, but it would be easier if she had a partner. She tired of struggling. Wanted someone she could lean on during tough times. Deserved security and love.

Yes, love. She couldn’t deny what burgeoned between her and Ares. It was more than attraction. More intense by a zillion than what she’d felt for Barry.

The quickness of how she fell for him frightened. Opening her heart, letting him in, was one thing. She could—eventually—handle the heartbreak, but what about Greta? She’d formed such a strong bond with him already. What if Charlotte trusted wrong and her precious munchkin got hurt?

Hard to even imagine Ares would do such a thing, judging by his giddy excitement as he chose pink wrapping paper with unicorns being ridden by Santa, or when he held up an ornament in the shape of a crown with the name Greta etched on it.

“You’re insane,” she said, shaking her head as they checked out.

“Yup. And I’m okay with it.” He reached out to grab her hand. “We are going to make sure princess has the best Christmas ever.”

With shopping done, they drove back to Arnprior. She noticed him staring at every car they passed and how he kept checking his rearview mirror.

“What’s wrong?” she asked because this wasn’t the laidback Ares she’d come to know.

“Nothing.”

“Ares…” She used her mom tone.

He broke immediately. “There was a rental parked in front of your place, and it followed us a few blocks before I lost it.”

“What?” The blood in her veins froze.

“It might have just been a coincidence. Arnprior isn’t a big place, so we might have been going in the same direction.”

Her fingers clenched into fists. “What if it was…” She couldn’t say her ex’s name because, like a horror movie, it might just conjure him.

“Even if it was, you don’t have to worry. You’re safe with me. I won’t let anyone hurt you or Greta.”

She wanted to believe him, but Ares didn’t know what Barry was capable of. She herself hadn’t realized the dark side to him until he’d come around demanding she and Greta move in with him. The fact he’d suddenly decided to acknowledge her as his daughter had not been the joyful moment she’d hoped for; more like a nightmare.

Her silence led to him adding, “Seriously, Charly, I don’t want you stressing about it.”

“You’re telling a mom whose kid might be in danger to not stress?” she exclaimed.

“Okay, you stress. I’ll keep us safe.” He pulled into the fire station and glanced at her. “I know this sounds dickish, but you might want to try and smile if you don’t want Greta to sense you’re worried.”

She gave him a feral grin. “How’s this?”

“Terrifying.” He laughed.

She sighed. “Thanks for being honest.”

“I debated not saying anything, but you need to know so you can be cautious. Not that we’ll be leaving the farm for a few days. Weather forecast shows a big storm rolling in tonight, and it’s supposed to linger until Boxing Day. Everything’s gonna be closed since the roads will be a mess and no one will be able to get anywhere.”

“Will we be okay? Do we need to stock up on anything?”

“We’ll be fine. If the power goes out, then we’ve got the fireplace to keep us warm and plenty of candles. I’m a master at roasting wieners on an open flame.”

“I know a better place to roast it.” The words slipped out, and he laughed.

“My naughty Charly.”

My? She liked the way he spoke possessively. “And you really don’t mind us staying with you?”

“Nope. Guess you’re stuck with me.”

“Such a chore...” She uttered a dramatic sigh.

“Ouch.”

Her turn to laugh. “Okay, so maybe it won’t be complete torture.”

“Killing me here.”

She put her hand on his thigh for a squeeze. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for me and Greta.”

“And I appreciate the fact you’ve allowed me into your life. I’m really glad we met, Charly.”

“So am I.” She truly was.

“Shall we go fetch the princess and take her home?”

Home. It had a nice ring to it.

They entered the firehall to blasting Christmas music and found Greta getting ready to descend the pole. Despite the tumbling mats all around, Athena stood positioned at the bottom, ready to catch Greta if she slipped.

Charlotte did her best to not gasp and freak. The last thing she wanted was to curb her daughter’s fearless spirit, but her stomach did tighten when Greta slid down squealing.

Greta landed on her feet and immediately spotted her. “Mama!” she cried, racing for her.

“Hey, munchkin. Are you having fun?”

A rapid head bob and a toothy grin followed by a gush of words. “So much fun! We had pizza and purple juice and chips. Santa came, too!”

Charlotte approached Athena with Ares by her side. “Hi, thanks again for giving us a hand with Greta.”

“My pleasure. She’s an absolute treasure.” Athena then murmured, “And don’t you worry about a thing. Ares is good at keeping those he cares about safe.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened.

Ares cleared his throat. “I told Athena about our possible situation.”

“Just so you know, we didn’t have any strangers pop by during the party. We kept an eye open.”

“Thanks.”

“You heading back to the farm?” Athena asked.

“Yeah, going to hunker down before the storm hits.”

“You know, if you need a more secure place to stay, there’s tons of room at the Kennedys’. Grams and Gramps have got cameras all over, and if the power goes out, they’ve got a generator to keep things running.”

“Which is a hint we should get one at the house. I know.” Ares grimaced. “Damned things are pricey.” He glanced at Charlotte. “We have two small ones, but they’re hooked to the barn and chicken coop to make sure the animals don’t freeze during a power failure.”

“Does it happen often?”

“We’re in the country, so more often than we’d like, but we usually manage just fine. But given all that’s going on, it might not be a bad idea to head to Grams and Gramps’.”

“I couldn’t impose,” Charlotte murmured.

Athena snorted. “Oh, don’t worry. If you’re not welcome, they’ll come right out and say it. But I guarantee they won’t kick you out. For one, they like Ares, for two, despite their ornery act, they’re actually very giving and caring people.”

“They are,” Ares stated. “I’ll never forget how they helped my family out when we had our own situation.”

“What happened?” Charlotte asked.

“Some unsavory folks had their sights on my sisters. Grams, Gramps, and their grandson, Derek, helped us to convince them to bother someone else.”

Charlotte got the impression he glossed over the details. She doubted, though, that people harassing his sisters compared to a violent ex who’d kill her if she didn’t give him what he wanted. “I wouldn’t want to bring trouble to their doorstep.”

For some reason, Athena laughed. “That would actually be the best present you could give them. Grams and Gramps thrive on drama and are the kind of folks ready for the apocalypse. They have a bomb shelter stocked to the rafters just in case.”

“Their place really is more secure than the farm,” Ares added.

“You think we should go?”

“I want you to be able to relax, and honestly, with Athena, Derek, Grams, and Gramps all keeping an eye out, ain’t no one getting close to you or Greta.”

Her kid’s safety was more important than anything. Charlotte nodded. “Okay then, but only if they agree.”

“They will. I’ll let Grams know you’ll be coming to stay until the storm passes and we know the house has power.”

Ares glanced at Athena. “Sounds good. Can you take Greta with you? Charly and I will go home to pack some bags and make sure the house is ready for the storm then head over.”

Only Greta didn’t like that plan. Not the part about sleeping at a different house, though she was excited to see a new place. Greta eyed Ares, and her lower lip jutted as she said, “You said we’d cut down a special tree.”

Ares glanced at Charlotte. “It won’t take long to saw it down and load it onto the truck.”

“What about the rest of the stuff that needs to get done?” she countered.

“The animals just need their automatic feeders topped up, a bit of antifreeze in the drains, water shut off and drained. If you can pack us some clothes while I’m doing that, then we’ll be done within the hour.”

“Okay,” Charlotte agreed.

“Yay!” Greta clapped.

Before they loaded Greta into the car, Ares and Derek transferred the gifts they’d bought to Athena’s car. Charlotte emerged with Greta to see Ares whispering with his sister and wondered why Athena’s brows rose. Was he hiding something from her?

Athena hugged him and then waved at Charlotte. “See you in a few hours.”

Greta thankfully chattered nonstop all the way to the farm and didn’t notice how Ares kept watching his rearview mirror and took a more circuitous route back, even as the clouds darkened overhead.

No snow yet, but the heaviness of them indicated it would start falling soon.

Once they arrived at the house, Ares clapped his hands. “We’re going to take my truck to the Kennedys’ farm. For one, it has four-wheel drive, and two, we need the bed in the back of it to bring the tree.”

“Can I help saw it down?” Greta asked.

“Yup, but first, let’s make sure our animal friends are ready for the storm.”

Greta kept him company while Charlotte packed their bags. She also put together a bag for Ares that included a hideous Christmas sweater she located in his closet. The fridge got its perishables put into a Styrofoam cooler she found in the pantry. She stacked everything by the front door and waited.

Waited anxiously as the first flakes began to fall. She probably worried for nothing. Even if Barry had found her new address, he’d never find them here, and even if he did, he wouldn’t know they went to Derek’s grandparents’ place.

But what about after the storm? Where would they go? She couldn’t live on other people’s generosity forever.

She heard Ares and Greta before she saw them, singing a very loud version of “Jingle Bells.” Stepping onto the porch, hugging her upper body, she could see them through the drifting snow. Greta with her red mittens, holding a branch on one side, Ares gripping the sawn trunk, doing the heavy dragging.

A grinning child exclaimed, “We cut down the most beautiful tree, Mama.”

“I see that. It’s going to be perfect,” Charlotte agreed.

“Go see if your mama needs help while I get this loaded.” Ares sent Greta into the house.

“I’ve got our stuff ready,” she told her daughter. “Why don’t you grab a quick snack then have a pee before we go?”

“Okay, Mama.”

Greta skipped off, and Charlotte put on her jacket and boots to help load their stuff on to the truck. The cooler went in the bed among the tree boughs. The bags in the backseat, leaving a spot for Greta’s car seat. She’d just latched it in place when Ares growled, “Get in the house.”

“What?” She glanced at him and noticed he stared up the driveway.

“Someone’s coming. Get inside. Stay away from the windows.”

Suddenly frightened, she hustled her butt, even as she tried to convince herself to stick around and show support. Ares sounded so serious though, and honestly, what use would she be?

It was probably nothing. Ares had made sure no one followed them. No one knew she was here, not even her work.

Despite his warning, she planned to watch from the window behind the curtain, only Greta called for her. “Mama, my hands are too sticky to turn on the water.”

“Coming, munchkin.”

She washed Greta from the honey she’d eaten with her crackers. Then ensured she went potty. By the time she returned to the front of the house, the visitor had gone, but a grim Ares muttered, “Time to get going.”

“Who was it?” she asked.

“Trouble.”