25. Charlie

"Ilove you, Daddy."

Charlie grinned. In his whole life, no one ever looked at him the way Livy did.

"And I love you, sunshine."

She giggled at her nickname. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine," she sang. "You make me happy when skies are gray."

Hugging her close, Charlie inhaled the scent of his daughter's cotton candy shampoo and continued the song. "You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

From above, a crisp, clean sheet fluttered in the air, gently falling to cover them as they lay on the bed. "Oh, no," Becca called out, tucking the sheet under the ends of the mattress. "Daddy and Livy got lost while I was making the bed."

Two sets of bare feet pounded on the wood floors, hurrying into the cottage's main bedroom to see what the fuss was about. Livy covered her mouth, and Charlie gave her a conspiratorial wink when Tobias and CeCe climbed on top of them.

"Where'd they go?" CeCe pondered as she came to sit on Livy's sheet covered head.

The giant mass that could only be his son settled on Charlie's chest. "Found them." Tobias bounced his butt. "I win."

"Jesus, Tobias." Whipping the sheet back, Charlie gasped for air. "Get off."

Tobias fell into the middle of the bed. "I always win."

"Nah." CeCe moved to squish herself up against Charlie's chest. "I win."

"Yep, you got me." The four of them cuddled close, and he draped an arm over the kids. "Come on, Mama."

Kicking her shoes off, Becca joined them, sliding in behind Livy. Tonight was family night. With Viv away in Texas, he could stay over without the fear of being caught.

And when she returned, he was hoping to hear some good news. The McIntyre was ill. It was about time the bastard did them all a favor and died. Everything would be so much simpler without the threat of a buyout hanging over their heads.

Not that he would give up his life with Viv for Becca. The very idea was ludicrous. She might be the mother of his children, and he respected that, but she could never compare to Vivian.

However, once The McIntyre was gone from their lives, he might figure something out. Maybe he could acknowledge his children like Ben had done with Selah. Vivian had been the most supportive of everyone when it had gone down, and perhaps she could open her sympathetic heart enough to love her husband's children.

After she finished beating the shit out of him, of course.

But to have a life with Viv and the kids, Charlie would endure just about anything.

"What game are we playing next?" Tobias asked.

Livy tickled her brother. "Can we watch a movie?"

The kids opted for a movie, and Charlie smiled across their brood at Becca. A movie wouldn't take long, and after the kids were fed, they could send them to the main house for some alone time.

Something he sorely needed.

Vivian hadn't been in the mood lately, too busy making appointments with fertility specialists again. She had a new one, who made the same empty promises the rest of them did. Nothing hurt worse than seeing the hope in his wife's eyes when they left those stark, sterile offices.

The kids clamored into the living room, fighting over who would sit where. The small cottage offered little space, but it was enough for these nights together.

"I hope they pick a short movie." With the kids gone, he rolled on top of Becca. "I need some time with you."

"It'll be the Lion King." On cue, a melodious wail carried through the cottage. "Ugh, that movie drives me bonkers."

Moving off her, he stood and held out a hand. "Come on, let's get this over with."

He watched the movie with the kids while Becca heated frozen pizzas. They ate sitting on the floor, using the coffee table as a gathering spot. Most families would classify it as a normal Saturday night, but to Charlie, it was so much more. As a kid, Fairweathers didn't have pizza and movie nights.

He bet Ben didn't share moments like this with his boys and gave himself a mental pat on the back for being the cooler dad in comparison.

Pizza in hand, he nudged Tobias sitting next to him on the floor and nodded at the scraggly lion singing to a pack of hyenas. "That's how it is when you have brothers."

Finishing his third piece, Tobias stared at the screen. "I don't have brothers."

"Good thing." His son was growing, and it was time he knew the truth. "Fairweather men can't be trusted."

Tobias paused in his chewing. "I trust you, and I trust Uncle Ben."

"Trusting me is one thing." With the girls and Becca distracted, he set down his pizza to speak to his son. It was true. He'd spent little time with the boy, and maybe that needed to change. "I'm your dad, and my word is law."

Recognizing this was turning into a serious conversation, Tobias gave his full attention. Becca had a tendency to think he didn't comprehend things like the other kids did, but she was wrong. That cunning Fairweather spirit shimmered in the boy's eyes, and occasionally, it reminded Charlie of his own father.

"Yes, sir." Tobias gave a curt nod. "I know that."

"But trusting Ben or your other uncle isn't a good idea."

Tobias and his sisters were a threat to Ben. To the company. Charlie didn't doubt his brother wanted his own sons to one day take the helm, but with Livy, Tobias, and CeCe possibly coming into play, things might get interesting in the future.

Then there was Trevor. Not him, exactly. Trevor was about as much of a threat as a housefly. That wife of his was a different story. Chosen by their mother as a suitable Fairweather wife, Helen got in Heather what she'd always wanted. A daughter-in-law who could play against Ben and win from time to time.

Far too beautiful for someone like Trevor, Heather took the art of manipulation to an entirely new level, and smartly began having children the moment they were married.

"I didn't know I had two uncles." Tobias studied him, debating if what he was hearing was the truth. "What's his name?"

"Trevor."

"Is he like you, or is he like Uncle Ben?"

Yeah, they had nothing to worry about with this kid. He might be annoyingly soft-spoken and weird from time to time, but Tobias would come out of his shell one day.

"Neither." Charlie nodded at the hyenas marching obediently on the screen. "He's more like them."

"Which one?"

Swiping his beer off the table, Charlie polished it off as fast as he could. Father-son bonding hadn't exactly been a big part of his upbringing, and he wanted to make sure he did this right.

"In this life, there are two types of people. Users and losers, and your Uncle Trevor is a hyena. A loser who does what the users tell him to do."

Tobias's eyes went wide. "Your brother is a loser?" His brows furrowed together as this revelation settled in his brain. "But Uncle Ben isn't a loser."

"Nope, he's a user." Charlie pointed to the dark lion. "He's like that one. The second son who thinks he should be in charge."

"But Uncle Ben is in charge. He's not Scar."

Ready to teach his son the most valuable life lesson he would ever learn, Charlie popped open the second beer Becca already had waiting for him. "At what cost?"

Clearly not understanding the question, Tobias shrugged, so Charlie rephrased it. "Ben is in charge, but he's like that lion up there, using people to get what he wants," he explained. "Look how much effort it takes. Ben can't enjoy anything he gets because he's too busy making people do what he wants. He's a user, except he doesn't know how to do it right."

The boy's gaze returned to the TV. "I don't want to be a loser, but I don't think I want to be a user either."

Charlie chuckled. "I said Ben doesn't know how to do it right. Let me show you what I mean."

Grabbing the remote, he paused the movie. "Alright, listen up!" Charlie clapped his hands and put on the charm. "If you're a beautiful girl that loves me, I want you to stand up."

Livy wiped the pizza sauce from her chin and stood with CeCe. The girls bounced in place, excited over whatever he had planned.

"Mama?" Charlie cocked an eyebrow at Becca. "You're breaking my heart just sitting there. Are you saying you don't love me?"

Setting her plate of pizza on the table, Becca fought a smile and stood.

"Very good." Charlie took his time, meeting each of their gazes for a second or two. "I think what this place needs is fresh flowers, and I saw some pretty yellow ones close to the dock when I got here. I want you three to go pick them so we can have a centerpiece for our meal. It'll make it nice and fancy and just what my girls deserve."

A rumble of late afternoon thunder carried over the water, and no one moved. "Go through the back door," Charlie suggested, giving CeCe a tickle. "The first one to return gets a surprise."

Holding hands, Livy and CeCe ran to the rear door while Becca leaned down to smack a kiss on his lips as she passed. "I get my surprise either way."

Smiling against her lips, he patted her ass. "A big one."

She giggled the same way CeCe had and followed the girls outside. When they were gone, Charlie let his smile drop. "Did you see what I did there?"

"You made them go outside even though they didn't want to."

Oh yeah, nothing to worry about with this one. Livy would become his rocket scientist, and CeCe his rockstar, but Tobias was going to give Ben's brats a run for their money when it came down to Fairweather Holdings.

"Yep, I made them go," he said. "And why did they do that?"

"Cuz' they love you and want to make you happy."

The more they talked, the stronger Tobias' voice grew, and Charlie clapped his shoulder. "That's it. You make them love you, and then people will do anything you want." He looked past him to the window, where they could see the near torrential rain falling. "Even go out and pick stupid flowers in a thunderstorm."

"But that's not nice." The strength that had been there a minute ago fled, and Tobias averted his gaze. "I don't want to be mean. Sammy is mean, and I hate him."

Charlie set his beer down on the glass tabletop with a loud clang. "Listen to me. If that little fucker messes with you, I want you to take his ass out. You do not hold back when it comes to Samuel."

"Yes, sir."

"I'm serious, Tobias." Snatching him by the chin, he forced the boy to look at him. "Selah might be alright, but Samuel is just like his dad, and you're going to have to fight them your whole life.

"Why?"

With a sigh, Charlie released his chin and reminded himself it was best to teach one lesson at a time. Learning to hate his brother's boys would come. "Let's get back to what we were discussing. Why did the girls go outside?"

"Because you told them to, and they love you, so they did it."

"And I didn't give them a choice not to listen. People don't have minds or opinions of their own. Rarely do they say no if you come off like you know what you're doing."

"But what if they say no?"

The kid was asking all the right questions. "Defiance is nothing but a weak link, and weak links should never be tolerated. Cut them loose, but make an example out of them first."

The back door banged open. Wet and soaked, the girls came squealing inside, each with a batch of flowers in their hands. Becca got them towels, and Charlie bundled up his baby girl who had been first.

"I win," CeCe boasted, her teeth chattering as Charlie settled her in his lap. "I always win."

He kissed the top of her head. "Yes, you do."

Once the movie was over and the storm hadn't let up, the kids begged to sleep in the cottage for the night. "Please let us have a slumber party." Livy pouted, knowing it was Charlie's greatest weakness. "It's raining still."

"Of course you can."

Becca rolled her eyes and went off to set up the second room. Thankfully, it was on the other side of the cottage, far enough from the main bedroom that they wouldn't be disturbed.

Waiting on the couch, Charlie flipped through the channels, stopping at the weather station when he saw an alert flashing at the bottom of the screen.

"What do those squiggly lines mean?" Livy asked when the newscaster started going on about hurricanes. "Are they coming here?"

They were, but everyone knew never to trust the models. Hurricanes did as they pleased, no matter what the weather forecasters said. "We'll be fine," he assured her. "It's just a fall storm that might hit later this week."

He changed the channel to cartoons, and not long after, Becca returned. "Room is ready. All of you are sleeping in the same bed, and I have the TV in there ready to go with a movie."

The kids cheered, hugged Charlie, and disappeared for the night. "I don't know why you're always complaining," he remarked, shutting off the TV. "Putting them to bed was easy."

"Maybe for you." Becca headed down the hall to the main bedroom. "I did all the work."

He followed, watching her ass as they went. There was just something about jean cut-off shorts that got him going. "If you're going to be mean, you won't get your surprise."

"What surprise?"

Pulling the small bag of white powder from his pocket, he jiggled it in the air. "Let's get started."

They locked themselves in the main bedroom and, being a gentleman, he allowed her the first hit. When it was his turn, he shoved her to her knees. There was nothing better than having a warm mouth work its magic while snorting a line.

They moved on to the bed, ready to lose themselves. No one matched Becca when it came to sex. He didn't have to be gentle. Not like he was with Vivian.

"I love you, Charlie."

The black heart thumping wildly in his chest faltered. Love should be a simple thing, and nothing between him and Becca would ever be simple. In pieces and parts, something akin to love was there. He loved how she could give him children, and how, like him, they trapped her in this life of secrets, giving him a confidant in the madness.

And there were other things about her he tried to love. Like now, when the curve of her back and the swell of her ass yielded without a fight. His happiness was Becca's life goal, and to prove the point to only himself, Charlie rode hard, knocking her forward to lie flat on the mattress.

"I love this." He shoved her crying face into a pillow, holding her down by the back of her head. They couldn't have the kids wake up, after all.

Her suffocated moans shot straight to his cock, and with a grunt, he spilled into her. They had forgone protection again, and when he pulled out, Charlie hoped it would stick. He was ready for another one. CeCe was growing up too fast.

Damn, there went his heart again.

It wasn't right to think that way. The mess he'd created didn't sit lightly in him, knowing it should be Viv he shared these hopes with.

It wasn't his fault her body was useless.

Nor was it his fault that he was obviously great at being a father. The love he had for the kids was so unfamiliar, and while he didn't always know how to handle it, he tried, thinking it made him a better man. Sometimes he fantasized that they belonged to Viv and not Becca. Especially Livy. If he ever told Viv the truth, he just knew it would be Livy who she would grow to love, and then maybe his daughter could come to live with them.

Sitting back against the headboard, he ignored Becca's pouting. It usually only took him a minute or two to rebound, but after doing a few lines, there would be a wait.

Which always pissed her off.

Gone was the skinny girl he'd fucked in the parking lot of the Blue 42. A little fuller in the hips, a little rounder in the belly, Becca had become more woman than girl as the years went on, and Charlie really couldn't say that he cared for the change.

She straddled him. "Hurry up."

"Easy," he ordered when she rolled her hips and the headboard banged against the wall. "I don't want the kids in here."

"Tonight was supposed to be fun."

The headboard continued to make noise, and he shoved her off him. "I said stop."

"It's not me."

They went quiet and realized someone was knocking on the front door. Charlie shot off the bed, angry at the interruption. "It's probably Devon, wondering why the kids didn't come back to the main house."

Pulling on his pants, he stormed to the front door, fully ready to give Devon a piece of his mind. But when he opened it, the last person he ever expected to see was standing on the other side.

"Get dressed and go home." Ben glared at him from the darkened porch. "Vivian's plane is landing in an hour."

The color drained from Charlie's face. "What?"

"Yeah, she apparently missed her husband so much that she rebooked her flight to come home early," his brother said sarcastically. "The only reason I know is because Hillary found out."

That bitch assistant of Ben's came in handy sometimes. Hillary had saved all their asses on more than one occasion. "Give me a minute."

Rushing to the bedroom, he dressed as fast as he could while Becca silently watched. Only when he slipped on his shoes did she finally speak. "I'm guessing you're done with us, which is a shame since Livy was excited to have breakfast with her dad."

Making all these women happy was becoming a full-time job. "Come here." When she settled in his lap, Charlie nuzzled her neck. "Viv is coming home early."

Becca's lips twisted to the side, but she nodded, knowing there was no argument to be had.

"I love you, Becca."

"I love you, too."

She sounded so resigned. As if loving him was a death sentence. These long stretches of time apart weren't helping, and disappointment struck. This night had been for him as much as her, but Viv coming home wasn't something he could control.

Taking a few minutes to remind Becca why this struggle was worth it, he left her happy, knowing he would definitely need to shower the stench of sex off his skin when he got home.

Charlie found Ben still waiting on the porch. "What part about me saying, go home, did you not understand?"

"Unlike you, I know not to leave a woman unsatisfied." He hated that his little brother could always get under his skin. "I'm assuming you wouldn't understand since you're no longer sleeping with your wife."

Ben mumbled something, and they started across the lawn. "Nice to hear you're talking to Mom again. Tell the bitch I said to fuck off and stop bribing Parkland's staff for information."

Helen was forever looking for a chink in Ben's armor, wanting revenge on her son. It shocked no one when he threw their mother out of Parkland Grounds. Charlie had tried to talk him out of it, or at least tried to convince him not to make such a spectacle out of the ordeal, but his brother was always going to do whatever he wanted, and publicly unloading their mother had been goal number one.

"Why did you drive all the way out here to tell me about Viv?" Charlie asked as they walked. At least it had stopped raining, with only the mist and fog rolling in off the bayou remaining. "A phone call would have worked."

"Not that it's your business, but I've been staying at the beach house while the towers are completed and wanted to stop in to see Selah."

Under Ben's rule, Fairweather Holdings was quickly becoming almost unrecognizable. The problem was that not only did that success guarantee them all comfortable lives, but it also kept investors like his father-in-law wanting more, leaving them constantly fighting for control of the company.

"Mom told me you were staying out there when she called last week," Charlie admitted as they turned to take one of the paths along the side of the house. "Everyone knows yo—"

Above them, from somewhere on the side porch, a woman screamed. "Jesus Christ on a cracker!" A light clicked on, and Laura Jean placed a hand over her heart. "You guys scared the crap out of me. What the hell are you doing out there?"

"Sorry, we didn't mean to startle you." Ben smiled up at her, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "I just needed Charlie."

Charlie's mouth fell open as he stared at his brother. Ben Fairweather never apologized. Ever. It was like a rule of his or something.

"Did you see the news about the storm?" Laura Jean came closer to lean against a column. "Should we be worried?"

"I haven't really looked." Ben's smile grew, creeping Charlie out further. "I'll check it out when I get to the house."

"Devon is all in a tizzy." She raised the glass mason jar in her hand, giving it a shake so the ice cubes clinked together. "He's making rounds of whiskey lemonades because he thinks this is the last calm night we're going to have for a while."

In the soft glow of the porch lanterns, Laura Jean came off as enchanting. Being beautiful was easy, but there was just something about her that drew people in, and Charlie would readily admit he was no exception.

Apparently, neither was his brother. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Ben rocked on the balls of his feet, looking like a damn smitten fool.

Charlie thought about punching him.

"Well, have fun," Ben said, turning to leave. "Goodnight."

"Would you like to join us?" She rushed forward, almost falling off the edge of the porch, and had to use a column to catch herself. Her wavy blonde hair glowed under the porch light, making her look like an angel hovering above. "I mean you too, Charlie. Both of you. I can get Rebecca, and I'm sure the kids want to sleep in their own rooms. We can have a party! Like a pre-hurricane party."

Charlie returned her smile. "Thanks, Laura Jean, but I've got to get going, and I'm sure Ben has important asshole stuff to do."

"I'll come in for a second," Ben said behind him. "Just let me see Charlie off."

"You're going to do what?!"

Charlie hadn't meant to shout in front of Laura Jean, but first, there was the apology, and now this—sure, I'll come in for a casual drink—version of Ben. It was about the most messed up thing he'd ever seen. His brother didn't do casual. Or drink whiskey lemonades out of glass mason jars. Or smile… wait… was that a fucking dimple?

"I'll be back," Ben said to Laura Jean and gave Charlie a shove. "This won't take long."

Needing to get home, but also needing answers, Charlie allowed himself to be led to the front of the house before turning on Ben. "What is going on?"

"Go home, Charlie."

"That's Albie's fucking wife." He pointed toward Haven. "Albie, Ben. You can't look at her like that."

Wiping a hand down his face, Ben muttered to himself. "I don't have time for this."

"Oh, but you have time to go in that house and have a drink while your wife sits at home alone? You can have a drink with Miranda, you know." Charlie wasn't about to miss this rare chance to take a cheap shot. "Or is she still not drinking even though the cancer is gone?"

Grabbing him by the shirt, Ben hauled him off the front path, through Ty's rainbow garden, and straight back into a tree. Holding him there, his brother gave him a firm shake. "What I do is not your business."

"And what I do isn't yours."

"Everything you do is my business," Ben snarled like the monster Charlie knew him to be. "There is not a single caveat of your life that is not wholly mine to control."

Charlie shoved at the hold, breaking loose. "I'll do what I want, you son of a bitch."

"And bring us all down in the process?" Ben shoved him back, much like they did as children. "One wrong move, Charlie. One wrong fucking move, and we lose it all. Dad wanted to screw us over, and he's doing it beyond the grave so spectacularly, I'm almost impressed."

"This can't all be on me."

"It's on both of us, so go home. Make Viv happy. That's all I'm asking."

As if dismissing him, Ben turned and headed to the house.

It took untold amounts of internal strength on Charlie's part to stay where he was. He needed an outlet for his anger, and there was no one better to receive it than Ben.

But the farther Ben traveled down the paved path, the urge to beat him to a pulp lessened. Music played from somewhere inside Haven House, drifting out over the night. It seeped through the open windows, blending with the sounds of laughter and children staying up well past their bedtime.

For a solid minute, Charlie stood listening. For a solid minute, he lurked in the shadows of the oaks as his brother went inside to be with his son. A son whom the outside world now accepted because Ben had given them no other choice.

Tobias deserved that same acceptance.

All his children did.

But there was nothing that could be done tonight.

Getting in his car, he sped home, beating Viv to the house. He quickly took a shower and scrubbed the stench of Becca off his skin. Standing under the double shower heads, the deluge of water helped wash his guilt down the drain, and he started to feel more like himself just as the shower door opened.

"Hello, handsome."

Charlie peeked through the streams of water flowing in a rush down his face. Wearing a baby blue dress, Viv remained heartbreakingly gorgeous even after her impromptu flight. "Hello, beautiful."

"Want some company?"

She squealed when he hauled her in, soaking her dress and hair. They laughed together as he stripped her naked, and then moaned together when he took her right there against the shower wall.

Life with Viv was easy.

Simple.

Real.

And he was happy to have his girl home.

During the first few years of their marriage, she had been so depressed over not being able to conceive. That's when his mother had gotten involved, introducing Viv to a doctor who stuffed her full of medications she really didn't need. Those were rough times, and how he ended up with Rebecca to start with.

But with Helen no longer in power, he and Viv's sister had worked to wean her off the meds. Bianca remained a bratty bitch, but at least she loved Viv as much as he did.

They cuddled in bed once done with the shower, aimlessly flipping through the TV channels.

"How's your dad?"

Dropping her head on his chest, she snuggled up next to him. "The doctors are saying if he behaves, and takes care of himself, he could live another two decades."

Wonderful.

"Hey, I heard a name I liked while in Texas."

Viv kept a little notebook in her purse where she jotted down names she liked. Baby names for their future child.

He stroked her hair, landing on the weather station. That hurricane might not be so small after all. "What is it?"

"Tobias."

His stomach seized, and he had to physically swallow down the vomit burning his throat.

"What do you think?

Charlie focused on the spinning storm and said the first thing that came to mind. "I think that's a great name."