Chapter 32

I woke up with my face buried in a pillow that wasn"t mine. I blinked, trying to piece together where I was.

Then the door opened.

"Morning," David said, placing a glass of orange juice and a bottle of Tylenol on the bedside table. The faint smell of bacon wafted in with him, making my stomach churn. "Thought you might need these."

"Thanks, Uncle D."

I took the pills and chased them down with the orange juice. My mouth felt like sandpaper. Drinking had seemed like a good idea last night, but now I wished someone had cut me off earlier.

"I"m sorry you had to come pick me up last night."

"Hey, don"t worry about it," he crossed his arms. "I"m just glad I got there before you hurt yourself or someone else."

"I wouldn"t drive drunk," I assured him. "I know better than that."

"No one knows what they"ll do when they"re that wasted. And talking is cheaper than booze. Besides, everyone already knows you and Charlie broke up."

"It was only a matter of time before she got pulled back to New York. Now she can be with her family without guilt. They need her."

"Her family needs her, huh?" Uncle David asked, but I could tell by the tone of his voice he didn't agree. "And that's what got you so hammered last night?"

"I'm fine." I rubbed my temples in an attempt to chase away the remnants of my headache.

David raised an eyebrow. "Fine isn't sucking down scotch like water. You obviously need to talk to someone before you drown your liver."

Uncle David wasn't my first choice of confidante, but it was either him or my father and I definitely didn't need another Evers lecture on true love.

"You know," David said finally, "you got just like this the last time she left."

The room suddenly seemed uncomfortably hot. I threw off the blankets. "No, I didn't. We hated each other."

I'd never hated her but that didn't mean I was ready to admit that to him.

"I'm going to put something out there. It might be crazy. But is it possible that you didn't hate her? That you were actually in love with Charlie in high school?"

My first instinct was to deny it but then images of the last month flashed through my mind. Fixing her house while getting my fix of her sweet smiles. Then I thought of how I'd left her without a proper goodbye. A pang of guilt twisted in my gut.

"Maybe," I conceded finally.

"Is it possible that you are in love with her now?"

I glared at him.

He smiled triumphantly. "Hah. I knew it."

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. "It feels just like it did last time. Like I'm chasing her but can't catch her. No matter how fast I run."

He sighed. "Things are different now. You're not kids anymore."

"Maybe not. But this place hasn't changed. Neither have I."

"What hasn't changed is that you still aren't telling her what's important."

"Like that worked last time."

"You're right, you haven't changed. You're still a dumbass. She was a kid last time. She didn't have control of her own life then."

"I didn't say it was her fault. I don't blame her for leaving. She wanted something better."

"Did she? Because the way I remember it is that you didn't give her a reason to stay because you were too chicken shit to confess how you felt then. You just beat up her boyfriend with no explanation."

"Kenny Baker wasn't fit to touch her."

"And you are?"

Images of Kenny"s bruised face flashed through my mind, that piece of crap smirking as he boasted to his buddies about what he wanted to do with Charlie. I wished I could punch him all over again.

"At least I wasn't just trying to brag to my little buddies about how I screwed her on prom night!"

"Alright, so you protected her from some jerk," Uncle David conceded. "But did you ever tell her why? Did you ever let her know how much she meant to you?"

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his words press down on me. I hadn"t told her, not really. Blurting it out before walking away didn't really count. I"d been too scared to put myself out there, to risk losing her forever. But hadn"t I lost her anyway by not fighting for her?

"No," I admitted quietly. "Not really. But I do love her."

David regarded me with stony eyes. "I know that. You know that. Guess who doesn't? Charlie. So tell her."

Annoyed to have been so easily outwitted, I flopped back down on the bed. What he was saying made sense if you were on the outside looking in. If it wasn't your heart that would be shattered if you told a woman that she was your reason for living and she didn't care.

After all, my heat of the moment confession to Charlie hadn't exactly been met with enthusiasm. Yes, some of that was because we were in the middle of an argument. But I'd basically admitted that I'd loved her since we were kids and she hadn't said anything. Just stared at me in horror.

"I'm not just busting your balls for no reason, Rix. Anybody with eyes can see that girl is into you."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "I"m just trying to do the right thing for Charlie. She always puts her family first, and I don"t blame her. I thought it would be easier if she could leave with nothing tying her down."

"I understand what you're trying to do but families grow all the time. How do you think you arrived in this world?"

"Seriously?" I rolled my eyes. "I don"t need a birds and bees talk."

"Are you sure about that?" He grinned, but his eyes remained serious. "Because it seems like you"ve forgotten that people leaving their families to form new ones is how the world turns. The problem here is that you never actually asked Charlie to stay. You just made the decision for her."

His words stung, but I couldn"t deny the truth in them. I had been too afraid to face the possibility of losing her, so I"d pushed her away instead. My hands clenched into fists as I tried to find the right words.

"What if I do that and it doesn't work? What if she doesn"t want to stay?"

"Then at least you"ll know you tried," David replied firmly. "Show her how much she means to you, Rix. Give her a reason to stay."

* * *

Nothing was the same with Charlie gone. All the things we'd said and done swirled around my brain as I attempted to continue my usual routine.

Shifts at the hardware store.

Spending time with my family.

Painting.

However, as I went about my usual routine it was obvious there wasn't anything usual about it. There was a gaping Charlie-sized hole where all my happiness used to be. A hole so big I was pretty sure everyone around me could see right through it.

I wanted her dancing around making pancakes and singing off key when she thought no one could hear. I even missed her million and one lists for everything and all the times she pointed her "attack" dog at me.

God I even missed that little gremlin.

I missed all the things that brought Charlie-flavored joy into my life and if I didn't get my head out of my ass she was never going to come back. Instinctively I knew this time was different. We weren't kids who'd fucked up a good thing because we were young and immature. If we didn't learn to speak the same language and figure this thing out then we were both going to suffer. This was the kind of hurt that not even time could heal.

However David's words rang through my mind. If I wanted her then I needed to give her a reason to stay. So far I hadn't done such a great job at that. Instead I specialized in running away, leaving before I could get left. This wasn't the time to be a coward. If I wanted Charlie to see the big, beautiful, messy life I envisioned, then I needed to show her.

I needed to paint it like a picture.

The idea slammed into me with all the subtlety of a truck. I hung my head. Instead of drinking like a fish and rage painting, I could have been working on something for Charlie. Something that could show her how I felt.

I wasn't good with grand gestures. Never had been. I was a hands-on kind of guy. I might not be able to give her poetry and diamonds but I could give her the one thing she really wanted. While Charlie was gone, I would finish the renovation and get the other bedrooms ready.

I sighed. I was going to need some backup if I wanted to get this done quickly.

Hendrix

You want to install kitchen cabinets with me this weekend?

Van

Why would I want to do that?

Hendrix

You wouldn't but you owe me this. You owe me.

Van

I let you live with me.

Hendrix

And charged me rent.

Van

Still counts.

Hendrix

I saw your ass.

Van

…

Van

What kind of cabinets?

I sent him a middle finger emoji before I switched over to text Tana. It was about fifty-fifty whether she would ignore me but I was counting on her wanting to help.

Hendrix

Is it too late to pull off the Rescue Charlie plan?

A few minutes went by before I saw the little bubbles dancing around indicating that she was typing. Then they stopped. Then they started moving again.

Hendrix

I know I'm an ass and ten years too late. Cut me a break here.

TanaBanana

As long as you know it.

Hendrix

She's worth it. That's all I know.

The phrase stuck in my head. She was worth it. It was alarming how different my life could be if I'd figured that out ten years ago. I'd been so focused on all the things I couldn't give her that I'd never bothered to ask about what Charlie actually needed.

Anyone else would have been pissed to have to fix up and live in a ramshackle old house but Charlie had never seemed happier than she was puttering around that place making her plans. All she'd ever talked about were the things she wanted to do in town and the friends she would invite over. The life she wanted to live.

In Violet Ridge.

One day I'm going to live in Gran Grace's house….

And I'll never have to leave…

She'd told me what she wanted when we were kids. It had just taken me two decades to really hear her.

The men in New York might be able to offer her more money but they couldn't hope to beat the force of an Evers man on a mission. If she wanted family then I had plenty to share. If I was lucky I could give her a new last name, too.

Buoyed as the beginnings of a plan formed, I knew it wasn't going to be as easy as it seemed. I couldn't just call her out of the blue and think everything was forgiven.

And that wasn't me being dramatic. I literally couldn't call her because I was ninety percent sure she'd blocked my number when I was ignoring her.

Hendrix

I need to borrow the gremlin.

TanaBanana

:eyeball emoji:

Hendrix

If I'm going to New York then a pee cannon might come in handy.

TanaBanana

Finally! I wondered how long it would take you to figure it out. Go get our girl. Bring me back a T-shirt.

Hendrix

How about I bring you back a sister-in-law?