Winning Charlotte Back, page 6
“By opening the window. If we can make a path and get over there. It’s kind of stuffy in here.”
“No problem.” Bobby twisted and contorted his body around boxes and stepped into a basket that she hoped was dirty clothes, finally reaching the window. He unlocked and opened it, then turned to her, a look of triumph on his face. “What next?”
“Where’s your dad?”
“Right behind you.”
Charlotte jumped, wondering how Rick had sneaked up on her like that. Somehow he’d managed to open the door wide enough to get inside. With his broad shoulders that was no easy thing. Of course, he had muscles to spare, so maybe it was easy. He stepped closer and she got a whiff of aftershave mingled with his natural scent.
“I didn’t see you standing there,” she said inanely.
His grin would be better suited to a pirate than a family practitioner and single father. “I’m at your service. What do you need?”
“Another pair of strong arms to help move boxes and furniture.”
“We don’t need him,” Bobby said, rushing forward, knocking over a plastic bin in his haste to get to her side. Dozens of cases of video games spilled across the floor but he ignored them. He smiled at her, then glared at his father. “We can do it by ourselves.”
Rick’s smile faded in the face of rejection. A meaner, pettier version of herself would have been happy that he was getting some of his own medicine, but instead she felt sad for him. He loved his son and Bobby was shredding Rick’s heart without even knowing it. “Speak for yourself, Hercules. If you notice, I’m not exactly dressed for moving boxes. Nor are my muscles as big as yours and your father’s. No. I think I’ll take a seat on the throne and direct you two peasants. You may bow at my feet now.”
Bobby’s brow wrinkled in confusion and he blinked a couple of times. After a moment, he grinned and swept into an awkward bow. “Okay, your queenliness.”
“And don’t you forget it.” She raised an eyebrow at Rick, who was staring at her and Bobby, an unreadable expression on his face. “You may bow as well, peasant.”
He grinned and seemed to get into the mood. His bow was decidedly more graceful than his son’s. He took her hand and kissed it, sending chills down her spine. “I’m your servant, your queenliness.”
Her cheeks grew warm and she hoped he couldn’t see her blush. Bobby somehow managed to carry his chair to her without knocking over anything. She busied herself straightening her dress before she sat down.
“What should we do now?” Bobby asked.
She looked from his eager expression to Rick’s amused one. Darn, he’d noticed that he’d flustered her. “I think we should get the clothes put away. That way we can clear out some of these boxes. Are you going to set up your game system in here or somewhere else?”
“In here,” Bobby said immediately.
“In the living room,” Rick replied, just as quickly.
“Okay.” She wasn’t going to get into the middle of that debate. “You two decide on that later.”
“There’s nothing to decide,” Rick said firmly. “The system will stay in the living room like before.”
Bobby narrowed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest in typical kid anger. This fun time was rapidly turning into a battle of testosterone.
“I like to play,” she said, playing peacemaker. “I might invite myself to come over and play with you. It would be easier if the games were downstairs so we could sit on the couch.”
“We could sit on my bed.”
Charlotte laughed. “Sorry, Bobby. I don’t think your dad would appreciate you having girls in your room.”
“You’re not a girl. At least not the kind of girl Dad means.”
“Let’s put the game system downstairs. That way you can have all kinds of girls over.” Charlotte was trying to sound reasonable even as she tried not to look at Rick. She could only imagine what type of girl he thought she was. The desperate kind.
“Okay. But I’m not going to have girls over. Just boys. If I ever make any friends here. I haven’t seen anything but old people.”
“Like me?”
He nodded. “And the mayor. I bet there aren’t any kids in this stupid town.”
“You’d lose that bet. There are plenty of kids here. They hang out at the youth center. Your dad can take you there. You’ll make friends in no time.”
Bobby took a deep breath and Charlotte got the feeling he was about to launch into another tirade about his dad, so she cut him off at the pass. “Okay. Let’s move this dresser to the wall next to the closet. I think it works better there.”
“Okay.”
Bobby pushed against the dresser. It was solid cherry, so it didn’t budge.
“That looks like a job for two people,” Charlotte pointed out. “And the queen doesn’t move furniture.”
Rick sauntered across the room. “I can’t do it alone, but if we work together we can move it.”
Charlotte’s heart warmed at the way Rick offered his assistance without fracturing his son’s ego. Rick leaned into the dresser and grunted a little. Bobby mimicked his father’s stance. Together they managed to get the heavy piece of furniture to the place she’d chosen. Bobby’s breathing was heavy, but he was smiling.
“What next?” Rick asked.
Charlotte pointed to the desk and chair. After they were moved to the place of Bobby’s choosing, they began emptying boxes. “Let’s hang up the clothes. We can start with the long-sleeved shirts. I’ll separate them by color once they’re on hangers.”
“You’re going to hang up shirts by sleeve length?” Rick asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “And color?”
“Why can’t I just shove them in the drawers?” Bobby asked, his expression mirroring his father’s.
“Never mind. I’ll take care of the clothes,” she said, shooing them away. They just stood there looking at her like she was crazy until she clapped her hands. “Start emptying the boxes.”
She opened a box labeled Clothes. From the looks of it, Bobby had simply dumped everything in without rhyme or reason. Sighing, she began pulling out his underwear, piling underpants and undershirts beside her. She held up a pair of rolled socks. “Which drawer?”
Bobby shrugged and shot his father a confused look before turning his attention back to her. “Any drawer, I guess.”
She decided to make an executive decision and organize the clothes in a way that made sense to her. She would give him a good start even though she doubted it would last.
While she worked, Bobby gathered his video games. He could have put them back into the empty plastic bin, but he grabbed them in an unruly pile that kept shifting and sliding from his arms. Using his chin and chest, he managed to keep them from falling as he left the room. She didn’t comment, glad that the fight over the placement of the game system had been resolved without further explosion.
Unfortunately, his absence left her alone with Rick and her imagination. She needed to make sure he knew she wasn’t still in love with him, but she didn’t want to have that discussion now.
“Thanks for helping Bobby. Given our past, I don’t imagine you planned on getting this involved with us.”
She dropped a stack of white undershirts into a drawer then leaned her hip against the dresser and crossed her arms. “If you know that then why do you keep pulling me in?”
He looked flustered if only for a second. “To be honest, I didn’t realize how badly I’d hurt you before we talked last night. I knew you were angry but it hadn’t occurred to me that you were also heartbroken. I’m ashamed to admit it never crossed my mind that you’d been in love with me.”
Because loving her had never been a possibility for him. She raised her hands, determined to stop him. “We don’t need to rehash the past. I loved you then. I had twelve years to let the feeling die. It did.” It had been a slow and painful death that left more than a few scars, but that was something he didn’t need to know.
“I’m sorry for being dense and not knowing how badly I messed up.”
“Fine. But know this. We’re not going to be friends. We live next door to each other, so we’ll see each other. We’ll even speak to each other. But that’ll be the extent of our relationship.”
He was shaking his head even as the words were coming out of her mouth. “No.”
“What do you mean no? You can’t make me be your friend.”
“I mean exchanging greetings isn’t going to cut it.” He looked up to the ceiling as if seeking answers from the cheap, ugly light fixture that needed to be replaced, then sighed. “You and Bobby have hit it off. He’s been spiraling since Sherry left. You’re the first person who has been able to reach him. So though you may hate my guts, I’m not taking no for an answer. Bobby needs you, so you’re stuck with me.”
Shocked by his bold declaration, his arrogance, she sputtered. “I don’t think so. Your problems are yours, not mine. If you’re having trouble with Bobby you’re going to have to figure it out without me.”
“Don’t you like me?”
Charlotte spun around. The sad look on Bobby’s face broke her heart. She might not have much use for Rick, but there was no way she could hurt this child. His mother had already turned her back on him. She couldn’t live with herself if she did the same. “Yes, Bobby. I like you a lot. It’s your father who gets on my nerves.”
Bobby smiled and blew out a breath. “He gets on my nerves, too. But he’s hardly ever around, so you don’t have to worry about seeing him when we hang out.”
Although Charlotte returned Bobby’s smile, she knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.
Chapter Seven
Rick tied twine around the bundle of cardboard boxes and shoved them into the recycling bin. He’d worked hard the last two days to get the house in shape. Or as organized as he could manage with an uncooperative kid who fought him at every turn and random thoughts about Charlotte that popped into his mind at the worst times. Every thought was accompanied by guilt. Ever since she’d admitted to having loved him all those years ago, his guilt grew. It was bad enough knowing he’d humiliated her. But knowing he’d broken her heart? That was enough to bring him to his knees.
She was so different from the quiet and unassuming girl he remembered. Now she was prickly with some hard edges and he wondered how much of her attitude was a result of his careless treatment of her. But no matter how cool she was to him, she was soft as a marshmallow with Bobby.
The day after she’d made it abundantly clear she didn’t want to be around Rick, Bobby had insisted on inviting Charlotte over to play video games. He’d become upset when Rick said she might not want to come. Bobby couldn’t believe Charlotte didn’t want to spend every second of her day with him. While Rick had been getting his own bedroom in order, Bobby had sneaked next door. Two hours later Rick had come downstairs to find Charlotte with a controller in her hand. She’d been losing the game, but she was laughing and, incredibly enough, talking trash.
She was so beautiful. Goofing around with Bobby, she’d looked carefree and young. The frown lines around her mouth had eased, and she didn’t have the pinched and unhappy look he’d seen too often on her face. Something inside him had stirred and awakened and he realized it was attraction. He was attracted to Charlotte again.
As he thought back on it, he shook his head in disgust. The timing couldn’t be worse. He had a son who was barely speaking to him and who only let him hang around because he didn’t have a choice. Sherry had ruined more than her relationship with Bobby. She’d ruined Rick’s relationship with their son as well. He’d spent the past year and a half trying to restore that relationship, but so far nothing had worked.
Charlotte was the only person who’d managed to reach Bobby. Perhaps because they’d both been rejected and abandoned by someone who was supposed to love them. Someone they should have been able to rely on. His stomach seized. He was one of the people Charlotte should have been able to count on. True, her father had hurt her, but Rick knew he wasn’t blameless, either.
What a mess. He’d been confronted by screwed-up situations many times in his life but nothing of this magnitude. At least not of his own making. His father had anointed him his successor to the business even though Rick hadn’t wanted any part of it. Their relationship had been strained for over a year as his father tried to bend Rick to his will. Rick had remained firm and in the end his father had accepted his decision. Their relationship was once again strong. If he could fix that mess, he certainly could fix this one.
And she might not know it yet, but Charlotte needed him. Not to rescue her, but to add fun and joy to her life. It seemed to him that she had lost the ability to enjoy herself and had forgotten how to laugh. He and Bobby could help with that. They needed Charlotte, but she needed them, too. Maybe they could help each other.
* * *
The doorbell rang just as Charlotte finished wiping her kitchen counter. She tossed the sponge into the sink and walked slowly to the door. She had no doubt that one of the Tyler men was standing on her porch. Although she had told Rick she didn’t want him in her life, he hadn’t yet caught on to the fact that she meant it. Instead, he kept coming around as if trying to wear her down. She might consider slamming the door in his face, but he knew she wouldn’t do the same to Bobby. So he always brought Bobby with him.
“Are you home, Charlotte?” Bobby yelled as he rang the doorbell again. She’d asked him not to hold his finger down on it, but he either didn’t remember or didn’t understand just how annoying the repeated ringing was.
“I’m coming,” she called. How had she become his best friend? Didn’t he know nobody liked her? She opened the door and stepped outside. “What’s up?”
“Do you want to come over and play? You’re never going to get good if you don’t practice.”
She swallowed a smile. He seemed so sincere. Part of her believed he wanted her to become better because that was important to him. Another part believed he was lonely, a feeling she knew all too well. Sure, she could hang out with him, but he needed friends his own age. Not only that, she planned to leave Sweet Briar soon. It wouldn’t be fair to let him become attached to her. She didn’t want him to feel like she’d deserted him when she left. And she was leaving.
“I have a better idea. There are lots of kids in town who hang out at the youth center. It’s a good place to make friends. Your dad can take you there today.”
“He’s busy.”
“Doing what?” The words were out of her mouth before she could call them back.
He shrugged and twisted his foot on the floor, making his gym shoe squeak. “I don’t know. Something to do with his job.”
“Let’s go talk to him so we can get an idea when he can take you.”
Rick was in his office when they arrived. His eyebrows rose when he saw her and a gleam lit his eyes. He lifted a finger signaling them to wait a minute, spoke into the phone, then scribbled a note on a piece of paper. “Thanks for your help,” he said, then ended the call.
“We need to talk,” Charlotte said.
“I told Bobby not to bother you.”
“He isn’t bothering me. Bobby is always welcome in my home.”
“Told you.” Bobby frowned. Obviously they had discussed Bobby’s growing attachment to her. Was Rick trying to help her maintain the distance she wanted? If so, he was going about it the wrong way. Making Bobby feel unwanted wasn’t the way to help him get over being abandoned.
“Then what do we need to discuss?”
“Bobby needs friends his age. You need to get him involved at the youth center so he can meet other kids.”
Rick looked at her for a minute then picked up his car keys. “Fine. Let’s go.”
“You don’t need me,” she said, backing out of the room. No way did she want to be trapped in a car with him. She was having a hard enough time maintaining her emotional distance from across the room. If she was close enough to inhale his scent with every breath, close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body, her resolve might weaken. Then where would she be? It was only memories of blinding pain that kept her from being swept away by his charm. Even so, she didn’t know how long she could hold up the wall around her heart.
“Don’t you want to go with us?” Bobby asked. Oh, she was going to have to find a way to resist this kid. The pleading expression on his face only reminded her of her futile attempts to gain her father’s love and attention.
“Yeah, don’t you want to go with us?” Rick mimicked, closing the distance between them. His smile was wicked and way too sexy for her comfort. Clearly he was up to something but she had no idea what. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to fall for it. Now if only her body would line up behind her brain and make that tingling sensation racing down her spine vanish.
She looked away, but not before seeing the mischief dancing in Rick’s eyes. She directed her response to his son. “You don’t need me.”
“Yes, I do,” Bobby admitted quietly. His little-boy vulnerability squeezed her heart, dissolving the last of her resistance.
“Okay. I’ll come.”
Bobby grinned and raced out the door to Rick’s car. Rick and Charlotte followed at a more sedate pace. After buckling into the seat beside Rick, she gave directions to the youth center.
Twenty minutes later they pulled into the parking lot. A vibrant mural covered the outside of the building.
“Wow. That’s cool,” Bobby said.
“My sister’s an artist. She designed it and a lot of people helped paint it.” Pride filled her although she didn’t know why. Her youngest sister, Carmen, had spearheaded the effort, but Charlotte hadn’t helped. She and Carmen had been estranged for years. To her shame, she’d brushed aside every overture Carmen had made. She’d ignored every phone call and had publicly snubbed her. Finally her sister had gotten the message and had moved on with her life.
