Hidden Trial (Hidden Alliance Book 1), page 22
“By four minutes.” Charlotte gave her an exasperated look.
Maddy shrugged. “Still. You did good. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you. But I think that’s enough for me. At least for a little while. And now that I don’t need to hide any longer, I can live life the way I want without worrying about anyone getting hurt.”
“And you can always live vicariously through me once I’m back out on the street. That is, if they ever stop babying me and let me back out there.”
“They’ll stop babying you once you stop acting like one,” Charlotte quipped.
“You say that now, but wait until I’m back on my feet. I’ll make you eat your words.”
“I look forward to it.” She gave Maddy a sinister squint.
“Hey,” Will said. “I don’t mean to interrupt your little bonding session here, but have you heard from Peter? I wanted to thank him properly. I never got the chance. Things got so hectic in Venezuela, he took off before we had the opportunity to debrief.”
“He had to go home,” Maddy said. “Jemi had a turn.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah. I’ve been praying for her nonstop. I really hope God does a miracle there.”
Charlotte and Will both gaped.
“You’ve been praying for her?” Charlotte finally said.
“You should see both your faces,” Maddy laughed. “I’ve been waiting for just the right moment. And it was worth it.”
“That’s not funny.”
“If you saw your face, you’d understand.”
“You’ve never been one to joke about prayer.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
“So you’re serious? You’ve been praying for her?”
“Yeah. Only took my sister being kidnapped and nearly dying for God to finally get to me. It was annoying, actually. I couldn’t get Him off my case, but what can you do?”
“That new information is going to have to sit with me for a while,” Will said. “And I’d love to hear more about it, but I’ve gotta get going.”
“I’m so jealous,” Maddy said.
Will stretched like he was enjoying himself. “Yup. And you should be. Might go for a jog later.”
“Rub it in, why don’t you?”
“As much as I can.”
“If I didn’t like you so much, I’d hate you. But promise me you won’t be a stranger,” Maddy said.
“I won’t.” He looked at Charlotte, but his eyes wouldn’t settle on her. “It was good to see you again, Charlotte. I’m glad everything worked out in the end.”
“Me too.”
“Well…I guess I’ll see you two around.” He offered them each a close-lipped smile, then left the room.
Charlotte bit her lip as he walked out the door. This wasn’t how she wanted to say goodbye to Will. She probably wouldn’t see him again, but as much as that grieved her, she wanted to say a proper goodbye.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” she said to Maddy, then jumped from her chair.
Will was already halfway down the hall when she entered the hallway.
“Hang on,” she called to him. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. “I just wanted to say…thank you. I know I’ve said it before, but everything you did…it was so much. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come to find me. I mean—I know what I would have done. I would have been stuck in the cell.”
“I told you when we did this thing that I’d do everything in my power to make sure you were safe. I didn’t know it would take me to South America, but I never go back on my word.”
“And it’s a good thing. I didn’t ask—how’s Kelly doing?”
Will let out a long, slow breath. “She’s okay. I speak to her regularly, but it will take her a lot of time to recover. She had a lot of years of brainwashing to clear out. But she has really good people around her, and she knows she’s safe now. I also haven’t stopped praying for her, so there’s that.”
“I’ve been praying too.”
“Have you?”
“Yeah. She’ll get there. We both know God answers our prayers. He’s got plans for her, and they’re good ones.”
“Yeah. Speaking of plans, what are yours? You said you’ve had enough action for a while. Does that mean you’re going back to your quiet suburban life?”
“For now. I don’t want to keep things the way they are, but God often only shows us one step at a time. I trust He’s got my future well and truly in His hands.”
“I guess I’ll hear about it through your sister when I run into her again.”
“Yeah. I mean, you can call me anytime if you want to know anything. You’re practically like family after everything we’ve been through. Not that you have to call me. I just mean you can. Or not.” She hadn’t meant to sound like a blundering idiot, but now that she was standing alone with him in the hall, she was afraid to let him go.
“Well. It was good working with you.” He held out his hand to shake hers.
She looked at it, disappointed, then shook. “You too.”
“Goodbye, Charlotte. Take care of Maddy.”
“I will. Goodbye. And good luck with your new assignment.”
Will forced himself to turn away from Charlotte. He didn’t want to. He wanted to take her with him, but his head scrambled when he attempted to understand how much she meant to him. He felt guilty for wanting more from her after what she’d suffered because of their operation but knew it made no sense.
He’d spent hours before coming to the hospital, praying about what to do when he saw her. In that time, God had made it clear that he needed to move on. He needed distance from what had happened. Charlotte was too distracting, and he had to get back with God and work on the baggage he’d carried around with him his whole life.
After that, who knew? But saying goodbye to her, knowing it could be the last time he’d see her, hurt. The problem was, not following God’s plan would hurt more in the long run, and he knew he’d made the right decision being obedient even though there was a place in his heart that wasn’t happy about it.
“Goodbye, Charlotte,” he mumbled as he left the hospital.
“So?” Maddy said when Charlotte came back in the room.
“So, what?”
“What’d you say?”
“To Will? I said thanks and asked him how Kelly was doing with her recovery.”
“That’s it?”
“Should I have said something else?”
Maddy sighed. “No. I guess not.”
“Listen, I’ve been thinking.”
“Uh-oh.”
“It’s not bad, I promise. At least, I hope you don’t think it is.”
“I won’t know until you tell me.”
“You’re supposed to take time to recover, right?”
“Yes.”
“I happen to have a great little place. I was wondering if you wanted to stay with me for a while. At least until you’re back on your feet. I can help you get to appointments and make sure you’re doing your exercises or whatever.”
Maddy’s eyes narrowed. “Sounds to me like you’re looking for any chance to torture me.”
“If the opportunity presents itself. But I’m serious. I’d love for you to come and stay. We’ve missed out on a lot over the last few years.”
Maddy’s forehead furrowed, and her eyes glistened. She blinked back tears. “You really want me to stay after the way I’ve treated you?”
“I understand you were reacting out of hurt. We’ve both made mistakes over the years, and I want to make things right.”
“You don’t think I’d drive you crazy?”
“Yes, you probably will, but I’m prepared for that eventuality.”
“That’s generous.”
“You’re my sister.”
“I’d like that, but I’ll only do it under one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“If you ever get to the point you want me out, you have to promise to tell me. I won’t be offended. I won’t get mad at you. I don’t want to overstay my welcome, and there’s no need.”
“I promise.”
“Good. Then it’s settled. You know, Charlie, it’s really good to have my sister back again.”
“Yeah. I’ve missed you too.”
“What do you think Mom will say when she finds out?”
“She’ll be too busy gallivanting around town to care what we get up to.”
“I sure hope so. Well, roomie, you want to go find the doctor so I can get discharged and get out of here?”
“I couldn’t think of anything better.”
Epilogue
Charlotte looked down at her flour-covered hands when the doorbell rang.
“You mind seeing who that is?” she said to Maddy, who was sitting at the kitchen table reading on her phone.
“Didn’t know you were expecting company.”
“I’m not. It’s probably a salesman. You’re better at being blunt than I am. Tell him we’re not interested.”
“Sure thing.” She grabbed her crutches and hobbled to the window, peeking through the curtain. “Oh! It’s Will.”
“Will who?”
“Who do you think?”
“You mean your Will?”
“He doesn’t belong to me, but yes, Will the guy who saved your life.”
“Are you sure?”
“I know what he looks like.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“Don’t know. You haven’t spoken to him?”
“Not since we saw him at the hospital. You haven’t spoken to him?”
“Nope.” The doorbell rang again. “Can I mess with him?”
“Mess with him how?”
“Same way we always mess with people. Pretend I’m you.”
“No.”
“Aw, come on. My face finally looks the same as yours again, and I’ve been cooped up here for months. I need some release.”
“Maddy.”
“Please? It would really cheer me up.”
“Fine, but only for a minute.”
“Awesome.” She pulled her hair out of its ponytail, then raked her fingers through it, checking Charlotte to make sure it was close enough to her sister’s. “Coming,” she called out to stall so she could get to the door and put her crutches out of sight.
Before facing Will, she tipped her head to the side like she’d seen Charlotte do a million times, then added her sister’s soft smile to her lips.
She opened the door slowly, looking surprised when she saw him. “Will. Hi. It’s so good to see you. What are you doing here?”
The smile he had on his face slipped into a frown. “Maddy? I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Are you visiting?”
“Oh, my.” She laughed.
“What?”
“No one’s ever…” She turned and looked down the hall toward the kitchen, then looked back. “I’m not visiting. I’ve been staying here while I’ve been recovering. Also working on a little bonding time with my sister.”
“You must be driving each other crazy.”
“Close. But actually it’s been better than I expected.”
Charlotte appeared at the end of the hall. “Time’s up. Let him off the hook,” she called out.
“No need.” Maddy pulled her crutches back under her arms and moved to the side to let Will in. “Please, come in.”
“Hey, Will,” Charlotte said, wiping her hands on her pants. “I didn’t know you knew Maddy was here.”
“I didn’t.”
“Oh. But I thought—”
Maddy cleared her throat. “Why don’t you two have a seat in the living room? I’ll make coffee.”
“You can’t carry coffee with crutches,” Charlotte said. “You guys sit down. I’ll make the coffee. I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on.”
“No, we don’t,” Maddy and Will said at the same time.
Maddy beamed at Charlotte before scooting past her down the hall. “You two kids make yourselves comfortable. I’ll be in later. Maybe.”
Charlotte watched her disappear into the kitchen before turning to Will. “Sorry, I don’t know what’s got into her. I think she’s been inside too long.”
“That would do it. At least she’s mobile now. How’s she doing?”
“Fine. She’s fine. Did you really not know she was here?”
“No. I hadn’t heard.”
“Did something happen? Is something wrong?”
“No. Why do you think anything’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I’m just not sure why you’re here if not to see Maddy.”
“Oh. I uh…I’m glad to hear she’s doing well. But I came to see you.”
“Oh…you did? Right…okay…well, it’s good to see you.”
“I can go if you’re busy.”
“No. Not busy at all. I was baking. Was there some detail that I missed?”
“What? What detail?”
“About what happened with Antonio? Did I miss something for a report or something?”
Will ran his hand over his head, then squeezed the back of his neck. “No. That’s not why I’m here either. Man, you are really making this hard on me.”
Charlotte bit her lip. “I don’t mean to. I just…I don’t want to assume anything.”
“You should.” He stepped closer to her. “You should definitely assume. It would help me out a lot.”
She looked at the floor to hide the smile and blush that covered her face. “When we said goodbye at the hospital, I didn’t think I’d see you again.” He was standing very close now.
“I had some stuff I had to sort out. I needed God to rebuild parts of my life.”
“And has He?”
“Yeah. Hey, was Maddy pretending to be you at the door just now?”
“She was. Sorry about that. I didn’t want to trick you. It was her idea.”
“I wasn’t fooled.”
She looked up at him, surprised. “Come on. Yes, you were.”
“No. I thought she was acting weird, but I knew it was her. Should I not have?”
“No one can ever tell.”
“No one?”
“No. Didn’t I tell you this already? I feel like we’ve had this conversation.”
“We did. You said only the people who love you can tell you apart.”
“Yeah—oh.”
He reached up and brushed his thumb on her cheek. “You’ve got this little freckle here she doesn’t have. Also, your eyes are slightly darker than hers.”
“Are they?” She could barely get the words out. It seemed impossible that he was standing here looking at her like that.
Then, his eyes dropped to her mouth, and her stomach twisted in a knot of joy and butterflies. “And your laugh lines are different.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” His hand reached to the back of her neck, and he pulled her toward him. She took a step forward, and her arms went around him as he kissed her.
“Naw, look at you two,” Maddy said from the hall.
Charlotte tried to pull away to scowl at the interruption, but Will wouldn’t let her. He put his arm around her, pressing his hand into her back to keep her close as he twisted her away from the hall, then waved his hand in the air to tell Maddy to get lost.
Maddy had no interest in sticking around, but she paused long enough to savor the moment of her sister’s happiness. She liked Will. He would make a decent brother-in-law one day.
The End
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