While his dark brown couch wasn’t an eyesore, it wasn’t butter soft leather either.
“Thanks for coming over.” Drew greeted him with a handshake.
“Shouldn’t I be thanking you?”
“He needs more friends.” Brooke squeezed Drew’s cheeks between her fingers and kissed him on the lips. “Man friends. He keeps trying to steal mine.”
“I don’t get out much,” Drew admitted.
“I can say the same.” Owen peered over Drew’s shoulder and smiled when he saw Livy chasing bubbles with Gina on the deck.
“We have a few toys downstairs we keep for my niece and nephew when they come visit. Olivia is more than welcome to play with whatever she finds.”
“It seems like she has Gina and Charlie at her beck and call.”
“It’s the same way when Vanessa and Tyler come. Uncle Drew here is putty in their hands.” Brooke kissed his cheek before going outside to join the others.
“Can I help with anything?” he asked as he followed Drew into the kitchen.
“You cook?”
“I can heat up a can of soup.”
“Charlie says your sister knows her way around the kitchen and your mom owns The Black Fly Diner. The cooking gene skip right over you?”
Owen stilled and clenched his teeth. He’d realized bringing Livy to the camp’s grand opening a few weeks ago was a mistake. Letting her take a cooking lesson with Charlie was an even bigger mistake. And this... dinner with people who lived too close to his town, people who would want to know his business, was exactly what he’d been avoiding for the past fifteen years.
He didn’t approach the cooking area of the kitchen, remaining close to the table to keep his distance from Drew and the others.
“Nice place you have here. Brooke says it used to be your grandparents.”
Drew responded in a similar manner as Owen had. He stilled for a moment and then continued seasoning the chicken. “It is. My sister and I would stay here during the summer. Eventually, when we were old enough, we volunteered at the camp.”
“And now it’s back and running and your wife is the new owner. Nostalgic, I bet.”
“Sure.” He turned the chicken over and went to the sink to wash his hands. “Think Olivia will want to go out on the boat after dinner?”
Ah, so Drew had a topic he didn’t want to discuss either. They’d had a few casual conversations over the past year. Never more than a minute here or there, and usually about the project he was working on.
At first, Owen had the impression Drew didn’t like him. Like he was jealous anytime he walked in on Owen talking with Brooke. There weren’t ever any sparks between him and Brooke, so Drew had nothing to worry about. Eventually, the jealous vibes dissipated. Or Owen had been too busy and too stressed with his personal life to notice.
“She’d love that, but I don’t want to put you to any more trouble than we already have. I’m assuming you have a writing deadline or something.”
Owen wasn’t much of a reader—maybe someday when he had some free time on his hands—but he’d heard his crew talking one day about Brooke’s boyfriend the “famous author” who had been compared to Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Two names he’d actually heard of.
One night he’d Googled Drew and was impressed with his reviews and reputation. Small town Maine. You never knew who you’d be living next to.
“Brooke’s going to be busy twenty-four seven this weekend, which will give me some uninterrupted writing time. I hadn’t planned on getting any words down tonight anyway.”
“I appreciate it then. You all are making Livy’s eleventh birthday one to remember.”
“I’m going to throw the chicken on the grill. I’d offer you a beer, but I don’t drink much of it. Brooke and the girls keep wine and vodka on hand if you’d like a glass.”
“I’m fine with water. Thanks.” He followed Drew out to the deck.
Another thing he’d had to quit once he’d realized his mother wasn’t ever going to redeem herself with kid number two. No Mother of the Year Awards for her. Before Livy was born, and when she was a toddler, Owen had spent nearly every night with a beer in hand.
Go to work. Come home. Pop open a beer. Shower, often with the beer. Multiple beers on the weekend. He wasn’t a drunk, but he was young and enjoyed the escape a bar and a bottle gave him. When he realized his mother wasn’t going to raise his sister any better than she’d raised him, he stopped going out on weekends and made himself available for his kid sister.
Ten years later, and he’d formed a habit of putting her before anything else. Not once had he regretted Livy, but sometimes—like now—when he caught a glimpse of what his life could be like, he allowed himself a pity party.
Owen leaned over the deck railing and gazed out at the view where Livy and her posse’ of women sat on boat ramp, kicking their feet in the water.
“This must never get old.”
“Even in the winter it’s relaxing. Being trapped inside with the fire going with nowhere to go and my laptop in hand, well, that’s my perfect day. It was my perfect day. This winter being snowed in with Brooke.” He closed the lid to the grill and grinned at him. “Euphoric.”
“I only met you two last summer, but it seems like you have a nice thing going.”
“I remember the first time I met you.” Drew chuckled and joined him at the railing, resting his elbows on it as well. “I wanted to kick your ass.”
“Me?” Owen tried to remember their first encounter. He’d seen Drew a handful of times before they ever held a conversation. Owen was the construction guy. His job wasn’t to make friends.
“You and Brooke were having pizza together. She laughed at something you said, and I wanted to rip the hair out of your skull.”
“We did? You did?” He stood straighter racking his brain.
“Hell, yeah. Brooke and I were barely a thing. I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit intimidated by your size. She’d referred to you as being a Norse God. Thor is what Charlie calls you.”
Thor? He could handle the comparison. If he had a man crush, Thor would be at the top of his list.
“I’m not an Ichabod Crane, but I’m not exactly,” Drew moved his hand up and down in front of Owen, “built like you.”
Before Livy, he’d spent a lot of time at the gym. Usually between work and his evening beer. And when he was feeling ambitious, in the morning before work. Now, his workouts came naturally. On the job, mostly.
Lifting, squatting, sweating his ass off, were part of the job. His six foot-three frame had always been on the buff side. It was in his genes.
Genes he’d rather not be a part of. Doing the glass half-full mantra, this was the only good that came from his father. If being a big guy was even considered “good”.
“I was jealous you could make her laugh so freely. I’m not the most social guy in the world. A recluse if you listen to my sister.”
“I suppose writing is a solitary job.”
“It is but it didn’t have to be as much as I was making it. Brooke’s a good balance. And so are her friends. I’m glad to see Charlie with someone who—”
“Nope.” He held up his hand to ward off what was coming next. “She helped out my sister. This thing is between her and Livy. I’m the chauffeur who brings the princess is all.” Owen stared down at the ramp where laughter filtered through the air. Charlie’s long legs splashed in the water and Livy squealed as she got wet.
The grin escaping his lips had nothing to do with his feelings for Charlie and everything to do with his sister’s laughter.
Lie number two.
“Hm.” Drew nodded slowly as if to pacify Owen.
“We’re friends. Barely. I hardly even know her. I know Brooke, and even Gina, better,” he lied. Again. He’d held exactly two conversations with Gina, if he could call them that. The shy friend didn’t approach him unless he was with... Charlie, so he’d barely call those conversations.
“Okay.”
He didn’t like the sarcasm or the smirk behind Drew’s words. “If you’re trying to play matchmaker, you can stop now. I’m not interested in seeing anyone right now.”
Another lie. He’d love to see Charlie—without Livy as a sidekick—if the timing and the circumstances were different. If he could be Owen and not Olivia’s older brother. If he could take Charlie out on a date and not be thinking about his sister’s safety the entire night. If he could take Charlie back to his house and make love to her, not worrying about Livy hearing from the other room, or if Livy was alone in the trailer.
Charlie chose that moment to stand, and he couldn’t help the direction of his gaze as he took in her figure. He wasn’t one to ogle, but most women didn’t look like her. In the truck, he’d noticed the scar on her knee. He couldn’t make it out from the deck but for some strange reason he wanted to touch it. To ask her about it.
She glanced up and cupped her hand over her eyes to block out the sun. From the distance, he couldn’t tell if she was looking at him, but then her smile grew wide, and she gave him a flirty wave.
“Understood.” Drew opened the grill and turned the chicken over. “Doesn’t seem like she’s interested in you anyway. Chances are Charlie’s using you so she can hang out with your sister. You’re the annoying older brother.”
“I thought you wrote thrillers, not romance.” He redirected his attention back to Drew.
Drew laughed and slapped him on the back. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we should hang out sometime.”
“Um. Sure. Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck and flashed a quick glance at the water again.
“Nobody’s fallen in.” Again, with the all-knowing laugh.
“I’m thinking the reason you’re antisocial is because you’re a pain in the ass.”
“My wife says the same thing. My sister too.”
“That’s reassuring.”
The evening continued with jokes, laughter, and so many smiles his cheeks began to hurt. Livy had the time of her life out on the boat and squealed when Drew offered to take her fishing.
After a fire, marshmallows, and chasing fireflies, he broke the news to his sister. “Hey peanut. We need to get going.”
“No,” she whined.
“Some people have to work in the morning.” He ruffled her hair and put her in a gentle headlock. “Not all of us have the entire summer off.”
“Drew does. He sits home and writes on his computer all day.”
Charlie choked out a laugh snorting wine out her nose, and Brooke and Gina joined her laughter. Drew grew serious but Owen could tell behind his stern mask, he too was laughing.
“Easy now, Livy. Just because some of us work harder than others, doesn’t mean they’re not working.”
Drew covered Livy’s eyes with one hand and flipped him off with the other. This was new. The jokes. The laughter. It had been too damn long since he could be himself.
“Writing is hard work,” Drew said.
“Sounds like homework.”
“If you want to think of it that way, sure. I do homework almost every day for a job.”
“I don’t like Language Arts homework. Sometimes we have to write stories. I like math and science better. Writing is boring.”
“Oh, but Drew writes beautiful words.” Brooke came to his defense.
“Beautiful?” Charlie snorted. “You write about warped people and then you kill them.”
“You kill people?” Livy’s mouth gaped open.
“In books. He writes scary stories.” Charlie hugged her. “Grown up books. When you get older, you’ll like them.”
“I don’t need to read to be a cook.”
“You need to read recipes.”
“I can read those words and numbers. I want to be like you when I grow up and cook for fun.”
“My job is pretty cool.”
“My mom cooks too. Owen can’t cook. Can you write stories?” she eyed him with curiosity.
And this was where he made his break. “Thank you again for dinner and the boat ride and for entertaining Livy.”
“She was so much fun. Next time we’ll work on that menu idea of yours, okay?” Gina squatted to give Livy a hug.
Menu idea? He’d ask his sister about it later.
“Happy birthday, kiddo. Thanks for sharing your cake with us.” Drew hugged her and gave her a fist bump. “You’re leaving the leftovers here, right?”
“No way. I want to eat the rest for breakfast.”
“Chocolate cake for breakfast?” Brooke scrunched her nose and wrapped her arms around Livy.
“Owen lets me have cake for breakfast on my birthday.”
“It sounds like he and Drew make a good pair. Drew would eat a party bag of M&Ms for breakfast if I let him.”
“If you let me,” Drew muttered with a shake of his head.
“I’ll grab the cake and walk you guys out.” Charlie went into the kitchen and came into the living room with the leftovers.
Drew held the front door open for her and thanked his hosts one more time. He opened the front door for Livy and waited for her to hop up. Charlie set the cake on her lap and then kissed her cheek.
“Happy birthday, girl. Thanks for celebrating with us tonight.”
“I had so much fun. This was the bestest birthday party I’ve ever had.”
Charlie closed the door and turned to face Owen. They stood toe-to-toe and if there wasn’t an almost eleven-year-old peering out the window behind her, he had a feeling she would’ve leaned in to kiss him.
Was that what he wanted?
The family dinner, the laughter, the easy acceptance of him and Livy was a bit too much too soon.
A kiss would mean more than he was ready for.
“Thanks for all you’ve done for my sister. It’s nice to see her happy.”
“It’s kinda nice to see you happy too.” Charlie slid her hands up his torso until they rested on his chest. “Have a good night, big brother.” She kissed him on the cheek the same way she’d kissed Livy and then strode away and back up the steps to the house.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“So, you and Owen, huh?” Gina loaded the last of her arts and crafts boxes into the back of her car and shut the back.
“Nope. There’s no me and Owen.” Charlie rolled her eyes.
“Seemed like it to me the other night. He’s cute. You should go for it.”
“He’s more than cute and I’m not going for it.” They walked back to their cabin arm in arm.
“Why not?” Gina stepped into the cabin and Charlie followed.
“First of all, I don’t have time this summer.”
“You have plenty of time in the fall.”
“Secondly, I’ll be leaving in the fall and I don’t do long distance relationships.”
“So, have a summer fling.”
“Regina Fisher!” Charlie clamped her hand over heart and feigned shock, although she really was surprised at Gina’s suggestion. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“Why? It’s not like you’re looking for a relationship. I figured a summer fling would be right up your alley.”
“Would you do it?” Charlie plopped down on her bed. The thin mattress didn’t do much to cushion her butt from the hardwood frame.
“Would I do what?” Gina sat on her bed across from her.
“Have an affair. No strings attached sex. A wild summer sexfest and then return to your normal life in September.”
Gina pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. “You know me. I’m not the love ‘em and leave ‘em type.”
“I didn’t say anything about love.”
“No. But I did. That’s where we’re different. I want the happily ever that will never come, while you’re satisfied sowing your wild oats.”
Charlie scooted across her bed and went to join Gina on hers. “Bullshit. You’re the most beautiful, amazing, kindest person I’ve ever met. You’ve been dealt one shitty hand
after another, but someday your prince will come.”
Gina snorted. “Now you sound like a Disney movie. No need to blow smoke up my butt. The roadside bomb already left its mark.”
Her body was covered in scars, mostly her back, and most she kept hidden under jeans and long sleeves. Charlie squeezed Gina’s leg. “Your prince won’t care about your scars. Your heart is too big to keep it to yourself.”
“Listen to you.” Gina slapped her lightly on the shoulder. “It’s like my sappiness is rubbing off on you.”
“I don’t think so.” She leaped up and went back to her bed to put some distance on the touchy topic Gina still wasn’t ready to talk about. “Like you said, one-night stands are more my jam.”
“How about summer flings?”
That was the million-dollar question. She could totally handle a summer fling if only Olivia wasn’t involved. The girl was already getting attached and getting down and dirty with Owen would only complicate matters. Better to keep things simple.
Keep things. Huh. They hadn’t even started anything so there was nothing to keep.
“Probably not this summer.”
“I couldn’t get over how amazing he was with his sister. That’s what you want in a guy; someone who puts family first. He’s a nice guy. And Olivia is adorable. I thought she was his daughter. You don’t think...”
“No.” Although at first, she did. There was a solid resemblance between the two and he treated her as a father should treat his daughter. Part of what made him extra swoon worthy. “They talked about their mom a few times.” Or rather, Olivia did. Anytime she brought up his family, Owen changed the subject or shut down.
The curious side of her wanted to stop by the Black Fly Diner one day for breakfast. To check out the food, of course. But that would be crossing the line between let’s have fun sex all summer and I want to be part of your family.
Save the settling down for Brooke and Gina. Maybe instead she should spend her free time finding someone for her BFF. Charlie tilted her head and studied Gina. The longing in her eyes was a dead giveaway. She wanted someone to love her.
A Thousand Sunsets (Band of Sisters) Page 7
