A Thousand Sunsets (Band of Sisters)

by Rice, Marianne

  “It’ll be good for her.” He took in the peeling paint, the battered furniture, the scuffed floors. “I need to make this place a more suitable home for her.”

  “As long as it’s filled with love she’ll thrive into adulthood.”

  “I have to do something to save my mom from that asshole. I can’t in my right mind let her leave with him.”

  Charlie squeezed his hands, and he locked his gaze on them. Hers so soft, yet strong. His big and scarred. “You can’t save those who don’t want to be saved.”

  “But I have to at least try.”

  “Haven’t you been doing more than trying all these years.”

  In a way, he had. However, he hadn’t mentioned his father’s name since he was escorted out of the house by police.

  “I haven’t done enough.”

  “Babe.” The endearment surprised both of them, and he lifted his gaze to meet hers. Charlie clamped her lips shut and then chewed on her bottom lip. “I, uh, I didn’t, uh.” She shrugged and tilted her head back and forth as if trying to shake out the right words to say.

  The term of affection touched him; he wanted them to be a couple, but she’d been so set on leaving. Clearly embarrassed, he lightened the mood. “Yes, darling?” He tossed her a wink which brought a shy grin to her face.

  “You and Olivia will be okay. You’re an amazing parent to her.” Charlie stood, brushing imaginary lint off her pants. “I should go. You have a lot to think about. And I need to... to do some online job hunting.”

  Another reminder how little time they had left together. He got up from the table, the ache in his limbs not only from his job, but from the emotional pain he’d been suffering for so many years.

  “Can you stay a little longer?” He stroked her neck with the back of his hand. “I miss you.” They wouldn’t have many opportunities left to make love, and he didn’t want to let this one slip on by.

  She craned her neck toward Olivia’s room.

  “She’d out cold. I can be quiet if you can.” He sipped on her lips and yanked her playfully into his groin.

  “I highly doubt that.”

  “That you can be quiet? I know. My ears are still ringing from the last time.”

  “They are not.”

  She pushed at his chest and he held on to her as he fell back onto the couch. They laughed quietly as they undressed each other.

  “We need a blanket,” she whispered between giggles. “What if Olivia wakes up?”

  Since Charlie was laying on top of him, he couldn’t reach the pile of blankets and pillow behind him. He put his hands on her hips and dragged her body up his, her breasts gliding across his chest and then his face as he guided her to the edge of the couch.

  “There’s a pile,” he licked her left rib and then nipped at it, “on the floor.”

  “Oh,” she gasped and slid quickly down his body again, much to his chagrin. “What’s with the pile? Have you had overnight guests lately?”

  It wasn’t a question of infidelity—if they could call it that since what they had was only a fling.

  “I sleep on the couch a lot,” he admitted.

  “Why?” She fixed a sheet over them and propped her elbows on his chest.

  He slid his tongue across his teeth and looked away. “I don’t like being so far away from Liv.”

  “Owen.” She brushed back his hair and kissed him with a gentleness that went straight to his heart. The tenderness in her kiss told him she could read between the words. The double locks on her sliders, on the front and back doors.

  For too long he’d feared their father would come and hurt Liv. Punish her for being born, for taking his wife away from him. And now his mother was back with the monster. He’d do everything in his power to stop her from leaving with him.

  She may not love him the way a mother should love her son, but deep in his heart he loved her. Longed for a mother, for anyone to love him, to value him, to appreciate him. Unreciprocated love hurt more than his father’s beatings.

  And not just unreciprocated from his mother, but from Charlie as well.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  With Liv safely tucked and having the time of her life at the last weekend camp of the summer, Owen threw himself into his work at the crack of dawn on Saturday. He’d called his mother at one and left a message saying he’d be stopping by around four to talk to her about something.

  By five, after sitting on her front steps for over an hour, he realized his mistake. Tomorrow he’d wait for her at the diner at closing time, not giving her an opportunity to escape their conversation.

  On Sunday, he put in a half day at the construction site and let himself into the Black Fly Diner at one.

  “Hi June.” Since Al was healing and didn’t need tending to, June was able to work the shifts Charlie couldn’t cover. With Charlie leaving in a few days, his mother should have put up a Help Wanted sign.

  Maybe her plan was to abandon it all, including the mortgage on the place. It wouldn’t surprise him. It was the way Roger would have handled it.

  “Well, ain’t you a site for sore eyes. Have a seat and I’ll get your order in a sec.” She gave him a friendly hug and bustled off to wait on tables.

  Owen took a seat at the counter, not wanting to risk his mother running off before they could have their chat. He heard a crash and cursing from the kitchen.

  “She’s been all outta sorts today,” June said, rushing around the counter and through the swinging doors. When she came back out, she set an empty cup in front of Owen. “What can I get you honey?”

  Honey. Her endearment had a completely different context than Charlie’s. Unless there was as little meaning behind her use as June’s. Maybe it was what she called the men she slept with.

  Feeling even more defeated, he placed his hand over the mug. “Nothing for me, June. I’m waiting for my mom to close up.”

  “The last customers are still working on their lunch. She’s scrubbing down the grills like a woman with a mission. Not sure what’s got her goose today.”

  Owen had a clue. “I’ll go out back and help. I know you want to get home to Al. When your customers are gone, feel free to leave. I can handle the rest.”

  It’d been a few years since he helped out at the diner, but he didn’t think he’d forget how to clean tables and mop the floor.

  “You always were a sweetie. Nellie’s blessed to have two wonderful children. Wish our kids lived closer so we could visit more often. Sue Ellen stayed in town a few days after her daddy’s fall, but sure wish we could’ve had more time with her and the grandkids.”

  “You’re a good mom to them, June. They’re lucky to have you.”

  “Gosh, how you’re still single with your charming personality I simply don’t know.” She hurried off to clear the empty tables and Owen went out back.

  “Hi Mom.” Crash. He bent down and picked up the sheet pan. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “You did-n’t.” Her eyes flitted from left to right as if expecting someone else to creep out of the shadows.

  “I’ll help you close up and then we’re going to have that talk.”

  “What talk? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She took the pan from him and dropped it in the sink with a clank.

  “I left you a message yesterday saying I’d stop by the house. You weren’t there.”

  “I have a life, you know. I’m not gonna sit around all day waiting for my life to pass before my eyes. You wouldn’t know what it’s like to have responsibilities. I have a restaurant and a kid and a—” She turned on the faucet and scrubbed at the pan.

  He had a business and practically shared custody with Liv, so he knew all about responsibilities. He didn’t push and worked side-by-side helping her with the dishes and scrubbing down the kitchen.

  June had popped her head in to say she was leaving, and Owen reassured his mother he’d help with the dining area after they had their talk.

  “You might as well
get out with it so I can be on my way. You knock a girl up or something? In trouble with the law again? Need money? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly rolling in the dough.”

  She may not have been, but the diner had a steady flow of traffic and should have been making a decent profit. He had a sickening feeling he knew where the profit went each month.

  “I haven’t ever been in trouble with the law, Mom.”

  “You eluded them enough with your stealing and drinking. I’m surprised they haven’t caught on to you yet.”

  Yeah, good ol’ Roger had been brainwashing her something fierce. Instead of arguing about the lies she believed, he came right out with it.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been seeing him?”

  “Seeing who?” She picked up a rag and scrubbed at the already clean counter.

  “Your drunk, abusive husband who went to jail for beating you.”

  “If you hadn’t—”

  “Don’t.” He held up a hand to stop her. “We’re not going there. Let’s talk about the future instead of the past, okay?”

  “Fine.”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  She tilted her head toward the ceiling. “Two years.”

  He was sick to his stomach. For two years, his father had been lurking around. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It’s none of your business who I’m seeing in my personal time.”

  “It is when you leave my sister home alone. It is when you put my sister in jeopardy of being on the receiving end of Roger’s fists.” Owen stepped into her personal space and loomed over her, forcing his mother to look into his eyes. “Has he touched her? Have you let him anywhere near her?”

  She flinched as if she was scared he would hit her, and he quickly moved away. “Hell, Mom. I’m not going to hurt you. When have I ever done anything to make you think I’d hurt you?”

  She lowered her head and slouched her shoulders, not saying a word.

  He wanted to yell at her for being a fool and pull her in his arms and tell her it would be alright at the same time.

  “Please tell me. Has he done anything to Liv?”

  “He’s never met her,” she said barely above a whisper. “Well, once, but on accident. They didn’t even talk to each other, and it was for less than a minute.”

  A sigh of relief escaped him. “That’s good.”

  “He doesn’t want anything to do with her.”

  In other words, if he wanted to see Liv, she would have let him. “Are you afraid he’ll hurt her?”

  Nothing. No movement. No nod or shake of the head. That alone was telling enough.

  “Mom, you’ve been a victim of his for too long. I can get you the help you need. You can stay with me and Liv at my house. I’ll protect you both.” He didn’t know how, but he would find a way.

  “I don’t need your protection.”

  “You need help, Mom. He’s brainwashed you for so long, you’re not able to see reality anymore. You’re as much a victim as I was.”

  Her head shot up. “You were no victim. You taunted him, tested him, and pushed boundaries until living with you became too much for him to handle.”

  Owen grabbed the back of his neck and listened to her rant in disbelief. The only time he got in trouble was when he’d defend himself against his father’s beatings. When he’d taken on his bad boy image in high school, he never had any run-ins with the law.

  “Mom. Please let me help you.”

  “I don’t need help. I’m happy. He makes me happy.”

  “Then help me understand it. What is it he does that makes you happy? What does he do for you?”

  “What a typical selfish attitude of you young people, asking what others can do for you instead of doing something for others.”

  Owen slipped a pamphlet from his back pocket and held it out for her. “There’s a woman’s group that meets at a church outside of town. You should go to a meeting. Make some friends. Talk to other people in similar situations.”

  “I’m not in a situation. The only thing holding me back from being truly happy is you and Olivia. I’ve been a tied down for thirty-four years, ever since I was pregnant with you. Every waking day I was feeding you or changing your diapers. And then there were the doctor appointments and school events. My whole life has been giving to you and your sister. It’s not too much to ask for a little time to myself and my husband.”

  There was no point in telling her those were things all parents should do for their children. She’d made herself out to be a saint, the victim of her children’s needs. More brainwashing courtesy of Roger McDougall.

  “Liv is only eleven. She needs her mother.”

  “Ha.” She tossed the rag down with a fury and punched her fists into her hips. “She’s as rude and disrespectful to me as you were. In fact, since you’re two peas in a pod, you should take her. It would serve you right for all the pain you’ve caused me. If you want a way to apologize, to make it right, take your sister.”

  He’d gladly take her, but not for the reason his mother mentioned. “I’ll do that for you, Mom, if you can promise me one thing.” He set the pamphlet on the counter and put his hands on her shoulder in a gentle caress. “Please call me anytime for any reason. I won’t judge you or blame you. Ever. I... I love you and understand you aren’t able to see things... my way right now. But please, if you find yourself in need of anything, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

  He swore he saw tears glisten her eyes, but she shrugged off his hands and turned her back to him.

  “Yeah. Sure. Whatever.”

  There was nothing else he could say or do so he left her alone in the kitchen and wheeled the mop out to the dining area. Sometime while he was cleaning, she’d slipped out the back door. He didn’t see her beat up Ford in her driveway when he left and wasn’t sure if he’d ever see her again.

  With a heavy heart, he drove home to shower and tidy up before going to pick up Liv.

  OWEN HAD CALLED HER earlier asking for a little more time before coming to pick up Olivia. She invited him over to Brooke and Drew’s who were having an end of season barbecue. With the last of the campers gone, she packed up a plate of brownies and a bowl of pasta salad to bring next door.

  “You ready, sweetie?”

  “This was the best weekend of my life! Did you know Julia goes to my school? She said she’ll play with me on the playground and sit with me at lunch. She doesn’t have Mrs. Turner but she’s in Mrs. Lancaster’s class right next door to mine.”

  “I’m so glad you made new friends.” Charlie gave her a one-armed hug and handed her a bag of rolls. “Mind carrying these for me? We’ll leave your backpack here and pick it up later tonight when your brother comes, okay?”

  “I can’t wait to tell him about the rock wall Brooke let us climb, and the football toss game. Owen loves watching football on TV. Now I can teach him a new game. He has lots of trash barrels in his garage.”

  Charlie’s heart smiled as she listened to Oliva chatter on about her favorite moments of the weekend. While she got along fabulously with adults, it was nice to see her interacting so well with kids her age as well.

  They made their way through the path to the house and helped Drew with the cooking while Brooke and Gina finished closing up the three cabins they used this weekend.

  An hour later, when dinner was ready and there’d been no word from Owen, she began to worry. He could still be with his mother, or maybe things got explosive and Roger showed up. Worry set in and she took out her phone to call him.

  He didn’t answer but she left a friendly message. Thirty minutes later and still no word, they decided to eat without him. The sun set over the lake and they toasted marshmallows in a fire. Brooke played interference with Olivia while Gina took Charlie’s elbow and pulled her out of earshot.

  “What’s going on? Is Owen okay? You’re white as a ghost.”

  She respected his privacy too much to tell her sisters anyth
ing about his past... or present. “I haven’t heard from him.”

  “Oh, Charlie.” Gina gave her a bear hug. “You’re upset about leaving him on Wednesday, aren’t you? I know you were in love with him.”

  “It’s not that,” she lied. It was largely about her feelings but also the worry for his safety that was eating at her. “Things are complicated right now. I don’t want Olivia upset by it.”

  “She’s in her own little world of paradise. You could be missing a limb and bleeding to death and she’d think it was pretty.”

  “Well, what a Brooke thing to say.” Charlie laughed. “She’s wearing on you.”

  “Since you’ve ditched me for your boyfriend, I’ve been forced to suffer as the third wheel over here. So yeah, Brooksie has totally worn me down.”

  “Good.” The glow in Gina’s cheeks was worth it. Drew had offered her a job as his social media and marketing assistant during the off months. Something she could do from anywhere. Since she still had her lease in Portland, she’d invited Charlie to room with her until she found a place of her own.

  The small studio apartment would be fine for a few weeks, but she knew how much Gina valued her privacy. Charlie kinda liked hers as well. Not that she was a private person. More so loud and stir-crazy, which didn’t room well with Gina’s calm demeanor.

  “Now, tell me what’s going on with you and Owen. You’re going to make it work, right?”

  “No. I don’t think so. He has Olivia and his job and... and a lot going on. Besides, I couldn’t handle a long-distance relationship. It’s not my thing.”

  “You sure? You two are awfully cute together.”

  “We told each other in the beginning that this was only for the summer. If he’s still interested when I come back in June, we’ll hook up again.”

  “I’m pretty sure he’s still going to be interested.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. Nine months is a long time to wait for someone.” But if he asked, she would. She’d wait for him. She wouldn’t date, wouldn’t see other people. He was worth it.