A Thousand Sunsets (Band of Sisters)

by Rice, Marianne

  And then what? They could have their hot and steamy sex next summer and go their merry way in September again? It wouldn’t be fair to him. Not when he was ready to settle down. Hell, he bought the house over a decade ago. The man wouldn’t be waiting much longer for the right woman to steal his heart.

  At the sound of Olivia’s laughter, they returned to the fire and chased fireflies. There were fewer out now that it was Labor Day weekend. In two days, Olivia would be back in school and she and Owen and their mom would establish a new routine. One that didn’t involve her.

  Again, she berated herself for being selfish. Nellie was an abused woman who needed the love and support of her son now more than ever. And whether he realized it or not, Owen needed his mother as well. The only happy ending was Roger getting locked up again, forever, and Nellie turning her life around.

  She sent Owen two more texts and left a voice message at nine as Olivia yawned by the fire. She let Owen know they’d be spending the night at Drew’s.

  It was past midnight and she’d been tossing and turning for two hours imagining the worst. What if Owen was hurt? Or dead? The fear he showed when he talked about his father was frightening.

  Bright headlights shone through the downstairs window and Charlie got out of bed to check on Olivia. She slept heavily; her arm draped around a teddy bear she’d found on the bed.

  Rushing up the stairs and to the front door, she once again ran through all the possibilities. Owen, beaten or shot. What if it was the police coming to tell them he’d been killed?

  No, they wouldn’t know to come here.

  Unless they had his phone. She’d left three voice mails and twice as many texts. She had her hand on the doorknob but not the courage to open the door. A soft knock startled her from the other side.

  Her breathing was erratic and any second she was going to pass out from her hyperventilating. The knock came again, and she opened it. When she saw Owen’s ragged face her first instinct was to throw herself in his arms.

  The light from the front porch cast shadows across his face. His beautiful, sad, broken face. There were no cuts or bruises or scrapes, but he was broken.

  “Hi,” she said breathlessly.

  “I’m sorry—”

  “Don’t.” She rushed up to him and placed a finger over his lips. “Are you okay?”

  He let out a humorless laugh. “I should be.”

  Charlie looped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. “I was so worried.”

  “I didn’t mean to worry you.” His arms didn’t leave his sides as he responded in an almost robotic tone.

  “You don’t owe me any explanation. I’m sorry I’m being so... emotional. That’s not like me. I just... knowing about Roger and... I...” she curled into his chest and closed her eyes when his arms drew her in closer.

  “Do you want to go for a walk? I know it’s late.”

  “Hang on a sec.” She slipped into a pair of flip flops by the door and stepped out onto the porch.

  He didn’t take her hand in his and instantly she felt the distance grow between them. They walked the perimeter of the property in silence stopping at the end of the dock.

  “He’s brainwashed her into thinking I’m the cause of it all. That her life would be better if Liv and I weren’t in it.” Owen told her the rest of the conversation they’d had in the kitchen of the diner. How she told him to take Olivia off her hands, and how she slipped away.

  “I’m sorry about your mom.” She folded her arms across her chest. The early September night air had a chill to it, and she was hardly dressed to be outside wearing only a thin tee shirt and a pair of shorts. “You offered her your support. The rest is up to her.”

  “I feel if I don’t chase after her and something happens—”

  “It won’t be your fault. She’s a grown adult. And until she wants help, until she wants out of the abusive relationship, there isn’t anything you or anyone else can do. In the meantime, you’re doing a beautiful thing by raising your sister in a loving, safe environment.”

  “I can’t save her.” He choked on his tears and Charlie wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into him once again. She didn’t care if he hugged her back. He needed comforting. He needed to feel the love and support he never received growing up.

  He trembled under her cheek and she held onto him tighter, her tears slipping from her eyes. They stayed quiet for a few moments, him sniffing back what she knew to be his own tears.

  “Come on,” she said after a while. “I can make you something to eat.”

  When they were inside, she headed toward the kitchen. “I’m not hungry,” he said from behind her.

  “Then come to bed.” She took his hand and guided him down the stairs to the room she was using.

  Gently, she put a hand on his shoulder until he sat at the edge of the bed. Dropping to her knees, she unlaced his work boots and slid them off, setting them to the side. She climbed into bed and patted the spot next to her.

  If he wanted to leave his jeans on that would be fine with her but she wanted him comfortable. He sat with his back to her and when he stood, she feared he was going to get up and leave, but he took off his jeans, leaving his boxers on, and slipped out of his shirt, tossing it on the floor.

  When he joined her in bed, he lay on his back and she curled into his side, draping her arm across his chest. Mentally exhausted, she was almost asleep when she heard him say, “You’re leaving on Wednesday.”

  It hurt so much to leave him, so she pretended she was asleep and didn’t respond. His arm tightened around her pulling her in tight. He kissed the top of her head and sniffed again.

  When she woke with the early sun, he was already gone, as was Olivia. She didn’t get to say goodbye. Not even on Wednesday when she’d packed her car with her few belongings and followed Gina to Portland.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  For two weeks Charlie waited on tables at Brisk in Portland and filled out job applications in her downtime, which she had too much of.

  Gina enjoyed working from her tiny apartment. She found comfort in being a homebody. Charlie respected her enough not to pester her during the day while she was on a conference call with Drew, or sometimes his agent. She was loving her new side-gig, and Drew’s agent even gave her name to an up-and-coming author who was in need of a personal assistant.

  Things were looking up for her friends, even for Skylar, who’d received her nursing degree and had been moved to the hospital. She was ready to give up her wings and work in the emergency room.

  Olivia had texted her daily and called on the weekends when she had more time and was bored at Owen’s worksite. She filled her in with the biggest and the littlest details of her day at school and how Owen picked her up from the after-school camp at four, and then she got to help him work on projects at his house.

  She told Charlie how she wore safety goggles and got to help him knock a hammer through the living room wall. And how the house was more of a mess now then it was before. During all her stories not once had she heard Owen in the background asking about her.

  She didn’t want to put Olivia in the middle of anything. If he wanted to talk to her, he knew how to get ahold of her. Another month went by and the leaves were at their peak. Brooke had invited them out to the house for dinner and leaf peeping, but Charlie worked on weekends and declined.

  When Gina returned, she forced herself not to ask if she’d heard from or had seen Owen. Chances were, he’d been invited as well since he and Drew had formed a friendship.

  It was a rare Thursday night she had off and she was growing restless. Gina sat hunched over her laptop at the two-person dinette table tapping on the keyboard. A pile of fabric sat on the coffee table, another pile of completed quilts on the corner of the couch. Most of her weekends were spent at craft fairs selling her handmade items, and her weekdays she was on the computer or phone.

  “You sure you don’t want to get drinks or something tonight?
We can walk down to Tipsy’s for happy hour. It’s three-dollar martini night.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Come on, Fish. Please.” Charlie plopped on the couch, which served as Charlie’s bed at night.

  She thought about the time she and Owen made love on his couch and she found the stack of sheets behind it. The man was her everything, and she didn’t even fight for him. It would have been too selfish of her to ask him to wait, to ask him to try to find time for her when he had no time for himself, especially now with Olivia was living with him.

  “I’m working on Drew’s book tour, trying to schedule it around our camp weekend. Brooke wants to travel with him as much as possible, but with the book not coming out until May, it’s making it tricky. She may be MIA a few weekends next summer. I’m trying to figure out which ones won’t fill up as quickly as the others.”

  “And the work will still be with you tomorrow. Come out with me, please?”

  “Fine.” Gina closed her laptop and took off her reading glasses. “One drink. I can’t afford to have a hangover tomorrow.”

  “You’re the best.” Charlie hopped up from the couch and rummaged through her suitcase for something to wear.

  A few minutes later—the Army had taught them how to hustle in a hurry—they were out the door and walking down the cobblestone roads of the Old Port.

  They sipped on their chocolate martinis and laughed over Army stories. Charlie managed to convince Gina into a second martini, but she’d put a stop to a third. With linked arms, they giggled all the way back to the apartment.

  Charlie fumbled with the keys, the vodka starting to blur her vision a tad, and skipped up the stairs to the loft apartment.

  A man sat on the top step. A man whose shoulders filled out his sweatshirt exactly like Owen’s. She’d only had two drinks but maybe someone had laced it with drugs. There was no way he’d be sitting there waiting for her.

  “Hi Charlie.”

  Well shit. It was. She stood there stupefied, her keys hanging from her fingers.

  “Owen. It’s great to see you again.” Gina brushed past her and hugged him, then unlocked the apartment door. “Come on in.”

  He held his hand down to Charlie, who was still three steps below him. She eyed it with confusion and then took it.

  “Hi,” she finally said. His hair had grown since the last time she’d seen him. Not long enough to pull back in an elastic, but long enough for it to feel like fine silk through her fingers.

  Nope. Don’t go there.

  “Well, I have a lot of work to do and the WIFI’s been spotty here.” Gina packed up her laptop in her bag. “I’m going to head down to the coffee shop. Let me know if you want me to bring you back anything.”

  She was gone before Charlie had time to register what was going on, and she and Owen were alone in the apartment.

  “Um, so what brings you to Portland?” A flash of panic flushed her heart. “Is it Olivia? Is she okay? Is she at the hospital?” Maine Medical was the largest hospital in Maine. They had an excellent trauma unit. If she was there...

  “Olivia is having a sleepover at her friend’s house.”

  “Oh, I’m so happy for her.” Her heart warmed knowing she’d found new friends. “But is this her first one? What if she gets scared or needs you? Is Rog—”

  “No. He’s not.” Owen crossed the cramped living room to the couch and gestured for her to sit. She moved the quilts aside and he joined her. “My mom and Roger left town five weeks ago.”

  Only a week after she’d left. “That’s good. I mean, I’m sorry she left, but knowing Roger isn’t around must give you some reassurance.”

  “It does. Also, it’s her third sleepover at Julia’s.”

  “Third?” Time didn’t stand still because she left.

  “You know my sister. She adapts pretty well. Makes friends, young and old, quite easily. She’s been bugging me to have Julia over, but the house is a disaster right now.”

  “She told me you took down the wall separating the living spaces.”

  “And ripped out the kitchen as well. I don’t do much cooking anyway. I grill, microwave, or order takeout.”

  “Oh.”

  “I could use some help designing the kitchen, if you’re interested. You did a nice job with the space at the camp.”

  She sank into the couch. Was this why he came by? For her kitchen expertise? Hiding her disappointment, she rolled back a shoulder. “Sure. I can sketch some ideas and email them to you.”

  “That would be great.” His smile was too bright, too excited and it made her sad. She wanted him to be excited to be with her, not because she could design a kitchen layout for him.

  “I have another favor to ask as well. This one’s a bit bigger.”

  “I don’t know.” She hugged the gray throw pillow to her chest and played with the fringes around the edges. “I’m pretty busy right now.”

  “Did you find a job?”

  “Yeah. I’ve been waitressing at Brisk. Good money. The tips are great.”

  “Weren’t you looking for a sous chef position.”

  “I am. There’s not much around here.”

  “Are you willing to relocate? Or do you have your heart set on staying in this area?”

  Gina had asked her the same thing over breakfast the other day. “There are a lot more opportunities in Boston, but I’m lacking experience. Most high-end restaurants won’t even read my resume.”

  “Is that what you want? High-end?”

  “No. It’s not what I focused on in culinary school, but that’s where the money is.” She was living relatively comfortable with no major bills and got her regular checks from the Army. Her dream was to open her own place one day. A family friendly place. Classy but casual at the same time.

  “About that favor.”

  “Look, Owen.” She dropped the pillow and got up from the couch and paced the small room. “It’s nice to see you and all, but I can’t do you any more favors.”

  “You haven’t even heard what it is,” he said softly, following her around the room, a few steps behind as if hunting his prey.

  She covered her face with her hands. “I can’t. It’s too much. We weren’t supposed to... this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  “What wasn’t?”

  She felt the whisper of his words across her hands, then his hands were on hers, pulling them away from her face.

  “I can’t do this to you.”

  He stilled and tilted his head to the side. “Do what”

  “You’re relationship material. You deserve a woman who can be there for you. Not someone who lives two hours away. You need stability and I’m anything but. The fling was for me. To keep me from...”

  He still held her hands in his and tugged her closer to him.

  “The fling was for me as well. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you.”

  Charlie gasped and closed her eyes. All the insults and degrading comments her mother had filled her head with came rushing to her ears.

  You’ll amount to nothing. You’re flighty and impossible to please. Selfish. Pigheaded. Stubborn. No man will ever love you. Please, god, don’t ever get pregnant. And if you do, give that child away to someone who actually has a clue.

  “You can’t.” She shook her head adamantly.

  “I did. I am. I do.”

  “No.”

  “Hey.” He dropped her hands and cupped her face in his palms. She loved it when he did that. Loved it so much she tried to back away from his touch. “Don’t pull away from me.”

  “It’s what I do.” This time she did escape him. “I’m flighty. I have no future. I’m good for a summer fling but I’m not right for you.”

  “Now you sound like your mother. A very smart woman once told me you’re not a product of your parents.”

  “You’re better than yours.”

  “And so are you. Why won’t you let me love you?”

  Tears filled her eyes and she let
them fall. “Because I have nothing to offer you. I don’t have anything to my name. I have a job but not a career, and there aren’t any jobs in your area. And I live too far away. It would be selfish of me to take you away from Olivia. She needs you more than me.”

  “I beg to differ with all your arguments except one. You do live far away.”

  “And I can’t change that. I can’t afford my own place and I’m not going to be the third wheel at Drew and Brooke’s. They’re newlyweds and deserve their privacy. I invade enough already.”

  “Come live with Olivia and me. Help me make my house a home. I want to sit outside with you on summer nights and watch the sun set behind the mountain. To lay with you in my bed... in our bed, wrapped in each other’s arms and a layer of blankets as we watch the sunset on winter nights.”

  She closed her eyes, a sad smile escaping her lips. “I have nothing to offer you.”

  He cupped her face again and lifted her chin, using the pads of his thumbs to wipe her tears. “That’s where you’re so very wrong. Answer me this. Do you love me?” There was vulnerability in his eyes. “Or do you think you could love me over time?”

  “Time?” She sniffed and laughed. “Hell, I feel like I’ve loved you forever.”

  Owen roughly drew her in and covered her mouth with his. She tasted her tears on his lips and cried into the kiss. Somewhere along the way the tears turned to happy ones.

  “I feel like I’ve loved you forever too.”

  “Owen.” She pressed her hands into his back hugging him harder. “I don’t know how to make this work.”

  “Which brings me to my second favor.”

  “If this is about sexual favors...”

  His grin was cheeky and adorable. “No, it’s not, but now that you mention it, I may need to add an addendum.”

  “Owen.”

  “So, I made a pretty expensive purchase and I need some help with it.”

  Oh God. If he was talking about a ring she’d faint. She was barely ready for a relationship, there was no way she could think about marriage yet.