by SJ McCoy
“I hadn’t thought about it like that. I haven’t been trying to hide from them, hide us from them. I was just tired of them trying to tell me how I should live my life. It’s none of their business, they don’t get a vote. But you’re right, they should know we’re together, I want them to know. I’d like to think they might be happy for us, but either way we should tell them.”
“And we should tell them now, get it over with.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes and gave him a grudging smile. “You’re right, as always. I know you are, but do we have to do it right now? Just when I was getting excited about houses?”
He chuckled. “We may as well get it over with. Then we can enjoy our house-hunting without that dark cloud looming over us. At least there’s a bright side to it for you. I know you enjoy my parents and they love you.”
Charlotte smiled back at him. “And I know how you feel about them. I used to have a secret hope when we were kids, you know.”
“What was that?”
“I always hoped that somehow, someway I could build a bridge between you and your parents. Help you find a way to understand each other. I know you love each other, you’re just so different from them.”
Ben nodded slowly. “If you’d told me that back then I would have told you not to bother. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, and more importantly they are, or if seeing our friends have kids of their own is giving me a different perspective on family, but what I will say now is that I hope somehow, someway you might be able to do that. But I’m not going to hold my breath.”
Charlotte smiled. “We’ll have to see what we can do, then, won’t we?”
“Yep, but quit stalling. What we can do right now is make the phone calls and get it over with.”
“Okay,” she sighed. “I’ll call mine, if you call yours. But you have to promise me that once we’re done we can get online and look at houses, and maybe even go see some this afternoon?”
He grinned. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
~
Ben had to smile at the way she had her feet up on the dash of his truck, her toes tapping along to the music on the radio. They were heading over to Four Mile Creek to check out the waterfront lots that would soon be available as part of the second phase of the development. “You seem a lot more relaxed now, aren’t you glad we got those phone calls out of the way?”
She turned to smile at him. “That sounds an awful lot like I told you so.”
He laughed. “I’d never say that.”
She laughed with him. “That’s because if you did, you’d be saying it all the time.”
“I’m just glad it’s over with. I still can’t quite believe that your folks apologized. I thought we were in for a battle. They wanted so badly to keep us apart back then, I didn’t expect them to accept it so easily now.”
Charlotte shook her head. “They surprised the hell out of me, I can tell you that. I don’t know what changed with them, but to hear them say they want me to do whatever will make me happy took me by surprise to say the least.” She stared out of the window a moment and then looked back at him. “That sounds awful, doesn’t it? They love me. I know that. But my whole life they’ve always thought they knew better than I did what would make me happy.”
Ben nodded. “It doesn’t sound awful. I understand what you mean. I’m kind of feeling surprised by talking to my folks, too.”
“That one’s easier for me to understand. But then I was always more like them. They’re free spirits, and to a free spirit being tied to one place, being bogged down by responsibilities equals being unhappy. They only ever wanted to see you happy, they just didn’t understand what makes you happy. I know you always thought they loved me more than they loved you. But that was so far from the truth, Ben. They loved me for you, because they thought I represented the kind of happiness they wanted you to have.”
Ben mulled that over for a long time. Eventually he shot her a smile. “And when did you get so smart?”
She laughed. “I’m not sure, but I think it was somewhere in the middle of all that growing up I did.”
Ben pulled off the road and onto the narrow strip of land by the lake. Charlotte looked around. “Is this it?”
Ben nodded feeling as disappointed as she looked. “It is. The best lots were part of phase one. This is waterfront, but it’s nothing spectacular, is it?”
“No, it’s not. It’s not what I was hoping for at all.”
“That’s okay. We’ve only just started looking.” He smiled at her. “And I think we’ve already learned that even when things don’t go right first time, they can always get better.”
“We haven’t just learned it, we’re living proof of it.”
“We are. What do you think? Should we head up to North Cove? I’d like to take a look at the place we saw up there. It’d be kind of cool to live near Emma and Pete.”
“We could, but that’s a good twenty minutes from the resort. I’d rather take a look at the place by the marina.”
Ben made a face. “It’s closer to the resort, yes, but it wasn’t nearly as nice a house.”
Charlie smiled at him. “We don’t know that until we take a look, and besides we don’t know what else is down there.”
“Okay, we’ll go and look, just to keep you happy. But remember, you trying to set me up with the things you think will make me happy doesn’t work out so well.”
Charlotte met his gaze. “I talked to Angel last night. She’s nice. Did you know she’s thinking about leaving?”
Ben’s heart sank. “She is?”
Charlotte nodded. “I asked her not to. I don’t have a problem with her, and I know that the two of you work well together. You know me, I’m not the jealous type. I’m not insecure. I know that we haven’t come this far for it to change now. You’ve reassured me you’re not interested in her in a romantic way.”
Ben nodded. “Is it wrong of me to hope she doesn’t leave?” He was a little concerned how him admitting that might make Charlotte feel.
Charlotte shook her head slowly. “If I’m being perfectly honest, I think it would be a bit easier for me to hear that it didn’t matter to you if she stayed or left. But I do get it. You’ve never had anyone who could help you run the place. Now you do, she’s good at her job and easy to get along with. It’s hard to find someone like that, it’s just unfortunate that she happens to be a good-looking woman who likes you.”
“That part is unfortunate, but it doesn’t make any difference to me. I don’t see her as a woman, just as a colleague.” As he said it, Ben knew it was true. He understood now that he’d only ever seen her as a colleague. The fact that she was a good-looking woman who liked him had almost had him believing that there might be something else there. But there wasn’t.
Charlotte smiled at him and shrugged. “She’s a part of your business, a part of your work life; I’m not and I would never presume to tell you what to do at work.” She chuckled. “Though I might try to boss you around when it comes to us finding a house. So, let’s get back over to the resort and see what we can find over there.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Charlotte jumped at the sound of a knock on the front door. She looked around feeling guilty. She was supposed to be working on Laura’s website, but she’d gotten distracted somehow and spent the last twenty minutes looking at houses online. She scrambled to her feet, wondering who it might be. She opened the door and smiled when she saw April standing there.
“Hi, I’m sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to come see how you’re doing. I was so thrilled when I realized you were living next door to me. I thought we’d get to hang out together, but it hasn’t worked out that way. I’ve been so busy with the women’s center and the bakery, and then in the evenings with Marcus and Eddie, that I just haven’t found the time to come over.”
Charlotte smiled. “Come on in. It’s lovely to see you, and don’t you go apologizing. I’ve been super busy myself. I thought it wou
ld take me a while to build up my business, but instead I’m struggling to keep up.”
“I don’t have to stay if you’re busy. I don’t mean to disturb you.”
“No, it’ll be nice to take a break. In fact, I’d gotten distracted anyway. And chatting with you is more constructive than what I was doing. Would you like a drink?” Once Charlotte had poured them each a soda, they settled on the sofa.
April eyed the computer which was still displaying a list of houses Charlotte had favorited, in the hopes that she and Ben might go and look at them soon. “Are you house-hunting?”
“Yes. We’re starting to, anyway. I think it’s going to take a while to find something that will work for us. I want to live on the water, and Ben really needs to be close to the resort
April looked around. “And you don’t like this place?”
“I do; I love it. But to me it’s more like a vacation rental than a forever home, you know? And it takes Ben a little while to get to the resort from here. We’d like to be closer, if we can. And what about you? You’re renting next door, right?”
April nodded. “We are, but we’d like to buy it. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s homey. Homey is much more important to me. I’ve lived in fancy before, but my life was miserable then. A fancy house can’t make you happy if you’re not.”
“Oh, believe me, I know that.” Charlotte smiled. “But if you already are happy and get to live in a fancy house too, there’s nothing wrong with that is there?”
April laughed. “No, there isn’t. Nothing wrong with that at all.”
“You certainly seem to be happy these days. I knew in Vegas that Mr. Band Man was interested in you. He seems like a really good guy, and you’re happy, right?”
“Happier than I’ve ever been,” said April with a smile. “He’s so good to me, and he’s so good to Marcus. If you’d told me a year ago that my life would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have believed you. I wouldn’t have dared believe that life could be this good.”
“And how are things going at the women’s center?”
“It’s going really well. I feel as though I have finally found what I’m supposed to be doing with my life. It’s amazing to be able to help women who are going through hard times. I lived through some hard times of my own. I was the one who needed help, and for the longest time, I was too afraid to ask for it. I love that now I get to be the one who helps others. It’s not like I can do anything for them personally, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s about helping them find ways to stand on their own two feet and supporting them as they find their own solutions.” She smiled, looking a little embarrassed. “And of course, I still get to provide them with doughnuts in the morning.”
Charlotte laughed. “Don’t you downplay it, I think what you and Renée are doing is fantastic.”
“Thank you and don’t be surprised if we rope you in to help out at some point. We’re asking all our friends to share whatever skills they can. I have a feeling you could be a great help teaching women all the good stuff they can do on the computer.”
Charlotte nodded. “Just let me know when. I’d be happy to help out in any way I can.”
“It won’t be for a while yet. Everything’s a bit crazy this week with Renée getting married on Saturday.”
“I’ll bet. And what about you? Are there wedding bells in your future?”
April smiled. “I hope so, we’ve talked about it, but it will be a little while yet. I have my final divorce to go through yet.”
“I know how that goes. It seemed to take forever for me, but it was such a relief when it was final.”
“And now you can get on with the rest of your life, and be with the man you’re meant to be with.” April raised an eyebrow. “Do the two of you have any wedding plans?”
“Not plans, as such; we’ve talked about it. Like I said, we’re looking for a house to buy together. I think we’ve both been skirting around talking about actually getting married. We want to, or at least I do, and I’m pretty sure Ben does. We just haven’t had that conversation yet.”
“I’m sure you will, when you’re both ready.”
“Yeah, we will. We’ve had so much to deal with in the short time I’ve been back. It’s been wonderful and at the same time painful to be around for the arrival of little Isabel and William. We’ve both had to deal with our feelings around babies. And now with Gabe and Renée’s big day coming up on Saturday, I have a feeling we’ll both have to deal with our feelings about weddings too.”
“Hopefully those feelings will be much happier and much easier to deal with,” said April with a smile. “You just have to promise me, that when the two of you do get married, I’ll be invited. I know I haven’t known you very long. I’m not one of your original gang of friends, but I do care about you. I’m just as excited as everyone who’s known you for years.”
Charlotte smiled. “Of course you’ll be invited. If it weren’t for you, we might never have gotten back together. We might not have known each other that long, but you’re important to me. Very important. I hope we’ll still be good friends when we’re old and gray and watching our grandchildren together.”
April laughed. “I like the sound of that.”
Charlotte’s phone rang and she picked it up the coffee table. “Hi, Ben. What’s up?”
“Nothing’s up. I just wanted to remind you about dinner with Nate and Lily tonight.”
“That’s okay, I hadn’t forgotten. We’re supposed to be there at seven, right?”
“Yep, that’s right.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be ready to go.”
He laughed. “Good. I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t forgotten. See you later. I love you.”
“I love you. Bye.”
April smiled at her as she hung up. “You sound as though the two of you have been together forever.”
Charlotte shrugged. “In a way, we have. And in other ways, we’re starting all over from the beginning.”
~
Ben caught his breath at the sight of Charlotte coming downstairs. She was wearing a cornflower blue dress that hugged her figure in all the right places and brought out the color of her eyes. “You look amazing, Charlie.”
She smiled. “So do you. I don’t know about going to this wedding, I think I’d rather stay here and get you out of that suit.”
He laughed. “I’m sure we’ll get around to that when we get home tonight.”
“Oh, we will, mister. Have no doubts about that.”
“We’d better get going. I don’t want to be late.”
On the drive to the little church down by the lake Ben couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. He and Charlie were supposed to have been the first of all their friends to get married. Now here they were helping Gabe and Renée celebrate their happy day. Most of their friends were already married, and now some of them had children of their own, too.
“What are you thinking?” asked Charlotte. “You look like you’re a million miles away.” She looked concerned.
He shook his head. “I’m right here. I guess maybe I’m just a little envious of Gabe and Renée getting married today.”
She reached across to touch his hand as he pulled up in the parking lot. She didn’t speak, just squeezed his hand. He had a feeling that she too, was envious of them, but she could hardly say so, could she? It was up to him to make things happen. He leaned across and pecked her cheek, then smiled, his mind made up.
They made their way inside the church, smiling and waving at all the familiar faces. Lizzie Morgan waved at him from her place up at the front where she was sitting with Megan and baby William. Missy beckoned them over to come and sit with her and Dan. Ben smiled as he slid in beside them. He loved that most of the gang was sitting on the bride’s side of the aisle. They’d been friends with both Gabe and Renée all their lives, but Gabe had family, friends and acquaintances from all around town and from New York. Renée had no blood family left, but she had plenty of friends who
were as good as family.
Emma leaned forward in her seat at the end of the pew and waved to them. “I’m staying down here in case Isabel makes a fuss, so I can sit outside and not disturb things. I’ll catch up with you later.” She grinned. “And you can tell me when it’s going to be your turn.”
Ben caught Charlotte’s eye and she smiled. He couldn’t wait for it to be their turn. The look on her face told him she couldn’t either.
Gabe and Michael took their places up at the front. Ben swallowed; he needed to get a grip. It seemed that happy or sad, the tears were never far away for him these days. Right now, he was happy for Gabe, and happy for him and Michael that they got to stand shoulder to shoulder on Gabe’s big day. Ben had a feeling that Michael and Megan would announce their wedding soon, too. She hadn’t wanted to get married while she was pregnant, but now baby William was here, and there was nothing like a wedding to make a girl want to get married herself. He closed his eyes for a moment. Who was he kidding? There was nothing like a wedding to make a guy want to get married either—at least in his case. He scanned the crowd while they waited for Renée. Nate and Lily sat in the row behind them. From the conversation at dinner the other night, he had a feeling that they would be married soon, too. Pete and Holly and Smoke and Laura sat with them. Ben knew that smoke was probably feeling the same way he was. Smoke had been getting impatient for a while now to name a date. Behind them sat Kenzie and Chase with April and Eddie. Looking at them, Ben realized that half the gang was married and the other half was in a hurry to join them. He smiled; he was including himself in that other half.
