“Charlie.” She broke the kiss and took a step back, teetering on the edge of the bank. Charlie reached out for her and took her hand, pulling her away from the frozen pool. Pulling her to safety. And she wanted to be safe in his arms, yet she was too confused. The hurt caused by Laurence was too raw. She’d covered it up well, stuck the biggest Band-Aid she could find over it, but now it had been torn away and she ached with hurt and sadness.
“Are you okay?” Charlie asked as she sobbed loudly.
“I’m fine. I just need a little time.” She looked up at the handsome man before her, with his mane of hair, and she wanted to give herself to him. But she couldn’t. Not yet. “It’s too soon.”
He frowned and put his hand to his forehead as if berating himself. “I was stupid to rush you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I thought I was okay. But this is too much too fast. I don’t think I’m ready to risk my heart again. Not yet.” She nodded and turned away from him as she wiped her tears and looked up at the ice waterfall. It reminded her of her heart, her heart before Charlie had touched it and thawed it out. Yet the pain brought on by that thawing was almost too much, it took her breath away.
“Hey.” He came toward her and wrapped his strong arms around her, but he didn’t make a move, he simply held her, comforting her. “It’s okay. We have all the time in the world.”
Penny leaned back against him, feeling better when he was close. If only she could let go and throw herself into this relationship completely. “You don’t have to wait for me. There are plenty of women at the hotel.”
He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I told you, you are the only one for me. If I have to wait ten years, twenty years, I’ll wait.”
“Just like Julius,” she murmured.
He chuckled. “Just like Julius. He used to think he was cursed.”
“Did he?” Penny asked. Julius hadn’t added that detail to his story.
“Yes, he used to think that fate had played a trick on him or gotten it wrong.” He inhaled deeply. “I can see how he’d think that.”
“Is that how you feel right now?” Penny asked.
“No. I’m a patient man. And I hope I can prove to you that we are meant to be together.” He let her go and glanced at his watch. “We should go.”
“Sally?”
“Yes, sorry. We can come again. How long are you here for?”
“A week.”
“A deadline. I can work with that.” He took her hand and led her back around the frozen pool.
“I don’t know if a week is enough time for me to be ready to move on,” she told him honestly.
“I also like a challenge.” He hooked his leg over the ATV and switched the engine on. “But I promise you, no pressure.”
“No pressure.” She nodded. “And I promise you I’ll try.”
“That’s good enough for me.” He waited for her to climb on, put the goggles on and pull her hood up, then he turned the ATV toward home and took her back down off the mountain. But as they left the trail and sped back to his house, Penny had the terrible feeling she’d left her heart on the mountain, locked away behind the sheet of ice, and only Charlie could retrieve it for her.
Chapter Ten – Charlie
“I’ll drive you back to the hotel.” Charlie parked the ATV in the lean-to and shut the doors.
“Thanks.” Penny waited for him to walk to the truck and then fell into step with him. “Or I could come with you to meet Sally.”
He glanced sideways at her. “I’d like that.” Sally was a big part of his life and since Penny was also going to be a big part of his life, it made sense for them to meet. Since Lilly knew the situation and had already met Penny, she would have no problem with it.
“Good.” Penny nodded. “Good.”
“Are you trying to convince yourself?” Charlie paused outside the cabin.
“No. I want to meet Sally. But will she want to meet me?” Penny asked. “Since me coming to town has been the catalyst for Lilly moving out of your cabin.”
Charlie rubbed his hand over his chin. “She doesn’t know yet.”
“Oh.” Penny pressed her lips together. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea I come with you then.”
“No, it is. At least when Lilly tells her, she’ll know you.”
“Because Sally will still be a big part of your life. Even if she moves.”
“If she moves?” Charlie wasn’t certain what Penny meant.
“Listen, all this talk of mates and stuff. The most important thing is for Sally to be happy and settled. There is no way I want her to be pushed out because of...fate.” They stood facing each other. Penny wasn’t convinced of the mating bond. She didn’t believe in its strength.
Because you left out the most important part, his lion said.
Which is? Although Charlie had already guessed.
Me. If she saw you shift into a lion, she would be ready to believe anything you said, his lion announced jovially. I expect you could even convince her Santa is real and reindeer can fly.
“Why don’t you come and meet her? Forget all about mates and the future, just come and say hi,” Charlie suggested. “Let’s just get to know each other.”
“Okay. I’d like that.” Penny looked relieved. “I should take Lilly’s clothes off.”
He sure wished she’d take more than that off. As he grinned at her, he hoped she couldn’t read his mind. “Come on inside. We have time for coffee, too.”
“Are you sure?” She followed him inside and took off the snow boots and unzipped the snowsuit while he went to the kitchen and put on a fresh pot of coffee.
“I’m sorry I pressured you.” He leaned back on the counter and waited for the coffee while she padded into the kitchen in her thick socks.
“Don’t worry about it.” Her brow creased. “You know, I have no idea what this is all really about. It’s almost as if I’ve walked into an alternate universe.”
“All this talk of fate?” he asked as he poured the coffee.
“Yeah. I mean, why here in Bear Creek?”
Charlie only just stopped himself from dropping the coffee cups. “This place is special.”
“Why?” Penny was pushing for answers, but if he told her now and she freaked out, he might be late for Sally, and that couldn’t happen.
“The mountains, the history of the place. It’s part of the town...”
“You don’t come from Bear Creek,” Penny pointed out.
“You are smart.” He handed her a cup of coffee, wishing they’d simply gotten into the truck and gone to pick up Sally. As much as he wanted to explain it all to her and show her his lion, he didn’t need the mating bond to tell him this new information might just be the thing to push her over the edge.
“And you are evading my question.” She sipped her coffee. “There’s something more, isn’t there? Something that drew you here to Bear Creek.”
Charlie nearly spat his coffee out; instead, he choked on it. Coughing, he tried to clear his throat and decide what to tell her. “Yes, there is something more.”
“And that is...” She stared him straight in the eyes. But before he could answer, her phone rang. “My mom.” She pressed the phone screen and answered the call. “Hi, Mom.”
He turned away to stare out of the window, but even when he tried to fill his thoughts with the mountain, he couldn’t prevent himself from hearing the conversation between Penny and her mom.
“Yes, I’m okay.” She fell silent as her mom spoke.
“We’ve just heard from a friend who writes for the local paper.” The concern in her mom’s voice alerted him. Whatever this friend had to say, it wasn’t good news.
“You mean Phil?” Penny wandered further away from him and stood in the doorway.
“Yes, honey.” Her mom hesitated again. “Phil has some contacts with one of the big nationals.”
Penny dragged her hand through her hair. “They’re going to run the story?” One o
f Laurence’s threats, when he learned there would be no payoff from the Granger Estate, was that he would sell his story to the press. He was about to follow through on one of his promises after all.
“Yes.” Her mom’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Should I come home?” Penny asked, turning to look at Charlie who was looking out of the window. “I can be home in a couple of hours.”
“No. Stay there. They don’t intend to run it for a few days. Your dad is trying to persuade them to drop it, but they call it a public interest story.”
“Public interest? What’s wrong with them?” Penny put her fingers to her temples. “How much did Laurence sell the story for?” How much am I worth, was her real question.
“We don’t know.” Hers mom’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Is Daddy okay?” Penny asked quietly.
“If wanting to get hold of Laurence with both hands and squeeze the breath out of his body is okay, then yes.” Her mom took a breath. “Although right now he needs to get in line because if I get hold of him first, I’ll cut his balls off.”
“Mom!” Penny looked up at Charlie, who found something really interesting to stare at in the trees to the west of the house, while he tried to smother a smile. He liked Penny’s parents already, even though he’d never met them. They were protective.
“Okay, I need to go. I’ll call you later. Please, do not do anything that will get either of you in trouble. That includes trying to buy or bribe the person running the story.” Penny paused. “Promise me, Mom.”
“I promise. But I can’t answer for your father. We love you.” The call ended, and Penny took a moment before she turned around to face Charlie.
“More coffee?” Charlie asked. They had around fifteen minutes before they had to leave to pick Sally up from school.
“I might need something stronger,” she said with a small laugh.
“That bad?” he asked, not wanting to let on that he’d heard the conversation.
“Yeah.” She nodded.
“I’m a good listener.” Charlie couldn’t bear to see her face contorted with misery, but when he looked at her, she plastered a brave expression on her face.
“My asshat of an ex-husband is selling our story to the papers.” Her voice cracked as she spoke.
Charlie’s hands curled into a fist. “What can I do?”
“Nothing. Honestly, the best way to deal with him is to ignore him.” She drank her coffee, her eyes misted with tears.
“You aren’t going to try to stop him?” Charlie asked, coming across the kitchen to her.
“He isn’t the kind of guy you reason with,” Penny explained. “He dated me and made me fall in love with him because he wanted a slice of my fortune.”
“So why is he doing this? Why sell the story?” Charlie asked.
“Because just before the wedding, my dad made him sign a prenup.” Penny stared at her coffee cup. “He didn’t like it, but I insisted. I don’t know, maybe that was the first inkling that Laurence wasn’t the man I thought he was.”
“But you went through with the wedding anyway?” Charlie asked.
“Yes. He was apologetic, and everything was arranged.” She set her coffee cup down on the countertop. “I loved him. I truly loved him. He was everything I wanted in a man. Only after we were married, I found out it was all an elaborate act.”
“What kind of man does that?” Charlie asked angrily, hating the defeated expression in her eyes.
“The kind of man who likes a certain lifestyle and doesn’t care who he tramples on to get it.” She shrugged. “He was clever, I was stupid.”
“I don’t believe that.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, but she looked away, ashamed for what happened.
“I was. I was stupid enough to think there was a perfect guy out there for me.” She curled her hand around the edge of the counter, the whites of her knuckles showing. “What makes me so angry is how manipulative he was and how easily he read me. I was like an open book. He knew what I liked, food, wine, pastimes. He even made up a job for himself. He told me he was a pro bono lawyer.”
“I’m sorry.” He slipped his arms around her, grateful when she didn’t pull away. As he held her close, he stroked her back, her breath shuddering in her body as she fought back tears. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” she sobbed. “It’s not just me he hurt in all this, it’s my parents. My dad has fought hard to stop him from getting his hands on my money. On his money. All this time his friends and colleagues know he raised a stupid, stupid daughter who should have known better.”
“No.” He took hold of her shoulders and stepped backward, making her face him. “They raised a beautiful strong daughter who sees the best in people. I bet they are proud of who you are.”
She sniffed loudly. “I love them so much. And I hate seeing them go through this with me. I’d hoped by not being there at Christmas that they might forget about it all for a few days. But this has ruined everything.”
Charlie shook his head. “Only if you let it. I’m sure your friends and family know what a wonderful person you are. I’m also certain that they know this could have happened to them. Their son, their daughter. We all want love. We all want to find the perfect person to share our lives with.”
“At least you know all the sordid details now,” Penny said, wiping her eyes. “You’ve had a lucky escape.”
“Escape?” Charlie asked. He stroked her chin and tilted her face up to his. “Honey, I am not going anywhere. When I said we were mates, I meant for life, and nothing is ever going to change that.”
Then he lowered his head and kissed her, kissing away all her hurt and pain. At least, that’s what he hoped. He wanted to show her what real love was, that she shouldn’t wall her heart up and not allow herself the chance to put all this behind her.
But most of all, he simply wanted to kiss his mate.
Chapter Eleven – Penny
Charlie kissed her again. Perhaps he planned to keep on kissing her until she came to her senses. Did he know his lips on hers had the opposite effect? He robbed her of her senses. He took away her reasoning mind. And it was wonderful. Slowly, her fears and worries slipped away as he consumed her every thought.
Why couldn’t she have met Charlie before? He was sweet, kind and understanding. With strong arms to hold her and a broad chest to lean on. Not that she planned to spend her life leaning on him. However, at this moment, she needed his strength and to hear his words of sense. She was being too hard on herself. She knew it.
If this had been one of the young people she counseled, she would have told them the same thing Charlie was telling her. So why couldn’t she take his advice?
Because she should have known better. Laurence had ruined her life in more than one way. Not only had he made her scared of trusting her own judgment with people in her personal life, but also her professional life. How could she expect young people to take her seriously and respect her advice when she’d made such a monumental screw-up?
“Don’t you have somewhere you have to be?” Penny asked as she took a step back from him, trying to regain her breath. Her knees were weak, and her cheeks flushed.
Charlie slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her back toward him. “I’m in the exact place I’m supposed to be.”
She kissed his lips, feeling better. His kisses had helped her get over the shock of the phone call, now she had to pull herself together and figure out what to do. Perhaps she should go home to her parents, they could make a plan of action together. Although, what they could do against a man like Laurence, she had no idea.
Except give him money. Penny was certain if her father paid Laurence enough money, he would withdraw the story and keep his mouth shut. But that was a slippery slope. Laurence would soon come back for more. And more. He would be a stone around their necks for the rest of their lives.
“Come on, I’ll come with you to pick Sally up from school.
Could you drop me off at the hotel on the way back? I know it’s a little out of your way.” Penny walked to the front door to get her shoes.
“You aren’t coming back here?” Charlie didn’t hide his disappointment.
“No, I have some phone calls to make.” Penny couldn’t even tell him she’d reschedule her visit since she didn’t know if she was going to leave the hotel and go home.
“I understand.” Charlie didn’t pressure her for more. “Come on. We can’t keep Sally waiting. She’s so excited this is the last day of school. The holidays can really begin now.”
Penny grinned. “I can still remember how wonderful these holidays were. The house decorated, the tree with all the pretty lights. A child really makes Christmas.”
“Do you have any siblings?” Charlie asked as he tied his boots and then opened the front door for her.
“No, I’m an only child.” She stood on the porch and shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun on the snow. The wind gusted hard and the snow fell from the trees in big clumps to splatter onto the ground. “I think that’s what made this whole thing with Laurence worse.”
“You thought you were pleasing your parents?” he asked.
She swung her head around to face him. “How did you guess?”
“My parents were old when they had me. And I suppose I thought I had to make it up to them. That they had waited for me for so long.” Charlie held out his hand to her. Penny stepped down off the porch and slid her hand into his massive hand. “It’s a hard thing for a child to live up to. Being perfect.”
“My parents never expected me to be perfect,” Penny told him.
“Neither did mine, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel I needed to be.” They walked to the truck and he opened the passenger door for her. As she got inside, he added, “I put more pressure on myself than my parents ever put on me. I think that’s why I went off the rails when they died. This pressure had built up inside me and I had to vent it.”
“You’re right. My mom and dad never put the same pressure on me as I did on myself. They always said I should live my own life on my own terms. But somewhere in my head, I got this idea that I had to keep the bloodline alive. I had to provide an heir.” She chuckled. “Does this mean I have to vent my frustrations now, too?”
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