The Growing Years (The Angel Chronicles Book 3)

by Mary May

  Charlie shook her head as tears one after another started to fall and the entire story came pouring out. Sabrina got up and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

  “I’m sorry, baby, I’m sorry you had such a scary ordeal, but I’m so thankful that Nate was there for you and brought you safely home.” They heard the crunch of Devon’s tires on the gravel outside and Charlie looked up at her mother in fear.

  “What do you think he is going to do to me? Will it be awful?” Sabrina shook her head.

  “Charlie, he isn’t going to beat you; you know better than that. Devon has never laid a hand on you. Of course, you have never really given him a reason to, either. I promise whatever punishment he decides on will be just and fair. He loves you too much to do otherwise.”

  Charlie heard Devon’s heavy footsteps as he walked up the front steps and across the living room. Her heart pounded harder with every step that brought him closer. All she could think about was the cold look on his face when he stepped off the porch earlier. As soon as he stepped into the kitchen, she flung herself out of the chair and into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably, begging him to forgive her and please don’t hate her. Devon swung her up into his arms like he did when she was little, holding her tight against his chest until he sat down in the kitchen chair that she had just jumped out of. He settled her in his lap, rocking back and forth until she had settled down enough to actually hear him.

  “Charlie girl? Charlie? Listen to me, sweetheart…hush now. Stop that crying -- you’re going to make yourself sick.” He looked over at Sabrina and asked her to bring him a wet towel. When she did, he made Charlie lean back so he could wipe her face, making shushing noises until she was down to soft hiccupping.

  “I want you to understand something tonight. If you don’t hear anything else that I may tell you, you understand this. I love you, Charlie girl, and there isn’t anything you can do that will ever change that. Do you hear me?” Charlie nodded as the tears started once more.

  “I’m…sorry…and…and …Nate was right. I am an empty-headed tween queen. I promise I won’t ever do something so…so…stupid again. I love you, too. Are you angry with me?”

  Devon sighed as he looked at Sabrina for help. She just smiled and shook her head, leaving him on his own.

  “I felt a lot of different things tonight, Charlie, to be real honest, and, yes, anger was definitely one of them, but do you know what I felt the most?”

  “What?” she whispered.

  “I was scared, and that’s not an emotion I’m real familiar with, but I was. I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to find you in time. That even with all my skills at tracking people down, this one time I wouldn’t be able to do it in time. I didn’t like feeling that way, Charlie, and your mama was scared and worried, too.”

  Charlie glanced up at her mom, who nodded her head in agreement.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything. Can you forgive me? Can you both forgive me?” She looked from one parent to the other, her eyes begging their forgiveness.

  Sabrina came over and knelt down beside the chair, looking up into her eyes. “Of course, we forgive you, sweetheart. We know you’re sorry and that you won’t do it again; however, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be punished. What you did was very serious and we can’t just let it go; do you understand?”

  Charlie nodded then looked at Devon. “What will my punishment be?”

  “I don’t know yet. Let’s sleep on it and, more importantly, let me pray on it. We will talk about it in the morning.” Charlie nodded in agreement then stood up to head off to bed when Devon asked her one last question.

  “Did Nate really call you an empty-headed tween queen?”

  Charlie’s spine stiffened slightly and some of her usual spit and vinegar could be heard in her voice when she replied. “Yes. He really did.” Then she walked up the stairs without another word, but she could hear Devon chuckle as she closed her bedroom door.

  Sabrina yawned so wide it nearly unhinged her jaw as she walked out of the bathroom and finally climbed into bed. It had been a very, very long day. The clock on the bedside table read 3:32 in the morning. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been up so late. Devon pulled her close after turning off the lamp and for a minute they just lay there thankful that all of them were once more safely back where they were supposed to be. Then she asked a question that had been on her mind.

  “Were you really afraid that you wouldn’t be able to find Charlie?”

  “Yes, I was. The thought crossed my mind a few times. Thankfully she was home before I had to start looking.”

  “Why would you doubt yourself? You can find hardened criminals that don’t want to be found; why would finding a thirteen year old girl be a problem?”

  “Sabrina, I said I was afraid I wouldn’t find her in time, before something bad happened to her. That’s the difference I was speaking of. I knew she couldn’t be that far ahead of me, but I’m telling you every horror story I had ever heard of came back to haunt me tonight. Finding someone in time had never been so important.”

  “All I could think to do was pray God’s protection over her to keep her guardian close by and to bring her home safe. Thank God for Nate Jackson! I had a chance to speak with Nate on the drive to his house and I apologized for jumping to conclusions when I saw him with Charlie tonight. I told him I wasn’t very proud of the way I acted,” he admitted.

  “What did he say?”

  “The boy actually laughed and said he would have thought the same thing if the roles were reversed. I have to hand it to him. Nate stood his ground when I was coming after him. He has guts.”

  “Nate is a good kid,” Sabrina commented through another yawn.

  “He isn’t a kid any more. Did you know that he signed up with the military after high school? He leaves for basic training after graduation in a few weeks.”

  Sabrina rolled over and looked at Devon with surprise. “You’re kidding! Is he really that old?”

  “Yes, ma’am, he turned eighteen last week, and I feel your pain. It seems like just yesterday Charlie was laying him out at her birthday party for pulling her hair, and now he will be leaving for basic training.”

  “My goodness,” Sabrina breathed in disbelief.

  “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

  Gideon stood by Charlie’s bed after she had finally cried herself to sleep. He knew exactly what Devon was talking about. His emotions had been run through the ringer tonight as well. He felt exhausted and that shouldn’t be possible. He was so happy to see Nate show up when he did. He was about to break two possibly three Major rules when that young punk had put his hands on Charlie. He tried to spook Stormy so he would pull back hard enough to pull Charlie away, but that didn’t work. He was seconds away from slamming the boy to the ground when he saw Nate step out of the house and spot what was happening in the yard. Nate cleared the porch railing and had Drew jerked to the ground by the back of his shirt with speed that was pretty impressive. What impressed Gideon even more was the way he handled the situation, using only what force was actually needed. Most teenage boys his age were more than happy to start throwing punches for any reason at all. The fact that Nate actually didn’t showed what a good head he had on his shoulders. He would make a good warrior.

  The following morning Charlie came downstairs feeling like a prisoner about to face the gallows. She knew she deserved whatever they decided to do to her, but she still hoped it wasn’t too terrible. She tried to judge from their expressions what it might be, but they looked like they did every day. Sitting down at the table, she started eating her cereal, waiting on them to make the announcement. The twins had already eaten and were in the living room watching cartoons, so it was just the three of them at the table. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore!

  “So…ummm… have you decided what my punishment will be?” Devon nodded as he chewed his bite of cereal.

  “I have, Charlie girl. After you eat,
why don’t you go put on some old jeans and a t-shirt and meet me outside?”

  Charlie looked at her mom then back at Devon. “You can’t just tell me what it is?” she asked.

  “Nope, be easier to jump right into it. You better eat up; you are going to need your strength!” Charlie again looked to her mom for some clue, but Sabrina just smiled and shoved another spoonful of cereal in her mouth and gave her a wink.

  Twenty minutes later Charlie stood outside looking at Devon in disbelief. “You want me to shingle the roof? You’re kidding me! Mom, tell me he is kidding!”

  “No, I’m pretty sure he is serious. I’m taking the boys to my mother’s for the day. We will see you two later!”

  Charlie watched as they loaded up into the car and drove away waving happily from the car’s window. She saw Devon carrying a tall ladder out of the barn and leaning it against the house. Then he went back to the barn and returned with a bundle of shingles and two tool belts. On his last trip he had yet another ladder and two bundles of rope.

  “Ok, Charlie girl, come over here. Let me get you hooked up.” He took one of the tool belts and slipped it around Charlie’s tiny waist, laughing when it didn’t have enough holes. After he made a few modifications, it fit snugly and he loaded it with a hammer and some nails. He clipped one end of the safety line to her belt and told her to climb up the ladder, sit on the roof and wait for him. Charlie climbed the ladder and did as she was instructed, still in disbelief that she was actually supposed to do this. After a few minutes Devon climbed up. He hooked both of their safety lines to a rope that was tied off to the bumper of his truck that he had moved to the opposite side of the house. If one of them started to fall, the truck and rope would stop them.

  “So did you pray about this like you said you were going to?”

  “I sure did.”

  “And this was the answer you got?”

  Devon grinned at her as he opened the bundle of shingles. “Well, I figured since you like crawling around on the roof so much, you might as well be repairing some shingles while you’re up here. How’s that for some divine inspiration?”

  “Funny, very funny,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “Yeah, some people say that God has no sense of humor! Go figure, huh?”

  They soon got to work replacing some damaged shingles. It didn’t take Charlie long to get the hang of it; soon she was actually doing a decent job. Devon figured he would have to climb up there when she was in school Monday and redo the ones that she had laid down, but after the first few, hers were as good as his. She didn’t whine about the heat or the work; she stayed right with him until it was done. Afterwards they sat on the top ridge of the roof and surveyed all their hard work. Devon reached over and tugged on her ponytail.

  “You did good, kid. I’m proud of you.”

  Charlie smiled and wiped the sweat off her forehead. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, I am. I know a lot grown men that would have wimped out after a couple of hours, but you hung in there. Good job, grasshopper.”

  They gathered up their supplies and climbed back down the ladders. Charlie groaned in relief when she was able to stand on solid ground once more.

  “So tell me, Charlie girl, are you still into your new hobby of roof crawling?” Devon asked with a twinkle in his eye.

  Charlie looked up at him with her hands on her hips. “Let me tell you something about roof crawling.”

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “It’s really overrated!”

  Chapter 12

  Charlie sat with her family watching Nate walk across the stage to receive his high school diploma. This was the first time she had seen him since he had come to her rescue the night she had snuck out. Devon had told her that he would be leaving for the military right after graduation and he wouldn’t be back for a long time. She wondered how long that would be exactly. After the superintendent had announced the graduating class, they all whooped loudly and tossed their caps into the air, creating a cloud of blue and gold.

  They slowly made their way down to where Nate was standing with his parents and his grandfather Seth taking pictures and giving hugs. He smiled when Devon reached out to shake his hand and offer his congratulations along with Sabrina.

  Nate smiled down at Charlie. “It won’t be long before it’s your turn. Charlie. It will be here before you know it.”

  Charlie smiled and reached up to give him a hug. She was surprised to find tears in her eyes when he pulled away. Nate looked into her eyes for a moment before whispering in her ear.

  “Please be good, Charlie. I won’t be here to be your knight in shining armor the next time you need to be rescued.” He kissed her on the forehead before moving on to the next person who waited to speak with him. Charlie melted into the crowd and walked back to the truck to wait for the rest of the family. How odd it was going to be not to have Nate around anymore. They hadn’t really hung out in years and mostly they ignored one another, but she always knew he was there if she needed him. She sent up a heartfelt prayer for God to please watch over Nate and to bring him safely back.

  Charlie saddled up Stormy after they got home and rode back in the woods following the trails and streams that she and Nate used to ride when they were younger. She found the spot where they had built a fort and played for days before Emily Ross had moved into town and Nate discovered girls. She thought that maybe her mama had been right about her having a crush on Nate. Giving their fort one last look, she turned Stormy around and rode back home…

  “Ok, Charlie, do it just like I showed you; let out on the clutch and give it some gas nice and smooth.”

  Charlie’s brow was wrinkled in concentration as she tried to it exactly like Devon had instructed, but the truck lurched forward violently then died…again!

  Laying her head on the steering wheel, she felt like crying or screaming or maybe both.

  “Tell me again why I have to learn how to drive a stick when Mom has a perfectly good automatic sitting in the driveway,” she moaned.

  “Because what if something happens and the truck is the only thing here and you need to drive to the hospital?” Devon explained.

  “I would dial 911,” Charlie answered.

  “What if the phones were out?”

  “I don’t know! I would send out smoke signals or ride Stormy or run to the neighbors. I’m just saying that whatever option I had would be quicker than me trying to find first gear in this stupid truck!”

  Devon’s lips twitched in such a way that had Charlie narrowing her eyes at him.

  “Do not laugh at me!” she warned him. He shook his head and looked out of his window.

  “No, ma’am, wouldn’t think of it.”

  “Sure, you wouldn’t,” she muttered before starting over again.

  The angels had all gathered on the roof to watch Charlie lurch around the front yard in Devon’s truck.

  “You know that actually looks painful,” Raphael commented.

  “For who? Devon?” Charlotte asked.

  “No. The truck.”

  After two days of circling the front yard, Charlie actually mastered the art of finding first gear and could smoothly get the truck started and rolling toward whatever destination she pointed it toward. Sabrina rubbed Devon’s neck and shoulders as he lay across their bed with his head buried in the comforter. He mumbled something but Sabrina couldn’t hear him.

  “What?”

  He rolled his head to one side with a loud groan. “I said I really do think she gave me whiplash. I’m serious.”

  Sabrina busted out laughing. “Oh, it couldn’t have been as bad as all of that!” she said as she kneaded the tight knots out of the muscles in his shoulders.

  “Ok, you teach her reverse and second gear then.”

  “Fine, I will. No way it’s that bad!”

  “A little more to the right, honey.”

  “Right there?”

  “Yes, that’s perfect.” Sabrina sighed in bliss as Devon
worked the kinks out of her neck and back after spending an afternoon with Charlie teaching her second gear. How could anyone have so much difficulty learning to drive a stick? It really didn’t make sense! She peeked one eye open to see a satisfied smirk playing around the edges of her husband’s lips.

  “Devon?”

  “Yes, darlin’?”

  “You know I love you, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “If you ever say I told you so about this, I’m never speaking to you again.”

  “Understood.”

  A few weeks later a triumphant Charlie emerged from the local sheriff’s office with her driver’s permit held high in her hands and a victorious smile on her face.

  “I did it! I actually passed the driving course in Devon’s dumb old truck!” Devon and Sabrina smiled and clapped as they waited for her.

  “Hey! My truck isn’t dumb! It’s a great truck and it must have a heart of pure gold to still be running after all you put the poor thing through!” Devon protested. Charlie grinned as she climbed inside and fastened her seatbelt.

  “That’s probably true, but I did it! Now when I turn sixteen in a couple of weeks I can get my own car then a job and buy my own stuff!”

  “Don’t you think you have that backwards? Shouldn’t the job come before the car? How do you plan on getting the car without the job?” Sabrina asked, watching her daughter’s face.

  “Oh, I guess that would probably work better, huh?” She smiled up at her mom then went back to admiring her permit.

  The day of Charlie’s birthday Sabrina got full swing into planning her sweet sixteen party. They had rented out a large white tent and hired a local band. She called the bakery and had a beautiful two-tiered cake ordered. It was mint green covered in cascading pink and white roses with matching piping looped and swirled along the outside. “Happy Sweet Sixteen Charlie” was written in silver icing on the top layer. Caterers handled the meal that was a mix of finger foods and Mexican dishes. Under the tent several tables were covered in either pink or mint green table cloths with a vase of pink and white roses mixed with baby’s breath in the center. Scattered around on the tables were snapshots of Charlie at different ages. On a long table in the front sat the birthday cake and a picture that Sabrina had taken of Charlie that morning.