by Raen Smith
“I guess I can,” Declan said.
“You guess or you can?” Charla raised her eyebrows and put her hands on her hips.
“I will,” Declan said with a smile.
“Or otherwise you’re going to find that big, thick head of yours floating in Mud Lake.” Charla waved her finger at him.
He bowed his head. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“No,” she said. “But you made a promise, and I don’t back out on promises.”
“Neither do I.” Declan met her eyes.
“Good, then it’s done,” Liam said, hitting Declan’s back. “Charla, you want to run upstairs to get the money and the number from Jerry? I don’t want to leave these guys alone.” He pointed to the back of the van. “I’m not going to feel good until we get them down to the station.”
“You got it,” Charla said, turning back to head up the stairs. She heard their voices carry in the alley as she took the first few steps.
“You’re one lucky son of a bitch,” Ronan said. “That Charla is something else.”
“I know,” Liam said with admiration in his voice. “I know.”
Chapter 15
An arm curled around Charla’s waist as the soft morning light streamed through the window. She looked out to see a soft bed of fog hovering over the surface of Mud Lake.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she whispered.
“It is.” Liam murmured in her hair, nuzzling closer. His body wrapped around hers, fitting snug like a mold. His arm left her waist and slowly crept up to lightly cup her breast. “Sure is.”
“We’re both talking about the lake, right?”
“Is that what we’re talking about?” He kissed the back of her head and then slowly dropped his hand back to her waist.
“Yeah.” Charla let out a soft laugh and then turned to face Liam. “I like waking up to this. I think I could get used to it.”
“Are we still talking about the lake?” Liam tucked his arm beneath his head.
“No, keep up,” she said, planting a soft kiss on his lips. “I’m talking about you.”
“I don’t need to get used to it,” he replied, returning another kiss. “Because I’m already there. I expect to wake up to this every morning.”
Charla sighed as he ran his hand along her hair and brushed the side of her cheek. “You’re hell of a lot better than Jack’s wrinkly ass and balls, although I have to admit, part of me is going to miss that every morning.”
“Give me some time, I’ll take care of that.” Liam laughed as she shook her head.
“Where do you think he is?” she asked as he pulled her closer into his chest. She snuggled in and rested her head on his chest, feeling the comfort of his strong body around hers.
“I don’t know,” Liam said, lightly running his fingers through her hair. “Not anywhere close to here or Boston. Maybe the west coast.”
“Maybe Montana or Idaho,” she added. “It would be easy to get lost somewhere there. Although, Declan’s not exactly easy to ignore. He’s going to have to work on that accent of his and stop pounding the protein drinks.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he said. “The Connolly boys can take care of themselves.”
“You think we’ll ever see him again?”
“Probably not,” he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You want to? You said you never wanted to see him again.”
“Yeah, I know what I said. But a part of me feels bad the three of you found each other and now have a chance to be brothers. You can get to know each other. You’ve all had the opportunity to have a good life while he was left back in Boston and now he’s left out again.”
“You’re really saying this about the guy who threatened to float your corpse in the lake?” he asked, resting his hand on her head. “You really do have a heart of gold.”
“Or I’m just hopeless.”
“Not a chance in hell. But speaking of hopeless, I forgot to tell you Marian left me a message last night. Someone named Dotti Taylor came to see her,” he replied.
“Really?” Charla lifted her head away from his chest to look him in the eyes.
“Really,” he confirmed, nodding his head. “Marian sounds pretty confident she’ll be able to help her.”
“I’m not going to get my hopes up, but I’m glad to hear she went in.” She put her head back down, nuzzling into his chest again. She wondered how Dotti was handling what she had told her about Robert a few days ago. All Charla felt was relief. The nightmares were gone and the guilt that weighed her down for years had been lifted. She felt free.
“You never know, this could be the beginning of a long road to recovery for her,” Liam said.
“You never know.” Charla’s voice trailed off. “As much as I want to lay in this bed all day with you, we should probably finish moving the rest of the stuff so we can get that for sale sign up.”
He pulled her chin up and met her lips in a sweet, sensuous kiss. He trailed his fingers along her collarbone and then around the tops of her breasts. He cupped her breast again lightly, sending warmth flooding through Charla’s body.
He released her lips and whispered. “You sure about that?”
“Maybe in a few minutes.” She met his lips again and pressed her body against his.
“It will take me more than a few minutes,” he whispered between kisses.
***
A chirping noise sounded from Charla’s purse on the kitchen counter. She stood in the living room, taking one last look at the cottage. It was spotless, except for her bed, dresser and a few boxes stacked on the driveway. Ronan would be here any minute with his truck to pick up the rest of her belongings and haul them to the apartment building just a few blocks down from the Dirty Leprechaun.
“I’ll get it,” Liam called from the kitchen. “It’s a text from Jill.”
“What does it say?” she asked as she met him in the kitchen. He passed the phone to her and then opened up the small piece of paper in his other hand.
She looked down at the message on her phone. Happy Moving Day. See u at class tmrw. Charla shook her head and texted back Thx. No rest for the weary. She tucked the phone in her pocket and then looked up to see Liam holding the piece of paper up with a grin on his face.
“What’s this?” he asked, waving the paper. “I don’t particularly like number five on the list.”
“You,” she warned, trying to grab the paper out of his hand. He pulled it away at the last second and laughed. She slugged him in the arm as he backed up against the kitchen counter.
“Come on, now,” he said between laughs. He raised the paper above his head. “I really don’t like number five though. Don’t fall in love with Liam Murphy. I think I should burn this list.”
He pulled her into him so she couldn’t hit him anymore. She stopped swinging and said, “Make me change my mind then.”
“Don’t worry, I planned on it,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. He bent down and softly kissed her.
“That’s a good start,” she said, pulling away slowly.
“Come on, now.” A deep voice sounded behind them. “Didn’t you have enough of that last night?”
Charla turned to see Ronan shaking his head and Brody grinning next to him.
“Movers are here,” Liam called, letting Charla go. She grabbed the list from his hand and tucked it into her pocket. “Ronan, I see you brought some extra muscle.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Brody said as Ronan shoved him in the arm.
“Baby bro wanted to help. I figured I can’t say no to him,” Ronan said. “I don’t want to be left out his will. This little shit has deeper pockets than I thought. Coughed over his share for catching Mickey without any complaining.”
“What makes you think you’re in my will?” Brody asked. “Or that you will ever be in my will?”
Ronan laughed and then turned to Liam. “You ready to load the rest of this shit?”
“Yeah.” Liam pu
shed himself off the counter and joined them in the living room.
“I’m going to take one last pass around the place,” Charla said. “I’ll meet you outside.”
“I told you I could help,” Brody said, making Ronan laugh harder. Charla shook her head as they disappeared out the front door.
She opened the patio door and stepped out onto the deck, inhaling the smell of pine trees she’d come to love. She gazed at the rippling water of Mud Lake, glimmering in the morning light. Putting the for sale sign up at the end of the driveway was going to be hard, but Liam was making it easier than she’d thought it would be. Holding Jack’s hand as he passed to the other side had broken her heart, but his death had brought her to Liam, something she entirely unexpected. They shared something they both unexpected.
“Jack, you Silver Devil,” Charla whispered at the lake. She exhaled and stepped off the porch. Then she turned to walk around the house, catching a glimpse of a light brown line in the grass. She walked closer to see Jack’s baseball bat lying in the grass just before the line of thick evergreens.
Thanks, Declan. She picked up the bat, feeling the smooth handle against her skin and wondering if Jack had told the truth about making the bat. She fingered the initials at the base of the bat. F.C. She had always wondered what it stood for, but now she knew. She swung the bat over her shoulder and walked around the cottage to meet the guys in the driveway.
“Whoa,” Ronan said at the sight of Charla with the bat. He held up his hands. “I think we have to rethink not having Charla on our team.”
“What team?” she asked, standing next them.
“We’re going to start our own security company,” Liam said, looking at Brody and Ronan. “Brody’s going to provide some of the start-up money and technology while Ronan’s going to work on getting some clientele.”
“No more bounty hunting?” she asked with a hopeful look. “No more tattoo parlor? Because I was thinking I have just the idea for my tattoo.”
“Well, let’s not go that far,” Liam said. “We still plan on picking jobs up from Jerry.”
“We?” she asked.
“Yeah, we.” Brody nodded his head.
“Oh my God,” Charla said, walking to the back of the truck to toss the bat in. “I’m going to need to keep that bat.”
“You guys are ignoring the more important part. You’re thinking about getting a tattoo?” Ronan asked, folding his arms across his chest.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Don’t act so surprised. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time and now I have the perfect idea.”
“Oh yeah?” Liam asked. “Something with meaning?”
“A baseball bat. Just a tiny one on my hip.”
“Whatever you want,” Ronan said as he opened the driver’s side door. “I’m ready when you are. You’re welcome at my shop anytime.”
“Truck’s ready to go and everything is locked up.” Liam held the for sale sign in his hands. “Only one more thing to do. You want the honors?”
“You know I do, but is there any way I can convince you guys to split the money when the cottage sells?” Charla asked.
“It’s yours. He left it to you,” Liam said.
Brody shook his head and climbed into the passenger side of the truck while Ronan hung out the window.
“Well…” Ronan said. Brody punched him in the arm, making Ronan break out in laughter again. “It’s yours. We’ll meet you at the apartment.”
Ronan revved the engine and tore off down the driveway, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“You ready?” Liam asked, opening the passenger door for her.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, climbing in and holding the for sale sign on her lap as Liam got in and started the engine. They rolled down the driveway, past the evergreens for the last time. He slowed near the end of the driveway and then finally stopped. She sat in the seat, unable to open the door.
“I can do it if you don’t want to,” he said, turning to her.
“I got it,” she said, meeting his gaze.
He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “To new beginnings.”
“To new beginnings.” Charla opened the door and stuck the sign deep into the ground, leaving the evergreens behind her.
About the Author
Raen Smith writes romance and suspense novels with happily ever afters. She lives in a small corner of Wisconsin with her husband and two sons, and loves to be contacted by readers.
Connect me online:
http://raensmith.com/
http://facebook.com/RaenSmithAuthor
http://twitter.com/RaenSmith
If you want to get an automatic email when my next book is released, sign up here. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time. If you enjoyed reading this book, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy it, too.
Lend it. This e-book is lending-enabled, so please, share it with a friend.
Recommend it. Please help other readers find this book by recommending it to friends, readers’ groups and discussion boards.
Review it. Please tell other readers why you liked this book by reviewing it at Amazon or Goodreads. If you do write a review, please send me an email at [email protected] so I can thank you with a personal email. Happy reading!
Links to other Books
Suspense Series:
Unraveled #1: House of Steel (FREE)
Unraveled #2: House of Fire
Unraveled #3: House of V
Romance:
Southbound Surrender (A South Boys Novel)
Southpaw (A South Boys Novella)
Acknowledgements
A special thank you to my husband, Brandon, for being incredibly supportive and for pushing me to pursue my dreams. I couldn’t have done this – or much else – without you.
Another thank you goes to my two sons, Cole and Holden, who make me laugh, cry, and above all, make me realize that life is short, and we all grow up way too fast.
A special thank you to Stephanie, Reba, Chalyce, Heidi, and Jenny who provided sound advice and feedback on first drafts. Thank you to my editor, Melissa Westemeier, for whipping me into shape.
Last, thank you to all the readers! Without you, I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dream.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
About the Author
Links to other Books
Acknowledgements
