"Hey, don't look at me. She's a big girl, and that's what she wanted to wear." Joe held his hands up in surrender.
"Well, rags or not, she's beautiful. Julian, isn't she just beautiful?" Callie wrapped her arm around Charlie's shoulder and rubbed her arm.
"Eh, she looks the same kind of ugly to me." He flinched, before Charlie hit him in the stomach, and his mom smacked him up the back side of the head.
"OW. That's abuse." Jules covered his eye like he'd been hit there.
"Don't be a puss," Charlie whispered out of earshot of Callie.
♥♥♥♥♥
Charlie devoured her BBQ ribs and all the fixings Callie made for them. She enjoyed eating a real meal at a dinner table instead of pizza on the counter.
"This is goo..." Jules shoved another fork full of apple pie into his mouth.
"Dinner was delicious, and this pie is amazing." Charlie took a bite and nodded in approval.
"Hey, you do a pretty good job keeping us fed." Joe smiled at Charlie.
"I don't consider take out in the same ballpark as home cooking." Charlie shoved a bite that was too big for her to chew politely, into her mouth.
"Thanks, guys. I'm glad you like it. The best part is that Julian gets to do dishes." Callie handed him her empty plate with a smile.
"Ah, crap." Jules set it on top of his as his phone rang. He looked at the screen, rolled his eyes and slipped it into his back pocket with an exaggerated sigh.
Charlie stacked the rest of the dishes on the table and carried them into the kitchen. "Who keeps calling you? Isn't that like the fifth time your phone has rang in the last half hour?" She set the dishes into the sink.
"Ugh, yeah. It's CiCi. She knows you're here and her claws are out." Jules turned on the water and rinsed the plates. "The infamous, jealous, catty girlfriend I've heard all about? Why don't you just break up with her already?"
His phone rang again, and she waited for him to answer it, but he didn't pull it out of his pocket.
"Because it's just not worth the drama. I'm stuck with the psycho."
"I can tell her where to go if you want. It's not like she's your real girlfriend." Charlie raised her eyebrows up and down nodding her head yes. She loaded the dishwasher and Jules wiped the kitchen down.
"Uh that would be a no."
As soon as they sat down at the table, his phone rang again and he pulled it out of his pocket with a grimace.
"Oh my God, stop calling," he growled at it before he answered. "Courtney, for the love of God, I told you I was busy tonight." He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling.
Her voice carried loud enough they could all hear her high-pitched rambling, not quite word for word.
"What the hell are you talking about? No ... no ... stop assuming shit. What? How the hell did you know there are motorcycles in my driveway?"
Charlie looked at Callie with an open mouthed, wide eyed expression. She didn't know if that chick was a stalker or just out of her damn mind.
Callie crossed her arms over her chest, and her jaw was set in a tight line.
"Courtney, we have been over this. My family just got here. I'm not going out. And you're not coming over. Well, tough shit. Deal with it. I'm hanging up, stop calling. Bye." Jules slammed his phone down on the table.
Joe reached over and took it off the table. He held down the power button and set it back down. Jules locked eyes with Charlie and she tried to suppress her grin but it didn't last long before she burst into laughter.
"Shut your face," he said, and glared at her.
"Sorry, dude, but that skank is off her rocker." Charlie shrugged, and held up her hands in defense.
"Charles, watch your mouth." Joe looked at her sideways.
"Sorry, Callie." Charlie gave her an apologetic smile.
"It's okay, Honey. I don't care for that girl anyway." The house phone rang and Callie looked annoyed before she answered it.
"Hello?" Her forehead creased and she rubbed her eye like she did when she was annoyed.
"Yes, Courtney, he is here and no, he is not going anywhere. We are spending time with family. He will call you tomorrow. Please, do not call here again tonight. Goodnight, Courtney."
She hung up the phone and looked at Jules. "That little bitch is nuts, Julian."
Charlie couldn't believe her ears and they all burst into laughter because it took a lot to get Callie to curse.
"Charles, look, you corrupted poor Callie already." Joe smacked the outside of her thigh.
Gee, thanks.
"Sorry."
"It's not your fault, You may as well have been raised by wolves." Callie patted Joe on the shoulder and smiled.
♥♥♥♥♥
They were still at the kitchen table and Callie turned her attention toward Charlie. She had a serious look on her face and it made Charlie uneasy.
"Charlotte, your dad and I were talking last week. We both agree we need to discuss your trust fund." Callie reached forward but Charlie pulled her hands away.
She leaned back in her chair and wondered why they couldn't just leave it alone.
"Here we go again." Her face flushed and she narrowed her eyes at Joe.
Jules jumped up from the table. "Uh, I think I'm going to make myself useful and make some coffee."
Charlie watched him escape from the table and wished she could too.
"Charlotte, your birthday is in a few days. You were supposed to sign all of the paperwork on your birthday last year." Callie got up from the table and walked into the living room. When she came back she had a manila envelope in her hand. It was the paperwork for her trust. She'd seen it before.
"I still don't understand why you don't want it, Charles," Joe said, and leaned forward with his forearms on the table.
The real reason she didn't want their money was her grandparents motive. Because her mom died during childbirth, part of her always wondered if her grandparents blamed her for it. They'd never been in her life. They just wrote her off like she never mattered, so the trust fund always felt wrong.
Charlie glanced up at her dad and Callie. "Why'd they bail when we needed them most? I mean seriously, who does that?"
"They're different people, babe. Your mom came from a very wealthy family and your grandparents didn't approve of your father. He was too much blue collar, not enough country club. They thought the threat of cutting her off would stop them from getting married, but your dad mattered more to her than the money, so they got married anyway. They cut her off in a hateful letter, until you were born ..." Callie paused and wiped the tears away that brimmed her eyes.
Charlie swallowed hard and took a deep breath. She'd heard the story before, but it always choked her up. Joe blew the air out of his cheeks and reached toward her.
"Your grandfather wanted you to take control of it when you were eighteen and now you're almost nineteen." He slid the envelope over to her.
Charlie never looked at the paperwork before. She had no idea how much was actually in the trust, and did her best to convince herself that she didn't care. She bit her lip and pulled out the paperwork to flip through it. Her heart jumped into her throat and her mouth fell open when she saw the amount. She darted her eyes from paper to Callie and then her dad.
"Is this ..." She swallowed hard and stared back at the contract. There is no way in hell this is right. "There's like a huge mistake right? I think they messed up and put too many zeros on here." She looked up to find Joe and Callie with serious looks on their faces. "Haha, very funny. Where's the real contract." She pushed it toward her dad and exhaled.
Joe put his hand on hers and pushed the contract back toward her. "It's the real thing, kid. There's no mistake." He chuckled and watched Callie, who smiled at her. Charlie glanced at Jules for help, but he didn't look like he knew what was going on as he walked back to the table with a tray of coffee.
"So you're telling me ... they left me ..." She took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves. "They gave me eight m
illion dollars?" Charlie rubbed the back of her neck and stared at the contract.
"That's pocket change to your grandfather. He was a big wig for an oil company, until he retired." Callie pushed a pen across the table to her.
"Holy hell." Charlie had to remind herself to breathe. Her pulse thumped in her throat, her palms were sweating, and she didn't know how to feel. Her trust didn't change the fact they'd written a check to make her go away. She wondered how they wouldn't want to know their only grandchild. She pushed away from the table and stood up.
"You all right, kid?" Joe reached over and grabbed her hand.
"Yeah, I just need some fresh air." She walked out the kitchen door to the patio and sat down.
All she had to do was sign the contract, but she couldn't figure out why that was so hard for her to do. It was almost like signing it meant they won, and she was as bad as them for accepting it. She heard the door shut and foot steps behind her. Jules sat down next to her and bumped her with his shoulder.
"You okay?" He gave her a half-hearted smile.
"I guess. It's a lot to process." She picked at her fingernails and stared at the ground.
"I never knew how much was in there, either, but I knew it was a lot. If it makes you feel any better, you don't have to spend the money on yourself. I'll let you buy me all kinds of shit." He had a small smirk across his face, and the tension in her body melted away.
"You would say something like that."
"Hey, I'm just trying to help here." Jules stood up and offered Charlie his hands. She grabbed them and he yanked her to her feet.
"I guess I need to just sign the damn thing."
"Yeah, you do. We talked about this last year. It doesn't mean you're selling yourself out for it. Maybe one day you'll find them and you can get both sides of the story. I don't know."
"I doubt that, but let's go get this over with. Maybe if I just sign it they'll back off."
"Yeah, just because you sign it doesn't mean you have to use it."
They opened the sliding door and walked back into the kitchen. Callie and Joe exchanged worried glances and she guessed it was because they didn't know what she'd decide to do. Charlie picked up the pen, pulled the document open and initialed next to every tab and signed on every X. She didn't want to think about it anymore and pushed it all back over to Joe.
"Can we be done with this now?" She looked at Joe with her eyebrow cocked.
"For now." He nodded his head and leaned back in his seat.
Callie patted her on the arm and Charlie realized she missed Callie more than she thought. She pulled out the chair next to her dad and sat down.
"So, would you like to go shopping tomorrow sometime, Charlotte?" Callie pushed her blonde hair behind her ears.
"Yeah, I guess." She forced a smile and did her best to sound excited, but she hated to shop.
"Great. I will call you in the morning and we will set something up." Callie took a sip of her drink and looked pleased with herself.
They talked for a bit about God only knew what and Charlie tuned out. She didn't care what dumb shit they were discussing. She'd had her fill of conversation when Joe said her name, she snapped out of her daze.
"Huh? What?" She looked from Joe to Callie.
"Lets go. It's getting late, and I have to report to base in the morning," Joe said, as he stood from the table and gave Callie and Jules a hug goodbye. Jules gave her a fist bump that exploded, and Callie wrapped her into a hug. Charlie went through the motions but wondered how much would change now that she'd signed her trust.
CHAPTER THREE
Sam pulled up to a red light in his black Jeep Wrangler and flipped through the radio stations. The only thing on was commercials, he groaned as he hit the seek button, and "Somebody to love" by Queen played through his speakers.
The doors were off on his Jeep and he looked around before he turned it up. Sam leaned forward and drummed on the steering wheel as he sang along. He bobbed his head with the beat until he heard laughter. Heat crept across his cheeks as he turned his head to the convertible next to him with three beautiful women.
For the love of God turn green, he thought and looked back at the red light.
They whistled and called out, "Sing some more. I'll love you."
All he wanted to do was get the hell out of there. His fight or flight response kicked in, and as soon as he saw green, he shifted into first and slammed on the gas. Sam shook his head and laughed to himself for being such an idiot. He should have known that would happen.
As he turned into the lot of his favorite coffee shop, he killed the engine, and pulled up his parking brake. He climbed out the open door and pulled his bag over his shoulder. Inside, Marco the barista, waved him up to the counter past the line.
"Hey Marco, what's up?" Sam nodded his chin toward him.
"Hey, Sam, no need to wait in line." Marco handed him his drink.
"Am I that predictable?"
"As the day is long, buddy."
"Thanks." Sam chuckled, reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet.
"It's on me today, don't worry about it." Marco nodded and walked back to the register.
Sam pulled out a five dollar bill and shoved it in the tip jar. He pushed the door open to the patio and sat down at his usual table. It was unseasonably warm out and he wanted to enjoy the weather while he could. He tossed his bag on the table and pulled out the work he needed to finish.
He flipped through his notebook and stared at the pages. Get it together dude, he scrubbed his hands over his face. It was the tenth time he'd read the same line and his frustration was building. He took a sip of his tea, shuffled the papers into a pile and closed his leather binder over them with a sigh.
The zing of a sports bike echoed in his ears, and his head shot up to the parking lot. A black Ducati 848 backed into the parking spot in front of him and he paused, wide eyed, because it wasn't every day you saw a bike like that. He'd only ever seen one in person before but he knew it was a top of the line bike from all of his motorcycle magazines.
He watched the rider pull off their helmet and his breath caught when he saw long dark hair spill out. The corners of his mouth pulled up with an instant desire. His heart pounded so hard, he put his hand across his chest to calm himself down.
She started toward him and he immediately glanced down. He hoped he hadn't been busted staring at her and as soon as she passed him, he looked back over his shoulder as she disappeared inside.
♥♥♥♥♥
Charlie walked into the coffee shop, looked around and wondered where the hell Callie was. She pursed her lips and held onto the straps of her backpack as she got in line.
"What can I get for you?" The barista asked, as Charlie scanned the menu for her drink.
"Uh, do you have Zen green tea?"
"Yes, we do. What size would you like?" The barista pulled the lid off of a black marker and reached for the cups.
"Venti, please. Actually, make that two. Wait, no, she may want something else. Just make it one."
"Two fifty..." She reached into her pocket, pulled out a twenty and slid it across the counter. The barista handed Charlie her change and dropped two tea bags into the large cup of hot water he'd just pumped.
"Here ya' go."
"Thanks." She grabbed her drink off the counter and gave him a weak smile.
She let out a deep breath and walked back out to the patio. An empty table sat right next to her bike where she could easily see Callie when she arrived. She tossed her backpack on top with a thud and sat down. That was when she spotted him and everything else around her stopped. Her stomach fluttered as she did a double take at his dark, sexy tousled hair and pouty mouth smiling back. She realized she'd been caught when their eyes met.
Shit
Her face grew hot and she played it cool, slowly looking away. She was thankful when her phone vibrated in her back pocket and she pulled it out to see a text from Callie.
I'm on my way! Sorr
y, got held up.
Charlie stole another glance in his direction when his head was down. OhmyGod breathe stupid. His black button down shirt fit tight over his broad chest with his sleeves rolled up exposing his muscular forearms.
She had a choice to make. Let the nervousness she felt inside show or act indifferent and play hard to get. She chose the latter.
♥♥♥♥♥
Sam was hopeful when she'd first sat down and he caught her staring at him. He tapped his pen against his notebook and tried to work up the courage to talk to her. He watched as she pulled a laptop with headphones out of her backpack and realized his window of opportunity was closing. If she put the headphones in, he was dead in the water.
Man up and say something.
Her table was close enough to reach out and touch. He leaned toward her and said, "Nice bike."
She looked up at him with a poker face. "Yes, it is." she opened her computer.
He took a deep breath. Okay, strike one. Get your shit together Sam.
"Have you been riding long?" His palms were clammy and he rubbed them on his jeans.
"Yep." She looked back down at her laptop like she didn't want to give him another second of her time.
He thought he had a pretty good read on most people, but this girl had him nervous and off his game. He shook his head and wondered if he should go for three or give up before she told him to fuck off.
Her phone rang and he recognized it as one of the songs on his iPod rotation. Even though she'd shot him down, he was intrigued by her. Sam eavesdropped on her conversation and hoped he could find out something about his mystery woman.
♥♥♥♥♥
Charlie looked at the screen of her phone and a picture of Jules that looked like he was trapped inside her phone stared back at her.
"Hey you." She wanted to talk loud enough for the guy at the next table to hear her, but she didn't know why she cared.
"Did you realize your dad is nuts?"
"Well he hasn't killed you yet, I told him he wasn't allowed, since I am kind of fond of you." Charlie had no idea what she was doing but hoped it grabbed hot stuff's attention.
Heartless Page 3
