“I knew it made you sad, because your mom gave you that name. I brought you chocolate, flowers and that movie newly released on VHS...what was it?”
“The Truman Show. I loved that movie.”
“Right, and we made popcorn and Gran fell asleep in her rocker,” he said.
“When the movie ended, you went out the back door, like you were going home and then you climbed up the wall and we had a sleepover.” She looked down at him and felt the tingle start in the lower half of her body. “You know, Gran was aware of your being up here. When we were a little older, she tried once to discuss exactly what we were up to when we had sleep overs.” She laughed and it must have been contagious because Charlie laughed, too.
There was a light knock on her bedroom door. They both stopped laughing. “Come in,” Lark said.
The door opened and a large wolf landed on the middle of the bed, stepping on both Charlie and Lark.
“Breaker was scratching at the back door and seemed lonely. He came right up the stairs and stood at your door. I wondered why for a second, but then I remembered. He’ll make sure you two behave. Good night kids,” Gran said and closed the door.
Breaker rubbed up against Lark and pushed Charlie to the other side of the bed. He parked himself right between them and got comfortable.
“I should have left you at the house, you dork,” Charlie said to the wolf.
Lark scratched behind his ears. “No, you shouldn’t have done that. He’ll be fine.”
The bedroom door reopened and Gran leaned in, again. “Speaking of which, Charlie, there is a really nice sleeper sofa downstairs. I’m just saying,” Gran said and left the room.
Lark turned on the bedside lamp and looked at Charlie. The both laughed.
“I think Gran just gave us a hint,” Charlie said and lay back on the pillows.
“She has nothing but our best interests at heart,” she replied and continued to pet Breaker. “Are you warmed up yet?”
“Yeah, my teeth aren’t chattering anymore.”
“Come on, boys. I’ll help you get the sleeper set up.” She climbed out of bed and held her hand out to Charlie.
He pushed Breaker off the bed and took her hand. They stopped at the hallway closet and she loaded his arms with sheets, blankets and pillows.
They pulled the cushions off, which Breaker found very comfortable. Lark spread the fitted sheet over the mattress and crawled up on her knees to reach the other side. She heard Charlie quietly whistle behind her and felt his cold hand through her flannel pajama bottoms. Her heart pounded in her chest and fear crept into her stomach. She could hear the men laugh. After she closed her eyes and remembered June was in the past and it was only Charlie who touched her rear-end, she calmed down.
Lark looked over her shoulder. “Ducky, that is a place I would rather you didn’t feel.” She tried to stop her voice from sounding tense. It was just Charlie who touched her. He wouldn’t hurt her.
He looked at her and didn’t smile. “This may be rude, but I told you before. You do have a great ass, totally gorgeous. Sorry.”
Lark smiled and felt his hand move down her leg. “Damn,” she whispered and turned around on her knees to face him. She crawled toward him and felt his hands move around her waist. “You are too tempting.” She put her finger on his lips and moved her hands around his neck.
He leaned his lips down to hers and his tongue swirled in her mouth. She nibbled his lips and let her own tongue trace over his teeth. His arms tightened around her and she did likewise wanting to touch every inch of his body with hers. The room grew warm and she felt sure he wouldn’t be frozen anymore.
He pulled her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He gently laid her out on the mattress and pressed down on top of her. Their kiss didn’t separate and Lark felt as though she’d never been truly kissed before. Every nerve in her body tingled and she didn’t want to let him go.
That was until she felt a wet, slurpy lick on the side of her face. Charlie got it, too, and put his hand up to the wolf.
“Breaker, get down.” She watched the animal obey. “Good boy, now lie down, go on, lie down.” The wolf’s head disappeared below the sleeper.
Charlie looked down at her and kissed her lightly. “Where were we?”
She ran her hands through his hair and caught her breath. His hand was moving up under her fleece nightshirt. “Ducky, what is your hand doing?”
He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. “It’s feeling your nice, firm breast. It’s so soft, but firm.” He pinched her nipple and she sucked in air. “Do you like that, Lou?” he whispered and lightly bit her chin.
She opened her eyes. “Gran is right upstairs and the zipper on your jeans is rubbing me the wrong way and killing the mood.”
“Would you like for me to take them off?”
Lark smiled. “You wish.” She pushed him off of her and rolled onto her side. “I think we can safely say there are some old emotions resurfacing between us.”
“Lou, we only ever shared one kiss and we were kids. I had no idea what any of our parts were for until I read Playboy magazine. We were friends and now I think the relationship is
finally getting the chance to grow up.”
“I’m engaged to another man, and getting married in three weeks. I’m glad you came home and we’ve had a chance to forgive one another, but...”
“But what?” He moved his hand up to her face and touched her hair. “You can’t tell me you’re not feeling something. That last kiss was extremely hot and I know I want to keep touching you. Lou, I want more. I want us,” he said.
“I know you do. I have a whole new ball of guilt forming in my heart, because I don’t want to lead you on. Your kisses are wonderful, but that’s as far as it goes, Ducky.” She moved off the sleeper and started to pick up a flat sheet.
He sat up. “I can finish making the bed. Thanks for warming me up, Lou.”
He stared at her and she couldn’t read his look. It seemed the emotions he wanted to release boiled below the surface and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
“We’ll talk more tomorrow. Goodnight, Ducky.” She turned and went back up to her room.
She pulled the covers over her head and couldn’t figure out what just happened. They’d been all over each other and she did want him to make love to her, but was stuck. She wanted to be faithful to Thomas and didn’t want to sleep around the way she knew Thomas did. She needed that honesty. She didn’t want to play games and said it earlier. Charlie was too tempting and he’d woken something up in her that she’d feared was dead. She hadn’t felt any kind of sexual hunger for months and wondered if she were to go farther with Charlie would she be able to put the horrible past behind her.
Chapter Thirteen
On Sunday morning, Lark drove Charlie into Canon City to search for a couch and bed. He’d left Breaker with Gran, who seemed to have become very attached to the wolf.
They didn’t discuss what occurred the night before or how little sleep they’d both gotten. Charlie didn’t know if he was coming or going when he looked at Lark. She was everything he remembered and everything he wanted in his life. Yet, he understood he put her in a difficult situation and cared for her too much to pull at her emotions.
After he’d found mattresses and a couch, and arranged to have them delivered, they stopped at a thrift shop where he found some mis-matched pieces of silverware for a nickel a piece and a couple of drinking glasses for fifty cents. He also found a desk and chair for a reasonable price. When Lark questioned the purchase, he said he’d need somewhere to do his school work in the fall and it was in good enough condition. After unscrewing the legs off the desk, they were able to get it loaded into the back of her Bronco.
Charlie realized he didn’t have bedding and when they looked at the rem
nants of sheets and comforters at the thrift store they were all musty and stained. Lark wouldn’t let him buy any of them and they ended up in Sears where he found what he needed. He also got some towels and a flannel shirt at half price. While he looked at sheets, Lark wandered over to table cloths and he saw her look through the shelves. She came back over and showed him the one she’d picked. The cloth was a lacy royal blue and he thought Gran would like. Lark smiled and said she felt good about getting her first gift for Christmas bought.
They dropped Charlie’s purchases off at his house and headed out to the Gorge. Lark drove the Bronco carefully to the Bicken’s Ranch. The road was not on a main thoroughfare and hadn’t been plowed.
They were quiet. Charlie didn’t want to bother her and get them stuck in the snow, even though she handled the road beautifully. As they neared the gate to the ranch, the road smoothed out and Lark seemed to relax.
“Lou, I want to apologize for my behavior last night. You said it about me and I feel the same about you being too tempting, but I need to keep my hands off you.” He saw her brow crease and she glanced at him with a frown. “Not that I want to keep them off, but I understand your heart is elsewhere. I have to respect that.”
“Thank you, but you don’t need to apologize. We’re both adults and I think all three of our kisses have been started by me. I could have walked around the sleeper and put the fitted sheet on standing up, but, no, I was lazy and, since you seem to be a butt man, I guess I tempted you.” She pulled the Bronco into the driveway, passed a huge two story house and followed the road down to the stables. She drove the SUV to an area with a couple of other cars parked and turned off the engine. She reached between the seats and grabbed a paper sack from the back seat.
“On good days, Mr. Bickens releases the horses out into the pasture so they can run and prance.” She looked up at him. “They need the exercise.” They got out of the Bronco and she steered him toward a fence that circled around a huge field. She set the paper sack down and pulled out a plastic bag that held apple slices.
He watched as she stepped up on the bottom rail of the fence. She pinched her lips together and let out an ear piercing whistle. He looked out at the field and could hear a horse reply.
“That’s a good whistle, Lou. Where’d you learn how to do that?” he asked.
“My dad taught me when I was seven or eight. I used to do it all the time when we were kids. You don’t remember?” She looked down at him.
“Vaguely. I don’t remember it being so loud.”
“Thanks for the compliment. Fox should appear any second.” She took her gloves off and pulled out a couple of slices.
Charlie felt a grin curl his lips when he saw the beautiful black horse step down the hillside. He’d named the horse after one of his favorite TV characters. When Fox reached the field he galloped toward them. “Damn, he’s incredible.”
The horse shook its head and slowed down as it approached the fence and headed straight for Lark. He put his head over the top rail and whinnied, nudging Lark’s arm.
“Hi there, beautiful boy,” she said and held out her hand with the apple slices. The horse gobbled them down in no time and let Lark rub his neck and ears. “I’ve got a surprise for you Foxy boy.”
Charlie saw her smile. “He won’t remember me.”
“Yes, he will. Come here, Ducky.” The horse watched Charlie approach and blew steam out his nose. “Hold your hand up to him.”
Charlie did as he was told. Fox whinnied again and moved to sniff his hand. The animal nodded his large head and let Charlie move closer.
“Hey there, buddy. God, I’ve missed you,” Charlie said and rubbed his muzzle. The horse moved as close as he could get to the fence and put his head on Charlie’s shoulder, who put his hands on either side of the horse’s neck and gave Fox a hug. “I should have known you’d remember. I learned something and I haven’t started veterinarian school, yet.”
When Charlie pulled back he realized tears pooled in his eyes. He cleared his throat and saw a sympathetic look on Lark’s face. “He looks so good, Lark. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for seeing that he was well cared for and happy.” He cleared his throat again. “I will repay you for the boarding fees.”
“Yeah, we can argue about that later. Let’s see if Mr. B. is around. We’ll get his saddle and you can go for a ride,” she said and handed him the bag of apple slices. “Hold your hand flat when you feed him those. He loves apples. I’ll be right back.”
“You’ll ride with us, right?” he said to her back as she walked away.
“Not today. You need to get reacquainted.”
Charlie watched her walk toward the barn and saw an older man come out. He was tall with gray hair and a mustache. Charlie remembered him from his days as a newspaper delivery boy.
****
“Hey there, Mr. B. How’s it going?” Lark asked and smiled.
“I can’t complain, Miss Metcalfe.” He took his glove off and shook her hand. “Are you going for a ride today?”
They both turned and walked toward Charlie. “No, not me. Mr. B. I don’t know if you remember Charlie Stone? He is the real owner of Fox. I’ve just been keeping an eye on things while he’s been away.”
She saw Mr. Bicken’s squint his eyes at Charlie and thought he probably knew the story. In a town the size of Canon City it was hard to keep secrets.
“Well, I’ll be a bear’s bud.” The old man smiled and shook hands with Charlie. “Didn’t you used to be our paperboy?”
“Yes, sir. I was.”
“We haven’t had a decent one since. It’s never on time and I don’t think the kid we have now has ever heard of rubber bands.” Mr. Bickens reached up and rubbed Fox’s nose. “So you want to take this boy out?”
“Yes, I would,” Charlie said.
“No problem. Are you sure you don’t want to ride today, Miss Metcalfe? It’s a good day for it.”
“Not today. It’s too cold and I want to see what Mrs. Bickens is mixing up in the kitchen.”
“Yeah, she’s barricaded herself in the kitchen baking up a storm. She won’t let me near, because she knows I’ll eat the batter before she can get it in the oven.” He chuckled. “I’ll go get a saddle. There’s a gate down there if you’ll bring him out.”
Lark helped Charlie get the big horse out of the pasture and Mr. Bickens brought a saddle. He got it set right and Charlie pulled himself up on the horse’s back. The stirrups needed to be adjusted for his long legs.
Lark worked the buckle on one side and noticed Charlie looked down at her with something in his eyes. There was a warmth and intensity that almost caused her to hold her breath.
“Lou, are you sure you don’t want to ride? You could sit behind me,” he said and smiled.
“No. As I said, you need to get reacquainted.” She backed away and put her hands in her pockets to keep him from seeing them shake. “Take your time. We’re in no hurry.” She waved at him and headed toward the house.
****
“There’s a trail head on the other side of the field over there.” Mr. Bickens pointed. “It’s up hill for about half a mile and levels off some. Fox knows the trails pretty well. You shouldn’t have any problems.”
Charlie turned the horse and said, “Let’s go, boy.” He nudged the animal’s ribs and headed to the path. He took it slow and easy with Fox. He hadn’t been on a horse for a long time and felt it was like riding a bike - he just needed to get his bearings.
As they slowly made their way up the hill, Charlie thought about Lark. He wished she’d come with him, but understood she wanted to give him time alone with Fox. They needed to solidify their relationship and he wasn’t sure if he was thinking of her or the horse.
Lark was still one of the nicest people he remembered from his childhood. There were t
imes when she treated him like a little brother and other times they were equals. He reminded her more than a thousand times that he was older than she by three months. It didn’t matter. She and Gran would always open the door for him and treat him well.
He felt like he was out of her league when it came to dating and having a closer relationship. She was a respected business woman in Canon City. Today, when they’d shopped for his furniture there were a number of people, young and old, who’d come up to her just to say hello and he was astounded.
She was also engaged to another man and he knew it was wrong to touch her, but it was all he could do to keep his hands to himself. Only two nights ago, she’d been so pissed off at him and he was scared stiff she’d hate him forever, but he still wanted her. He wanted to wake up with her every morning and lay with her every night. He wanted to put his hand under her shirt and feel her warm, soft skin. Her lips were so tempting and he fantasized about covering her mouth with his and feeling her tongue twist and lunge with his. He wanted to taste every single inch of her and hear her moan his name. He loved watching her walk. Her bottom and long legs were built perfectly and he didn’t think he’d ever get enough of that view.
Charlie realized he hadn’t been watching the trail. He adjusted his pelvis in the saddle and sucked in his breath when he discovered his penis was hard as a steel rod and he’d wedged it against the saddle horn. He slid back in the seat and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Oh crap!” he grimaced.
Fox’s head twisted around and looked at Charlie. He then shook his head and whinnied. Charlie opened his eyes and saw the horse’s big brown eyes look at him.
“Sorry, boy. That’s what I get for thinking about a really gorgeous woman.” He leaned forward and scuffed the horse’s neck.
They came around a corner and Charlie heard something clink below him. “Whoa boy.” He pulled back on the reins and looked down at the ground. Standing up in the snow was an iron shoe. Charlie could see patches of rock underneath the horse.
Love's Embers (Canon City Series) Page 9
