Love & Secrets

by Elizabeth Lennox

  She was strong and confident, but every once in a while, he saw a flash of something. He’d like to call it vulnerability, but Carly would hate that. And why the hell did she organize and color code everything to death?

  An excellent question, he thought. Then smiled to himself as he thought about the perfect person to help him figure that out. A good reason to contact the lovely Charlotte!

  “Hey! Oz!” Carly snapped her fingers in front of his face, pulling him back to the present.

  “What?”

  “Where’d you go?”

  Oz chuckled. There was absolutely no way he’d tell his baby sister about Charlotte!

  “What’s this?” he asked, ignoring her question as he lifted the papers from his desk, skimming over the words.

  “I volunteered you for the at-risk teen program. You’re in charge of offering physical training.”

  He snorted and tossed the papers onto his desk. “I don’t have time for this. I have to…”

  Carly crossed her arms over her stomach and glared at him. “You are the one who put up the last half million for the community center. So yes, you are heading up this project. I don’t care if you pull in that annoying brother of ours or…”

  “I know you’re not talking about me,” Jayce announced as he stepped into Oz’s office.

  “I am,” Carly asserted firmly, unafraid of the enormous brother who walked up next to her. Oz watched as Carly’s eyes narrowed. That was never a good sign. It foreshadowed a prank that would start a war between those two.

  Apparently, Jayce knew the look as well, correctly translating Carly’s narrowed gaze. “Don’t even think it,” he warned, his voice low and threatening.

  She laughed, unafraid. “Oh, if you only knew all the different ways I think of torturing you boys,” she teased, but then turned to face Oz. “But this particular beauty is going to be Oz’s pet project.”

  Ryker stepped into the office as well, the dark haired, blue eyed behemoth quickly assessing the situation, his eyes shifting from concerned to amused. Oz looked up at his sister, watching her carefully. Sure enough, as soon as she saw the behemoth, her cheeks turned pink and she quickly looked away. Interesting that his friend didn’t need to say a word, but his baby sister knew that Ryker was in the room. Oz looked over at Jayce. Yep, his brother noticed it as well. But Ryker…was he oblivious?

  Oz made a mental note to talk with Jayce about this development. Was Carly’s interest in Ryker new? Or had he been missing something for a while?

  Carly snapped her fingers in front of his face once more and he glared up at her.

  “Pay attention!” she snapped.

  Oz growled. “Careful, little lady. Or you might…”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she waved the threat away. Oz leaned back in his chair, trying to come up with some way to pay her back for her disrespect. She was his little sister, after all. It wasn’t just his right, it was his duty to ensure that she showed him proper respect.

  “You’re not listening!” she said again.

  Carly was right and he laughed. “Just tell me the time and I’ll be there.”

  “One o’clock. Emerson is expecting you,” she told him and, with a whip of her hair, she walked out of his office.

  Jayce and Oz were still, watching as Ryker turned to watch her walk out. When Ryker finally turned back to face Oz, there was an unrepentant smile to his eyes. Not his lips! Oh no, that would be too revealing for the oh-so-silent Ryker!

  “Ring on her finger or eyes off her ass!” Jayce growled.

  Ryker’s response to the implied threat was a simple lifting of a dark eyebrow. “Let me know if you need help with the kids,” Ryker replied. And then he turned and left.

  Kids? “Huh?” Oz asked, stunned as he looked up at Jayce. “What’s this about kids?” He jerked forward in his chair, glancing at the papers that he’d tossed back at Carly a moment ago, his eyes once again scanning the words in an effort to understand what Carly had signed him up to do.

  Jayce rolled his eyes and tossed the papers Carly had left on his desk closer to his brother. “You’re helping with the at-risk teen program.” He glanced at his watch. “And you’d better hurry. Looks like you’re going to be late.”

  Oz looked at his watch and saw he had less than ten minutes to get to the sheriff’s office and muttered a curse. “I’d bet Charlotte is going to be at this meeting as well and now she’s going to be irritated,” he muttered.

  He was already out the door when he heard his brother call, “Who the hell is Charlotte?”

  But Oz didn’t respond. Instead, he hurried out the door, eager to see Charlotte again and see her reaction to his presence after last night’s kiss.

  Charlotte stepped out of her office and walked down the street to the Sheriff’s department, lifting her face up to the warmth of the spring sunshine. It was a perfect spring day. Not too hot but finally not cold. The spring sunshine had worked its magic everywhere and the trees where beginning to leaf and the flowers were blooming.

  Marjorie, the sheriff’s department’s amazing and ever-efficient assistant smiled as soon as Charlotte stepped through the doors. “Hi Dr. Bixby. Go on back. Emerson is waiting for you.”

  Charlotte smiled at the woman. “Thanks!” She moved further down the hallway. It was a small department, but it was growing. There used to be only two deputies. But LowPoint had grown over the past several years. There were now a total of six deputies and Emerson, a former New York City Swat Commander, ran the place like a well-oiled machine. She respected the guy because he was extremely tough, but also very fair. Even better, he genuinely cared about the people of his town. Unlike some law enforcement officers, he wasn’t just in the job for the power trip. He worked hard to prevent crime and accidents, went out of his way to get to know everyone and even organized sports teams for the kids so that they got to know him and his deputies, humanizing the law enforcement officers in the kids’ minds. He was an extremely good man and Charlotte had enjoyed working with him over the past few months.

  If he wasn’t married with adorable children and those two crazy dogs, Charlotte might think…a picture of Oz popped into her mind and she sighed with irritation.

  “Thanks for coming by on such short notice, Charlotte. Everything okay?” Emerson asked, standing up to greet her.

  Charlotte shook his hand. “Absolutely!”

  He nodded and waved to the empty chair. “I’m waiting on one more person, but I’ll give you the high level details while we wait.” They both sat down and Emerson leaned back in his chair. “I have a project that I’d like you to help with,” he started off. “I want to create a program for at risk teens.”

  Charlotte’s respect for the man just increased tenfold. “I think that’s a great idea!” she agreed. “When I worked in Louisville, I worked in a program like that and I have a lot of ideas…”

  She froze. Charlotte looked around, trying to figure out what was suddenly different. Emerson watched her curiously, obviously wondering why she’d stopped talking.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Charlotte blinked, looking down and trying to refocus. There was a tension suddenly, a stirring or something strange in the air. She could feel it, but…looking around, nothing had changed. Blinking, she looked over at Emerson, noticing that he was watching her curiously.

  Shaking her head, she focused on the conversation. Or tried to. “Yes. I’m sorry. I just…” She started to dismiss the tingling sensation, but couldn’t.

  A moment later, she understood the reason. Oz!

  “Hi Beautiful,” he greeted as he stepped into Emerson’s office.

  Oh my! Charlotte could feel her cheeks heating up and tried to maintain a professional demeanor. But last night’s kiss popped into her mind. The kiss and the way he’d held her in his arms. His hands were firm and confident, but gentle. The man had a power within his body that she couldn’t even begin to grasp, but he was also one of the gentlest men she’d ever met.

/>   Staring at his chest as Oz and Emerson shook hands, she wondered what he would be like if he weren’t so gentle. A shiver of excitement flew through her and Oz turned, staring at her for a moment.

  “Thanks for coming,” Emerson was saying as both men sat down. “As I was telling Charlotte, I want to create a program for at-risk kids. I thought of both of you for input, because each of you have a particular skill set that would help the program succeed.”

  “What do you need?” Oz asked, crossing one ankle over his knee.

  Charlotte glared at that leg, irritated that he’d invaded her space in such a way. Shifting, she tried to put more space between them because, even now, she could feel the heat radiating from his body. It was only because he had too many muscles. That’s why he generated that kind of heat, she thought.

  “So, what do you think?” Emerson asked.

  Charlotte silently groaned, but quickly regrouped. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. I don’t think there are a lot of kids that are truly at risk here, so why not start something to get the ones that are headed in that direction more focused on something positive? I have some great ideas on group activities and…”

  “Teenagers don’t need support groups,” Oz interrupted. “They need physical activities. Challenges that will push them and focus their energies. They need ways to feel good about themselves through physical movement.”

  Charlotte gritted her teeth, furious with his one-way thinking. “And what about the kids who aren’t athletic? The ones that are a bit more cerebral?” She leaned forward slightly. “A bunch of physical activities are great for the kids who know how to kick or hit a ball. But what about the kids who hide in the libraries during lunch in order to avoid the bullies? The kids that are chosen last during gym class?”

  Oz arrogantly dismissed her concerns with a shrug of his massive shoulder. “Give them to me for an afternoon, and I’ll fix that. I can show them the fun of being outdoors and in the sunshine, using their muscles. I’ll work with my team to build an obstacle course that…”

  “Don’t you already have an obstacle course in your super-secret spy compound?”

  Darn it, that grin of his only made her stomach tighten with…not anticipation because she absolutely wasn’t having sex with a man like Oz!

  “Of course I have an obstacle course in my ‘super-secret spy compound’. Want to come out and try it? I’ll lift you up and over the really hard obstacles.” His smile turned even sexier. “It will be my pleasure.”

  “Don’t even think about it!” she snapped. “And your obstacle course won’t solve the problems of all of the teenagers.”

  “Course it will!” he argued with a good natured smile. “Fresh air! Sunshine! It works wonders on those kids who are stuck in school not able to figure out their math problems.”

  “Math is a pretty important skill. Are you saying that kids don’t need math?”

  “Yes, they need math, Charlotte. But they also need to exercise and get out into the world so they can experience life and not just read about it. They need to get away from their computers, pull their heads out of the books, and get a bit of vitamin D.”

  “You’re over simplifying, Oz.”

  Emerson’s radio buzzed, stopping the argument between Charlotte and Oz. He looked at the message and nodded. “I don’t really need to be here for this…conversation,” he told both of them. “Feel free to use my office though. Let’s get back together in, say, a week? And come up with a tentative game plan. Will that work?”

  Charlotte stood up, embarrassed. “Of course. I’ll write up my ideas and,” she frowned at Oz, trying to hide her irritation. “Well, you can give him our ideas. I’m sure that, between us, we can create a wonderful program for the teens. Not just the ones at risk, but also those that are heading in that direction who need a bit of guidance toward positive life choices.”

  With that, she turned and walked out of Emerson’s office, fighting the urge to cover her butt because she knew with absolute certainty that Oz was staring.

  Oz watched the beautiful blond until she turned the corner and walked out of his line of sight. Damn, she was feisty!

  “So, that’s how it is?” Emerson asked, his attention going between the now-empty doorway and the man staring at it.

  “I’m sorry?” he asked, pulling himself away from a hot fantasy where he showed Charlotte exactly how invigorating being outdoors could be. In his scenario, she didn’t argue with him. In fact, the only words coming from her were, “More!” or “Do that again!” At which time, he would be a gentleman and repeat his actions. Over and over again until she was satisfied.

  Come to think of it, he would be the complete opposite of a gentleman!

  “Earth to Oz!” Emerson laughed.

  Oz turned, refocusing his attention on the sheriff. “Sorry,” he replied, shaking his head. “She just…”

  “I know,” Emerson replied. “Trust me, I understand.”

  Oz looked at the man and smiled. “Yeah. I like your wife. She’s great!”

  “I think so too.”

  “I’ll draw up some plans,” Oz stated. “And don’t worry about the cost of the equipment for the sports ideas. The Solutions Group will pay for everything sports related. I’ll talk to my partners and maybe there are some classes we could offer. Self-defense and such. Confidence building classes.”

  Emerson nodded, completely agreeing with the ideas. “Is there a woman who could teach self-defense to the female teenagers?”

  Oz shrugged slightly. “I would be happy to teach self-defense to women.”

  Emerson shook his head, chuckling slightly. “Trust me, a woman would be better.” He cringed. “I tried teaching a class to the ladies in the town and…well, they were more interested in flirting with me. You’d be in the same position. Turned out, the ladies who signed up for the class weren’t really interested in learning about self-defense. And the women who needed it the most were too intimidated to sign up for a class with a male teacher. We need a woman to teach something like that. And it should be a women’s only room too.”

  Oz understood and nodded. “I’ll talk to Carly. She’ll know what to do.”

  Emerson extended his hand again. “That would be great. Let’s talk about that over at Tony’s later this week, okay?”

  “Good deal,” Oz replied, chuckling at the idea of the elderly ladies, especially that adorable Ms. Scarlett, trying to learn self-defense from Emerson.

  Oz stepped out into the bright sunshine once again, sliding his sunglasses over his eyes. He spotted the lovely Charlotte stepping out of the bakery and smiled. Jane and her mother ran the local bakery and Oz just discovered another reason to love her chocolate scones!

  Charlotte groaned as she hugged the precious bag of chocolate scones against her chest. “Sweet salvation!” she sighed. But as she turned to head back towards her office, she stopped on the sidewalk, staring at the big, tall man heading towards her. His sunglasses hid his eyes, but nothing could hide that smile of satisfaction on his handsome features.

  “Don’t you have work to do?” she demanded. “Something super-secret and scary?”

  “Nope. I did all of the super-secret, scary stuff this morning. This afternoon is just administrative stuff, so I’m free this afternoon. Want to get a drink with me?”

  She pulled the door of her office opened and walked inside, hoping that her assistant would tell her that she had an emergency appointment.

  Nancy smiled, brightening as she turned away from her computer. “Hi Charlotte! I thought you were taking the rest of the afternoon off.”

  Charlotte groaned. “No, I thought I’d get some paperwork done.” Of course, Oz stepped in right behind her. Charlotte would have known he was there even if she hadn’t felt him standing close behind her. Nancy’s reaction was telling. And irritating!

  He reached around Charlotte and put a hand on her back. Ostensibly, the hand was to balance himself while he leaned forward to introduce himself to Nancy.
But Charlotte knew it was a tricky maneuver to touch her.

  “Hey Nancy. How are you doing today? That yellow dress looks lovely.”

  Nancy blushed as she shook Oz’s hand. “I’m doing a whole lot better now!” she laughed.

  His grin widened and he glanced at Charlotte, a light in his eyes that didn’t bode well for her peaceful, lazy afternoon. “Excellent. I’m going to steal your boss away to discuss programs for teens. Is that okay?”

  Before Nancy could agree, or Charlotte tell him to go to hell, the door to her office opened again. In stepped the high school principal, Edith Andrews.

  “Hi Edith,” Charlotte greeted with concern. “Everything okay?”

  Edit was in her late sixties, but didn’t want to retire. She loved working with kids and had been the principal at the high school for the past two decades and a teacher there before taking over the whole school.

  “Everything is perfect!” she replied with a bright smile. “I just wanted to drop off this for you. The chaperones for the dance next week need to fill out the forms for background purposes. Nothing crucial. Just a technicality.”

  Oz’s eyes lit up. “You’re going to be a chaperone at the dance?” he asked.

  Charlotte groaned. “Don’t even think about it!” she warned him.

  Of course, he thought it! Turning to Edith, he flashed his most charming grin. “Do you need any additional help chaperoning at the dance?”

  Immediately, Edith brightened. “Oh my yes! We never turn down extra chaperones!” she told him. “Here you go,” she pulled out another form, handing it over. “And here are a list of suggestions for the dance. We ask that chaperones dress up as well, so that we’re all good role models for the children.”