Charlotte placed my chocolate glazed doughnut into the white paper bag and sat it on the counter beside my cup of coffee. Cash. Change. Done.
I was getting into my Mustang when I saw Charlotte coming outside after me.
“Did I forget something?” I patted my jeans to check for my wallet.
“No, you’re good. I just … I want to know why you keep coming here.”
She knew exactly why. I raised my coffee cup. “I like the coffee.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Come on. It’s just coffee.” Damn her and that sexy attitude.
“Well, I like it.” I pointed to her wrist. “How does it feel to have your arm back?”
“Tanner …”
“What? I’m just trying to have a conversation with my friend.” I didn’t know what else to say. I was desperate to keep her talking to me.
She raised her eyebrows. “Oh, we’re friends now?”
“Can’t we be?”
She thought for a moment. “Well, as your friend, I feel obligated to tell you that starting every day with a doughnut isn’t the healthiest choice.”
I stifled a smile. “The doughnut isn’t for me. It’s for my kid sister.”
“You have a sister?”
I rested my cup on the roof of my car so that I could pull my phone out of my back pocket and swipe until I found what I was looking for. I held my phone out so Charlotte could see the picture of my blond-haired, hazel-eyed little sister, who I loved with my whole heart.
Charlotte smiled, and I almost melted into a puddle. “What’s her name?”
“Khloe.”
“She’s beautiful.” Charlotte’s expression changed. Tears sprang into her eyes, and she quickly turned around to hide them from me. “I have to get back to work.”
What the hell? “Whoa, where are you going?” I put myself in between her and the bakery door, forcing her to face me. I took a chance placing my hands on her shoulders and lowered my head to see her eyes under the brim of her hat. “What just happened?”
A tear escaped down her cheek. “Please don’t look at me. This is so embarrassing.”
I took her face gently into my hands, the same hands she had seen violently squeezing Shawn’s throat. “Why are you crying?”
“Khloe is too young to lose her father. I remember what that’s like. I just wish your family didn’t have to go through that.”
My heart nearly shattered. She was crying because she was worried about my family? I pulled her against my chest and wrapped her in my arms. She didn’t hug me back, but she didn’t pull away.
Mallory poked her head out the door. “I hate to break up the love fest, but your dad is looking for you.”
Backing away from me, Charlotte wiped her cheeks. “Okay. I’ll be right in.”
“Are you crying?” Mallory stepped outside. “Did you make her cry, you asshole?”
“No, he didn’t,” Charlotte reassured her. “I’m fine. Tell my dad I’m coming in now.”
Mallory remained where she stood, glaring at me with her arms folded over her chest.
I held my hands up. “I just came for coffee.”
“Yeah, right,” she muttered. “And strippers are just paying their way through law school.” She spun around and walked back inside.
Charlotte heaved a sigh, pulling the brim of her hat lower. “I have to go.”
“What are you doing later?” I had to take a chance.
“Going shopping with Mallory. She wants to pick out our Halloween costumes.”
“You’re going to the Beta party on Halloween?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Cool. I’ll be there, too.”
She smiled.
That smile was all I wanted to see.
Charlotte
“What do you think?” I asked.
“I think it isn’t short enough.”
I looked down at the skirt of my Supergirl costume. “Any shorter and it would be a belt, Mal.”
“Any longer and you’d look Amish.”
I laughed. “Well, I’m buying it.” I certainly wasn’t Supergirl, but I could fake it for one night. Maybe her spirit would rub off on me. “Have you heard from Derek?”
“Nope. He took my number and never called me.”
“Why don’t you call him?”
“I will not. If he was interested, he would’ve called.”
“Not true. Guys always make the girl wait.”
“Guys are dumb.” She sighed as she rummaged through the costumes hanging on the rack in front of us. “I know just about everyone who will be at that Halloween party. I need some fresh meat. I need to get off this island. How were the guys in Florida?”
“About the same as they are here.”
“Figures.” Her eyes widened when she spotted a pleather Catwoman costume.
“You have to wear that! That costume is perfect for you!”
“I’m not as skinny as the girl on the package.”
“No one is as skinny as the girl on the package. Try it on.” I gave her a playful shove. “Go.”
The costume fit like it was made for her. I couldn’t imagine anyone else pulling that off. Mallory squealed with excitement as she bounced out of the dressing room with her costume in hand. We paid and left the mall. I dropped Mallory off at her house and made my way back to my apartment.
I was about ten minutes away when my car slowed down, accompanied by a strange sputtering sound. I pulled over to the side of the road before the car completely stopped. I went through the motions of re-starting it, but nothing happened. The car was dead. I pulled out my phone and called the only person I knew could fix this.
“Charlotte, hi.”
“What kind of lemon car did you sell me?”
“What are you talking about? What’s wrong?”
“I was driving home from Mallory’s and the car just stopped.”
“What do you mean it stopped? Did you stall it?”
“No, I didn’t stall it. I know the difference. The car shut off. It’s dead or something.”
“Where are you?”
I looked around for a street sign. “I’m on Amboy Road. There’s a Dunkin’ Donuts across the street.”
“Sit tight. I’ll be right there.”
Within minutes, Tanner’s Mustang roared behind me. I watched him from my side mirror and the pace of my heart quickened. He was still in his work clothes, his hair sticking up in all directions. I noted his dark circles earlier today. Was he not sleeping well?
“Here’s my phone.” Tanner switched on the flashlight app as I got out of my car. “I need you to hold the light so I can look under the hood.”
I held the phone above my head, tilting it toward the engine. “What would make the car just shut down like that?”
“Did it make any noises?”
“Like a choking, knocking sound.”
Tanner tinkered with several tubes and uncovered the tanks under the hood. “Everything looks fine.” He heaved a sigh, raking a hand through his hair. “Go start the car for me. I want to see what happens.”
I handed him his phone and plopped into the driver’s seat. “Ready?”
“Go.”
The car would not start.
“Maybe the battery is dead?”
He leaned onto the roof and stuck his head through the window. Don’t look at his biceps. Don’t look at his biceps. “I would say yes, but I just put a new battery in here the day before you bought it.” He looked at the gauges on my dashboard. “Stupid question, but … you had gas, right?”
I nodded. “It had a full tank.”
“When did you fill up last?”
“I haven’t had to fill up yet.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “You haven’t put any gas in since you bought it from me?”
I gestured to the dashboard. “It said it was full. Why would I get gas?”
“Has the needle moved at all?”
“I don’t think so.”
My shoulders slumped. “Well, I do now.”
“Come on. We’re going to get gas.”
Tanner drove us to the nearby gas station and filled the red gas jug to take back to my car. We returned and he poured the gas in. He then sat in the driver’s seat and started the car, and it roared to life.
He turned to me with a smirk. “I found the problem.”
“Yeah, me,” I mumbled. “I feel so dumb.”
“You’re not dumb. You didn’t know.”
“You knew.”
“I know about cars.”
“I’m sorry to make you come out here and do all this.”
“I don’t mind. You’re going to have to bring the car in so I can fix the gauge, though.” He looked at the time on his phone. “Unless you’re free now?”
“You don’t have to work on it now. It’s late. You probably want to go home and relax.”
“I really don’t.”
“Why not? You should be spending time with your family.”
“Don’t want to.”
“Well, if you’re going to be stubborn … I guess we’ll go fix my car now.”
“We?”
“I can provide excellent moral support.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “Okay. Follow me.”
I followed behind his Mustang until we arrived at the darkened shop. Tanner opened the garage door, and I pulled in. He turned on the overhead lights and rolled a stool over to me as I got out. I watched as he laid out several tools on the floor before sitting in the driver’s seat. He worked quietly, his eyebrows furrowed. What is he thinking?
“So, no plans with Gabe tonight?”
That’s what he was thinking about? “Nope.”
“That’s weird.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“If you were my girlfriend, I’d want to spend time with you.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” It came out more defensively than I’d planned. “We’re just friends.”
“Why didn’t you call your friend Gabe when your car broke down?”
“I don’t know if he knows anything about cars. You were the first person that came to mind.”
“You’re dating someone and you don’t know if he knows anything about cars?”
“I’m not dating him! Besides, he told me he doesn’t know how to drive a stick.”
“What kind of man doesn’t know how to drive a stick?”
“What is with the third degree?”
“We’re friends. I talk to my friends about these kinds of things.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I can really see you and Derek discussing the inner workings of your relationships.”
His shoulders shook as he chuckled.
I stood and leaned against the car to get a better view of what he was doing. “So, what about you?”
“What about me?”
“What’s your dating situation like?”
“Don’t have a situation.”
“Have you ever?”
“Depends on what kind of situation you’re talking about.”
“When was your last relationship?”
“I don’t do relationships.”
“Why?”
“I keep everything casual. I don’t waste my time getting into relationships.”
“Why not?”
“Now look who’s giving the third degree.”
“You said friends discuss these things. So, I’m discussing it.”
“Hand me that screw-driver right there by your foot.”
“You’ve never had a girlfriend before?”
He took the tool from me and continued working. “Nope.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s no point in getting into a relationship with someone I’m not in love with.”
“How do you know if you’re in love with a girl if you don’t take the time to date her?”
“It’s easy. I just know.”
“It’s impossible to fall in love with someone without getting to know them first.”
“I go by the feeling I get when I’m with a girl.”
“What are you expecting to feel?”
He stood and tossed the screw-driver onto the floor. He ran his fingers through his hair, and set his gaze on me. “I’ll feel like everything is going to be okay.”
My breath faltered a moment as a mixture of fluttering and aching swelled deep in my gut. His answer was so simple—and revealing. His vulnerability took me by surprise. All Tanner needed in life was to be reassured that everything was going to be okay. Didn’t we all?
I stared up at him, unable to look away, as one looks up to a starry sky in wonderment.
“What?” He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“I’m just … I didn’t expect that from you.”
“Why not? Because I have anger issues with no self-control?”
I winced hearing the words I’d said about him. “One minute, you’re sincere and sweet. The next, you’re … you’re just confusing.”
“I know. Look, I’m sorry for what happened that night at the bar. I never want you to feel scared of me. That was the worst thing anyone has ever said to me.” He looked down at his shoes. “And people have said some pretty fucked-up things about me.”
“I don’t feel scared of you right now. And I hadn’t until that night with Shawn.” I stepped toward him. “If you have that much anger inside you, maybe you need to talk to someone about it or find a way to channel it.”
“You think I need a shrink? That’s great.” He turned away from me and collected his tools.
“Tanner, stop.” I tugged on his arm until he turned to face me again. The pain behind his eyes matched the pain behind mine. Maybe, if I could help him move past the hurt and the anger, it would somehow help me move past mine too. “We all have issues. I could lie on a couch and fill a therapist’s entire pad with all the things that are wrong with me.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Trust me. I have rage inside me, just like you do. I’ve done things that I can’t take back. Things that are unforgiveable.” Admitting it aloud, I was hit with a realization: I was no better than him. Actually, I was worse. Much worse. He was impulsive and angry, but I was calculated and deliberate. His flaws were out in the open for all to see. I was the one with the skeletons locked in my closet. I was the one pretending to be someone I wasn’t.
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “What have you done that’s so bad?”
If only I could tell him. I wanted to tell him whatever he needed to hear just to make his aching stop.
“Let me guess. Did you wash your clothes without checking the tags first?”
I tried to hold it in, but a laugh escaped. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“I’ll bring it up every day if it makes you laugh like that.” He stepped toward me and reached out to caress my cheek with the back of his hand. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with you, Charlotte. I think you’re perfect, and if I wasn’t terrified that you would never speak to me again, I would kiss your perfect lips right here and now.”
His touch against my cheek sent a wildfire throughout my entire body. My heart slammed against my chest like a pent-up animal in a cage. I wanted to set it free. Just one kiss couldn’t hurt, could it? Looking into the black abyss of his eyes, I felt certain that it could.
I took a step back and averted my eyes. “So, did you fix it?” I motioned to my car.
“It’s fixed.” His intense stare remained on me.
“What do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“Tanner, you worked on my car. Let me repay you.”
His brow quirked. “You can repay me by having dinner with me.”
“What?”
“On Friday.”
&
nbsp; “You’re going to let me repay you by buying you dinner?”
“No. You’re going to let me buy you dinner.”
My response left my traitorous lips before I could catch it. “Okay.”
His lips broke into a wide grin. “Friday, then.”
As scared as I was to go further with him, I continued to put one foot in front of the other right in Tanner’s direction. I knew I shouldn’t let him in. I shouldn’t let myself trust him. I knew he had the power to take me down, and when he did—I would be to blame. I’d be the one who handed him the weapon.
Seven
Charlotte
“What’s the difference?” Is that a dumb question?
The man eyeing me from behind the counter held up the larger gun. “The revolver is heavier. It holds fewer bullets.” He raised the gun in his left hand. “The pistol is lighter and holds more bullets.”
“Why would someone pick one over the other?”
“It all depends on your preference. The revolver is easier to use for beginners. I’m assuming this is your first time owning a gun?”
“Yes.”
“What is it that you are looking to do with this gun?”
“I’d just feel better if I had it with me. For protection.”
The man nodded. “If you’re planning on carrying it in your purse, then I’d say go with the pistol.” He silently assessed me, and I shifted under his gaze. “Do you have kids?”
“No. It’s just me and my dad.”
“You can keep it loaded, but you need to make sure the safety is on at all times. With this pistol, you can load it and then lock the safety.” He demonstrated. “If someone attacks you, you won’t have to fumble around with it. It’ll be ready.”
That’s all I needed to hear. I took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll take it.”
With my permit and background check already completed, I paid for the pistol and bullets and left. In my car, I stared at the gun in my lap. Never did I think I would be carrying a loaded gun around with me. I never thought I would need to.
I rubbed my wrist as the feeling of being tied to the oven crept to the front of my mind. My hands trembled as I swiped at the tears spilling down my cheeks. I gasped for air, my skin slick with sweat. I gripped the gun, foolishly trying to transfer its power into my body somehow. But I couldn’t. I had to pull myself out of this on my own.
The Other Brother (The Collision Series) Page 7
