Love's Embers (Canon City Series) (18 page)

Charlie laughed and watched as she leaned against the side of the truck. She stretched her legs out and closed her eyes. She moved slowly to get her coat off and he leaned over to help

pull the sleeve down.

“How come you leave the engine running, Ducky?”

“It keeps the cab warm and it’s easier to get moving in the morning. If you shut it off, it can take a half hour to wake up.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him, again. “Charlie, everything is completely finished with Thomas...well, almost completely. Did I mention I’m a mail thief?”

He sat up and felt his brows crease. “When did you become a mail thief?”

“Today. I was at the condo and there was a pile of mail waiting for me. I noticed Thomas left his mail on the same table and looked through it. I found a letter from the National Savings and Loan and stuffed it into the back of my pants with my mail. I just had to take it.”

“Why?”

“I think my attorney will find it interesting. It says nothing will happen until after the first of the year with them buying up the loan. Ryan said it was all moot anyway. There’s a clause that keeps Canon City from selling the loan without giving us sixty days notice.” She shrugged. “It should work out, I think.” She folded her hands in her lap.

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“I just have to be patient and see what happens.” She closed her eyes again.

“Was he there at the condo?” Charlie asked, quietly. He’d debated asking this question, but now wanted to know.

“Yes. He had a naked woman named Tina handcuffed to the bed.”

“What?”

“All of his toys were spread out between her legs and ready to go.” She shivered and brought her knees back up. “I don’t even want to think about it. I asked him why he was trying to buy the loan. He said he was going to close the business so I’d move to Denver. He acted rude. In fact, when I told him I’d had the best sex of my life with you two days ago, I thought that he might hit me, again.” She shrugged and looked at him. “I don’t know what his plan was, so I sprayed hairspray in his eyes. I know for a fact it burns like hell. I don’t know what I ever saw in that man.”

Charlie laughed and then said, “Remind me never to take you on. Hairspray? That’s great.”

“Ducky, why are you so far away from me?”

He stopped laughing and held his hand out to her. “I didn’t want to crowd you, sweetheart.”

“You can crowd me anytime, anywhere, twenty-four/seven. I love it when I can feel your warm body next to mine.”

Charlie moved between the seats and sat on the edge of the sleeper mattress. He took his coat off and threw it back into the front. “Lark, I don’t ever want to handcuff you to furniture. I’ve worn them and I’d never do that to you. The bondage thing just isn’t of any interest to me.”

She took his hand. “I’m glad to hear it. That game isn’t really my cup of tea, either.” She leaned forward and put her hands around his neck. She traced his lips with her finger. “Ducky, I really love your kisses. They make my heart pound and I lose my breath.”  She kissed his chin.

“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but I seem to have a crazy illness.” He put his hands around her and saw her frown. “The minute you’re near me, or if I touch you, I’m instantly hard. It’s the strangest thing, because it only happens with you.”

She put her hand on the inside of his thigh and moved it up. She brushed his lips. “Thank you for saving me tonight.” She moved her hand on his shaft and he sighed. “Can I see if I can help your illness?” she asked.

Charlie sucked in his breath as her fingers applied a bit of pressure to his penis. “Are you warmed up enough?” He saw her nod and smile. “I...I better close the blinds.” He put his lips on her and nibbled her tongue.

“What blinds?” she asked and pulled her head back with a curious look on her face.

“This truck has really great options.” He moved back to the front and started to pull the blinds down on the windows. “Privacy is a must if you sleep in the buff.”

Lark slid her sweater off when the front window was covered. He saw it fly over the seat and turned to see her pull her turtle neck off. His body warmed as she sat looking up at him in her lacy bra. Charlie pulled his shirt and thermal undershirt off and put it in the seat and started to undo his pants. He couldn’t take his eyes off Lark. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He saw the bruise on her chest and moved toward her. He stood over her and lightly touched the blue green mark.

He sat on the edge of the sleeper and put his hand on her cheek. “Lou, I swear to you on all I hold dear, I will never hurt you like this.”

Lark put her hand over his. “I know. I really do know that. In my heart and in my head I’m so sure of you. I missed you so much when you were gone and I’m so happy you’re back.”

Charlie pulled her into his arms and felt her hands on his back. He put his hand into her hair and kissed her neck. “God, I love you,” he whispered.

“Ducky?” She looked up at him. “I know I’m a slut, but it’s gotten warm in here and I think we have too many clothes on.”

“You’re my slut and you read my mind.”

They both shed the rest of their clothes and Charlie snuggled under the blankets with her. They kissed and touched each other’s body over and over. They laughed and lost their breath. They spooned and loved one another.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The next morning Lark woke up and realized the sun shone brightly. She smiled and woke Charlie up. They dressed and went into the truck stop restrooms to get cleaned up. They enjoyed a nice breakfast in the coffee shop and she loved to watch him from across the table. When they finished they decided to head home.

It took Charlie a couple of tries to get the truck out of the parking lot. Lark was the happiest she’d been in a very long time.

“Ducky, while you’re driving will it bother you if I stare at your incredibly handsome self?” She turned sideways and put her feet up on the edge of his seat.

“It’s a beautiful morning out there, Lou. I’m sure there are prettier things to look at than me,” he said and steered the truck onto the highway.

“I don’t agree. The most gorgeous hunk is right here in the driver’s seat.” She smiled and arched her eyebrow. “Would you mind if I got a little serious for a minute?”

“For you, my love, anything.”

“First, and most important, thank you for coming to my rescue last night in that horrible weather. You’ve always been my hero and it makes me love you more.” She put her feet down between the seats. “While I waited for you in the Bronco, I had some time to think about what Thomas was up to yesterday - and six months ago. I remember the location of that mansion.” She looked at him. “I’m going to talk to my attorney today, and ask him if it’s too late to file a complaint.”

“Do you mean against Thomas?”

“I’d more than love to see him pay, but it would probably turn into a ‘he said, she said’ situation.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right on that one.”

“I’ll talk to Ryan. Maybe I could do something without being identified that could close that
club
. That mansion needs to be torn down and burned.”

“I agree and you’ve got my support all the way. Whatever you decide to do, babe, I’ll be right there with you.” He reached his hand across the cab to her.

She put her hand in his. “Do you know what?” She saw him glance at her and shake his head. “I want to go back to that mansion and cut off some dicks. Do you think that would be rude and maybe just a little bit psycho?” She smiled at him.

Charlie looked at her with faked shock on his face. “Your true colors are showing, my darling. Can I watch?” He laughed. “The next time you decide to take off in a blizzard, please, let me know,” Charlie said.

“Oh my Lord, we were supposed to have dinner and a movie last night. I completely forgot. I’m sorry, babe.” Lark heard him laugh, again. “What?”

“Lou, I had a really great dinner last night. We can watch the movie anytime. Weren’t you there?”

Lark snickered. “Yes, I was there and enjoyed every minute. You are fantastic under the blankets, Ducky.” She felt warmth move into her cheeks and couldn’t believe she’d blushed.

“Are you okay? Your face has gone all red.” Charlie grinned at her.

“You are a devil sometimes, Charlie Stone. It makes me love you even more than five minutes ago.”

“Are we still being serious?” he asked.

She nodded. “Sure.”

“Do you know when I first started to really love you?”

“No.”

“We were maybe twelve or thirteen. It was during the summer and we were sitting by the river watching the rafters take off. You asked me how I’d really gotten the black eye I had. I told you about my dad hitting me and talked for over an hour. You never interrupted me once and just listened. I knew you heard everything I said and it really meant a lot to me then. It still does.”

“Do you know when I first started falling in love with you?” She smiled and popped her lips. She saw him shake his head. “I was thirteen and Bobbie What’s-his-face was teasing me about being an orphan and said all kinds of crude remarks. You bloodied his nose and became my hero. It was the first time I thought,
Ducky is going to be my boyfriend someday
.”

“Am I your boyfriend now?” He grinned and watched the road.

“You bet your butt, and I like it.” She laughed.

The drive took a little longer than they thought it would. As they neared Canon City, sanding trucks ahead of them caused the traffic to slow down.

It was after eleven o’clock when they pulled into Charlie’s driveway. Lark looked over at Gran’s driveway and saw there were four other cars parked there.

“Looks as though Gran’s got company.” Charlie set the brake.

“Yeah, one of the cars belongs to Nancy. I don’t recognize the others.”

Charlie turned the truck off and jumped out. He ran to the other side and opened the door. Lark took his offered hand and stepped down out of the truck. They walked arm in arm next door and the minute Lark opened the door, they were attacked by Breaker. The wolf put his paws on Charlie’s chest and licked his face.

Lark saw Gran come in from the living room and head straight for her. They hugged and when Gran pulled back, she looked directly at Lark.

“If you ever do that again, I will ground you for life,” Gran whispered.

Lark nodded. “Right. Got it. I promise to never do that again.” They smiled at each other. “What’s going on here? Why is Nancy here?”

“About an hour ago, there was a knock on the door. Mike Strom is here with his son and they brought their attorney. I called Nancy and she got in touch with Ryan Barton. They turned up about half an hour ago and have already eaten one of my pies for the dance. They wanted to wait for you to get home,” she continued in a whisper.

When Lark and Charlie entered the living room the men stood and Mike Strom walked up to her. He was tall and gray-haired and Lark always thought he was attractive for an older man. He was aging very well.

“Hello, Miss Metcalfe. Your grandmother said you’d been in an accident last night. I hope you’re all right.” He shook her hand and covered it with his other hand.

“I’m fine. My SUV slid into a ditch on I-25. It was a good thing I was going so slow,” she said and then they made introductions all around.

Mike shook hands with Charlie and then his son Zack stepped up to him. “Didn’t we go to school together?” he asked Charlie.

“Yes, we did, from kindergarten on to middle school. You were always picking on Lark and I believe we had a few fights over it.”

Zack laughed. “That was you? Man, you got tall.”

They all sat down and Mike took over the room. “Lark, I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner. We were up at Jasper and had a terrible time with phones. I got your messages on Monday and looked into the loan immediately.” He glanced at his son with a frown. “I want to apologize for the actions of my son and the loan department at the savings and loan. If they’d read the contract completely, they would have seen the clause which says loans will not be moved, sold or otherwise without my permission. The loan for Mile High Bread will not be sold to those assholes up in Denver.”

Lark and Nancy looked at one another and smiled. “Thank you very much, Mike,” Lark said.

“Ladies, I hope all of this hasn’t caused you too much distress. My attorney, Mr. Singleton” - he motioned at the man who sat across from them - “drew up a new contract which he’s been discussing with Mr. Barton. It makes it clear that nothing like this will ever happen again. He’s given a copy to Mr. Barton, who will advise you on the details. Your business is very important to Canon City and you know how determined I am to see local businesses stay put. I would hate to lose your grandmothers Apple Crumb Cake mix to one of those mass dealers back east.” He looked at Gran. “Aurora, it’s the best cake I’ve ever eaten in Colorado.”

They talked for a little longer and it was easy to see that Zack felt uncomfortable. He confessed that he’d met Thomas at a business meeting in Denver a few months ago, and the idea started there. He, too, apologized, but looked as though he wasn’t all that sorry. Lark thought Charlie was right when he said Zack was a dick.

Everyone stood up and prepared to leave. Lark looked at Nancy and smiled. “That was an easier finish than I thought it would be.”

“Yeah, Mike Strom will be my hero for a while.” Nancy leaned toward her. “I’ve always had a crush on him,” she whispered.

“Can you say
daddy figure
?” Lark laughed with her partner. “I’m so sorry this happened Nance. I should have dumped Thomas a long time ago.”

“It wasn’t your fault. There’s no need for you to be sorry. It was just a little hiccup.”

“I love your attitude, partner.”

She felt Charlie’s hands on her waist and looked up at him.

“That seemed to go well,” he said.

“Yes, it did. We haven’t been properly introduced. You must be Charlie.” Nancy smiled at him and they shook hands. “Will we see you at the dance on Friday?”

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Nancy. Yep, I’m not much of a dancer, but I plan to be there.”

Lark saw Ryan head for the back door. “I’ll be right back.” She moved out of Charlie’s hold and caught up with the attorney in the kitchen.

She spoke quietly and gave him a brief rundown of what happened to her six months before. She didn’t go into all of the details, but still felt embarrassed by her stupidity. It only took a few minutes. Ryan took his coat off the hook and turned around to her.

****

Charlie saw Lark steer the attorney into the kitchen and talk to him privately. He knew exactly what she was telling him and felt amazed she could confront the issue so well. He stood with Gran and then Zack walked over to start a conversation. Charlie didn’t pay much attention to him.

He watched Lark as she did most of the talking. She’d grasped her hands in front of her and he could tell by the way she held herself that she wasn’t comfortable. The attorney took a pad of paper out of his pocket and made some notes and nodded every now and then.

Finally, the attorney took his coat off the hook and headed out the back door with Lark following. Charlie left Gran and Zack and walked to the door to look out the window. He saw Lark still talking and periodically stop to let the other guy put in a word.

The man put his hand on hers, said something and then got into his car. Lark turned to the house and hugged her chest.

Charlie opened the door for her and she walked directly into his arms.

“Brrr, it’s cold out there. I should have put on a coat.” She moved in closer.

He wrapped his arms around her tight. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She looked up at him. “Ryan’s going to call the district attorney in Denver and an attorney here in Canon City who has more experience with this kind of case.”

“Your guy can’t handle it?”

“He specializes in business law. He admitted this was out of his realm of practice, which is pretty humble for an attorney. They can have pretty big egos sometimes.”

“That’s good that he could admit it.” Charlie saw Gran purse her lips at them. “Sweetheart, Gran just gave me the evil eye. I think we need to go be more sociable.”

“Damn, I wanted you to screw my lights out right here and now, just like we did last night at the truck stop, but, okay. I’ll behave.”

They laughed and walked back into the living room.