“Good. Cause if I’m right in my thinkin’, you’re goin’ to need your energy for the job ahead.”
I spendthe twenty-minute drive to Charlie’s thinkingfartoo much about what Red said.
Turning into the driveway, I park in front of the seen-better-days garage with Charlie's soon-to-be home up top. Back in the day we'd study up there and Mags would bring us snacks and leftover baked goods from the diner.
It’s not the first time I've been back here. None of us from the ranch would dare miss out on Mags's home cooking whenever an invitation is extended, but having tried so hard to put my regret in the background and get on with my life, I never quite realized just how many good memories I have here.
Just as I’m getting ready to jump out of the truck, using the chance to quickly scratch the back of my neck that’s become a new trigger point for some reason, the front door to the house opens and Charlie appears.
I steal a moment to truly look at her as she walks down the path toward me. If teenage me thought Charlie was beautiful, adult me knows she’s more gorgeous than ever. She's wearing an old jumper with rips in it with a long-sleeved white Henley underneath, then jeans on the bottom, paired with the mostugly-looking brown and tan slipper boots I've ever seen. Yet, despite that, she still takes my breath away.
I glance through the glass and feel awhooshin my stomach when she smiles back at me. "Hey," I say, shutting the door behind me.
"Ah hey," she replies.
That's when awkward silence kicks in and we both stand there, staring at one another blankly, me wringing my hands together and Charlie fidgeting from one foot to the other.
"Long time no see," I say, breaking the silence with a lame joke and trying to ease the tension. "You know, since yesterday and all."
Her giggle has my muscles relaxing and surprisingly, that itch under my skin dulls.Maybe it was just nerves after all…
"I still feel bad that Ma wrangled you in to help."
I shrug. "It's no trouble. We've got enough hands on deck at the ranch right now and we're always helpin’ out the townsfolk these days, especially the Sallys."
"Don't tell me they've got you doin’ their yard work or somethin'," she says with a twinkle in her eye.
"Sure do. Although we had to draw the line at doin' it shirtless like they kept suggestin'.”
"You'rejokin'," she says with a giggle. "Didn't think the old biddies had it in them."
"Believe me. You get those four together and it's trouble. Didn't you hear about the Christmas Cup challenges? They had peopledecoratin' cupcakes while blindfolded while their teammates gave the directions. It was chaos apparently."
“I love thinkin’ of Miss Frances bein’ a cheeky old lady now. She was also so much fun back at school. I think I want to be just like the Sallys when I’m old and gray. Especially if it means I get to have shirtless men workin’ in my yard.”
I chuckle, loving the way her eyes crinkle at the corners when she laughs. "The joy of small towns, huh."
"Yeah. I feel damn lucky to have grown up here. It has its quirks and nosy parkers, and everyone knows everyone else's business, but there's a sense of community that you don't find in big cities. We all look out for one another. "
Charlie nods, her smile softening but I also catch something else in her gaze that I can't quite put my finger on. "You're right. That's one of the reasons I always knew I’d be back here one day. I love the familiarity and comfort of home.”
"Tell me about it. When we quit the rodeo circuit for good, we knew it would be OK because we'd found that piece of home that we could make our own and where we’d live out our days.”
Silence stretches between us but the moment I see Charlie shiver from the cold despite her layers, I'm snapped out of it, any nerves I have disappearing as fast as melting snow.
"How 'bout we get upstairs and get you out of the cold. Then we can make a start on this paintin'?"
Charlie suddenly seems nervous. "Yeah… so about that. I think you need to see what we're dealin' with. I didn’t realize how much of a mess it was up there."
Curious, I follow her up the stairs, trying and failing to keep my eyes at an appropriate level as her jeans tightly hug her behind. Thankfully–or maybe regretfully–that's forgotten the moment Charlie opens the door to let us in, the musty smell hitting us before we ever step inside.
As soon as we do, we're greeted by a cloud of dust hanging in the air, the sunlight streaming through the blinds making it almost sparkle as I take in the piles of old boxes and scattered furniture covered with dirty sheets.
"Thought it was just paintin' you needed to do in here?” I ask. “Seems like we need to do a complete clean out before anythin’ else can happen.”
Charlie's guilty eyes look over at me. "I'm real sorry. Ma should've told you just how much stuff there was up here. Seems as if it was barely touched after I left."
The resignation in her voice slays me and all I want to do is make her feel better. “It was touched. Just more storage than sortin’ out,” I reply with a grin. “With both of us here, we can at least make a good start on it today. It's goin’ to take some time though. Lucky you like Mags and aren’t in any rush, right."
