When Sully woke, he reached for the woman who had spent most of the night in his arms.
“Charley?”
No answer. No sign of her either. Never had he spent the night with a woman with whom he’d not had sex. But with Charley it was worth it just to hold her soft, feminine body to his. She smelled sweet and fresh like flowers. When he’d kissed her mouth, her supple lips had parted, and when he’d wrapped his arm around her, she’d snuggled closer. He wanted that and more. But only from Charley. Only from Charley? Really? Where was she?
As Sully sat up on the side of the bed, he smelled bacon. He smiled. After pulling on a sweatshirt and jeans, he made his way to the kitchen and feasted his eyes. Facing away from him at the sink, she’d pulled her hair up into a ponytail. Her sweatshirt lay over the back of a barstool, leaving her in a white crop top. There were several inches of skin showing between the hem of the snug top and the waist of her gym shorts, giving him a full view of her sexy fanny. How great would it be to have this woman here with him every morning? She whirled around as he strode into the kitchen.
“Hi,” she said with a pearly white smile. “Have a seat at the island because bacon and eggs are coming your way,” she said similarly to him as he had to her the previous evening. “Coffee too. Black, as I recall.”
Grinning, Sully took a seat at the island. Charley brought him a cup of coffee and set her own mug down beside his. Then she went to the stove and returned with two plates of crisp bacon and scrambled eggs. After she’d placed the plates on the island, Sully caught her hand and tugged her between his knees.
“Thank you,” he said and gave her a quick kiss.
“The least I could do,” she whispered.
He placed his hands on her hips and his eyes dipped from her blue ones. At the touch of his gaze, her breasts beaded underneath her tight top. Lower still, her indented belly button peeked at him over the top of her gym shorts. With a groan and a pat to her hip, he reluctantly let her go and she sat down beside him.
Sully took a bite of the eggs and said, “So you’re not only beautiful, you also can cook.”
“Thank you.” A blush had heightened the color on Charley’s ivory cheeks, and she said, “You’re not only handsome, you can cook too.”
Sully smiled his acknowledgment. As they ate, he made a point of not turning on the flatscreen. In his opinion, they’d had enough news for now. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if the murders of the young women in Old Colorado City had any ties to the attack on Charley. Had those women been raped? Was the assault on Charley related in any way to the vandalism to her car, her apartment, or her shop? On that score, he knew Charley was facing daunting cleaning tasks in Old Colorado City.
“How are you going to tackle your apartment and flower shop?” he asked.
“With a bucket, a mop, and a vacuum cleaner.” When Charley swallowed her last bite of breakfast, she took her plate to the sink. Coming back for Sully’s plate, she rinsed both and put them into the dishwasher. Turning to him, she said, “I don’t want to keep you from the retail business you mentioned, so I can call an Uber to take me into town.”
“Nope, I’ll take you. My business is closed on Sundays and Mondays.”
“My shop is always closed on Sunday and Monday too,” she told him with a look of surprise on her pretty face. “I’ll get my stuff together.”
Charley excused herself and retrieved her bag of belongings. She used the guest powder room on the main level to get ready to go back into town. Sully stepped into his boots and grabbed a button-down shirt to take with him. When he met up with her in the kitchen again, she was wearing blue jeans and white tennis shoes with her sweatshirt. As simple an outfit as that was, she made it look stunning. And with a flick of her long braid, she oozed sexy and sassy. She swung her purse over her shoulder, Sully grabbed her overnight bag, and they set off for his truck. They drove onto the main road, and when they neared Triple C Ranch-South, Sully slowed his truck to have a look. Ponderosa pines swayed in a gentle breeze, the stained glass door was tightly shut, and the rocking chairs on the covered porch were as welcoming as always.
“Everything appears calm and quiet,” Sully said.
Charley agreed, and forty minutes later, in Old Colorado City, Sully turned onto Colorado Avenue. Reaching Charley’s corner, he drove them up the hill to her duplex. Parking the truck, he grabbed her bag. She fished her keys out of her purse, and he followed her to the small porch of the duplex.
“The doorknob is bent and the lock scratched, but at least the door is still shut.” Relief sounded in Charley’s voice.
“Even so, it would be a good idea to get the locks changed on your duplex and shop,” Sully said. “I’d be happy to replace them for you.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” she said. Stepping into the foyer of her apartment, the mess of the plants assailed them. Charley sighed, and walking forward, she shook her head, making her ponytail dance. “I can call a locksmith.”
“How about this,” Sully began, “you tell me how many new locks you need, and I’ll go get them. I can work on the doors and keep you company while you clean.”
In the living room, Charley turned to him, her big blue eyes filled with concern. “Sully, you don’t have to do that.”
“I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want to do it.” He set her bag on the sofa and picked up the wingback chair. Setting the chair upright, he asked, “How many locks do you need?”
“There’s only one door to this apartment.” Charley scratched her head and said, “Downstairs there are two locks. On the front door and on a side door into the shop.”
“I’ll be back in less than an hour with three sturdy new lock and doorknob combinations,” Sully said as Charley picked up her purse and pulled out her wallet. He placed one hand over hers, and with his other hand, tilted up her chin to look up at him. “I’ll take dinner with you sometime instead of your money.”
“Deal,” Charley said softly. She looked vulnerable and a little scared standing in the middle of her plant-strewn living room.
“You wanna come with me?”
“No, no.” She shook her head. “I should start cleaning up.”
