“Charlie. Her real name is Charlotte, but we shortened it soon after she was born.”
She watches my child bounce around with the other kids with a soft smile on her face. “She is beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I can’t help but hear the bout of sadness from her voice as she mentions other children.
I motion toward the many children in the yard and say, “Are any of these yours?”
She turns her sad eyes toward me and shakes her head. “No, sadly. I can’t have kids.”
I gasp. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to assume.” I scramble over my words.
She grips my forearm and squeezes gently. “It’s fine, Blake. It was from a tragedy a long time ago, and I have learned to live with the prognosis." She gives me a soft smile. “Doesn’t mean I don’t wish that I could have some.”
I start to nod. “I understand. Why don’t you adopt?”Kill me now with all of these personal questions that keep blurting out of my mouth.
“It just isn’t in the cards for us. But I have so many here it makes it easier.” She grabs a beer from a cooler nearby and holds one out to me.
I shake my head. “No, thank you.” It seems that I am currently safe, but I want to be aware at all times, which means no alcohol for me.
“You know, Hunter has never brought another woman here aside from his ole’ lady.” She raises her brow.
“Really?” This news shocks me. He seems like he could have any woman he wants.
She nods. “Yeah. Hunter is like my older brother. I have known him for as long as I can remember, and through all that time, I have only met her.”
What is that supposed to mean? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? My anxiety kicks up to overdrive, and I start looking around for Charlie again.
Spotting her with the group of other kids on the other side of the bonfire, I smile.
Sam wastes no time moving through the list of questions she clearly wants to ask me. Most of which I don’t even know how to answer. She asks me what my intentions are with Hunter. I obviously have no answer to that. Then she moves onto a darker territory, asking me why I am with him in the first place and how I ended up at his house.
Do I tell her the truth? I’m sure she doesn’t want to hear about my abusive husband. She’ll probably think I am stupid for staying as long as I did.
“That is a bit of a wild story, if I’m being honest.”
She rubs her hand down her neck. “Is it because of the marks on your neck?”
I instinctively do the same movement. “Kinda,” I whisper.
“I was with mine for twelve years before I met Xavier.” She smiles and looks over at the man who explained house mouses to me.
“How did you get free?” I lean forward, hanging on every word.
She winks. “It’s also a bit of a wild story. Maybe someday we can share our wild stories?”
I nod. “I would like that.”
Just then, Hunter walks up behind me and leans in close to my ear. “Come. I want to show you something.”
I look around for Charlie. “What about the kids?” I ask.
“They will be fine. When we come back, they’ll still be running around. I promise we won't be gone long.” he smiles at me. “Besides, we have cameras around the entire place and multiple men standing guard. She will be safe.”
“I will go hang out with the kids, maybe Charlie can fill me in on the last few days with the grumpy old man on the bike.” Sam says with a smirk toward us.
“Are you sure?” I tilt my head.
She waves me off. “Of course. The kids are my favorite part about being here.”
