Page 25 of The Prez’s Daughter

Chapter Eight

Charlotte had lied to her parents.

She’d lied to Maeve.

In all her life, she had never lied before. Sometimes, she hadn’t spoken the whole truth, but she never lied.

Her mother had been so happy at the thought of her hanging out with a friend, she hadn’t even questioned who her friend was. Maeve was a little more suspicious, as she said it was a girl from the beauty school, although she never hung out with anyone from the local college. Thankfully, Maeve had been distracted by her sister, which helped.

Her dad wasn’t hard to deal with, as going to his clubhouse where the guys were, while he was busy, meant he was more interested in getting her out of the club than actually listening to what she had to say. She had learned that skill when she was younger, and it also helped that he often gave her money to go shopping. She saved up quite a bit, seeing as most of the time he gave her the money as a parting gift without really asking about it.

This is how she was able to be driving with Savage. They were not going by bike, but by car, which she was happy about. Also, this drive was nearly three hours away, in a different small town called Saint Ridge Point, which is a place she had never heard of.

Savage’s friend Paulie lived on the outskirts, in a really nice neighborhood. The moment they pulled up to the drive, the door opened, and an older woman with thinning grey hair immediately went to Savage as he climbed out of the car. She noticed Savage also wore his leather cut. Behind the woman was the guy she assumed was Paulie.

All she knew was his name, Paulie Valentine, forty years old, a tech genius who lived with his mother. This is not what she imagined. He was over six feet tall, muscular, appeared to be a gentle giant, and he had a nice smile.

Savage introduced her to Ms. Valentine, which she refused to be called and demanded Charlotte call her Shirley. She was pulled into a hug, and it would seem this was as close as Savage would get to any kind of family. Shirley and Paulie both hugged Charlotte.

Once inside their home, she smelled turkey, and it made her mouth water.

“Now, you and I will head into the kitchen and leave the boys to talk.”

It was strange to think of Savage being a boy, but Charlotte didn’t argue. She did, however, look back at Savage, and he held a hand up as if to apologize, but there was no way out of this.

“Right, I’ve got a turkey just finishing off in the oven. I opted for cheese potatoes today. They’re my favorite. I know Savage loves my green bean casserole, and I’m going to teach you how to make it. The key to a man is through his stomach.” Shirley gave her a wink.

“Where’s Mr. Valentine?”

“Oh, he’s dead,” Shirley said. “And good riddance too. That man could not hold his drink, and was a giant pain in the ass. I had no choice but to kick him to the curb when he nearly cost me my son.” Shirley let out a little huff.

Charlotte was not expecting the overload of information.

Shirley turned back to her, from the fridge, with her hands filled with bacon and green beans. She also spotted fresh mushrooms.

“It all happened twenty-five years ago. My Paulie was just fifteen, it was his birthday, and his father, the rotten bastard, decided to spend it in the blasted pub.” She shook her head, putting the ingredients down on the counter. “Anyway, Paulie was out in the yard, playing with the present, or something. I don’t remember the particulars. Anyway, his father saw red, tore his belt off right in the street, and started to whip the boy.” She put a hand to her face. “Anyway, Paulie was taken from me, and I had to fight to get him back. Kicked Mr. Valentine out of my house, and he got too fucking drunk for his liking and ended up on the train tracks.” She let out a little tut.

“Paulie came back to me, but he always remembered Savage. Well, he wasn’t called Savage back then, but that is a story for you to tell. Poor boy, with my husband gone, and I didn’t have a way of supporting myself and my son. I had to get a job, and they wouldn’t let me adopt the boy, although I tried. I kept trying until he turned up here on his sixteenth birthday.” She shook her head. “I don’t get the system. So much red tape, and I bet those parents raised the red flags and got children just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “What is the world coming to? Anyway, look at me, giving you a history of how I know Savage. Let me show you the key to a good man’s stomach. My husband didn’t start off bad, temptation made him a nightmare. Drinking, gambling, and whoring is what turned my husband into the monster he became. Now, you’ve got to start with strips of bacon.”

Charlotte was amazed she was able to keep up.

“You’ve got to get it nice and crispy. No one wants floppy bacon. They want it crispy.”

She watched as she sauteed the bacon, then scooped it out, leaving behind a whole lot of grease, to which she added the onion and the diced mushrooms.

“I know a can of mushroom soup would do the trick, but this is not the time for convenience food. That is when life is busy. When you want to slow it down, you take your time. Speaking of which, honey, you’ve got to learn to slow down in life. If that is one thing I can tell you as an older woman, I will share it. Slow down. Trust me, life has a way of catching up and wanting to mess with you.” She let out a whistle. “It does not feel fifty years ago, when I was a young thing having boys whistle at me.”

Charlotte smiled.

“You look like a nice girl. You are, aren’t you?” Shirley asked.

“Uh, I think so.”

“Yeah, you are. I can tell. You’re a good girl, and you make Savage smile, and that is all that is important. It’s nice to see young love.”

“I don’t know if we’re in love. It’s still really early.” So early, they were keeping everything a secret. Not that she minded, she liked no one knowing their business.

“It can’t be that early. Savage brought you home for Thanksgiving, that means something.” Shirley winked at her.