A Family Under the Stars Read online

  “I’m beginning to think the old guy’s brain has been lacking oxygen for a while. I just listened to him shout at two reporters and threaten to run over one of the camera guys with the Forestry Department’s Polaris.” Alex gave Charlotte a tentative smile. “How you holding up?”

  “I’m fine.” The look in his eyes said he didn’t necessarily believe her. Charlotte would have to work on her tough girl act, but she was too emotionally drained at this exact second to care. “I definitely don’t need to go to the hospital.”

  “You sound like my grandpa.” He took her hand in his again and squeezed it, the simple gesture more encouraging than any tests the emergency room doctors might administer. “Kylie wants to know if she should meet us there with the girls.”

  Blood drained from Charlotte’s face and she shook her head “No. I don’t want them to see me in a place like that. It’ll scare them.”

  It was the same thing Mitchell had said about the jail where he’d been held during his trial. At first, she’d been relieved at his selfless explanation because she didn’t want to have to sit in a prison visiting center with her toddler and newborn and pretend everything was normal. But after all the lies unfolded and the fog of his betrayal cleared, Charlotte realized he wasn’t protecting anyone but himself. She’d gotten the divorce papers days later—with her ex-husband giving up all his parenting rights.

  “Hmmm. Will it scare them? Or will it scare you?” Alex’s question brought her back to the present.

  Both. It would frighten Charlotte, and that would terrify her daughters. Instead, she snapped back, “I think I know my own daughters, Alex.”

  Her voice sounded defensive—even to her. But she was entitled to show a little stress after what they’d been through, including their very public rescue. Charlotte hadn’t anticipated the helicopter and the bumpy ATV ride, but she really hadn’t expected all of the news cameras. Maybe she was being so snippy because she was in shock. Perhaps seeing a doctor wasn’t such a bad idea, even though the memory of being admitted into one of those colorless, sterile hospital rooms all alone made her feel like she was a helpless nine-year-old all over again.

  She took a deep breath and tried not to look at Alex’s wounded expression. “I mean, the girls are a bit on the sensitive side and it will upset them to see me hooked up to all those machines.”

  “Charlotte?” Alex stared at her until she met his eyes. “One of your sensitive daughters just asked me if it was easier to kill a grizzly bear with a bow and arrow or with a gun. The other is riding around on my grandfather’s shoulders and pretending to pour scalding hot tea on the different reporters.”

  She pressed her lips together and looked out the open doors. Raising little ladies wasn’t for the faint of heart. And neither was being a rational adult. “Okay, so I hate the thought of spending time in a hospital and I don’t have the energy to put on a brave face in front of them.”

  “Fair enough.” He squeezed her hand, much the same way as he’d squeezed her shoulder last night in the woods. Why was he always doing that? It wasn’t like she needed him to protect her or to reassure her. She was used to taking care of herself. But after she kissed the girls goodbye and told them to behave for Kylie, Charlotte’s fingers found their way between Alex’s, and during the entire forty-five minute ride in the back of the ambulance, they remained interlocked like that.

  * * *

  Commodore had followed them down the mountain and, not being one to willingly enter a hospital, either, left one of the store’s Jeeps in the parking lot before catching a ride home with a buddy from the VFW. It only took a couple of hours for both Alex and Charlotte to get a clean bill of health and be discharged. Alex shuddered to think how much longer their stay would’ve been if he hadn’t pulled Charlotte out of the cold river current when he had.

  Or how much longer the bones in his hand could’ve withstood the pressure of her fingers every time a nurse came in to check on them. The panic on her face when he’d saved her yesterday was nothing compared to the expression of terror when the lab tech took a routine blood sample. Her aversion to hospitals rivaled even his grandfather’s, and Alex had to concede that it was probably a good thing her daughters hadn’t witnessed her stress.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked as they walked toward the Jeep. He’d bought a package of Pop-Tarts from a vending machine in the ER waiting room, then watched as the Gourmet Queen sniffed at a piece before taking a tiny bite. She’d devoured the rest and he’d had to buy more.

  “Starving,” she admitted. “That pastry thing you gave me was good, but it must’ve been full of sugar because it barely took the edge off.”

  Of course it was full of sugar. Had she never had junk food before? He opened the car door for her. “There aren’t a lot of restaurants near here, but there’s a great café in Sugar Falls if you want to grab a late breakfast.”

  She didn’t answer right away—probably trying to think of an excuse to cut bait and ditch him. The ringing of her cell phone saved them both from dealing with the inevitable rejection. She pulled it out of her tote bag—thank goodness Kylie had brought a change of clothes and her purse to the ranger station—and looked at the screen.

  “It’s my editor,” she explained. “I have to take this. Hi, Neal.”

  Alex climbed behind the steering wheel and started the engine. As he drove out of the parking lot, he tried not to listen to the one-sided conversation with Neal—the dumbass who’d alerted the media and was responsible for all those news cameras.

  His chest filled with a cold dread at the thought of what the bad publicity would do for his family’s business. Losing a raft and getting a client stranded in a thunderstorm was bad enough. But having it plastered all over the six o’clock news definitely wasn’t going to have the customers blowing up the reservation line to schedule potentially risky rafting tours.

  “I was able to get a few pictures,” Charlotte said into the phone. It wasn’t like Alex was trying to eavesdrop on what she was saying to her editor, but they were in a car. It wasn’t like he could just pull over on the highway and hop outside to give her a little privacy. Not if he wanted to get back to Sugar Falls anytime soon.

  “I’ll try to work on it tomorrow, but I don’t know how soon I’ll be able to get it to you. Uh-huh... No. I’ll double check. There was only one meal. I doubt the readers will buy that, Neal... No... No. Not going to happen.”

  There was more talking coming from the other end of the line and Alex was tempted to grab the phone and tell the pushy guy to back off for a few hours and let the woman recover. But Charlotte had a job to do and Alex had a business to save. They both needed to get back to reality.

  Rule number one was that they’d go back to their worlds. They’d both agreed to no strings attached. Normally, in his life filled with extreme sports, ropes and cables were a good thing. So then why did he now feel like he was scaling a rock wall with no harness?

  “Okay, Neal. I’ll try. I was planning to be home on Sunday. Of course I’ll be back in time for the Black and White Gala. That’s still three weeks away... No. Don’t come out here... I promise, Neal. Have I ever not had something completely under control? Fine.” Charlotte disconnected the call, then let out a frustrated sigh.

  Alex’s muscles were tense with curiosity, dying to ask what her editor wanted. But he needed to let it go before he found himself running to her rescue again. Charlotte was a smart and strong woman. She didn’t need him to fight her battles. And he didn’t need her to...well, he didn’t need her for anything.

  “Should I drive you back to Kylie’s?” he asked, hoping she’d forget about his offer to take her to the Cowgirl Up Café. Better to just say goodbye now before either of them started thinking of what could never be.

  “That’s probably for the best.” Charlotte smoothed her hair before resecuring it behind another one of those ridi
culous headbands she’d found in the expensive-looking purse Kylie had brought her. “Neal wanted me to get started on the article right away so they can post a teaser on the website tonight.”

  “Did you tell Neal to shove it?”

  “I tried to. And then I remembered that burying myself in work is the best way for me to get back to normal. Right after I spend a few hours cuddling with my girls.”

  Alex turned off Snowflake Boulevard, which ran through the center of downtown Sugar Falls, and entered Kylie’s neighborhood. He was good friends with her husband, Drew, and spent Thursday nights playing poker at their house with several other men in town. But he doubted they’d be meeting up tonight.

  Charlotte fidgeted with her seat belt. “I never really got the chance to thank you for taking me out on the river and for saving my article. For saving my life, even.”

  He was pretty sure she’d already thanked him for that. With more than just words. But he wasn’t about to bring up sex when she was clearly champing at the bit to put the whole experience behind her. He hadn’t even pulled into the driveway and she’d already gathered the handles of her oversized leather bag as if she was going to jump from the Jeep before he could put the thing in Park.

  “So, you’ll be flying out soon?” he asked, knowing he was stalling for time.

  “Originally, I’d plan to stay through the weekend, write my article and then maybe take a few days off to spend time with Kylie.”

  He’d shut off the engine and turned toward her, but she wasn’t quite meeting his eyes. He thought about offering to see her while she was in town, but his brain was screaming at him that a clean break was for the best. It was bad enough that he’d slept with a customer, he shouldn’t try to date her, as well.

  The urge to say something pressed against the back of his throat and was fortunately overridden by the urge to pretend as though he wasn’t going to spend the next twenty-four hours thinking about her.

  He exited the car and walked to the passenger side; however, she’d already let herself out.

  “You don’t have to walk me to the door.” Her smile wasn’t necessarily cold, but it was polite and her tone was final.

  “So this is goodbye,” he said.

  “I guess,” she replied, and put out her palm as though she intended a formal handshake.

  He reached past her outstretched fingers, grabbed her waist and kissed her instead. Her purse fell to the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her lips to his. Alex put all his feelings into that kiss, every single thing he wanted to say. When you’re back in your big city world, I hope you’ll think of me. I’ve never met anyone like you and I’ll never forget the time we spent together. I know it’s crazy, but I’m going to miss you. And with the way her tongue was passionately thrusting against his, she was responding with everything she needed to say, as well.

  He finished with two more soft kisses, then pulled back and said, “Take care.”

  She touched her swollen pink lips, then readjusted her headband. She picked up her bag and gave him a small wave before walking toward the house. He stood by the car, commanding his still-tingling legs not to follow her. Was this how his dad had felt when his mom walked out of their lives?

  Of course not. His dad had probably been in love, while this was just a physical connection. Alex didn’t even know Charlotte Folsom and he definitely shouldn’t be standing there watching her walk away from him. It was prolonging things. Making him think about what could never be. She didn’t turn back, and maybe it was better this way. No drama, no broken hearts, no strings. It was a clean break.

  Alex pivoted on his foot and was almost to the Jeep when the front door was thrown open.

  “Hey, Mommy!” The older daughter—the one who actually spoke with real words and had fired off questions at him a mile a minute—yelled from the front porch. “Aunt Kylie said she talked to Mr. Commodore and told him we’d cook dinner for them on Saturday night. She said it’s all arranged. Did you know there are three of those guys and Aunt Kylie said the middle one is the hunkiest of all? Oh, hi, Mr. Russell. You’re gonna love our dinner we make you. My mommy is the bestest cook.”

  He sucked in a breath before forcing a polite response out of his mouth. “I don’t know how I could say no to an invitation like that.” Seriously. He truly had no idea how to say no without sending everyone’s suspicions into high alert on why he’d avoid a home cooked meal with the woman he’d just spent the night with.

  Crap. So much for not prolonging things. In about forty-eight hours, he was either going to have to find an excuse to stay home or he was going to have to say goodbye all over again.

  Chapter Six

  “Sorry we have to do the thank-you dinner over here,” Charlotte said to Commodore and Vic Russell two nights later. She was standing in the small kitchen of their mountain cabin with a cardboard box full of prepped food and wondering how she’d let her daughters and her best friend talk her into this.

  “Are you kidding?” Alex’s father asked, a gentle smile on his face. While Charlotte was partial to his son, Kylie and Elsa had a strong argument for Vic being the hunkiest Russell man. He resembled Hugh Jackman’s older, better-looking brother, and it was easy to see why Alex’s mother might have fallen for him. “I can’t remember the last time we had a famous chef cook for us, let alone do it in our very own house.”

  “Charlotte’s not a chef, Dad,” Alex said, his face now clean-shaven and his full lips more evident, bringing heat to every place on her body those lips had touched. But even without the scruffy five-o’clock shadow, his rugged good looks were still readily apparent in his green flannel shirt and a pair of jeans that looked tailor-made for his long, lean legs. “She’s a lifestyle expert.”

  The skin on the back of Charlotte’s neck prickled at his patronizing tone and she wondered if he was put out to have her and her daughters at his family’s cabin. Kylie had assured her that all three of the Russell men were looking forward to her making dinner for them and had convinced her that it would be the height of impropriety to not properly thank them for saving her life.

  Yet now Charlotte wasn’t feeling all that welcome. At least, by one of the three Russells. She hated the thought of being an unwanted guest, but for the life of her, she couldn’t think why Alex would be made uncomfortable by her presence. Unless he thought she was shamelessly throwing herself at him. Charlotte blew her bangs out of her eyes and fixed her headband, praying that wasn’t what he was thinking. After all, it wasn’t as though she was the one who’d planted that kiss on him two days ago in the Gregsons’ driveway and stirred up all those emotions she’d tried to leave behind at their impromptu campsite.

  She’d attempted to say goodbye like a normal, civilized person who planned to never see their one-night stand again—which wasn’t something they’d taught back in boarding school. Yet now she was here in his house with both their families, trying to act like she didn’t know what was under his soft flannel shirt or how his warm skin felt against hers.

  “As long as it’s not your grandfather’s cooking, I’ll take it,” Vic told Alex, then turned back to Charlotte. “So, how’s Kylie feeling?”

  “She’s slightly better,” Charlotte replied to the middle-aged and friendlier Russell, wanting to talk about anything but the man’s son. “Unfortunately this afternoon, Drew and their twins came down with whatever bug she had, and since the girls didn’t want to cheat you guys out of your promised meal, we decided to bring the dinner to you.”

  Actually, Charlotte had decided nothing of the sort—her well-meaning friend and eager daughters had done so on her behalf. But now that she was here, she was determined to play the role of good host. Or guest. Or whatever she was. Lord, she would feel more at ease if everyone would just get out of this tiny kitchen and let her do her thing.

  “Hope you didn’t bri
ng the germs to us, too,” Commodore said around the toothpick in his mouth, as he picked up a container holding the tiramisu truffle cupcakes Charlotte had baked this morning and sniffed them.

  “Com, germs run in fear of you.” Alex took the dessert box out of his grandfather’s hand and stashed it on top of the refrigerator.

  “Hey, Mommy.” Elsa pulled on the fabric of Charlotte’s blue sundress, a look of wonder in her six-year-old eyes. “Did you see all the pretend animals they have on their walls?”

  “Those ain’t pretend, dumpling,” Commodore said. “They’re just stuffed.”

  Charlotte took a deep breath, then bit her lip. Taxidermy wasn’t something she was ready to explain to her young daughters just yet. Instead, she busied herself with redoing the lopsided buttons on the girl’s pink cardigan.

  Elsa seemed to ponder the older man’s words before putting her hands on her hips. “Well, whenever it’s time to clean up our rooms, Mommy says stuffed animals count as toys and we have to put them away. So maybe we can just hang ours up on the walls, like the Mr. Russells do here.”

  A pang of apprehension squeezed Charlotte’s rib cage because it just dawned on her that where there were hunting trophies, there might be guns. “Honey, where’s Audrey?”

  Elsa let out a dramatic sigh. “She’s pretending to be a teddy bear back in the stuffed animal room.”

  “I thought she was a teapot,” Commodore said.

  “Well, now she’s a stupid bear,” her older daughter replied.

  “Watch your language, Elsa.”

  “Is bear a bad word?” Alex asked, his tone now playful as he winked at Charlotte over her daughter’s head.

  “No, but stupid is. We’re not allowed to say stupid because stupid’s a bad word. So don’t say stupid, okay?” Elsa not-so-innocently batted her eyes every time she said the forbidden word. Alex’s lips twitched. It was going to be a long night.