Read For Love of Charley for Free Online

want to draw up the contract,
your lawyer or mine?”
    “Oh.” Somehow, she managed to extract her
hand from his. “I guess yours can do it, and then I’ll have mine go over it.
After I read it, of course.”
    “Of course.” If he intended to say anything
else, his words were cut off by a beeping noise coming from his pocket. “Excuse
me.” He pulled a cell phone out and flipped it open. “Cole Jordan.”
    Charley leaned over the plans again, trying
to at least give him some semblance of privacy.
    “She did? No, that’s fine, Robert. Here’s
the deal. I know there’s a lot of yard to take care of, but I’ll pay you ten
dollars an hour during the summer. When school starts back, you can put in a
few hours once or twice a week in the evenings, and all day Saturdays. How does
that sound?” He listened for a second and then laughed. “Sure. You can start
Monday, and bring your swimming trunks.” There was another pause. “Of course
you can use the pool. That’s what it’s for. Just give me fair warning if you
plan on deluging me with your buddies. See you Monday.” He shut the phone and
returned it to his pocket. “Sorry for the interruption, but I told Robert to
call me today. I didn’t want to disappoint him.”
    “Robert?” Charley glanced up in curiosity.
    “Robert Stockton. I met him in town
yesterday.”
    “I know him. He’s a very nice boy. His
father owns the garage.” She hesitated. “You’ve already rented a house?”
    “No, I bought one.” For the first time
today, he was the one who seemed uncomfortable. “I bought the Carstairs house.”
    The blood drained from her face and the
room started to spin. “I see,” she said stiffly. “I’m sure you’re happy about
that. I know how much you liked the house. Excuse me. I think I need to visit
the ladies room.” She fled like the hounds of hell were on her heels, not
caring what he thought. Words from long ago chased through her memory. “Marry
me, Charley. Someday I’ll buy the house for you, I promise. We’ll spend our
life there, together.” God, she had been so happy, and so stupid.
    She slammed through the bathroom door and
leaned her forehead against the mirror, trying to force the words away. At
least he’d kept part of that promise, she thought, a sob escaping from deep
inside. He’d bought the house. He just hadn’t bought if for her. He was going
to be living in it alone. How was she going to go back in there and face him,
knowing they would both be remembering? She had to, and she couldn’t let him
see how much it affected her.
    Turning on the cold water, she splashed it
on her face, then dried and looked at her image in the mirror. She was way too
pale. Pinching her cheeks until they were red, she checked again. Better. Not
perfect, but better. At least she didn’t look like death on a platter now.
Taking a deep breath, she left the bathroom.
    Cole was standing with his hands in his
pockets, his back to the door, studying some old flyers that were tacked to a
bulletin board on the wall. Something about his stance made her hesitate in the
door.
    “Yoo-hoo! Anyone here?”
    “Frannie!” Charley almost sagged with relief
at the sight of her cousin. She wouldn’t have to face him alone after all. Cole
had turned at Frannie’s voice and a flash of annoyance crossed his face, gone
so rapidly she wasn’t even sure she’d seen it.
    Frannie came to a halt by her side. “I
stopped by your house. When you weren’t there, I figured you must be shredding
the books again, so I thought I’d drop by and give you some moral support.”
Frannie winked at her.
    Charley grabbed her by the arm and dragged
her into the room. “Actually, we were just having a business meeting. Frannie,
this is Cole Jordan. He’s the man I sold half of the Red Dog to. Cole, this is
Frannie Hart, my cousin. She moved to Canyon Bend a few years ago from Texas.”
    “I know you,” Frannie said. “You were here
last night.” Charley watched as