“Yeah, good idea.” I turn around, squinting in the dim light for my own phone. It’s still in my purse, and I take it out to check the radar. The worst of the storm is yet to come, and it makes my stomach tighten just looking at the yellow and green on the map.
Wind howls outside and the siding on the house groans in protest.
“If it’s not safe for you to drive, you can stay here,” Owen offers. “As a friend, of course.”
I look up, swallow hard, and open my mouth to tell him no. But something strange happens again, and this time, nothing comes out. I snap my jaw shut and stare into his brown eyes, unblinking.
“Charlie?”Chapter 19Owen“Charlie?” I repeat, watching her eyes glaze over. She’s deep in thought, but I have no idea what she’s thinking about. Is she still scared of storms? She used to be terrified of them.
“Sorry.” Shaking her head, she looks down at her phone. I follow her gaze, watching the radar move across the screen. It looks bad. She definitely shouldn’t be driving. “I’m just…I’m really tired.”
“I have a guest room and an extra toothbrush if you need it. I can loan you some clothes too.” I tip my head a bit as I look her up and down. “You always looked good in my white t-shirts. With no pants, of course.”
She doesn’t smile, doesn’t roll her eyes. The lack of response troubles me, making it hard to read her. “I actually have clothes in my car.”
“Preparing to stay the night with me, I see. I knew you couldn’t have resisted for long.”
She looks up with a glare. Now there’s that sass I was missing. “I was going to grab a room at the bed and breakfast in town.”
“With your cat?”
“She’s quiet. I could have snuck her in.”
I laugh. “I like this naughty side, Charlie.”
“Shut up,” she quips.
“I’ll grab your bag for you,” I offer.
“It’s pouring rain, you’ll get soaked.”
I shrug. “I’ll take my clothes off first and then will towel off.”
Her mouth falls open again, but she quickly recovers. “Let’s hope you don’t get struck by lightning then. Because I’m not dragging your naked body back inside.”
“You’d leave me out there and cause a spectacle for the neighborhood kids?”
“Oh, I would. It would be a lesson in what type of stupid shit they shouldn’t do.”
Chuckling, I pull my shirt over my head only to push her buttons. “Is your car locked?”
“Of course.”
Grabbing her keys, I run out through the garage to get her overnight bag from the car. I am soaked by the time I get back inside.
“Thank you,” she tells me, taking the bag.
“I’m going to change.”
“What happened to getting naked?”
I cock an eyebrow. “Is that an invitation?”
“You wish. Do you have any candles or anything?”
“Yeah,” I tell her, wiping my arms dry with the dishtowel from the counter. “In the cabinet next to the sink. There’s a lighter in there with them.”
I rush up the stairs to change and come down to find a few candles placed around the downstairs.
“I can do you one better.” I kneel down in front of the fireplace, opening it up and rearranging the logs inside. I haven’t used it in months, and it’s going to get hot in here fast, but at least we’ll have some light. It takes a few tries, but I get a small fire going.
“Now what?” she asks, sitting on the couch with a bottle of wine.
“You’re asking me how to entertain ourselves in the dark during a storm?”
“Owen,” she scolds. “No.”
“Your loss.”
She mumbles something that I can’t quite make out. An agreement, maybe? Moving away from the fireplace, I look at the light dancing over Charlie’s face. It’s not right for one person to possess so much beauty, both inside and out.
“I have an idea.”
“That involves keeping our clothes on,” she presses.
“Prude,” I tease and go to the closet next to the downstairs bathroom. Pulling out a stack of board games, I take them into the living room.
“It won’t be as much fun with just the two of us, but it’s something to do. Unless you think this is lame.”
Her smile lights up the room brighter than the fire. “No, not lame at all.”* * *
“I hate Monopoly,” I grumble, watching Charlie make it rain with all the fake money she collected after she won the game.
“Don’t be a sore loser.”
“I spent the last two hours losing. I’m sore.”
She waves pink bills in my face and leans back on the couch, laughing. “It’s late.” Yawning, she pushes herself forward and starts putting the game pieces away. “Taking a mini leave from work was boring, but I very much enjoyed sleeping in.”
“I do too.”
“Right. You were never a morning person.”
We pick up the game and she stands, eyes going to the window. The storm quieted down, and I wonder if she’s thinking about leaving. It is late, though, and the power is still out. Eastwood has a lot of the older power lines that get knocked out during windstorms. It wouldn’t surprise me if the way into town was temporarily blocked off anyway.