He felt her smile against his skin. “I’d like that.”
Chapter 4
Friday night, Charlie arrived back in Monroe, exhausted but filled with the oddest notion of truly coming home. Matthew was there on the platform, just like he said he’d be, reaching out to take her suitcase—big and solid and warm in all that cold weather. She was so pleased she hardly noticed anything beyond the man looking her over fondly.
He’d driven her car back from Chicago, happy to bring it home so she might make her trip. Days ago, Charlie had handed over her keys with a warning the engine was tricky, the car required a firm hand with its sticky clutch and rattling engine. Matthew still insisted.
Seeing him open the passenger door so she might climb in, Charlie apologized again. “Probably gave you a heap of trouble just trying to get this clunker home.”
Sliding into the driver’s seat, Matthew easily started the car. “I’ve been working on it while you were gone. Runs smooth now.”
The engine purred, and Charlie blushed red right up to her roots. He did that for her… just cause.
No one ever did things just cause.
But he had. Just like he’d kept his word and showed up at the station.
With a grateful smile, she cuddled up next to him, not knowing how to say thank you without gushing and embarrassing herself.
Darting a proud glance from the corner of his eye, Matthew pressed the gas and began the journey, cautious of the falling snow. “How was your mother?”
Charlie gave a comfortable hum. “We talked a little, that’s rare. So, all in all, I would say she’s doing well.”
The following silence grew relaxed, and the next time Matthew looked down he found Charlotte fast asleep. Wondering how far she’d traveled, if she’d rushed to get the late train, he put an arm around her and tried to make her nap more comfortable.
When they pulled behind Devil’s Hollow, Matthew pressed a kiss to her hair, waking her gently. Even parked at the back, she could hear the commotion inside, the roadhouse full of locals looking to socialize before the weather kept them home.
It didn’t bother her in the slightest.
Carrying her suitcase through the back door, Matthew led the way, Charlie shuffling behind. It wasn’t until he got to the second-floor landing that he paused. “I never shared this room.” He cleared his throat before ducking into the bedroom. The suitcases were laid on his bed. “I wanted you to know that. I always slept in the hall... when Alice had no place to go.”
Charlie stood at his door, unsure what to say. No man who had touched her like he had touched her could claim to have always slept in the hall... but for some reason she believed him. Wherever they’d fucked was none of her business. “If you say so.”
“I want to sleep in this room now, with you.”
She couldn’t help but crack a joke in her nervousness. “That cost extra?”
Coming forward, he put his nose to her hair, strong arms slipping around to pull her in until Charlie stifled a pained grunt against his chest.
Stiffening with an apologetic, “Sorry,” Charlie pushed away.
She purposefully did not answer the question in his eyes. Instead she opened the nearest suitcase, and began to assemble the pieces of her rifle hidden inside.
Matthew, catching a flash of familiar green peeking out from under her packed clothes, said, “Forgive me for asking, Charlotte, but why do you got a suitcase full of money?”
“I robbed a bank,” she answered deadpan, leaning the rifle against the wall.
When he didn’t laugh, she glanced over her shoulder. “I’m kidding, Matthew. I picked up a little cash on the way back to Monroe.”
A little cash his eye. That had to be at least a grand, maybe two. “Where you get money like that?”
Confused, she cocked her head to the side. “I’m a bounty hunter. It’s a lucrative profession if you’re good at it. And I am,” her eyes went proudly to her cash, “very good.”
He reached out a hand to touch the place that had caused her to hiss when he held her, understanding why she’d brushed him off.
She didn’t flinch, but he could see the discomfort in her eyes when he explored the line of her flank. “How bad he hurt you?”
“Not bad,” she tried to soothe, realizing he was scowling something fierce. “In the city where I keep my mama, I saw a familiar face with a hefty bounty. After I visited her, I picked him up, and rushed him to the feds so I could be back here with you. Easy as pie.”