Winning Charlotte Back. Kathy Douglass
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and Bobby rode in silence for a while. When Bobby spoke his voice was tiny. Scared. “Mom won’t know how to find me. She’ll come back and someone else will be living in our house.”
Rick doubted she’d ever return. Sherry was too busy enjoying the single life. Not that he would ever say that to his son. “I left our information with the Browns next door. If she stops by they’ll tell her where we are. And I have the same cell phone number. If your mom tries to reach us, she’ll be able to. Okay?”
“Sure, Rick.” Sarcasm barely disguised the worry in his voice.
Rick sighed and counted to ten. The counselor Rick had taken Bobby to see had insisted his son was testing him because he was afraid Rick would abandon him, too. Rick had known that without being told. What he didn’t know was how to help Bobby.
“You’ve called me Dad for years. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me Rick now.”
“Or what? You’ll write a stupid letter and sneak out in the middle of the night, leaving me all alone?” Bobby’s voice quivered and tears flooded his eyes.
Rick clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “That’s not going to happen. You’re my son and I love you. Where I go, you go. Got it?”
Blinking furiously, Bobby nodded and turned to stare out his window. Rick once more cursed his ex-wife. Okay, so she didn’t want to be married to him anymore—he got that. But he couldn’t believe she no longer wanted her son. How was Rick supposed to help Bobby deal with that kind of rejection?
Hopefully Sweet Briar would provide the answers Rick was searching for. Bobby had gone from being sad, refusing to leave home in case his mother returned, to angry. He’d also begun hanging around the wrong kids and getting into trouble. He’d stopped doing his homework and become disruptive in class. His teacher had been sympathetic, but she’d had other students to consider. When the principal suggested enrolling Bobby in an alternative school, Rick had known he needed to act.
Rick didn’t delude himself into believing that Bobby’s problems would magically disappear in Sweet Briar. But Rick would be running a small practice here, so he’d have more time to spend with his son than he’d had in Milwaukee. That had to help. If not, Rick didn’t know what he would do. He just knew he wouldn’t stop until he found the solution.
He slowed, checking the numbers on the houses, searching for the address the rental agent had given him. Rick had been lucky to find the duplex. Sweet Briar didn’t have much of a rental market and the other two available options weren’t as nice as the three-bedroom unit with a backyard that the agent had found. The agent said the place wouldn’t be on the market for long, so Rick had taken the property sight unseen, renting it for a year.
He spotted the address and slowed, parking the truck on the street. “We’re here. Home at last.”
Bobby hopped out of the truck, reached behind the seat and grabbed his basketball, then began dribbling it on the driveway.
“Let’s get everything unloaded before you play. I want to get the beds set up. Then we can grab something to eat.”
Bobby huffed out a breath but he dropped the ball on the grass and walked toward the back of the truck. His movements were turtle-slow but at least he was cooperating.
Rick took care of releasing his Mustang from the tow and pulled into his half of the shared driveway, next to a midnight blue BMW sedan. Then he unlocked the truck and raised the door.
“Looks like our neighbor is home,” Rick said as he moved a couple of boxes, trying to find one that wasn’t too heavy for Bobby. He’d packed carefully, so the load hadn’t shifted too much during the drive.
Bobby took the box and grunted as he pressed it against his chest. He frowned. “That’s an old person’s car. It’s probably some grumpy old man who’s going to yell at me to keep off his grass.”
“Look at those flowers. They don’t look like something a grumpy old man would plant. Maybe a nice old lady who likes to bake cookies lives there.”
“And she’ll yell at me to keep out of her garden.”
Rick didn’t get a chance to reply because the front door opened and a woman stepped outside. He only got a brief glance at her before she turned away from him, but it was enough to reveal that she wasn’t an old lady. He guessed she was about thirty. She wasn’t much taller than average, but what she lacked in height she made up for in curves. No doubt she was married or involved. Not that it mattered. Bobby had to be his main concern. He didn’t have room in his life for a relationship. Still, since they were going to be sharing a wall, it wouldn’t hurt to be friendly.
“Come on, Bobby. Let’s introduce ourselves.”
Bobby rolled his eyes but he followed Rick across the yard to the short flight of stairs, juggling the box as he went. As they grew closer, the woman turned around. Rick got a good look at her face and his heart skipped a beat.
Charlotte.
This could not be happening.
Charlotte stared at the man who’d left her dressed in her wedding gown and standing alone in front of a church filled with everyone she knew twelve years ago. He had to be a figment of her imagination. A trick her mind was playing on her after the horrible day she’d had. She blinked as if she could make him vanish. No such luck. Rick still stood there, a stunned expression on his face. In that moment she once again felt the embarrassment and horror as what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life had turned into a living nightmare when she realized her fiancé really wasn’t going to show. Her heart sped up and her knees nearly buckled. Pride had her stiffening her spine and lifting her chin. She hadn’t fallen apart then and she wouldn’t fall apart now.
“Rick.” She infused the word with all the displeasure she felt.
He smiled cautiously as if not sure how she would react to seeing him. Could he really be in doubt? “Charlotte.”
She only glared at him, hoping he’d see the anger in her expression and leave.
“Wow. You look great.” He put his foot on the bottom step as if to close the distance between them. She moved back until she bumped into her door. Was he serious? They weren’t old friends about to embrace and catch up on the past. He’d left her at the altar. Didn’t he know that callous act had wiped out their previous friendship, making them enemies for life? Heck, their descendants would be enemies for generations to come.
“Dad. I thought we were going to unpack and get something to eat. I’m hungry.”
Her eyes immediately shifted to the boy who was staring at her, a frown marring his face. The kid looked to be about ten or eleven. Pain pierced her chest. Rick couldn’t have waited long after dumping her before he’d met someone else and started a family. Charlotte wondered if Rick’s father had chosen that girl as well or if Rick had done his own choosing. He’d sworn he hadn’t been ready to marry. He said he had plans and dreams and marriage didn’t fit into them. Apparently he just hadn’t wanted to marry her.
“Bobby, say hello.”
The kid muttered the most unfriendly greeting she’d received in years. Given the fact that she was universally disliked, that was saying something.
“Hi yourself.” Her tone wasn’t any friendlier and the kid gave her an odd look. His eyes widened in surprise and the corners of his mouth twitched. For a moment she thought he might smile. Instead, he tightened his grip on the box and trekked across her grass, smashing a couple of flowers in the process. She didn’t even wince. She felt like smashing a couple herself.
“We’re moving in next door,” Rick said unnecessarily.
She’d figured that out on her own. “Why?”
“We’re