Chapter Three

Charlie

I pick up the remote and flip through channels, needing to find something funny to watch. Or maybe something depressing. Or dark.

Yes. Dark is what I need.

Bonus points if there is cold-blooded murder committed by a scorned woman.

“Charlie?”

Blinking, I look away from the bright TV and see my sister’s silhouette appear in the doorway.

“Hey.”

“You look like shit.”

I glare at her but don’t have the energy to argue. Mostly because it’s true. “You know people say we look alike, right?”

“We do. And trust me, I’ve been there and looked worse. Which is why I’m here. I’m taking you out.”

“I don’t want to go out.” I flop back against the pillows of my childhood bed.

“You’ve been holed up here for days. I’m getting worried, sis.” Carly comes into the room, going to the window. She draws the blinds, and I’m half tempted to hiss at the sunlight. “I get it. You need to grieve what you lost. But this isn’t you.”

Blinking as my eyes try to adjust to the sudden change in light, I look at my sister and try to find truth in her words. I’ve never felt more lost than I have this last week and a half. After confronting Todd, I packed my shit, got in the moving truck, and just drove, not stopping until I pulled into the driveway of my parents’ house here in rural Indiana.

“And your friend Marcus has texted a few times.” Carly sits on the edge of the bed. “You haven’t texted him back, have you?”

I shake my head. “What am I supposed to say? Todd is the biggest dick I know, which is ironic considering his dick wasn’t actually all that big in real life, and now I’m here, back home with Mommy and Daddy, not sure what to do with my life. Though sitting here, eating my weight in junk food and watching trashy reality TV seems like a good way to go out.”

Carly snatches the remote from my hands and turns off the TV. She stands up and puts one hand on her hip. “You knock this off right now,” she demands with a quiet sternness only a mother is capable of. “Yes, Todd was a grade-A asshole, but you are not going to let that asshole turn you into…whatever it is you’re doing right now.”

“Wallowing in the failures of my life?” I supply, knowing I’m being overdramatic. It’s allowed, right?

“Stop it right now. You get your ass up and into the shower because I’m questioning the last time you washed your hair. And then we are going out. I spent the last two days ridding my house of everything that doesn’t spark joy, and Lord help me, we both need a night out.”

“What were you left with?”

“My vibrator and my electric wine opener.”

“Way to minimalize.”

“I might have kept my old Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs too. And a few of the kids’ favorite toys. I’m going to snap before we get this house ready to go up for sale.”

“Go out without me. I’m…I’m just tired.”

“No excuses. Remember when Tommy broke up with me right before prom my senior year?”

I nod. “You were devastated.”

“And you were boycotting dances for being sexist or something.” She holds up her hand, keeping me from arguing my point on the subject. “But you put on a dress and went with me so I wouldn’t have to walk through those doors alone.”

“We had fun that night.” I look up at my sister and smile. She’s only a year and a half older than me and was one grade ahead in school. We fought—of course—but for the most part, got along while we grew up.

“Now it’s my turn to take you to prom. Well, kind of. So get up, get your stinky ass in the shower, and then get dressed.”

Feeling a little emotional, I nod and get up, thankful for my sister. I didn’t intend on getting here and hiding out like this, but as soon as I stepped foot inside my childhood home, all I wanted to do was lie down on the floor, hiding from sight. I have friends here, friends I haven’t talked to much since I took the job in New York.

I never thought I’d be back here. Well, not in this sense at least. Yet here I am, and I don’t want to have to explain to anyone how the man I thought loved me more than anything cheated on me with his assistant.

Closing the bathroom door behind me, I turn on the shower and turn around, staring at myself in the mirror. My blue eyes are bloodshot with dark circles underneath and my blonde hair is in a bun so messy I’m not sure I’ll be able to untangle it without losing several strands of hair. I pull the band out and then strip out of my PJs.

I’m not one to feel sorry for myself, and I pride myself on being an upbeat and positive person. Funny, considering I’m a lawyer, I know. I worked hard to get to where I am—er, was—and I’m not going to let some asshole pull it all out from underneath me. Eastwood is a small town, but my father’s established his own firm here and represents people from all over the county, not just this town.

I always assumed I’d work with him and then eventually take over the family firm after he retired. But then I met Todd, who got me to visit New York City with him, which led to a job interview at the high-powered firm his uncle was a partner at, which then led to us both getting hired. I couldn’t turn it down.

As a new lawyer, I couldn’t ask for a better experience. I got to work with some of the best—and ruthless—lawyers in the city. I had access to huge clients and got to sit in on some even bigger cases. It was fast-paced, exciting, well-paying considering how new we were…but it always felt temporary.

I tried to explain that to Todd once and he didn’t get it. In fact, it made him angry, and I thought then his anger was based on the fact that I was talking about something he didn’t understand. Todd always got weird when he didn’t fully get something because he didn’t like to feel stupid.

I overlooked it then.

Called him ambitious.

Admired his drive.

But really, the guy was an asshole.

I’m better off without him, even though this hurts. Though the more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s my ego that’s hurting…and not so much my heart. Maybe deep down I always knew exactly the type of person Todd was.

And that feeling of things being temporary was a warning for me to run far, far away.

*

“They’ve really added to the downtown.” I close the car door and look around The Square, which is the main block of Eastwood’s downtown. “Is that a splash pad?”

“Yeah,” Carly says, locking her car and putting the keys in her purse. “It went in about a year ago. After that new hospital went up, they started doing a lot of improvements to the downtown area. It’s really nice now, and my kids freaking love that splash pad. I love it because there’s a bar next door that serves half-priced margaritas during the day.”

“You lush,” I tease, smiling at my sister.

“You’d day drink too if you had three kids.”

“I day drink and I don’t have kids at all. Or a job right now.” We slowly start walking down the sidewalk. It’s nearing sunset, and the early June air is just warm enough to let me enjoy the night in a sundress, but not so hot that I have to put my hair up before my neck gets all sweaty.

“Have you talked to Dad?” Carly asks softly.

“Yeah. Mr. Fenton is retiring at the end of the year so it would actually work out perfectly for me to start coming in and taking over his client list.”

“Ahh, that’s awesome!” Carly grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Call me selfish, but I always wanted you to come back here.”

“Todd would have hated it.”

“Fuck Todd,” she says and then brings her hand over her mouth. “Sorry. Too soon? Are you still missing him? Wait, don’t answer. Let’s just grab drinks, walk around a bit and then go to dinner with no mention of him.”

“We can talk about Todd,” I say matter-of-factly. It’s a professional habit to keep a neutral face when talking about something upsetting. Usually the issues aren’t as personal, but I’m able to compartmentalize nonetheless. “And no, it’s not too soon. Because fuck him. In the ass. With an extra-large dildo and no lube.”

“I knew living in the Big Apple would harden you, sis,” Carly laughs. “But now I don’t feel bad telling you we never liked Todd.”

“We?”

“Justin and I.” She makes a face. “And Matt. And Libby. Jack is too young to form an opinion, but I don’t think he’d like Uncle Todd either.”

“I’m glad you guys told me before I married the guy. Don’t tell me Mom and Dad didn’t like him either.”

Carly wrinkles her nose and shrugs. “They never said anything even though I asked.”

I playfully nudge her with my arm. “You asked!”

“Yes! I wanted to make sure I wasn’t crazy.”

“We all know you’re crazy,” I retort. “I’m the sane one.”

“And that’s saying something,” Carly laughs and slips her arm through mine. “Until I knew that the little prick was sticking it in someone else’s hole—”

“Way to be crude.”

“Thanks. But anyway, before I knew that, I always thought he treated you well, but he’s just arrogant.”

“He is,” I agree, feeling sick to my stomach about it. His hot, alpha-male personality made him perfect for romance novels. Strong-willed lawyer who doesn’t take any shit? Sounds good on paper.

But in real life…he was just an asshole who put himself first regardless how it made others feel.

“I should have seen it earlier,” I start.

“No, no!” Carly says. “Let’s not do this. I just said he treated you well, and he did. Up until the end. And I’m sure he’s already realized that he fucked up big time and lost out even more.”

“He’s tried calling me,” I tell her. “I don’t want to hear what he has to say. Not yet at least. It hasn’t been long enough.”

Right as we pass by a bakery, the door opens, and a little girl goes toddling out. Carly stops short, her mom instincts kicking in fast, and she dodges in front of the girl, keeping her from running into the street.

“Emma,” someone calls after the girl, just a step behind her. “You can’t run away like that. You have to hold my hand.” A man I presume to be her father picks her up. “Thank you,” the man tells Carly. I tip my head, studying him. There’s something familiar about his face, but I can’t place it.

Not until Dean Dawson steps out of the bakery behind him, carrying a newborn in his arms.

“Dean and Archer,” I say, looking from one to the other. I should have known I would run into a Dawson sooner or later. Part of my hesitation over going out was in fear of seeing a particular Dawson brother…one who broke my heart into a million pieces years ago. My stomach gets all fluttery, and my throat tightens.

What if Owen is with them and he walks through those doors next?

“Charlie,” Dean exclaims, shifting the sleeping baby against his chest. “Is that you?”

“In the flesh.” I smile down at the little girl. Dean is several years older than Owen, and Archer became an honorary Dawson family member during their time in college. I’m not surprised to see them still together. “How are you?”

“Good,” Dean answers and gently rocks the baby, who’s starting to stir. “We’re good. Arch, you remember Charlie Williams?”

“Yeah, I do.” Archer holds the toddler against his hip with one arm. “It’s been a while.”

I nod. “It has. You guys look good, though, and have a cute family.”

Dean turns to Archer, brows furrowing. “We’re not…wait, what?” Dean mumbles.

“These aren’t your children?”

Archer’s eyes go wide and then he laughs. “We do make a handsome couple.”

“Oh my God.” My hand flies to my mouth, trying to remove the metaphorical foot. Though, really, it wouldn’t have surprised me. Logan and Owen used to tease the hell out of Dean and Archer about being best buds with benefits all the time.

Dean shakes his head, narrowing his eyes. “This jackass married Quinn. These are their kids.”

Now it’s time for my eyes to go wide. “Really?” Quinn was still in college when I left. The last Dawson news I saw over social media was a picture of her graduation from MIT. All four of her brothers were in that picture with her, and after that, I did everything I could to avoid seeing that annoyingly perfect family again.

I couldn’t risk seeing Owen, not knowing what that would do to me. My heart was so fragile I didn’t think I could handle it.

But then I met Todd…and we all know how that turned out.

“Yeah,” Archer says with a smile. “Our anniversary is coming up next week, actually.”

“Congrats. Oh, this is my sister, Carly. I think you met her many years ago. Carly, this is Dean and Archer.”

“I know who they are, sis.”

“Right. Small town. I almost forgot.”

“That and Dean’s our contractor for our new house.” Carly brings her arms in close to her body, getting excited just thinking about building. “We’re putting our house on the market tomorrow,” she tells him. “I can’t wait!” She turns to me. “I’m going to go in and grab some cookies for the kids.” Without another word, she goes inside, leaving me to catch up with Dean and Archer.

“So you’re back for a visit?” Dean asks.

“Kind of.” Fuck. This is the part I was dreading. “You’re working with your dad now?” I ask, hoping to deflect all conversation about myself.

Dean nods. “Yep. Things have really expanded over the years. Are you still doing the lawyer thing?”

That’s another kind of answer I don’t want to give, dammit. “Yep. How’s Quinn? What’s she been up to other than having the cutest kids?”

“She does something with computers I don’t understand,” Archer laughs. “She started her own company with some friends a few years ago.”

I look into the store, wanting Carly to get her ass back out here now. This conversation is going to go from small talk to awkward in three seconds flat.

“Oh wow, that’s awesome. You were in med school the last time I saw you.”

Archer nods. “It took a lifetime, but I’m finally done. I’m a surgeon now.”

Dean rolls his eyes. “He loves telling people that.”

“Don’t be jealous,” Archer shoots back. “But I do like it when you call me Dr. Jones.”

“You two could really pass for a couple,” I laugh and look into the store again. “Well, I don’t want to keep you guys. Looks like you have a cupcake to eat,” I say to Emma. Her eyes light up and she nods.

“I eat cupcake!” she jabbers.

“That does look good. Maybe I should get one.”

“You should,” Dean urges. “Everything in there is good. Logan’s wife runs it.”

Part of being a good lawyer is keeping my own expression neutral, not wanting to upset, give away info, or lead anyone on. But there’s no stopping my eyebrows from hiking up and the slight rush of blood to my head.

If Logan settled down and got married, does that mean…Nope. I shouldn’t care.

I don’t care.

Because Owen broke my heart years ago, and I swore back then that I’d never make that mistake again.