Drew didn't understand. Of course, she knew him. She'd seen the pictures of him on his rap sheet and she, at some point, had to have been given a picture of him so she'd know who to watch out for. "I know.""No," she sighed. "You don't. This is something very few people know." She couldn't be this close to him when she told him the sins of her mother, which she hoped didn't turn into the sins of her youth. Needing desperately to have space to herself and get her head together, she got disentangled herself from his arms and got out of the bed. Pacing helped her, it was what she did in a court room when she was trying to get her opening and closing arguments prepared in her head before speaking them."Then explain to me." Drew sat up in the bed but didn't try to move. He looked at her as if he were afraid she'd run.Don't let me run from you. Those were the words she'd just spoken to him, and she wanted desperately to flee."No," Drew commanded. "I can see it in your eyes. You st
"Part of it was you," she admitted. "There still is a huge part of me that wishes to God I hadn't left here when I did. I wonder where we would be. Would we be celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary? Would we have kids? What would you be doing? What would I be doing? I wonder that all the time.""I do too." Drew grabbed her hands and pulled her down to his level. "Back then I thought of it every day. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't see something in another couple that I had envisioned us doing. For the first few years, it killed me. Finally, I got to where I could function, but it never felt right.""It didn't," Charity agreed. "But I had to get away, not only for myself, but for you too. After biting Dixon, he came back, but this time he came when my mom wasn't there."She felt sick telling Drew the things that had happened, and she knew now, like she knew then, that she shouldn't be ashamed. She wasn't, but it was still hard to tell anyone what had happened tho
"You know none of that is ever going to change the way I feel about you, right?"He pulled her chin up with his fingers, forcing her eyes to meet his."I should know that, and part of me does, but there's another part of me that wonders what in the hell you let me keep coming back for. I mean, how many times do I have to leave you, how many times do I have to retreat into myself before you tell me that you're done? I keep waiting for it," she admitted."There aren't enough times, Char. You've been mine since the day we met. I knew you would be mine, no matter what."She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. "Show me," she begged.He flipped them so that he lay on top of her, his arms circling her head, fingers digging into her hair. He wanted to surround her; he wanted her to feel him in every part of her. Inside her body, breathe in his scent; he wanted to be inside her pores. To be a part of her that she carried with her everywhere she went so that she
"We need to stop trying to get as much evidence together as we can. We need to make a move. Dragging this out is doing nothing but taunting him and making us crazy."Charity heard what Meredith was saying the next day as they sat at the common table having breakfast. "If we file the injunction to have a restraining order, he's going to know Maggie talked, and he's going to come for her. We'll have to ask for Witness Protection." She glanced over at Rooster. "Is that something you can help us with? If we pull the trigger on this, we have to be able to protect her. I won't let her be unprotected."Rooster nodded. "I still have a few friends I could pull some strings with. I'd be almost willing to bet that as short-handed as the sheriff's office is they would appreciate our help. It might be the perfect day to file that motion. You may get a sympathetic judge."Charity hoped so. "I'll do the paperwork today and send it with you, Meredith. I have to go downtown to file motions. If Ma
Halfway through the day, Mandy arrived, along with Jasmine."Char, look alive. You're mom's here.""Shit," she hissed, wishing to God this wasn't going to happen here, but she knew she'd avoided her long enough. There was only so long she could put off the meeting with her mom. It wasn't a reunion like it had been with Drew and Mandy. This was a meeting, plain and simple.They talked every week, and her mom had known she was coming home, but neither one of them made promises about how they would handle it once she was here."It's so good to see you," Jasmine said as she made her way into the office like she owned the place. She walked quickly over to where Charity sat and wrapped her up in a huge hug."It's good to see you too, Mom." She hugged her back, tightly. It was good to see her, but there was so much baggage that came with her and their relationship. "What are you doing here?"Never one able to tell when she wasn't wanted, Jasmine went about everything like she coul
"It's done." Charity breathed a huge sigh of relief as she printed off the paperwork that would be taken over to the courthouse. What was there would hopefully be enough to get her the emergency protective order as well as the witness protection she knew Maggie and Skylar needed. If she had done a good job, they would be getting what they wanted, what they needed. If she hadn't—they had a hell of a fight on their hands.Mandy held out her hand. "As your paralegal and assistant, let me do the honors of walking this over there.""Agreed." Drew handed the papers to his sister. "There's not a bull's-eye on your back the way there is on hers. Be safe and don't let your guard down.""I'll see if Dalton will come with me. I'm not too excited to be walking over there by myself." She grabbed her bag, the paperwork, and the identification she needed to file.Charity watched as she walked out the door. "I hope all this works out for us." She gripped the desk. "If not, we've poked a bear t
The next morning, Charity sat at the commons table in the clubhouse again. This time she had her laptop open, coffee cup in front of her. To her left, her mom was sitting next to her."Is there anything I can do to help you?" Jasmine asked, fiddling with her hands."No, mom, most of the stuff I'm working on is confidential anyway, but I appreciate it." She smiled at her to soften the blow."If you need anything, please let me know." Jasmine grabbed her own coffee cup and walked towards the back, where a covered deck and back porch were.Charity groaned. She wished her relationship with her mom were easier, but she couldn't snap her fingers and make the years they had struggled through go away. If they were going to recover anything, it would have to be done in its own time. Right now, though, her attention needed to be on another mother and daughter—Maggie and Skylar needed her more than anyone.She clicked into her email, hoping she had the information she needed. They had w
The club sat around the commons area table eating pizzas as they went over what all of them were doing the next day. Many of them would be hanging around, just to make sure things went off without a hitch—they also figured they would help with crowd control and general protection if needed. Drew and Dalton would be accompanying the girls into the courtroom, and Rooster would be ready with his old friends if he was needed there."Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Denise asked as she refilled a few drinks, walking around the table. The question was directed at both Mandy and Charity."I am," Charity spoke up. "What makes me nervous is that he's going to be in the court room. There's no place to hide there if he decides he wants to make an example out of anyone. None of us have ever really known his endgame—I mean, why did he start these invasions? To run people out of Warren County? Or was it just because he was bored? In the end, it doesn't matter, but I wonder. Like, what does he ha