You're Gone (Finding Solid Ground) (11 page)

The woman was never going to give it up, Charleigh knew this. Claudia would always be on high alert for anything and everything she could use to slander her.

“…She married one of Greg’s nephew’s— a real loser— little less than a year ago, down in that ‘Hog-town’ she calls home. That didn’t last very long, though, because he got her cousin pregnant. When Jamie came to town… with no job or income since her father died… she saw dollar signs…”

The gaggle of women began to laugh at something the evil witch said. Something Charleigh couldn’t quite make out. She was going to keep her mouth shut. Charleigh was just going to let it go.
It doesn’t matter,
she told herself,
I won‘t see any of these people again, so it doesn‘t matter what Claudia tells them
. Until…

“The town, her whole family, is a big bunch of white trash.”

“Oh, your mother is horrible,” Charleigh mumbled to Jamie, her eyes growing large with rage. He gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and tried to pull her away. She was planted firmly in place.

“Didn’t Greg come from the same town?” One woman asked. She was wearing a black dress that was too low-cut in front, showing too much skin for a woman her age. Charleigh shook her head with disgust at the sight of the woman’s droopy breasts.
Couldn’t she have worn a bra?

“Yes, but thank God I was able to get him out of there before it was too late,” Claudia replied with self-righteousness.

Charleigh sent Jamie a look and stepped toward the group. “I also owe Missus Matthews a big ‘thank you.’ For everythin’ she’s done fo’ me.” She looped an arm through one of Claudia’s, who sneered. Charleigh continued to speak in her most exaggerated southern accent “Who knows where I’d be today if Jamie hadn’t come along and saved me from a life of misery.” She heaved a sigh.

“Well, heck, if he hadn’t paid for me to get these new pearly-whites…” Charleigh tapped on her two front teeth before touching her cheek. “…and that there growth removed, I don’t know what I’d a done. You’re a good ole girl, Claudie.” She slapped Claudia on the butt and walked away. The women stared after her in shock.

“You are unbelievable,” Jamie laughed as they walked to the table where they’d been seated earlier.

“Just givin’ the ladies what they wanted.” She smiled over her shoulder at him.

***

Cereal was much better in the middle of night, in Charleigh’s opinion. Sitting on the counter, alone in the darkness of the Matthewses’ kitchen, she was still happily reeling over everything that had happened earlier. Especially, the mortified expression Claudia had on her face after Charleigh swatted her on the ass.

It was truly a Kodak moment. She smiled to herself as the memory played back in her mind.

And she found out about what Greg had wanted to talk to Jamie about. A deal had been made with a company from Thailand, through the Davidson offices in Bangkok, to build a new factory in Dallas. A company from Thailand in Dallas? It had seemed strange to Charleigh, until Jamie explained that they already had a North American H.Q. in the World Trade Center there in New York City. Branches of the company were scattered all over the U.S. in Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, including another that was being built, through Davidson and Associates, in Miami, and they wanted one in Dallas, as well.

Okay
. She still didn’t understand what kind of business the Thai did, but the good news was that Claudia hadn’t locked Jamie in a closet to torture him. She was obviously just nosey, since the business venture had nothing to do with her.

Charleigh licked the last bit of milk off the wooden spoon she had used— since it was the only thing she could find— and hopped down from the counter to take the bowl and utensil to the sink. With her back turned to the doorway, rinsing what she’d used, Charleigh hadn’t realized that she was no longer alone.

The bright fluorescent light overhead flipped on, startling her. She let out a frightened cry. Charleigh squinted, holding her hand up to block the light from her unaccustomed eyes, as she turned to see who was there.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she heard Greg’s voice from somewhere in the room. The bright lights went off and a dimmer one came on over the sink.

“I, uh…” Charleigh was able to feel her way to a stool at the center bar.

“Up for a mid-night snack, too?” He asked, pulling a box of donuts from a cupboard. The man brought it over to where she sat, and pulled out an
éclair. “Want one?”

“No, thank you.”

When she stopped seeing spots, Charleigh stood up, took the carton of milk to put it back in the refrigerator. Not sure what to say to the man, she thought it was best to leave. She headed for the door.

“I heard about what you did to Claudia,” Greg said, stopping the young woman in her tracks. “Humiliated her in front of her friends worse than I ever could.”

“I could take her making fun of me, because I know it’s not true. What I won’t, is that she was slandering my family and my hometown.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, Charleigh, it’s not exactly you who she hates.”

She turned to look at him, confused. “If what you say is true, then why does she act like that toward me?”

Greg watched her, silently studying her, as he finished off the rest of the pastry. When it was gone, he stood up and washed the stickiness from his fingers.

“It goes back to before you were born, before Jamie was born. It’s about your parents, Claudia and me,” Greg said, shrugging. “It’s about the fact that I never really got over your mother, Charleigh.

“Secretly, I always hoped both my marriage to Claudia and your parents’ marriage would fail. That, someday, I’d be able to get back together with your mother.”

“That’s demented,” Charleigh said, speaking her mind.

“Yes, but it’s true, all the same. I knew how much your parents loved each other, but I still hoped.” He sighed, “And when your mama got sick, I came clean with Claudia. I was going to let her have the house, the kids, everything. I just wanted a clean break so that I could be there when Amanda died.”

“You were going to give everything up for a woman you could never be with.” She wasn’t sure whether or not she should be disgusted. Either way, she didn’t want to know about some guy— who wasn’t her father, by the way— who had harbored feelings for her mother. It was too bizarre.

“But your mother made me realize that I didn’t belong there. I needed to go back to my family.” Greg’s hands were folded on the counter in front of him, his eyes trained on the same surface.

“You confess your boundless love to your wife, though, it’s for another woman. You leave your family to be by said woman’s bedside. When she doesn’t want you, you go crawling back to your wife and ask for forgiveness.” Charleigh spoke honestly. She said what she thought, and she meant it. “I sure can understand why she’d be angry. Not that I think she should have taken you back. Still, holding a grudge against you after eighteen years? That’s no way to live. Or to put your children through such misery. Why not just get a divorce?”

Greg smiled. The young woman’s scenario fit the situation almost to a T, but not entirely. He shook his head. Even in college, Claudia had been a selfish, frigid woman. Breaking someone else down so she could build herself up. She was jealous of Mandy. Her beauty. Of her intellect. Of her confidence, because she wouldn’t be manipulated the same way as everybody else.

He took the box of donuts and put them back where he got them.

“But why hold something that
you
did against me?” It dawned on her then. “Why does she treat her children so badly?”

When Amanda told him to go back to Claudia— to be stuck in a loveless marriage; no way—he hadn’t wanted to. He did it for his children— Jamie was almost ten back then; Kevin was seven; Jenna
, with whom Claudia was pregnant.

“She
hates you because you are a reminder of your mother. You have the same demeanor.”

Of that, Charleigh wasn’t so sure.

“You remind her of what I felt for Amanda and not for her. Because you’re with Jamie, she feels like it’s an instant replay unfolding before her eyes. She holds the kids in contempt because they are truly the one and only reason I came back.”

“Well, history does repeat itself, they say.”
I’m beginning to believe it does with these two families.

Now, Charleigh rightly saw what Jamie meant when he said his childhood had been a lonely one. She’d thought he was lucky to have grown up with
both
of his parents alive, together in the same house. From the sound of it, her fiancé and his siblings might had been better off if they’d been raised by a pack of wolves in the woods. At least they wouldn’t have been treated like some sort of obligation.

Life in the Randall house back in ‘Hog-town,’ USA wasn’t bad, but the one thing she’d envied of Jamie was that he’d grown up with a living, breathing mother as a part of his life. That was, until she met Claudia Matthews in the flesh.

“I think I need to go back to bed. To clear my mind of the whole lot that I’ve just learned,” Charleigh said on a sigh as she shook her head. She took one last, long look at Greg. “I feel drained every time you tell me something about my parents that I didn’t know before.” It made her wonder if her parents had
really
had the kind of marriage she’d been led to believe they had. “Is there anything else I should know? Any other skeletons in your closet that involved them?”

He answered with a shake of his head. “Just that they loved each other and you very much. I don’t want you to think Mike and Mandy’s marriage was a sham like mine, because if any two people had a perfect love, it was them. Everything they did was for you and for the benefit of their life together. You were very lucky to have them as your parents, even if you only had them for a short time.”

“Thank you,” Charleigh replied and walked back up the stairs toward where Jamie slept.

She opened the door to the bedroom they shared. The light from the hallway made it easier for Charleigh to see the features of Jamie’s body, though, she
already knew them by memory. How childlike and angelic he looked when he was sleeping.

If there was anything that she was thankful in the whole world for— besides her family and the trivial, materialistic junk— it was that her children would never have to question her love for their father, or for them. Charleigh would make a point of telling them each and every day how important they were to her. They would never have to know about the sordid details of their
parents’ pasts. Of their prior relationships and the wounds that never quite healed as a result.

The love that she and Jamie shared had mended what had been undone before. And as romance novel-ish as it sounded, it was true.

Biting down on the end of the ink pen in his mouth, Jamie scanned his list of friends and family’s names and addresses until he came to the next. Twelve hours at work, with a total three-hour commute in rush-hour traffic, and now Charleigh had him addressing wedding invitations at midnight. Not that he was complaining. It was just that it was such a monotonous task, one that, after a couple of hours, was causing his hand to cramp up.

An ‘NSYNC CD was playing softly in the background. The boy band was crooning something about love and broken promises. Charleigh claimed not to like their music, but she had both of their CDs that were out to date, and she knew every single word of every single song. Jamie felt like taking the disc out of the player and breaking it into a million little pieces. He could tolerate almost any kind of music Charleigh listened to— Al Green and The Supremes had kind of grown on him— but he drew the line on any song where a guy could hit the high notes almost as well as Mariah Carey.

“Terrance and Julie Marcum. Emily Whitfield. Eric and Marianne Mitchell. Why is it that I don’t know any of these people on my list?” He looked over at where Charleigh sat across the table from him. Her hair was piled in a loose bun at the crown of her head; wisps fell down around her face. She wore only a lace and satin nightgown, and one of the straps was beginning to slip down on her shoulder, causing the lace to fold over and reveal the golden apex of her breast.

Pushing her glasses up to the top of her head, Charleigh took her eyes away from the piece of paper with her own share of names and addresses. “Terry was my dad’s attorney for as many years as I can remember. He did Dad’s Will and drew up my annulment papers. Julie’s his wife.”

“Oh, okay. Do we need him close by, just in case anything goes wrong at the reception?” Jamie asked, half-jokingly.

Charleigh laughed. “Well, any skeletons in your closet that I should know about? Any illegitimate children running helter-skelter out there that you forgot to mention?”

“Well…” He smile craftily, pausing for embellished weight. “There was that one girl…”

“Oh, shut up,” Charleigh cut him off.

They both had a good laugh before going back to work on the envelopes. She went on to explain her relationships to the others, “Emily is a distant cousin on my Granddad’s side of the family. Eric and Marianne are college friends of my Mom and Dad. I’ve known them all my life.”

“You want to remind me of the reason why we’re writing these out instead of making mailing labels on the computer.” Jamie stopped to rub his throbbing right hand. “It would’ve taken maybe half an hour to do it that way, and we’re going on three with this one.”

“Because
your
grandmother said that it would be more personal to do it like this, so we’re doing it.”

“Yeah, remind me to thank Gram when I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.” Jamie yawned. He arched his back and stretched his arms up above his head.

Standing up, Charleigh pushed everything aside. She threw her pen down on the table and came around to Jamie’s side. He looked up at her questioningly.

“Come on. Let’s go up to bed.”

“What about all this?”

“This
can wait until tomorrow. You’re tired. I’m tired. We’ve both had long days, and tomorrow will be too.” She took him by the hand and tugged gently.

Obliging, Jamie stood up and followed Charleigh from the dining room. He flipped off the downstairs lights as they passed by. They were at the bottom of the stairs when he was reminded of something from work.

“Can you meet me at my office tomorrow evening?”

Charleigh was a couple of steps above him, making them the same height. She looked Jamie straight in his eyes. They reminded her of melted milk chocolate.
Yum.
“Yeah, I guess I can. Why?”

             
“Crane and Macmillan invited us out to dinner. They want to meet you.”

             
“Since I seem to be all you can talk about?” She prodded.

             
“That and I think because they want to meet the head honcho.”

             
Charleigh rolled her eyes upward as she turned to continue on up the stairs. “
I
am not the boss. Your dad is. I don’t want to be the boss, and I wouldn’t do it even if they put a gun to my head.”

“
Nice visuals. Thanks.”

“
Sorry.” She wasn’t sure if it was because it reminded Jamie of what had happened to Rheanna or of the nightmare he’d had about Aaron shooting him point-blank. “It’s just… these people don’t get that I don’t want the responsibility that’s been placed upon me. I don’t even know what goes into making the kinds of deals Davidson does or how to design a building.”

“
You’re content with your horses, huh?”

“
For sure.” The comment brought a smile to Jamie’s face. “Humans as a species are just too complicated. We put too much weight on the fancy and not enough on the basic.
And
we’re the only creatures on earth that have sex for reasons other than breeding.”

Jamie was halfway undressed. His shirt was unbuttoned, hanging open to reveal his ripped abs. He had the kind of chest muscles that could make a woman purr. His pants had fallen down around his ankles, and he stood frozen in place, staring at his significant other with puzzlement.

“I learn something new from you everyday. Whether I want to know it or not.”

“
It’s true.” Charleigh sat cross-legged on the bed.

“
Are you telling me that we should stop making love unless we’re trying to conceive?” He watched her squirm. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, remaining silent.

Finally, Charleigh heaved a sigh.
“That is not what I said, and you know it.”

“
Sounded like it to me.” Jamie finished disrobing and went to put his discarded clothes in the hamper. He came back into the bedroom, wearing a great, big, amused smile on his face.

“
You’re wrong,” She retorted.

“Are you sure? How long do you think you’d last?”

“
Longer than you.”

“
Really?” He said down on the bed in front of Charleigh. Their faces were only a breath apart. “The way you scream out my name at climax. The way you beg for more. I don’t think you’d last longer than a couple of days.”

“
You are a vile man, James.”

“
But I’m right, aren’t I?” He eyed her. “Aren’t I?”

“
You could possibly be… the most conceited man I’ve ever met.”

“
But I’m right?”

“
Yes, you are. It’s because you’re so irresistible.”

             
She closed the tiny space between them, kissing him. Her hands moved smoothly along Jamie’s skin coming up to link around his neck. Jamie slipped a hand up Charleigh’s leg and underneath the silky material of her nightie. He came to a stop just at her hip, gently squeezing, kneading the velvety flesh.

He slipped his tongue inside her mouth to intensify the kiss. To get a taste of the essence of her. It brought about a deep, satisfied moan from the back of Charleigh
’s throat.

Gliding her hands down to Jamie
’s shoulders, she pushed down, bringing her body up until she was on her knees, halfway straddling him. Charleigh pulled away; she wanted to see the heat of desire in Jamie’s eyes for her. It was there; of course she knew it would be. It was always there, but she just wanted to make sure.

Continuing eye contact, Jamie pressed his thumbs to her hipbones. He dug his fingertips into her derriere, guiding her down until she was sitting on his lap.

“Char,” he whispered gruffly.

“
Hmm.” She pulled the chopsticks from her bun, shook her hair loose. The curls came tumbling down over her shoulders.

Jamie pushed the coils away and pressed a kiss to Charleigh
’s decolletage. The scent of her soap was fruity, like kiwi. He loved the way she smelled, and she tasted just as good as he made his way up the long column of her neck. He nibbled at her earlobe, causing Charleigh to gasp.

“
You smell so nice,” Jamie whispered in her ear. Charleigh only raised a brow.

Arching her body to Jamie
’s, Charleigh pushed him back until he was lying flat on the bed. She leaned down and kissed him, her hair splaying over their faces. Jamie’s hands slithered along the lace of her underwear, up and under the material of her gown. He made his way up, up, up along the smooth skin of her tummy, over the contours of  her ribs, and still higher until his fingertips came in contact with Charleigh’s nipples.

The caress caused sensations to flow through her body, and she nipped Jamie
’s neck with her teeth as a result.

“
Easy,” Jamie whispered, cupping both sides of Charleigh’s face in his hand, guiding her back so he could look in her eyes. He ran his thumbs along her jawline.

“
Sorry,” she replied with a rueful smile.

Charleigh touched her hand to one of his. She turned her head to kiss Jamie
’s palm, holding eye contact.

It was a while before either spoke; they just continued to gaze into each other
’s eyes. In those silent moment was when Jamie felt like he knew Charleigh best. He could get a glimmer of what she was feeling and thinking, with just one look in her green eyes.

At the moment, she was thinking something
… There was a mischievous twinkle in Charleigh’s eyes, a naughty smile played on her lips.

Moving her hands down to the bed on either side of Jamie
’s body, she pushed her own body up, sliding back until her head was level with his chest. The playfulness was still present in Charleigh’s eyes as she lower her face… and blew. Loud and wet, she blew a raspberry right between Jamie’s pectorial muscles.

“
What the…” Jamie said, pushing back a mess of curls to look in Charleigh’s face. “What was that for?”

“
Because,” she laughed. “Because I felt like it.”

“
Oh, you did, did you?”

“
Uh-huh.”

Bucking his hips upward, Jamie twisted his body until they had switched positions and Charleigh was lying beneath him. The motion sent her shrieking and laughing the entire way.

“What was that for?” Charleigh asked, echoing Jamie’s question from before.

“
Because. You once told me, ‘All’s fair in love and war,’ babe.”

“
Oh, you think that way now, do you?”

“
Uh, yeah.” Jamie wriggled his eyebrows. He began tickling the area below Charleigh’s ribs and all the way up to her armpits— her most sensitive areas— and blowing raspberries all over her arms and chest. 

“
Stop it!
Stop!
” She laughed, struggling to get a hold of his hands.

“
No,” Jamie replied between raspberries.

“
Please?
Please!?
I think I’m gonna pee my pants, if you don’t.”

And Jamie knew she was telling the truth. They
’d been in the same situation once or twice before, and she’d almost done it then, as well. But the roughhousing didn’t stop, despite Charleigh’s pleas. If anything, it got rougher.

He pinned Charleigh
’s arms back over her head with one hand and brought the silky gown up with the other to provide more access. She kicked and screamed, begging and pleading for mercy.

“
Why should I?”

“
Because…” Charleigh shrieked. “You just wait, pal.”

“
For what?” He blew once more before stopping to look up into her face.

             
“Payback.” She wriggled unsuccessfully. “I’ll get you back when you least expect it.”

“
I don’t think so.” And Jamie continued with the noisy, slobbery actions.

After a while longer, Jamie finally complied, sitting back on his haunches with a satisfied smile. Brooding, Charleigh looked as if she was going to take a chunk out of his chest when she sat up. Instead, she linked her hands behind his neck, kissing Jamie, as he slowly lowered them back down on the bed.