Authors: Kathi S. Barton
Most of her thoughts centered on Connor and Damon
. S
he wanted to see them again
. C
harlie couldn’t be sure, but she thought she was dying
. T
here was something so final in the way her mind accepted that
. S
he knew that Damon would care for Connor and raise him to be a good, upstanding young man
. S
he also knew that he would have benefits that she’d never have been able to provide for him
. H
er heart hurt at that thought.
Charlie thought of her mother too
. S
he’d not spoken to her in years, not since she’d thrown her out when she’d refused to have an abortion
. C
harlie wondered if she would be proud of her or Connor and decided it didn’t matter
. T
hen there was Connor’s father
. H
e’d never even seen his son and Charlie was sad for that too
. S
he’d of course told Connor how he’d been conceived. She had even told him his father’s name, though it wasn’t on the birth certificate
. H
is family had threatened her in ways she d
idn’t like to think about now.
The bright light woke her the next time
. A
nd the noise
. W
hen she tried to pull away from them both, the pain nearly overwhelmed her again
. T
he voices were saying things
. S
he couldn’t make them out, but the one she heard more than the others was Dane’s.
“Connor?”
Charlie almost didn’t recognize her own voice
. I
t was harsh and rough
. H
er lips felt so dry and she was sure that they didn’t fit her face anymore
. T
he picture of her with giant lips entered her mind and she giggled at the thought.
“Charlie? Can you hear me?
I need you to answer me, sweetheart
. C
an you hear me?
Connor is in the hospital. He needs you
. Y
ou ha
ve to stay with me, all right?
Charlie?”
Connor was hurt?
Charlie’s fuzzy mind tried to work around that, but all she could manage was pain
. H
er arms were on fire and she could hear screaming again
. S
he wanted to tell the person, she thought it was Dane, to shut up, but her lips didn’t fit anymore
. T
hen she was fading, fast and hard through a plethora of colors and memories
. D
amon
. C
onnor
. M
argaret and the others
. A
s she let the blackness take her, she realized she was moving.
~CHAPTER 1
9
~
Damon looked down at the woman lying in the bed
. E
ven with her being so pale and her lips cracked and split, she was still the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen
. T
he doctor who had operated on her had told them that she had lost a great deal of blood, not only from the break in her leg, but from the beating she’d gotten later
. H
er back and torso were badly bruise
d in addition to being cut up.
The break in her leg was compound
. O
rmond had kicked her so many times that he’d broken her femur bone in three places
. T
he orthopedic surgeon had had to reinforce the shattered bone with steel rods and said that Charlie may need additional surgery later to ensure that the bone was strong enough
. B
ut he assured them all that with proper care, she wouldn’t lose her leg
. D
amon planned to make sure she got excellent care
. T
he little boy in the bed beside him stir
red.
When the EMTs had said that the news about their patient wasn’t good, they weren’t referring to Connor
. A
nthony had been shot twice, once near the heart, just missing the aortic artery by centimeters, and once in the neck
. C
onnor had missed that artery by a lesser margin than he had Ormond’s heart
. H
e was now in intensive care with round the clock security
. O
rmond was also cuffed to his b
ed by his legs and his wrists.
Connor had fared better than anyone
. H
is gunshot wound was in his shoulder and had broken his collar bone
. H
e wouldn’t have any lasting effects of the injury. He would only need to go through some physical therapy to get it back into shape
. H
e had lost a lot of blood, but once they got him hooked up to an IV and pushed the fluids, he’d been better in no time
. H
e was still
rec
u
p
er
ating
and had only just today been moved to his mother’s room to be nearer to her.
“Has Momma waked up yet?
I miss her
. I
want her to talk to me.”
Damon knew the kid missed her. Damon did too.
“No
. B
ut the doctor said it takes a while for the trauma to heal
. Y
ou know she’s only going to yell at you when she finds out what you did
. I
’m sure she’ll hug you, but she’s going to be pissed too.”
“I don’t care so long as she wakes up to do it
. I
’ll let her yell at me all she wants to
. H
eck, she can even ground me like Mrs. P said she was gonna do to Momma when she woke up
. I
don’t know what she’ll take fro
m me, but she sure can do it.”
Connor grinned and rolled back over and closed his eyes
. H
e was sleep within minutes
. D
amon had to grin as well
. H
e was such a great kid.
Connor had told them what had happened once he had been taken from the bus station
. W
hen he’d heard the trunk open, he’d been ready to defend himself against whatever happened
. A
nd he had
. A
nthony had been ready to find him cowering in the trunk and must have been surprised to be met with an eight-year-old toting a nine millimeter.
“You’ll back away from me, you old bastard
. I
ain’t afraid to shoot you
. Y
ou tell me where my momma’s at right now,” Connor had told the older man when he started to reach in.
“Wh
ere the hell did you get that?
Give me that right now before you hurt someone
. I
don’t know who you think you are, but you never draw a weapon on a cop, kid. Now hand it over.”
When he’d lunged for the gun, Connor fired
. H
e’d told the police that he hadn’t meant to shoot Mr. O
. B
ut he’d been so afraid that he must have pulled the trigger
. A
s Anthony staggered back, he’d fired at Connor
. T
he bullet went wild and had ended up hitting window in the back of the car and shattering it
. C
onnor moved, trying to get out of the trunk and away from Ormond, but the man wouldn’t stay down.
“You fucking brat
. I
’m going to kill you for this
. L
ook what you’ve done
. Y
ou’ve shot me in the chest
. I
f I die from this, I’m going to beat you to death.”
Connor told the police that he couldn’t believe the stupid man said that, but Connor said he’d been saying stupid crap for a long time
. W
hen Ormond had raised his gun to fire at Connor again, Connor ducked down behind the lip of the t
runk and that shot missed too.
“I was afraid to lift my head again, so I just rested the gun on the trunk and started pulling the trigger
. I
heard Mr. O screaming at me to stop it. I think he really thought I would too
. I
think he thought I’d be like, ‘oh sorry, did I hurt you?
Well let me give you my gun.’
Stupid bastard
. W
hen the gun kinda came apart and wouldn’t fire no more, I threw it at him and waited
. I
must have taken a nap or something ‘cause when I woke up, it was almost dark outside
. I
got out and that’s when I realized he’d shot me
. I
know he was shooting back at me, but I didn’t feel nothing until I woke up.”
“Then what did you do, Connor?
Where did you get the phone to call Damon?” one of the agents asked him
. C
onnor looked over at Cait, and at her nod, he continued.
“I took it off him, Mr. O
. I
t was just laying there in his hand and I needed to get me some help
. I
didn’t steal it
. I
swear I was going to give it back to him, but I went into the house to call zero like Damon told me to and I fell asleep again.”
“You didn’t fall asleep, Connor
. Y
ou’d lost a lot of blood and you were in shock
. Y
our body shut down to rest and to start to heal up
. N
o one thinks you stole the phone
. Y
ou did really well
. N
ow tell us what happened next
.”
Cait glared at the agents sitting next to Connor’s bed as she hurried to reassure him
. I
t was everything Damon could do not to burst out laughing
. C
ait could make a grown man wet himself with one of her glares and these two men were quickly learning that.
“I could see that Mr. O was bleeding real bad
. I
didn’t want to get close, but I had to get the phone
. H
is gun was there and I started to move it out of his hand when he grabbed me around the neck
. I
had his gun so I hit him with it
. I
heard his nose crunch and when he let me go, I jumped back and fell down
. H
is gun just pulled the trigger all by itself
. I
didn’t even have my finger on the trigger thing or nothing
. T
his bullet hit him in the neck
. H
e grabbed at it, but it was bleeding real bad
. I
didn’t stay there
. H
e might have had another gun, so I took off to the other side of the car and waited
. T
hen I called Damon
. H
e told me to go in the house and call the police
. I
was really tired again and fell asleep on the floor
. I
don’t remember nothing else until I woke up here and Damon was sitting next to me.”
Devin came in as they were taking Charlie’s blood pressure later that morning
. H
e simply sat down and stared at the nurse while she finished up
. D
amon knew his brother well enough to know that he’d get to whatever was on his mind eventually, so Damon waited.
“Connor is a re
ally great kid, you know that?
I think what he did to save himself is perhaps the bravest thing I’ve ever heard
. R
onnie wants to give him shooting lessons
. T
hink his mother will go for that?”
“I don’t know
. I
think I’d wait a while to ask her. She’s going to freak out enough just knowing that he shot someone with one
. S
he might come around, but it might take her a year or two.”
Devin only nodded
. D
amon leaned forward and took Charli
e’s hand into his.
In the five days she’d been in the hospital, she looked better
. H
er lips were soft again because Damon made sure that they were covered in moisture wear lip cover three times a day
. T
he bruise on her face was fading too
. T
he swelling i
n her eye was
down and almost normal again
. W
hen Devin spoke this time, Damon didn’t even bother turning around.
“Ormond is suing Connor
. H
e doesn’t have a case, of course, but he is accusing Connor of attempted murder
. T
aylor knows of the attorney and said that he’d try his own mother if there was a dime in it
. I
don’t think it’ll go to court, but Jamie and Dane have said they’d post his bail
. I
’m kinda hoping it will go to trial
. C
ould be kind of fun trying a case that is so stupid.”
Damon laughed out loud
. H
e could see it now
. “
Mass murderer sues eight-year-old because he fought back—news at eleven.” Damon glanced over at Connor and was relieved to see he was still asleep.
“I’d like you to keep this to yourself, please
. I
think they’ve both got enough to worry about right now
. T
ell me what else is on your mind, Devin
. Y
ou didn’t just come here to tell me about this.”
Devin was quiet for a little while longer and when he spoke again, Damon turned sharply to look at him
. T
his wasn’t what he had expected at all.
“Connor’s dad contacted me yesterday afternoon
. H
e said that he wants to see his son and that he’d been looking for him for some time
. H
e is claiming that Charlie has been keeping them apart.”
“Y
ou don’t believe that, do you? Or him? Shit!
Why now? Why now, after eight years
, does he want to see his son?
What did you tell him?”
“I told him that he’d have to have a DNA test done and once we got the results of that back, we’d work from there
. I
pulled Connor’s birth certificate and the father’s n
ame is listed as ‘unknown.’
Did Charlie ever tell you anything about Connor’s dad?”
“He ain’t my dad
. M
omma said he’s was just the sperm donor. He raped her one night ‘cause he wanted to brag to the other kids he’d had the ice queen
. B
ut Momma wasn’t a queen of nothing
. Y
ou make him stay away from me, Uncle Devin
. I
don’t want nothing to do with him.”
Connor sat up in the bed and regarded them both
. D
amon was a little pissed at Devin for bringing it up now, and more mad at himself because he hadn’t stopped him
. D
evin didn’t look all that happy either.
“Connor, he has a right to see you if he wants to
. W
e can slow him down with paper work, but in the end, unless he gave up those rights before you were born, then he can see you
. H
e can even demand that you s
ee him,” Devin started to explain.
“He did
. H
e signed one of those papers when Momma told him she was pregnant
. I
seen it
. S
he has it in a safety vault at the bank
. S
he has all kinds of stuff that he mailed her when she wouldn’t kill me
. A
nd some stuff that he sent her after she wouldn’t give me up for adoption
. S
he told me that she was keeping it in case he decided to come back and claim me when I became famous and rich
. T
hat man’s momma even came to see me one day
. S
he said I was a bondable…abdominal…
she said I wasn’t right.”
Connor was crying now so Damon went to the bed and picked him up
. H
e looked at Devin and was ready to blast him good when he noticed that Charlie was looking at them. Damon turned Connor’s face toward his mother and waited.
“Abomination
. S
he called you an abomination
. Y
ou’re not
. Y
ou’re my little boy.”
The
n she closed her eyes again.
Connor and Damon looked at each other and started laughing
. S
oon Devin joined them
. S
he had woken up. Charlie had woke up and spoke to them.
~~~
Two days later, Charlie opened her eyes again
. S
he looked around the room and was surprised by all the pretty flowers everywhere
. A
nd the variety of them as well
. S
he was trying to look at them all when she noticed Damon and Connor asleep, Damon in a large chair and Connor in a hospital bed.
“They haven’t left this room since you were brought in nine days ago
. H
o
w are you feeling, sweetheart?
You look much better than you did when they brought you in.”
Charlie looked over at the woman sitting in the big chair on the other side of the bed
. C
harlie noticed that she had a book on her lap and a laptop on the arm of the chair
. M
argaret Parker looked right at home sitting there with her hair styled, beautiful silk blouse, twill pants, and bright green frog sl
ippers on her feet.
“Frogs?”
It hurt to talk and Charlie had to work to make each word come out
. B
ut apparently, Margaret understood her because she wiggled her feet.
“Jacob gave me these for Christmas last year
. I
think they’re a little much, but they are warm
. L
ittle Jim gave me a matching robe
. I
t even has a cap on it that comes up over my head and has these big eyes
. I
understand it was a fight to see who gave me the robe and Little Jim won
. Y
ou didn’t answer me, dear, how are you feeling?”
“Hurt
. T
hirsty, too
. C
onnor all right? He’s okay?”
She did hurt, too, but nothing like she did before.
“Yes
. H
e’s perfectly fine
. H
e’s a wonderful boy
. Y
ou’ve done a very good job raising him.”
“Thank you
. Y
ou too, with Damon
. L
ove him
. V
ery much.”
Charlie felt the tears fill her eyes and started to look away when she saw Margaret stand and pull a tissue from the nearby box
. A
s she wiped away Charlie’s tears, she sniffled too.
“I love all of my children, Charlie, including you
. C
onnor has asked to call me grandma
. I
hope you don’t mind, but I told him yes
. Y
ou know, for some reason, having someone call you grandma because they’re related to you and having one call you that because they love you feels very different
. I
’ve never been prouder
. N
ow
. W
e need to talk about your wedding.”
Charlie must have looked like a deer in head lights because that’s what she felt like
. W
edding?
Charlie glanced over at Damon and then back at his mother
. S
he didn’t even know if Damon still wanted to marry her or not.
“Well, of course he does
. D
on’t be a dolt
. I
think we can have everything planned for Valentine’s Day
. B
en, Taylor’s mother, said he would design your dress for you
. H
e thinks you should have something in cream with red trim
. S
aid it would go nicely with your coloring
. O
f course there are the bridesmaid dresses—you’ll want the girls as those, won’t you?”
“Too much
. S
low down, please
. D
amon wants to marry me still?”
Charlie looked over at Damon again and noticed that he and Connor both were awake
. N
either of them made a move to come and rescue her, she noticed.
“Yes, Damon still wants to marry you, Charlie
. A
nd he would be very happy if his mother would let his future wife plan at least a small part of her wedding
. C
onnor, why don’t you take your pushy grandmother down to the cafeteri
a and let her buy you a drink?
I need to speak to your mom.”
“Okay, Damon
. G
randma, come on
. I
’m betting he wants to kiss her or something gross like that
. T
ha
t’s all the guys do, isn’t it?
Kiss all over the girls
. H
ow do they stand it?”
Connor was pulling Margaret out the door as he asked.
“He’ll need a talk about the birds and the bees soon
. I
think we should let Nicky do it
. H
e told me about them when I was nine
. I
couldn’t eat for a week much less touch a girl
. W
ell, not until I was eleven or so
. S
ally Handle…ah there’s a fine memory
. S
he was the one who taught me…well, that’s for another time
. H
ow are you?”
Charlie looked up at him as he came toward her
. A
ll sorts of thing were running through her mind and none of them had anything to do with how she felt, but more on the birds and the bees.
“Fine
. Y
ou?”
Damon’s grin made her body stir
. S
he had a cast on her leg from the bottom of her foot to the top of her thigh, she hadn’t brushed her hair or her teeth in over a week, and she was wearing a hospital gown made of the thinnest cotton known to man and the ugliest shade of puce she’d ever seen.
“Better now that you’re awake
. I
was so worried about you
. A
nd scared
. I
have to tell you this now because I don’t want you to think that I’m okay with you leaving me, but you are so going to get your ass whipped
. I
think I might have to do it several times to make sure you understand that running is no longer an option.”
Damon’s voice had turned to silk, but she could still hear the steel in it
. H
e wanted her to know he meant business, but at the same time that he was going to make her enjoy whatever punishment he wielded out as much has she did
. S
he could hardly wait.
“Anthony won’t stop
. H
e’ll keep coming until we’re dead
. H
e hates Connor
. I
have to protect him.”
“We have to protect him
. A
nd Anthony is going to prison as soon as his trial is over
. H
e’s been caught
. H
e killed six women that we know of in Nevada and some that the police might not be able to find
. T
hey found about forty trophies in his house
. B
ut enough about him, let’s talk about you and me
. W
e’ll have a huge wedding
. A
bout five hundred guests and maybe twice that for the reception
. V
alentine’s is fine with me so long as you live with me until then.”
Charlie laughed at Damon
. S
he hoped that she could be there when he informed his mom that Charlie was going to live with him before the wedding
. W
hile Margaret wasn’t a prude, she did have rules she liked followed
. A
nd living together was one of those rules.