Project Love (Cascade Brides Series) (10 page)

He took a breath. “I think he saw the truth of how I
felt in my eyes. He became verbally abusive, playing off every one of
my faults and insecurities, making me even angrier.”

“
So you left?” Charity's eyes were wide with grief.

“
I left. But as I reached the door, he called me back.
Held out his hand and begged me to help.” His voice wavered. “It's
my last memory of him. He was dead before I arrived back in
Missouri.”

Charity stopped, curling her other hand around his arm
and pressing her cheek against his shoulder. She was silent. He knew
there was nothing to say. Soul-deep regrets had a way of defying
attempts at comforting words.

But he
was
comforted by her mere presence. More than he wanted to admit.
Charity's warmth soothed him in a way he couldn't have imagined.
Maybe he'd just needed to share his burden with another human being.
Or maybe Charity possessed some special magic.

“
Do your parents stay in contact with you?” she
asked quietly.

“
Only when they have to. And even then they somehow
believe I've become political because I work in the corporate
world—that the environment made me ultimately reject my brother.”

“
He was their favorite?”

What a strange, and yet, insightful question. The fact
that she even asked it told him she knew the sting of that very same
feeling. “Yeah.”

“
What was his name?”

“
Anthony.”

She repeated the name. “How does this link to Evelyn?”

Daniel sighed, exhausted from his confession. “When I
started going to this church and heard about their connection to the
care home, naturally I wanted to help. I was taken on a tour one day
and there was a woman in a wheelchair. She had this vacant stare and
her mouth hung open. She had her hand outstretched but no one seemed
to notice her. When I saw that, it was as if I was reliving the
moment Anthony held his hand out to me that last time when I walked
away.”

Daniel was glad for his height over Charity, not wanting
her to see the tears brimming in his eyes. “I decided in that
moment, I wasn't going to walk away from an outstretched hand again.”
He grimaced against the pain and put his arm around her, more for
support than anything. When she slid her arms around his waist and
laid her head against his chest, his breaths became less irregular.

Once the worst of the emotion had passed, he brushed
away the moisture from his face. It was stupid to be embarrassed for
breaking down. But there it was. And he could admit it was a relief
to share what he'd kept bottled up for so long.

As if sensing his
hesitation, Charity stayed right where she was for several more
moments. He slowly became aware of the perfume of her hair, the
pliancy of her frame, and knew he was in danger of losing his heart
to her as well. Daniel figured she'd be shocked if she knew the
direction of his thoughts.
I'm shocked at the direction of
my thoughts. Two quasi-dates and an emotional crisis do not a
relationship make
.

He closed his eyes and offered up another prayer for
guidance, hoping he wasn't already in too deep.

Chapter Eight

The leaves began to turn, heralding Charity's favorite
time of year. The jewel-toned trees were consolation against the
increasingly dark skies. When the sun was out, the white mountaintops
glowed like opals against a turquoise sky.

Work picked up as well, with more and more non-regular
patrons seeking the comfort only hot coffee and cocoa can give.
Charity was glad for the busyness that kept her gloomy thoughts at
bay. Because when it was slow, she worried that Daniel would find out
who she really was.

The memory of that day
after meeting Evelyn still got to her. She'd never seen a grown man
cry. Well, technically she didn't
see
it, but there was no denying it. She'd heard it in Daniel's voice,
felt it in the rigidity of his muscles as he told his story. She'd
shed a few tears of her own, unable to imagine the grief he still
carried—the guilt that continued to dog his steps. What a sad irony
that the one who had all the talent in the world flushed it down the
toilet, while the one who's pain could easily lead to drug abuse
sought to comfort the comfortless.

One thing she knew for sure. She didn't deserve Daniel
Tabor.

How could she
rationalize her own behavior toward her sisters when he'd suffered so
much more? How could she keep her heart under lock and key when he'd
opened his wide? He'd never understand her reticence to reconnect
with her family. Even worse, he
would
understand her reticence, and wonder why she wasn't making the effort
to reconcile.

Charity stuffed these worries down as she looked forward
to seeing Daniel whenever possible. Sometimes that meant the
two-dimensional version.

After work, she kept the TV on the news channel in case
they showed any video about the water treatment plant—which drove
Holly crazy. She shuffled around the house in her slippers muttering
about the soul-destroying effects of news and politics on an artistic
soul.

On a Friday afternoon, Charity turned off the TV after
seeing Daniel's handsome face as he patiently tried to answer the
reporter's accusatory questions. Holly came out of her room and
headed to the kitchen for her favored chai tea.

“
I can't believe you hooked up with a politician,”
she grumbled.

Charity shifted the adoring expression from her face.
“He's not a politician. He's an engineer. That's an artist whose
medium is technical stuff.”

“
I know what an engineer is,” she said, rolling her
eyes. “But if he's involved with City Hall, he's a politician.”

“
He's not. His company is.”

“
If his company pays him from funds funneled from the
city—”

“
Daniel has a job, which is saying something in this
economy, so be nice.”

Holly turned and planted her fists on her skinny hips.
“Are you saying I don't have a job?”

“
Huh?”

“
I work everyday on my art and even bring in money
from time to time, so—”

Charity put up her hands. “Whoa, I was not making
accusations about anyone.”

The redhead glared before turning on her heel and
heading to the kitchen.

“
Maybe you should
look into journalism,” Charity said under her breath.
Sheesh
.

Her phone rang. When she saw Daniel's name, she
answered. “Hey!”

“
Were you watching?” he said by way of greeting.

“
Um, maybe.”

He laughed softly. “If you were, then you saw me
totally choke on that question about the project using non-union
workers.”

Charity leaned back against the couch cushions. She'd
been too busy admiring his light brown eyes to notice any 'choking'.
“What I noticed is that you always make the interviewer look
shrill.”

“
What does that mean?”

“
You know, you answer politely and calmly while he
keeps firing questions at you.”

“
Would you believe that's what I'm instructed to do?
Give long, rambling answers to run down the clock and make it sound
as boring as possible so people lose interest?”

“
Wow, it might have worked.”

He laughed again. “You're good for my ego, Charity.”

“
Oops. I didn't mean that like it sounded.”

“
But seriously, I'm not allowed to discuss the issue
with any real information. I have talking points I have to stick to,
then I get critiqued by my boss.”

“
How long will the project go?”

“
At least a year.”

“
Have you thought about looking elsewhere?”

He sighed. “Applied Innovations is a top-notch
company. I just wish they hadn't picked me for the daily dog and pony
show.”

“
You know the real reason they picked you.” Charity
swallowed back the dismay, remembering Jessie's words from that
morning.”

“
What, my good looks and charm?” he said, amusement
in his voice.

“
That's exactly it.”

“
What? I was joking.”

Poor Daniel. Ground down to a pulp by disappointed
parents. He didn't even know what a honey he was. “Jessie told me
there's a Facebook fan page for you.”

“
What? Who set it up?”

“
Um, fans. As in girl fans.” She nibbled her bottom
lip. “He said there's even marriage proposals on there.”

“
Oh, great. Wait until my boss finds out about this.
He won't be happy.”

“
Think about it, Daniel. The media wants the pressure
on you and your company. But if the public sees you—and by
extension Applied Innovations—in a favorable light, well, that just
forwards your company's interest.”

“
Whoa. I guess I'm pretty naïve about this stuff.”

“
Let's just say you're definitely an engineer.”

“
Ouch, I think. Maybe I should give you this TV gig. I
bet you could talk circles around these guys.”

If you only knew
.
Talking a good game to keep his mind off her situation with her
sisters demonstrated her growing skills in that area—deflection,
misdirection, outright avoidance. Yeah, the journalist's questions
would be a piece of cake. “Uh, no thanks. I'm just a humble
barista.”

“
You're more than that, you know. To me.”

The intimate tone of his voice sent chills down her
spine. And set her stomach churning. Charity knew Daniel was falling
for her and that terrified her. “You're very sweet, do you know
that?” Before he could answer, she continued. “Are we still on
for Saturday?”

“
Yes, unless work calls. I'll be by to get you at
ten.”

“
Sounds good.”

“
See you then.”

Charity disconnected the call, wishing anticipation was
enough to cancel out growing dread.

***

Daniel knocked on Charity's door Saturday morning, eager
to get the care home fund-raiser under way. He was even more
interested in seeing his helper. Just being in her presence helped
him feel more at peace.

The door opened and the girl in question smiled in
greeting. As usual, the sight of her dark eyes made his heart beat a
little faster. How he had resisted her appeal in all those months of
his smile-boycott, he didn't know. “You ready?”

She nodded and walked out into the hall.

Before she closed the door, he put up a hand and poked
his head in the apartment. “Hey, Holly!”

A faint scream. Then, “I don't talk to politicians!”

Daniel blinked. He closed the door and turned to
Charity.

“
That's why I squeezed out the door. She's always
extra grumpy on the weekend.”

“
Why does everyone think I'm a politician?”

Charity clucked her tongue. “Ignorance. It's an ugly
thing.”

He raised a brow. “Tell me again how closely you were
following the water treatment story before I was made spokesman?”

She looped her arm through his. “Let's not spoil our
day before it's started.”

Daniel laughed softly as they headed down the hall.

Twenty minutes later as they climbed the stone steps to
his front porch, she inspected the plants that flanked the sides of
the bungalow.

“
This is my first time at your place.”

“
If you're looking for clues to my personality, don't
bother. I have a landscape guy.” He keyed open his front door.

“
Inside will be another matter.”

“
Not really. I also have a cleaning lady.”

Charity stepped into his foyer and looked around.
“Somebody sounds a li-ttle spoiled.”

Daniel closed the door behind him. “Since I'm just
renting the place combined with the fact that it came furnished, I
have to keep it in a certain condition to get my cleaning deposit
back. Plus, deep cleaning rarely occurs to me.”

She sent him an unconvinced look.

“
I'm just attempting to take responsibility for my
weaknesses.”

“
Hmm.” Charity walked over to his bookcase and
looked at his titles. “All these books are at least two inches
thick.”

“
Technical manuals.”

“
No romance novels?”

“
Um, sorry.”

She put a hand on her hip. “What about music?”

He motioned toward the entertainment center. “I have a
few old LPs. Most of my music is on my mp3 player.”

Charity peeked in the
area he indicated. Then groaned. “Oh my gosh, Daniel, you're
cracking me up. You have Bread, Little River Band, and...
The
Carpenters?
I'm guessing you
like to get your 70s mellow on.”