Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2) (25 page)

“I don’t want to lose you, Dad,” Charlie had finally snapped. “I don’t want to talk about the moon anymore and I sure as shit don’t want to lose you.”

“You don’t have a choice. That’s life. You live, you learn, you love, and, unfortunately, you lose, and sometimes it’s hard.” Carl had put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “None of that matters, though. What matters is how you get back up to live and do it all over again; it’s what you do beyond the loss.”
 

“Well, then life is pretty fucking pointless!” Charlie had yelled, hands fisted at his sides.
 

“What do you want to do, son? I’m the one leaving you. You want to hit me?” Carl had stood tall as he stepped nose to nose with Charlie. “I’m not dead yet. Hit me. Do it. Let all that anger out.”

Charlie shoved him away. He had wanted to punch something, but not his father. He wanted to punch the doctors, the universe, nature … whatever it was that was taking his hero away from him.
 

“Let it out,” Carl had demanded. “Kick, scream, punch … whatever you gotta do. Do it here, with me, right now, because I’m not letting you walk away until I know that you’re going to be a man when I’m gone. I’m not going to let you crumble, you hear me?”

Charlie kicked a rock into the night. He pulled off his jacket and threw it to the ground. He raised his hands and lifted his chin to the sky. His chest expanded with every breath he had in him until he’d let it out, screaming until he’d felt every vein in his body pulse. When he’d had no air left, he collapsed to the ground, heaving and exhausted, the tears streaming from his eyes and falling to the ground beneath him.
 

Suddenly, he’d felt a strong hand on his back. “Now, get up, Charlie.”

Charlie got to his knees and continued to sob. “I need you,” he’d whispered. “Please don’t leave me, Dad.”
 

Within seconds, Charlie had been yanked to his feet and pulled into his father’s arms. Normally, he’d tense up and pull away. He’d known in that moment that it was one of the last times he’d ever feel his father’s love, so he’d just melted into him.
 

Carl had pounded him on the back and pulled away. He’d placed one hand on Charlie’s face while he gripped his shirt with the other. “I’m always going to be with you, Charlie.” A tear had slipped from his eye as he placed his hand over Charlie’s heart. “I’m always going to be right in there. Always. Nothing can separate a man from his son—not even death. Do you hear me? Nothing.”
 

Charlie wiped his tears and nodded.
 

“Say it,” Carl had demanded. “Say that you know death isn’t shit when it comes to a man and his son. Say it.”

Charlie smirked a little. “Death isn’t shit.”

“Louder!” Carl had said, and grabbed Charlie’s face.

“Death isn’t shit!” Charlie roared into the air, his mouth in a full on grin.
 

“Good.” Carl had smiled and nodded. “Now, let’s get a beer.”

Charlie’s eyes had widened as the smile faded from his mouth. “A beer? Dad, I can’t have a beer.”

Carl had smiled and let go of Charlie. “I have a few months left. Nobody’s telling me I can’t have a beer with my son.” He walked to the truck, and grabbed a bottle from the back. He opened it and took a drink, before handing it to Charlie.
 

Charlie hadn’t hesitated. He pulled the bottle from his father’s hands and took a large swig. He handed the bottle back to his father and smiled.
 

“I’m going to act like that was your first time drinking a beer and you didn’t just look like a pro,” Carl had teased.
 

After the beer was finished, the two had picked up the Harley and loaded it into the back of Carl’s truck.
 

“We need to stop and get some gum,” Carl had said before starting the truck. “Your mother can’t smell that beer on you.”

“What happened to your ‘nobody’s telling me I can’t have a beer with my son’ speech?”
 

“I meant the drinking law, son,” Carl had said with a shake of his head. “That didn’t include your mother. That woman can level us all with just one look. I don’t want to mess with that. Do you want to mess with that?”

Amused, Charlie had shaken his head. “Nope.”

Six months later, Carl was gone.
 

Looking back now, Charlie would like to be able to say that he had handled the day he watched his father slip away like the man his father had asked him to be. Maybe he had, in a way. He’d held his father’s hand and cried into his chest, but he had promised him that he would learn to take a hit and he would always get back up.

Right now, however, he wasn’t getting back up and he was failing his father.
 

Charlie let go of that memory and looked back into the window of Ollie’s. He smiled as he watched Ben and Jonah laughing at the bar. They were two of the smartest idiots he had ever known and they had just made him realize how lucky he was to have them.
 

He swung one leg over his father’s old Harley and paused. He wiped the sweat from his palms on his faded jeans and then looked at his trembling hand. The silver ring gleaming up at him held more meaning than it had the first time he’d put it on. He’d thought he would always wear it, but sometimes life doesn’t go the way we plan. He pulled the ring from his finger and held it between his forefinger and thumb as he watched it sparkle in the sun.
 

“I will always carry you in my heart, Meredith,” he whispered, before bringing the ring to his lips and kissing her goodbye.
 

He slid the ring into his pocket, and brought the roaring engine of his Harley to life. It was time for him to restart his own life.
 

It was time to look beyond the orange moon.
 

* * *

Lucy slammed her fist down on a freezer bag full of potato chips and felt the pent-up frustration leave her with each strike. She could have used a food processor to crush the chips, but her fist was killing two birds with one stone and doing both jobs just fine.
 

“What the hell are you doing?” Lydia asked, peering over Lucy’s shoulder. “Why are you doing that to the chips?”

Lucy turned her chin in Lydia’s direction. “I’m putting them on the chocolate cupcakes.”

Lydia sighed and took a step back. “Of course you are. I mean, why wouldn’t you be doing that, right?”
 

“Oh ye of little faith,” Lucy replied. “You trusted the bacon and cheese cupcakes; now trust this.”

Lydia headed back to the front of the café. Before she made her way through the swinging doors, though, she stared at Lucy for a few moments and gave her a proud smile. “I’m happy you’re back.”

Lucy stopped pounding and met Lydia’s warm eyes. “I know.”

“Can I fire April now?”

A giggle ripped through Lucy’s chest. “Please do.”

Lucy gave the potato chips two more smashes even though they didn’t need them, and held up the bag to inspect the crumbs. “Perfect,” she said to no one.
 

She grabbed her pan full of unbaked cupcakes and smelled the ingredients that combined to create the ultimate chocolate cupcake. She could hardly wait for their aroma to dance around the room while they were baking. It was a miracle what a little flour, butter, sour cream, chocolate, and cocoa could do.
 

She opened the bag of chips and pulled out a pinch of crumbs. They were salty, greasy chips, unhealthy and yummy. The combination of salt and chocolate would do wonders for the taste buds. Why hadn’t she thought of this before? She sprinkled chips over each cupcake, and wiped her greasy hands on her apron.
 

As she slid the cupcakes into the waiting oven, she heard the doors swing open again. “Did you put the help wanted ad out yet?” she asked.
 

When she didn’t get an answer, she turned around and nearly lost her breath. “Charlie?”
 

With his hands in his pockets and an unreadable look in his eyes, Charlie leaned one narrow hip against the wall. Her eyes wandered from his head to his feet, taking in his faded jeans, tight gray T-shirt with aviator sunglasses hanging at the neck, and beautiful, sun-kissed skin.
 

“What are you doing here?” she said, her voice hoarse with surprise.
 

He pushed himself from the wall and took a careful step toward her. “I came to see you,” he said gently.
 

His eyes landed on something behind her. She followed his gaze and her cheeks began to flush the moment she realized that he was looking at the stainless steel countertop that he had put her on just over a week before.
 

Lucy rubbed her greasy, and now very sweaty, hands against her apron again. She brushed away a loose strand of hair with the back of her hand and looked around nervously. “Why?”
 

Charlie moved in front of her. He took her trembling hands and held them against his soft lips. “Watching you leave like that nearly ripped me in half.”

Lucy closed her eyes and shuddered as the warmth of his words greeted her entire body. She could have fallen against his chest and melted right into him. She opened her teary eyes and her chin quivered, revealing her heartache and happiness all at the same time.
 

Charlie ran his thumb over the single tear that was sliding down her cheek, and shook his head. “No more crying, Lucy.”

“What are you saying?” she asked, not wanting to get on another roller coaster ride of feelings.
 

Charlie smiled and guided her back until she had nowhere to go. He placed his palms flat on the wall behind her, trapping her with a muscular arm on each side of her head. He looked down at her, his eyes ablaze, and said, “Don’t ever run away from me again.”

With her heart pounding, Lucy met his eyes. “You ran away, too.”

His jaw tightened for a moment before he nodded. “I won’t run from you either. I don’t know where this will go, but I’m not going to let you walk out of my life. I miss you and it hurts. I know we can work through my past.”

“I didn’t run because I can’t handle your past, Charlie. I ran because …”
 

Charlie moved his right hand from the wall and cupped her cheek. The calm look in his eyes silenced her. It was the first time she had seen him so unguarded; he was open to her and he wanted her to see that he meant every word.
 

He placed his lips against hers. For only a moment she froze, wondering if she should let him in. There was little to contemplate, of course. There was so much to say, but all the effort in the world couldn’t make her forget about those lips.
 

He ran his tongue along the seam of her mouth. With a surrendering sigh, she allowed him inside. He curled his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, her entire body collapsing into his steady hold.
 

As his tongue caressed hers she allowed her hands to roam over his solid chest and up to his neck. She wrapped her hands around and dragged her fingertips along his nape. His hair was on the long side and curled just at his neck, allowing her to trail her fingers through the silky strands.

He pulled his mouth from hers and, for a moment, she felt his absence. She wanted to pull his lips back, but when they found her neck, she moaned into the air. She tilted her head, wanting more. He touched his tongue to her skin, then gave her a small bite. He licked and sucked his way to her ear and nibbled on her lobe.
 

“I want all of you,” he whispered in her ear. It was a throaty whisper that mixed with his warm breath, telling her just how desperate he was to take her as his. “I have to take you somewhere. I need to run my tongue over every inch of your body and then make love to you for hours.”

“Oh, God,” was all she could say. Her voice was a breathy sound, one she didn’t even recognize.
 

“Luce?” Lydia’s voice traveled through the kitchen. “Oh, whoops! Sorry!”

With a reluctant groan, Charlie pulled his mouth from Lucy’s neck. He held her gaze with wild eyes, his chest heaving. “Lucy’s done for the day, Lydia.”
 

“Uh, okay,” Lydia said, a touch of humor in her voice.
 

Neither of them looked at her, but at the sound of the swinging doors they knew she was gone.
 

Charlie ran a calloused hand over her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Come with me,” he said, and took a step back. He pulled her hand, starting to lead her to the front.
 

“My car,” she said, still winded.
 

“My bike,” he corrected, shaking his head. “I’m not letting go of you.”

Lucy said nothing in protest. Just the thought of wrapping her arms around his waist as the vibrations rocked her body had her reeling.
 

“Wait.” She pulled off her apron and grabbed her purse from the counter. She grabbed his hand again and followed him to the front of the café.
 

Lydia stood by the register and handed change to a customer. She followed the two of them with her eyes and grinned at Lucy. “So, I’ll see you Tuesday, then, yeah?”