Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2) (33 page)

“I’m turning you in to social services,” Tom said, and took a step forward. “You’re bringing my daughter’s son around these women and it’s not good for his sense of security and growth. You’re a terrible father and he’s not safe with you.”

Charlie scoffed. “
These
women? One woman, Tom. I’m with
one
woman.”

“Well, I’m sure she takes care of whatever you need. Who needs time to grieve when you have that little thing flaunting herself all around you?”

“Tom!” Marie gasped.
 

That was Charlie’s breaking point. His chest tightened and his rage boiled over into his stomach where it nearly made him sick. He stepped closer and bent down, eye-to-eye with Tom. “If you weren’t her father, I would’ve knocked you on your miserable ass and beat you until you were unconscious or dead, whichever happened first.”
 

Tom laughed and clapped his hands together with glee. “See? Right there!” He pointed his finger at Charlie, and said, “You have no respect for this family. None!”

“Give me something to respect!” Charlie yelled back.
 

“Enough!” Marie screamed. When she had both Charlie and Tom’s attention, she said tiredly, “Meredith would be heartbroken if she knew this was how everyone behaved on her behalf. My daughter was so full of love and joy. She would never want this.” She put a finger to Tom’s chest. “Never!”

His eyes full of tears, Charlie took a step back and turned to look at the car. Lucy was wide-eyed, holding Jackson facing her, away from the drama.
 

“Before I kill your husband, I need to get the rest of Jack’s things and leave,” he said, and turned back to Marie. “You can see your grandson whenever you want.” He looked at Tom, and added, “But you won’t be around him until you get some help.”

“I don’t need help,” Tom snapped.
 

“Yes, you do,” Marie corrected. “We both do. I won’t lose my grandson over your misplaced grief. Charlie is moving on and I think he moved on to a beautiful woman who loves little Jack with all of her heart.”

Charlie’s jaw tightened. “She does,” he agreed.
 

He bent over to pick up the rest of Jackson’s things, and headed toward the car. He’d had enough and it was time to let the Monroes deal with their loss on their own.
 

He opened the back door and strapped the car seat in. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” he murmured.

Lucy put Jackson in his car seat while Charlie loaded his bag in the trunk. As she made her way back to the front, Charlie stood outside and waited for her to get in. There was no way he was leaving her outside alone with Tom.

As she bent to get in the car, however, she was stopped by Tom’s voice: “Young lady, you enjoy my daughter’s life.”

“Please, can we just go,” Lucy pleaded when Charlie moved forward, ready to kill. “They’re just words spoken by a very sad man, Charlie. Please.”

Charlie’s shoulders fell as he took in Lucy’s words. “You’re right, baby. He’s not worth it.”

They both got back in the car and Charlie took a second to lock eyes with Marie, who was sobbing on the porch. He felt horrible for her. Never mind the fact that she was married to an asshole, but she wore her grief on the outside every day. He wasn’t sure if it would ever get better for her. He snuck a look at Jackson in the rearview mirror and he knew in that moment that Marie would probably never be okay.
 

The kind of pain that she carried was the kind that never left you.
 

“I’m sorry,” Lucy whispered, grabbing his hand. “You shouldn’t have to suffer that kind of abuse.”

Charlie gave her a faint smile and shrugged. “I actually feel better. It was nice to see Marie stand up to him like that. And you’re right; he is a sad, miserable man. I feel sorry for him more than anything.”

“I hope they get help,” Lucy said sadly. “What they’re suffering from is unbearable and every parent’s greatest fear, but how long can they go on like this? I don’t think Meredith would want this for them.”

Charlie put the car in reverse and pulled out of the condo complex. “No,” he said, thinking of Meredith and her golden heart. “If she knew this was happening she would be heartbroken.”

“Bee,” Jackson said from behind them. “Go home?”

“Did you hear that?” Lucy grinned at Charlie and turned to face Jackson. “Very good, Jack! Yes, we’re going home.”

“Whose home?” Charlie took the opportunity to ask.
 

She smiled at him and kissed the back of his hand. “Our home.”

Chapter Fifteen

It had been nearly two weeks since their trip to Michigan and Lucy hadn’t said anything about moving in with him. He had dropped hints here and there, but she had just redirected the conversation.
 

It was the house, he figured. She was okay spending the night there, but not okay with actually taking over his late wife’s home. Women wanted to decorate and command the house; Lucy more than likely felt guilty changing anything and making it her own.
 

At least that’s what he suspected. The alternative to that, however, was that she just didn’t want to live with him.
 

With the benefit for Meredith only two weeks away, and Ben and Dylan’s wedding right after, Charlie figured today was his only moment to sit down with her and start the house-hunting process. He would sell that house if it meant that Lucy would agree to move in.
 

To do this, he needed to bombard her.
 

So, like anyone on a mission, he left work early and went straight to her apartment. She had no idea he was coming and this was the perfect opportunity to whip out his laptop and force her into making a decision.

“Hi,” she said nervously after answering the door.

Charlie looked her sweaty body up and down, from her ponytail and sports bra to her running shorts and shoes.
 

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Why aren’t you at work?”

“Do you run with a top on over that?” Charlie asked and stepped inside. He spun on his heel to narrow his eyes at her. “Do you?”

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. “Of course I do,” she said, hands on her hips. “Are you being jealous boyfriend today?”

Charlie grabbed her sweaty body and pulled her closer. “Baby, I’m jealous boyfriend every day.” He growled and nipped at her lips. “This is all mine.”

“Charlie, I smell!” Lucy said, and giggled when he grabbed her ass.
 

“Then get in the shower,” he demanded and gave her a little spank. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her. It was ridiculous, but he loved every second of it. Her being sweaty only turned him on more.
 

“Why do you have your laptop?” she asked, looking at the hand that wasn’t on her ass. “Do you have work to do? Seriously, why are you here?”

Charlie’s cheeks burned as he met her inquisitive stare. “I’m putting my house up for sale. I thought we could look at houses online today and send some over to my—
our
—realtor.”

He looked at her and waited for her response, which seemed to take forever. “You what?” she finally asked and took a step back.
 

“Don’t freak out on me,” he said, and inched closer to her. “I want you. I want us. I think we need a fresh start, don’t you?”

“Charlie,” she whispered, covering her mouth. “You don’t have to do that. Don’t take Meredith’s home from your son.”

Charlie frowned. “Meredith isn’t there, Lucy. Jackson will only know her by the way I share her with him. And, yeah, that sucks, but it’s where we are now. A house isn’t going to keep her memory alive for him; that’s my job.”
 

She looked at him with an expression he couldn’t read. “I have to get something off my chest,” she said.
 

“Your sports bra?” he asked, and then laughed when she narrowed her eyes. “That was a terrible joke. I’m sorry. Come here,” he said, and pulled her closer. He cupped her cheeks and forced her to look into his eyes. “Let’s get a new house and make new memories. You can decorate it however you want and make it ours. We’ll get a play set in the backyard for Jack. You can watch us play from the kitchen window while you make cupcakes in the brand new, baker’s dream of a kitchen that I’m going to build you. I want to start my life with you, baby.”

“I love that dream,” she said softly. “I want that more than you know.” Her chin gave its familiar quiver as her blue eyes flooded with tears.
 

Only, those tears didn’t look like the happy kind and it worried him.
 

“If you don’t want to, just tell me,” he said, and kissed the top of her head. “I can handle it.”

“I have to get in the shower.” She pulled away. “We can look when I’m out.”

Charlie scanned her face. This was supposed to be a good thing, but she made it seem like he was asking her to rip off her own arm.
“I’ll set it all up so we can get started when you get out,” he said, looking at her with curious eyes.
 

As she stepped away from him, Lucy nodded and wiped a tear.
 

“No more crying,” he said.
 

“Right.” She gave him a forced smile before walking into the bathroom and starting the shower.
 

Charlie sat down on the couch and turned on his MacBook. While he waited, he leaned back and rubbed his damp palms against his jeans. Her reaction had done nothing to help his nerves.
 

Why the hell was she acting like this? She loved him and he loved her. That was obvious. If he was wrong, she was a damn good actor. Just the way that she looked at him made him feel like the most adored man alive. Even that morning, during their daily morning sex, she’d looked down at him with such love in her eyes.
 

Then he mentioned houses and she closed up completely.
 

He leaned forward and brought up the real-estate listings he’d been searching earlier. They’d need a four bedroom, really. Who knew if Hugh would eventually make his way back to Phoenix and into his house? As long as they weren’t stressing out his mother, Charlie would take in all of his brothers.
 

“Hello?” he heard when the door to the apartment closed. He looked up to find a smaller and older version of Lucy standing before him. He immediately knew who it was.
 

“Hi,” he said, getting to his feet. “Mrs. Dalton? I’m Charlie.”

The woman eyed him strangely and then looked him up and down. “
Ms
. Dalton,” she corrected. “Charlie? Are you here for Grace?”

“No, ma’am.” Charlie smiled at that, even though it hurt to know that Lucy hadn’t even told her mother they were dating. “I’m actually here for your daughter.”

“Lucy?” the woman said, and dropped her purse on the dining room table. “I wasn’t aware she was seeing anyone.”

Charlie tightened his lips. “Obviously,” was all he could really say.
 

“Have a seat, Charlie,” Ms. Dalton ordered.
 

She sat down at the other end of the couch and continued to eye him strangely. “You’re a tall man,” she said simply. “And it looks like you’ve got a few muscles under that shirt.”

Charlie smiled. “I guess I have a few.”

“What do you do for a living?” she asked, getting right to the point. “I know you’re not a doctor.”

“Uh, well,” Charlie began, not knowing if he should be insulted, “I’m not a doctor, no. I own a commercial construction company: L and M Building, Incorporated.”
 

“Ah, I see your signs around,” she said, which made him feel a little better. She didn’t look impressed, but she at least seemed satisfied. “It looks like you have a lot of business.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Charlie answered.
 

“Well, even though I’ve not been told about you, maybe you can be the one to talk some sense into my daughter,” Ms. Dalton said, shaking her head. “Anything to get her out of that damn café.”

“What do you mean?” Charlie asked with a raised brow. “She’s been doing really well with the cupcake orders. They’re really popular at the café.”
 

“Don’t talk to me about those ridiculous cupcakes. That’s not a job.” Ms. Dalton scoffed and waved her hand. “Did she tell you that she was on her way to being a nurse?”

Charlie thought about that for a minute. He obviously didn’t know everything there was to know about her, but this seemed kind of important.
 

“I see by your expression that she didn’t tell you that.”

Charlie shook his head.
 

“Well, she was. Our entire family, myself included, are all nurses. It’s what we do. Anyway, Lucy excelled in the program. She was on her way to graduating and landing a job at Paradise Valley—that’s where it all happened.”

Charlie stilled. He had never wanted to hear about that hospital again. “I’m sorry. Where
what
happened?”

Ms. Dalton frowned and clasped her hands tightly in her lap. “She was doing her externship on the labor and delivery floor of Paradise Valley. Do you know where that is?”