The Patterson Girls (35 page)

As Rick roared with laugher at the story, Charlie turned to Mitch. She just looked at him a while, searching her heart and mind for the right words. What she really wanted to do was confess her feelings—tell him that being home in Meadow Brook had taught her many things. One, what she could achieve if she believed in herself and put her mind to it. Two, that being part of this small community again and being near Dad felt more wonderful than she'd ever imagined it could. And three—most importantly—that she knew why her insides tingled and her skin puckered with goosebumps whenever Mitch came close. It wasn't just his oozing sex appeal, not even their deep friendship. It was love. Honest-to-goodness true love, more than she'd ever felt for anyone, and it made her heart tremble.

It was so goddamn huge it terrified the bejesus out of her.

‘I know I'm gorgeous, Charles, but there's no need to stare,' Mitch said, startling her.

Lord, she hoped she hadn't been drooling. She glanced around and saw that the others were still deep in conversations, Kate talking while wrangling her children into silence, and Aunt Mags and Mrs Sampson had kicked off the dancing. A number of other patrons were edging closer towards the dance floor to join them. She smiled at the sight and then turned back to Mitch.

‘Full of yourself is what you are.' She took a long sip of her Kilkenny and then wiped her hand against her mouth because she suspected she had a froth moustache.

He snorted, feigning offence. ‘I'm insulted. Is that any way to thank the guy who just spent weeks of his life slaving away making tables for you?'

Oh, right
… That's what she'd wanted to say to him. She put down her beer and shook her head. ‘I don't know how to thank you for that.' She skimmed her fingers along the smooth edge of the table they were sitting at. ‘They're beautiful. Far too good really for this old place. You must have worked day and night for a month.'

He grinned. ‘Pretty much. Although I suppose this is where I should admit that it's not a busy time on the farm, so Macca helped. A little bit.'

‘I owe you both. Although now the rest of the joint looks even more ramshackle.' To prove her point, she looked down at the floor and tapped her feet against the dull, mission brown carpet. She'd hired the carpet shampoo machine from the general store, but sadly, you could barely tell.

‘Chin up, Charles,' Mitch said. ‘We've only just started. You should see the chairs I'm making. And once we give this area a paint job, you won't recognise the place.'

‘Mitch …' She thought of how much the materials alone must have cost him. ‘I don't know how I'm going to pay you for all your work and … everything.'

‘Relax.' He reached over and took her hand, his long, lovely fingers wrapping around hers in a way that both comforted and set her on edge. ‘I didn't do this because I wanted payment or recognition, I did it because I love …' He paused a second and her heart hammered as she waited for the rest of his sentence. ‘Because I love working with wood and you guys are like family to me. As for the supplies, I sweet-talked Bob Tucker into giving me a discount.'

Tears welled in her eyes.

‘Hey, don't cry.' Mitch shook his head. ‘I'm no good with girls and tears.'

Yanking her hand out of his to wipe her eyes, she tried to laugh but it didn't quite eventuate.

‘If you really think you owe me something, how about you come dance. We can't let your crazy aunt and Mrs Sampson have all the fun.'

Before Charlie could object, she found herself being propelled through the tables over to the dance floor. The band was rocking a boppy number and she thanked her lucky stars it wasn't something slow that would require her to get up close and personal with Mitch. She barely used to notice if they accidentally touched, but the way she'd felt when he'd held her hand indicated that if their bodies were pressed against each other, she'd be a goner.

‘Ladies!' Mitch grinned, his voice oozing charm as he sidled up beside Aunt Mags and Mrs Sampson. Their faces were flushed from exertion but their smiles were wide. ‘You two have all the moves.'

‘Mitchell,' Mrs Sampson warned. ‘Are you mocking a couple of old ladies?'

‘Who are you calling old?' Aunt Mags glared good-naturedly at Mrs Sampson.

Mitch laughed and Charlie couldn't help but join in as they all bopped along to the music. After a while Mrs Sampson announced that she'd better go help Brian behind the bar.

‘I'll come with you,' Charlie said. ‘After all, this party was my idea, and you're not supposed to be on duty.'

‘No.' Mrs Sampson waved her hand in dismissal. ‘You kick up your heels a bit. You deserve some fun.'

Before Charlie could object, Mitch grabbed her round the waist and spun her round like they were some kind of ballroom dancing duo. ‘You're a terrible dancer,' she said, laughing through her words.

‘Takes one to know one,' he retorted. Terrible or not, he persisted and it didn't take long for Charlie to relax.

‘Thanks for suggesting a St Patrick's theme night,' she said, rocking her hands above her head. ‘I can't believe the number of people here. Tonight's takings will sure help towards more redecoration.'

‘No probs,' he shouted to be heard over the band. ‘It was worth it—if only to see you in that dress.' Mitch dropped his gaze to her legs and verbalised his approval. ‘You have great pins, Charles. You should show them off more often.'

She felt as if someone had set a match to her skin and had no idea what to say in response. Was he flirting with her? Or were his words merely those of a good friend, trying to encourage another?

‘Will you dance with me, Uncle Mitch?' At the sound of the little voice, Charlie looked down to see Kate and Macca's daughter, Laura, tugging at Mitch's shirt. ‘Granddad said you would.'

Mitch smiled down at his adorable niece as he let go of Charlie's hands. ‘Why of course, angel. You don't mind, do you, Charlie?'

‘Of course not.' As if she could object. Yet, although her heart and body mourned the loss of such close contact, she couldn't help but smile as he scooped up the little girl and twirled off around the dance floor with her. If Laura was older, she'd have been jealous of the way he gazed into her eyes, but as she was only seven and related, it made Charlie smile. And she wasn't the only one. Mitch had put Laura down now and he was twirling her under his arm and the sight captured the hearts of everyone—or at least everyone female—in attendance. There was just something about Mitch. He had charisma in spades, sex appeal to match and when he was around, you couldn't help but feel happy.

Not wanting to analyse her feelings, Charlie looked towards the bar to see if she was needed. Mrs Sampson and Dad were still behind the taps and looked to have everything under control. If the aromas wafting from the kitchen were anything to go by, Rob was cooking up a storm and keeping the three backpackers they'd hired as casual waitresses for the evening on their toes. Kate and Macca had joined the crowd on the dance floor, so Charlie decided to go over and sit with Rick, who looked content if not a little contemplative sitting at the table with his two grandsons. She chuckled as she realised Logan and Leo were only quiet because they were glued to tablet screens.

‘Hi there,' she said, collapsing into the seat beside Rick. The few minutes of exertion had her heart racing, or maybe that was the proximity to Mitch. Either way, she was glad of the opportunity for a few moments of rest.

‘You should be careful with him, Charlie.'

‘Huh?' Charlie frowned at Rick, wondering if she'd heard him wrong.

‘Mitch.' He nodded towards his son, who—
grrr
—had been absconded by a woman not much older than a teen, wearing a green dress even shorter than Charlie's. She felt like an old crone in comparison. Where the hell had Laura gone?

‘Lord knows I love him more than anything,' Rick went on, ‘but he's always been a player and I wouldn't want to see you get hurt.'

Charlie's cheeks flamed. ‘I know what Mitch is like, Rick. We've been friends for years.' Truth was, Mitch
hadn't
always been a player. As a kid and a teen, he'd been shy and awkward around everyone but her. And she'd seen no evidence of him playing around since she'd come home either.

‘I'm just saying,' he continued, ‘being back home, hanging out together, might blur the lines for you both. But believe me, friendship is more important than …'

Sex? Was that what he was going to say?
Eek!
She interrupted before he had the chance. ‘You don't need to worry about us. Mitch's friendship means more to me than anything and I wouldn't sacrifice it by doing something stupid.'

Falling between the sheets with him was more than a little appealing but maybe Rick was right. Once the initial spark had worn off, what then? What if being a couple didn't work out and that left her without Mitch in her life at all? Because she couldn't imagine being able to go back to normal friends once they'd been naked friends.

Naked friends
. Her whole body quivered at the thought.

‘I'm glad to hear it,' Rick said, reaching over and patting her leg. ‘I'd hate to see either of you get hurt.'

‘Thanks.' Charlie tried to smile but her eyes caught on Mitch and the teenager, still dancing closely. ‘Hey, do you want me to take you to look at the rooms now? Before dinner?'

Rick's eyes lit up and she forgave him his fatherly advice. She guessed he meant well, even though she wasn't sure whether he was protecting her or didn't think her good enough for his youngest son. ‘I'd love that.'

Charlie stood and took the handles of Rick's wheelchair. They escaped into the balmy evening air and he sighed.

‘You okay?' she asked.

‘Ah, Charlie, I try to be, but it's the pits to be so incapacitated. I can barely even hold up a book to read anymore and believe it or not, watching telly day in day out really does start to rot your brain. Just breathing this fresh country air feels like a luxury. Back at the facility the air is thick with disinfectant trying to cover over the stench of rotting life.'

Glad it was dark and Rick couldn't see her face, Charlie screwed up her nose at his gloomy description. She had no idea what to say because nothing would fix his situation. It was only going to get worse. They walked in silence to the furthest motel room, the one she'd done the most work on. Charlie stopped to unlock the door and then pushed it open and flicked on the lights.

‘Stone the crows,' Rick exclaimed, his mouth agape as he looked over the room. ‘It's like a totally different place.'

Charlie couldn't help but smile. She still got a buzz every time she looked at the progress that they'd made in such a short time. This particular room had fresh paint, fresh carpet and the new linen even made the old bed look presentable. She had dreams of renovating the bathrooms too and ripping out the tiny green and white seventies tiles, but … one step at a time. A local artist friend of Lisa's had donated a couple of her paintings to hang on the walls. They finished Charlie's efforts off perfectly.

‘I wish your mum could see this,' Rick said, still grinning as he gazed around the place. ‘She had such passion for this old joint. Loved meeting new people day in day out.'

Rick went quiet and Charlie found his words had created a lump in her throat that made it difficult to speak. She put her hand out and squeezed his shoulder instead, to show she appreciated his sentiment. She wished Mum could have seen this as well, wished she'd come home earlier and worked alongside her, spent precious time with her before she'd died.

But there was no point playing the ‘if only' game.

They spent a few more minutes in the room, Rick commenting on every little thing Charlie and Mitch had achieved and Charlie sharing some of her other ideas about motel improvement, before she decided to head back to the party. The McDonalds would be eating dinner soon, and Charlie needed to play host.

‘Come on, let's go get some tucker.'

‘Thanks for showing me your work, Charlie.'

‘It was my pleasure.'

When they returned to the restaurant, there were still a few people on the dance floor and a couple of blokes playing pool in the bar, but many of the patrons had sat down to dinner. Charlie wheeled Rick back to his family, secretly pleased to see Mitch had abandoned the woman on the dance floor and was now playing with his niece and nephews. Aunt Mags sat beside him, snapping directions over his shoulder about how to play the game he was engrossed in on the iPad.

‘I have an elderly neighbour who plays this game,' Mags informed him, as if
she
were a spring chicken, ‘and he's much better than you, Mitchell.'

Mitch looked up and grinned knowingly at Charlie as she parked his father alongside Aunt Mags. She smiled back, glad to see Mags engaged, and then went off to relieve Dad and Mrs Sampson.

‘You two go have some dinner,' she said, practically pushing them out of the bar area. ‘I'll be fine.'

They didn't object, wandering over to join Mags and the McDonalds at their table. The evening progressed even better than Charlie had imagined. She got such a thrill watching the busy restaurant, the waitresses rushing back and forth from the kitchen, the patrons lined up at the bar, the hum of happy conversation in the room. After the plates were emptied and more drinks guzzled, the band took requests and their younger patrons headed back to the dance floor, while the older generation sat back chatting.

Charlie sighed a happy sigh as she surveyed the scene before her, feeling a sense of accomplishment she couldn't recall ever feeling before.

‘You look pretty pleased with yourself.' She jolted as Mitch crept up beside her.

‘I am,' she said, turning to look at him. The only thing that didn't feel perfect in her life right now were her illicit thoughts about him.