Hearths of Fire (26 page)

“You have no idea how much that means to me,” Mandy said, tears in her eyes for an entirely different reason than the one that made Charlotte want to cry. “I know that you think I’m too young…that we’re both too young, but we don’t want—”

“What Mandy is trying to say is that it hurts her to see how the two of you have grown apart.” Garreth was treading on thin ice and Charlotte glanced over at Neal, who didn’t seem in any way offended by the words. She knew better by the muscle twitching in his jaw. “If the two of you had married after high school, things might have been different for everyone concerned.”

“That’s very true,” Neal said, although there was no concession in his voice. “Had we gone through with it we might be divorced by now. I might have made different decisions and gotten myself killed while on deployment. Or maybe it would have worked and we would be living in some other state, where you and Mandy never would have met. Fate is a fickle bitch, isn’t she?”

Garreth didn’t seem to know how to reply and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. If this was how he responded to someone pushing back, it didn’t instill Charlotte with much faith regarding him leading a church. There was a momentary thunderclap of uncomfortable silence before Mandy ended it by saying they had wanted to share the news and that they were now going to go and tell his parents. Charlotte’s stomach hurled up in protest, but there was nothing she could say or do to prevent this from happening.

“We want you to be happy, kiddo.” Neal pulled Mandy into his arms and held her for a brief moment. Charlotte knew he was experiencing an emotion of helplessness, but as each second passed a determined sentiment came over her. The Ashes weren’t going to take her sister and Garreth’s true intentions would eventually make themselves known. She had to believe that. “Tomorrow we’ll see where the sheriff stands with the investigation. We’ll all help find Becky.”

“Thank you for being here, Neal.” Mandy pulled away and wiped away her tears with her fingertips before hugging Charlotte once more. “I’ll be back in an hour, but you guys don’t have to wait up if you’d rather not.”

“We’ll be waiting, and Garreth—make sure to walk Mandy back to the door when you bring her home,” Neal countered, steadying his gaze on Garreth. “Drive safe and remember to tell your parents that we said hello.”

Garreth nodded as he reached for Mandy’s hand. Charlotte and Neal stayed where they were until they heard the front door close. She even managed to not say anything until she heard the engine of Garreth’s vehicle start and then fade away into the distance. She wanted to double over and scream with all of her might, but she took a more dignified approach by placing her hands over her face and counting to ten. Nothing could really make a difference at this point.

“Tell me what we have to do to fix this.” Charlotte paced the kitchen, ignoring his outstretched hand. Neal’s embrace wouldn’t take this reality away. He already said he was leaving Tuesday and she would be left here to deal with the Ashes. She’d have to watch from afar as her sister was led down some sinister path for whatever destiny the Ashes thought was foretold from their skewed interpretation of the scriptures. “She can’t go through with this. There has to be a way that we can force Mandy to realize how fucked up they really are. They are, right? I mean, I’m not just stirring this shit up in my head, am I? For god’s sake, we think the Ashes took Becky and now Mandy is engaged to their fucking messiah. Garreth just used her missing friend as an excuse to further his agenda. I’m just amazed that she can’t see through his façade. He tried making us look bad and she didn’t seem to see that at all. It’s like he’s blinded her. I—”

“Char, look at me.” Neal’s calm, steady, and stern voice broke through the panic and she finally stopped walking back and forth. Seeing the determination in his green eyes made her feel as if she was surrounded by his strength. “I won’t leave Hearth unless I know Mandy is safe. You have my word.”

*

What the hell
made him say that to Charlotte? Neal could feel another nail in his coffin being tacked shut with every passing hour. He didn’t have the freedom to give an oath like that, not when his team was counting on him to train for a hostage rescue mission that would save hundreds of lives. Starr and Gunny would probably see it as his trading one life for many, many more. Fuck if he just didn’t put himself in a perilous situation.

“Tomorrow night I’m going to their compound.” Neal knew that Charlotte wasn’t going to sleep until Mandy returned home, so he went about making them hot chocolate from the homemade supply in the old mason jar still setting in the same place on the counter it always had. “You’ll stay here and I’m assuming Mandy will be in as well considering it’s a school night—even with Becky missing, those kids need to keep their schedule as normal as possible. I’ll see what I can find and then we’ll go from there.”

“What if you find nothing?”

Neal had already pulled the milk from her refrigerator and poured a healthy amount in a saucepan. Putting the carton back, he’d already known she’d ask him that question which led right back to him fucking up by promising her something he wasn’t sure he could deliver. He’d never sworn to anything that he couldn’t uphold and he didn’t plan to start now.

“Then we deal with it tomorrow night and find another lead to follow.” Neal flipped the burner to ignite the gas on the stove and went to select a spoon for her hot chocolate. He wasn’t surprised that she had already washed and put away their dishes from earlier. “Becky’s disappearance isn’t a coincidence. Somehow, someway, I’ll find out what ritual Ashe was talking about. If it involves Mandy we’ll sit her down and lay out our cards.”

“Left drawer.” Charlotte finally made her way over to the table where she grabbed a hair tie and pulled her blonde strands away from her face. Neal didn’t like to see the worry that etched her features but there wasn’t anything he could do at the moment that would alleviate her stress—not even what they were doing earlier. “What makes you think Mandy will listen when she hasn’t so far?”

“Because I don’t plan to come back empty-handed tomorrow night.” Neal took the time that Charlotte used to think over what had happened, along with his declaration, to finish making their drinks. He finally poured both mugs full of hot milk and stirred in the right amount of her special blend of hot chocolate and took both of them over to the table. “See if this is all right.”

“I’m sure it’s fine. You always did fix the perfect hot chocolate,” Charlotte said with a soft smile that was playing on her lips. He didn’t like to see it fading when her worries weren’t going away. Add on top the interlude that had taken place tonight and it was more than anyone should have to deal with. Her blue eyes dropped to the front of his denim as he took the seat diagonal from her. “You didn’t…”

“Really?” Neal barked out a laugh, unable to help himself. Her life and that of her sister’s was practically falling apart and she was worried about his physical state. He wouldn’t say it wasn’t painful, but family came well above satisfying a basic urge. “Don’t worry about me, Char. I’ll be fine.”

Neal did his best to keep her mind off of Mandy’s engagement and their unresolved sexual escapade by going over his plan of action for tomorrow night. Once he started talking and giving her something else to focus on, they covered everything from the compound’s layout to how many members might be trolling the area at night. He had done his best to scan the area while they were there and he had noticed a few figures on the outskirts of the property. He would do more reconnaissance tomorrow afternoon from the neighboring properties.

An hour had passed and sure enough, Mandy could be heard at the front door saying goodnight to Garreth. Charlotte stared through the living room archway as if it was going to catch fire and although he would have given anything to continue what they’d started earlier, she needed time with Mandy. He stood up and took both of their mugs to the sink.

“I’m going to turn in,” Neal said, turning around to face her. From the hurt that clouded her blue eyes that wasn’t what she wanted to hear. He slowly closed the distance between them and leaned down until their lips were inches apart. “You need time with Mandy and I need to go over my plans for tomorrow night. I’d rather not be sacrificed at the altar by a bunch of psychos since we have plans to resume what we initiated.”

“Will we?” Charlotte dropped her eyes for just a second before she shook her head slightly in scolding herself. “It doesn’t make me a very nice person to be worried about my life when another’s is in danger, does it?”

“We don’t know for sure that the Ashes have Becky,” Neal said, playing devil’s advocate as he took a loose curl and tucked it behind her ear. “And you’re not selfish, if that’s where this is leading. Human contact during a time like this is beneficial, although you and I know that it’s more than that.”

“Extinguishing the flames?” Charlotte asked, searching for an answer that he wasn’t quite sure he had.

“Extinguishing these so-called flames that keep rising up between us is for our own sanity.” Neal heard the door open and while he thought about pressing his lips against Charlotte’s, he thought better of it. Enough had already been done this evening. “It should have been done years ago.”

Neal hadn’t said those words to hurt her, but instead to draw a line in the sand. Nothing could come of what happened, nor was it meant to. They would fuck like rabbits before he headed back to San Diego, giving him a real chance at moving on with his life. In the meantime he needed to figure out why the Ashes were so hell bent on bringing Mandy into their fold. Once he was armed with that information, he’d be able to stop them in their tracks and give Mandy a hand in rebuilding her life. No doubt she would come apart at the seams thinking the man she loved betrayed her. Charlotte would help her sister through the hard times and remain in Hearth, just like she’d always wanted.

‡

C
harlotte couldn’t sleep
and when she rolled over to face the clock, the bright green display read three-thirty in the morning. She’d spent a good two hours talking with Mandy in the living room and had been subjected to the story of how Garreth had gotten down on one knee in front of the entire attendance of the candlelit ceremony and presented her with a ring. Charlotte had done her best not to criticize, but she had tried to put a little reason behind her words. Mandy maintained her reassurances that just because they were young, she and Garreth knew what they were doing along with the fact that his family wasn’t as bad as everyone thought they were. The discussion had then turned to Becky and what might have happened to her. Mandy swore that her friend wouldn’t have run away but when Charlotte brought up what Becky had overheard at school on Friday, Mandy instantly shut down.

To make those hours even longer, Charlotte’s thoughts wouldn’t stop drifting to what had taken place earlier in her bedroom. Being with Neal again in such a physical capacity had brought back every emotion she’d ever felt for him. Nothing had changed and yet everything was different. His touch had made her problems and worries fade into the background for just a moment, although that wasn’t the reason she’d wanted this time with him. Neal thought they could
extinguish
what was between them, but in her opinion, all they’d done was add more fuel to the fire. He could stay in Hearth for years to come and it wouldn’t be enough.

Charlotte was getting overheated, so she grabbed the sheets and tossed them to the side. The cooler air hit her skin and did nothing to lessen her desire for Neal’s touch. She turned her head to look back at the nightstand, noticing the condom was still where he had set it. The blue package practically glowed in the dim light shining from her bedside clock. Her lower half ached as if he’d never given her relief, so she could just imagine what his body felt like. And really, what was the purpose of them sleeping in separate bedrooms? Was it for Mandy’s sake? She was engaged to be married and turning eighteen years old in a week.

“This is ridiculous,” Charlotte muttered, sitting up in her bed. She reached up and pulled out the hair tie she’d been using to keep the strands out of her face while she tried to sleep. Since that wasn’t going to happen, she might as well make the most of the time they had. Even Neal had said they would continue what they had started and there was no reason that couldn’t be now. “So what the hell am I waiting for?”