I Can See for Miles (10 page)

The barbecue had been set up down by the lake, and Tom and Mike had built a fire in the old tin drum they had hauled down onto the sand. The sun was just disappearing below the lake and the birds could be heard saying good night to each other in a loud chorus around them.

Charlie smiled when he felt his mother slide her arm around his waist where he stood at the water’s edge, watching the sun go down and listening to the sounds of the woods. “Hey, Momma,” he said softly, resting his cheek on her golden hair.

“Hey, baby,” Sharon replied. “How are you doing today?”

“Okay, I guess. I had a call from Dr. Morgan.” Charlie sighed. “He’s got a cancellation tomorrow so he’s moved my appointment up. I have to be there at eleven. Will you and Pop….” He trailed off.

“I didn’t realize I’d raised a fool, Charlie,” Sharon retorted.

“Huh?”

“Don’t ask stupid questions. Your father and I will pick you up at nine.” Sharon reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “Come on, I think Davey has overcome his bout of lake sickness—he’s chomping at the bit for those burgers. Oh, and here are the boys. Josh’s looking very nice tonight.”

“Momma.” Charlie hugged her to him briefly, his chuckle lost in her hair. “Don’t ever change.” He took her hand and together they walked over to where everyone was starting to gather around the barbecue. “Hey, everybody. Eat, drink, and be merry. Jason has brought his guitar with him, so we’re going to have an old-fashioned singsong around the fire.”

“Are you going to sing tonight, Charlie?” Davey asked enthusiastically, bouncing up and down on his father’s lap.

“We’ll have to see. Now eat.” Charlie blushed when Josh’s inquisitive gaze turned toward him, so he walked in the other direction toward the barbecue. A few moments later, standing in line behind Kristal, Charlie looked up from the salad he was piling onto his plate when Josh stepped up beside him. Mario nodded and placed a plate in Josh’s outstretched hands and then smiled as he walked away and left them to it.

“So you sing too?” Josh said softly, his fingers feeling along the serving spoon nearest to him until he reached the Braille description of what was inside the bowl it stood in.

“I can hold a tune,” Charlie said dismissively. “Do you want me to serve you?”

“You can serve me any time you like, Mr. Cooper,” Josh drawled, taking a step closer and holding out his plate. Charlie didn’t respond, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Josh could feel the heat of embarrassment warming his cheeks. Thankfully, Josh continued talking, and Charlie began to spoon food onto Josh’s plate. “Are there any more talents you have that I should know about?”

“A few.” Charlie was surprised by his own boldness and couldn’t help but let his gaze fall to Josh’s soft lips as he watched the other man smile.

“Why, Mr. Cooper. Are you flirting with me?” Josh asked softly, his voice low and deep so only Charlie could hear him.

Charlie picked up some salad in the plastic tongs and put it on his plate. “Salad?” he asked, holding the tongs above Josh’s plate.

“Yes, please, and answer the question.” Josh grinned, moving slightly closer, so Charlie could feel the heat of his body against his.

“I’m not sure what you like, so you have a bit of everything on your plate, and yes, I think so,” Charlie responded, his voice a little shaky on his confession.

“You don’t know?”

“It’s been a while. I may have lost my touch.” Charlie turned his head slightly so his breath ghosted across Josh’s throat. “How am I doing?” He grinned at the barely contained shudder of Josh’s body against him. Maybe he hadn’t lost his touch after all.

“Not bad so far,” Josh replied, moving impossibly closer.

“Hey there, boys, you wanna move up?” Tom’s voice drawled behind Josh, jolting Charlie from the urge to grab onto Josh’s hair and kiss him until they couldn’t breathe. “I’m so hungry I could eat the hind leg of the lamb of God.”

“Classy as always.” Charlie snorted and lifted his hand to guide Josh along the table, picking up corn and sausages and ribs along the way before coming to a stop at Bill, who was manning the grill. “Hey, Pop. Josh and I would like a couple of your infamous burgers.”

“Yeah, and don’t forget the special sauce, Bill,” Josh added. “Any closer to giving me the recipe yet? I mean”—he nudged Charlie with his shoulder—“we are practically
family
.”

“Uh-uh,” Charlie scoffed, holding out his plate so Bill could put a burger with sauce dripping out of the bun onto it. “Not until the ring is on my finger, Donald. If he won’t give
me
the recipe, then you sure as hell ain’t getting it until the deal is sealed.”

“He’s got a point, Josh.” Bill guffawed loudly and slapped his son on the shoulder. “I guess you’re just going to have to wait a little longer.”

Josh sighed dramatically. “I guess I’ll have to start practicing my speech, then.” He took a bite of the burger that Bill had placed on his plate. “Because I
really
want this recipe,” he mumbled around his mouthful.

“Well, you’d better work on improving your table manners for a start,” Charlie complained as sauce dripped down Josh’s chin and onto his shirt. Rolling his eyes at the grin from Josh in response, he nudged him with his elbow, and Josh curled his fingers around his arm without a moment’s hesitation, as if he’d been doing it forever. Charlie liked it. Guiding Josh to the logs Tom and Mike had set up in a circle around the fire, Charlie took the other man’s plate until Josh had sat down on the sand with Tom’s assistance, his long legs outstretched and his back against the log. Handing Josh his plate, Charlie sank onto the sand beside him and assumed the same pose before starting on his food.

The group sat around the fire, amiably chatting to each other, the children snuggling up to their respective parents as it drifted past their bedtimes. Or in Adam, Davey, and Rosie’s cases, snuggled up to Sophia, Charlie, and Josh. Charlie’s gaze softened as he noted the way Adam nestled in the circle of Sophia’s arms, half on and half off her lap. Over the last few days, the insistence of the little boy had lifted Sophia’s spirits and made her smile more of a fixture than the sullen, permanent frown she had worn when she arrived. It warmed his heart to know Adam had managed to find a chink in her armor and bring her out of herself.

Suddenly, the muted tones and chuckles were interrupted by the strains of a guitar echoing around them. Charlie smiled at Jason where he sat beside Maggie, his guitar resting on his thigh as he picked out a tune and began to sing softly. After Jason’s third song, the youngest pairs of eyes in the group had drifted shut, and chuckles could be heard around the campfire at Adam’s snuffled snore. Charlie smiled fondly as their respective parents scooped the sleeping children up into their arms and headed off to their cabins. God, he loved this place. Loved the effect it had on the kids. Loved the freedom it gave them.

Sharon and Bill also said their good-byes and headed off back up the trail, hand in hand, leaving Mario, Greg, Josh, Charlie, Jason, Tom, and Maggie around the glowing embers of the dying fire. Mike was curled up on the sand at Tom’s feet, fast asleep… although Charlie didn’t think Tom would be carrying him anywhere.

“What about you, Charlie?” Maggie asked, stretching languidly and then snuggling against Jason’s thigh. “You going to sing us something?”

“No, no, I’ll leave it to the expert,” Charlie said dismissively, his cheeks flaming under the weight of all the gazes that suddenly fell on him.

“Please, I’d like to hear you sing,” Josh said softly, nudging Charlie’s knee with his own where they sat on the sand.

“Come on, Charlie,” Mario said gruffly. “Josh will only get the puppy-dog eyes out, and then you’ll end up agreeing anyway, so you might just as well make it easy on yourself.”

Charlie glanced over at Josh, who was fluttering his eyelashes unabashedly. “Okay, okay,” he said, leaning forward to take the guitar from Jason’s outstretched hand. “But only one.” He let his fingers stroke the strings for a few moments while he decided what song to sing and then cleared his throat. “Okay, this is one of my favorites, but I’m not sure how good it’s going to be.”

“Shut up and sing, you big wuss!” Tom yelled.

Charlie rolled his eyes, ignoring Josh’s chuckle beside him, and began to pick out the intro. “I pulled into Nazareth, I was feelin’ bout half-past dead, just need to find a place where I can lay my head….”

When Charlie ended the song, he stilled the vibrations of the strings and blushed at the round of applause he garnered. As he’d said, Jason was the expert. Not him. He shook his head at the catcalls for more and smiled softly as Josh lifted his hand and beckoned him closer. Slipping his fingers into Josh’s, Charlie found himself pulled against the other man’s side with a gentle tug. “That was beautiful,” Josh murmured. “I have goose bumps over here.”

Before Charlie could even think of a response, Tom’s voice echoed in the night air. “I think we’re going to head back to the cabins now. Charlie, do you mind waiting until the fire goes out?” Tom yawned overdramatically, roused Mike, and pulled him to his feet. “You guys coming?” Charlie rolled his eyes, not missing the glance Tom tossed at Jason and Maggie, who also stood, fake-stretching and fake-yawning as convincingly as Tom had. “Good night, everyone. We’ll see you in the morning.”

“G’night,” Charlie muttered, glaring at his friend when he dropped him a wink on his way by.

“Us too,” Greg said, pulling Mario to his feet. “Come on, cowboy. Let’s get you bedded down for the night.”

“Josh? Are you ready?” Mario kissed Greg gently and smiled.

Josh tilted his head in Charlie’s direction, and there was a hesitant note in his voice. “I thought I’d keep Charlie company. If he doesn’t mind walking me back to the cabin?” His voice cracked slightly on the last, and he added, “I could go back, if you want—”

“No, no,” Charlie said softly, patting Josh’s knee, then drawing back his fingers as if they had been burned. “That’s fine… I’d love some company. It shouldn’t take too long for it to die down.” He smiled at the fond kisses his friends dropped on Josh’s head as they passed and turned to make their way back up the trail to their cabin.

“So,” Josh began, lifting his beer to take a sip. “Tell me about yourself.”

“What do you want to know?” Charlie replied, settling back against the log behind him. “You already know more than I’ve told anyone in years.” He sighed heavily. “I’ve no idea why I told you all that stuff. I didn’t mean to come across all doom and gloom.”

“You didn’t.” Josh said, placing his hand on Charlie’s thigh. “I’m glad you told me. Helps me understand why you were so reluctant to let me in. But you know I’m not him, don’t you? You know I’d never take pleasure in your pain?”

“I know that.” Charlie squeezed Josh’s fingers reassuringly. Of course he knew that. Josh couldn’t be any less like Brian if he tried. “I’ve only known you for five minutes, but yeah, I know that. I’m sorry I was such an ass to you, especially in the stables. I had no right to treat you that way.”

“I don’t remember complaining. Well….” Josh’s teasing smile lit up his face in the firelight. “Maybe after, but definitely not during.”

“Jerk.” Charlie smiled, letting his thumb ghost gently over Josh’s knuckles. “I’m not really good at this kind of thing, Josh. There are so many ‘what ifs’ going around my head at the moment that I’m not sure what I can offer you… or if I can offer you anything.”

“Why don’t we just enjoy getting to know each other and see where it takes us?” Josh asked softly, turning his hand so his fingers were linked with Charlie’s. “When Alec walked away, I didn’t think I would ever find anyone I’d even consider getting close to again… until now. So I’m kind of interested to see how it pans out.”

“Me too.”

“Charlie?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I look at you again?” Josh’s breath hitched in his throat when he asked the question, and Charlie’s heart melted at the sudden hesitancy in Josh’s gaze.

Charlie swallowed against the sudden dryness of his mouth and nodded, then mentally kicked himself for doing so. Clearing his throat, he turned so he was facing Josh and said softly, “Yes.”

“Come here,” Josh murmured, tugging on Charlie’s hand. “Can you sit on my lap? I can see better if you’re closer.”

“You do know that’s the worst excuse for getting me to straddle you I’ve ever heard, right?” Licking his lips nervously, Charlie got up on his knees and lifted his leg across both of Josh’s and lowered himself down until he felt Josh’s muscled thighs against his ass.

Josh chuckled softly, sliding his fingertips up Charlie’s arms and over his shoulders, coming to rest on the bare skin of Charlie’s throat. “Shut up…. It worked, didn’t it? Now be quiet, I’m working.” He closed his eyes and let the pads of his fingers travel over Charlie’s face—across his cheekbones and down his nose, across his forehead, over the slight bump there, before trailing across his eyelids and lingering on his eyelashes. Josh’s lips parted as his fingertips found Charlie’s mouth. Charlie didn’t think he had ever experienced anything so erotic before. The gentle caress of Josh’s fingers on his skin was sending sparks of pleasure southward, and he hardened in his pants, his breath ghosting over Josh’s flesh. He was so caught up in the experience, he had to force himself to register that Josh was speaking. “Like I said”—Josh’s voice was barely a whisper—“beautiful.”

The urge to feel the softness of Josh’s skin was overpowering, and before he knew what he was doing, Charlie had softly licked at the finger still pressed against his mouth. He ignored the breathy moan of his name from Josh and put his hands on Josh’s face. “Shhh,” he said softly, “it’s my turn.” He closed his eyes and slid his fingers across Josh’s wide chin and then up across his supermodel high cheekbones, ghosting over closed lids and over Josh’s smooth forehead. They then trailed down the wide nose and finally down to the lips. Josh’s lips were wide and soft, the bottom lip fuller than the top, and they parted on a tiny moan when Charlie’s fingers lingered on them. “You’ll do,” Charlie said, closing the gap between them and replacing his fingers with his lips.