Love Renewed (Love Trilogy) (6 page)

She smiled as the beauty of the day was exactly what she wanted and now hoping it would shine some light on the words she needed to finish the work that was due in just a few days. Her mother had taken Douglas out for the day to make it easier on her to work, something she was grateful for now that she wanted to go out for a bit.

Putting on her sunglasses, she started off with a brisk walk that led her towards the main street of her hometown, Oakford. Charlotte studied her surroundings.

The town of Oakford had not changed much since she was a child, let alone in the ten years since she'd left. She smiled at this realization as she picked up her pace to a jog. Most of the shops were owned by local families and nearly everyone she knew here believed in buying locally; bigger stores had offered to buy out land but the residents of Oakford were adamant in their words of disinterest.
 

The 'big shots', as they were known around here, realized that the townsfolk were not going to give in, gave up and left the quiet little town alone. They made sure to spread around to anybody else who thought they would give it a shot that they were wasting their time trying to expand by placing big chain stores in Oakford.

There were very few stoplights and pedestrians crossed the streets at will. Being hit by a car was very rare in this town and almost a non-occurrence; although the first time in two decades had apparently been a year after Charlotte had left - something she had noted with interest but not looked into further. A low speed limit and conscientious drivers was thought to be the reasons for the lack of accidents.

The town was not sleepy, but the way of life was very laid back. Everybody who worked here had a Monday through Friday schedule unless they were jobs that required being open on the weekends, such as the grocery store and the gas station. With only a recent population count of two thousand and ninety-five, the town relied on tourism and people passing through for part of their revenue.

A few people Charlotte recognized waved at her as she ran by. She flashed them a smile and a wave in return, the delight that she had returned written on their faces with smiles of their own. She would have to remember to come downtown again when she had time to stop and chat and catch up with the people she knew and those who had arrived when she'd not been here.

Picking up the pace, she jogged past the main part of town and headed off down a trail that led towards the local lake. Inspection of the path as she jogged by exhibited a glorious span of trees; gold, red, purple and green leaves spun and floated in the air, descending to the Earth in what only could be described as an intricate dance with nature. She couldn't remember the last time she had really appreciated the beauty of the outdoors and promised herself she would do so more in the future.

Slowing down as she reached the water, she came to a halt at the edge of the beach. The water lapped forward to the sand, not quite reaching her toes before receding back once again. Taking off her shoes and tossing them out of range to keep them from getting wet, she stepped into the water, deep enough to cover her feet and soothe them with its coolness. Then, she took out the hair tie that she had used to put her hair into a ponytail, shaking her head until her hair fell around her shoulders.

Walking along the shore, the water sloshed over her feet, reminding her of how much she had truly missed the lake and yes, even this little town where she'd grown up. This lake had been her special spot though; it was her getaway spot from parents, from schoolwork and from drama. It was also the spot where she'd come to see Trevin before her parents had known they were dating, walking hand in hand and giddy about their budding relationship.

As if her thoughts had conjured him up, she saw him coming towards her as she turned to exit the water.

~*~

Trevin trudged along the path, reveling in the peace this path afforded him when he truly needed it. It was the one of the reasons he had bought the house nearby in the first place.

He hadn't gone to see Charlotte nor called her because he wanted to give her the space she obviously desired. Knowing it was probably a shock to see him again he didn't want to push her and after that kiss, he wanted to believe her feelings were still there right alongside his. She obviously found him as attractive as he found her and figured maybe she just needed some time, especially with her husband dying last year. He was exceptionally curious about this man she'd married though and hoped to eventually get her to talk about her marriage and what she'd been doing all these years.

The path wound through the trees and eventually Trevin came upon the lake. As he started to turn around and go home, he saw Charlotte standing in the water facing away from the trees. Walking closer, he glimpsed her socks and shoes lying in the sand, noting that she must have ran from home to the lake since she was wearing a pair of stretchy leggings that showed off her shapely behind and trim legs, along with a t-shirt and a jacket in deference to the breezy weather.

She hadn't spotted him walking towards her yet and he took this opportunity to admire her. Her dark brown hair was flowing free, straight and shiny as always; he'd always found her hair beautiful and would tell her so when they were younger, which would send her off on a rant about how she wished she had red or blond hair instead because nobody else found brown hair pretty.

He would tell her she was being silly and that brown hair was the best; she would respond by calling him biased. They always ended up laughing though and it would follow with him kissing her to make sure she knew just how attractive she was to him.

Thinking about how much he wished he could kiss her right now, he was almost upon her when she turned around and spied him coming towards her, arms coming up and crossing over her chest.

Trevin stopped in his tracks. Trying to keep his face impassive at finding her on the beach near his house, he failed and his pleasure was obvious as he called out to her, smiling.

"I knew I would find you here eventually. I just didn't know that day would come so soon."

Charlotte scowled and trudged out of the water, walking right up to him and stopping to stand just shy of their bodies touching.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I didn't. I live just beyond the trees and was walking the path when I reached the end and saw you standing in the water."

Lifting her right brow in disbelief, she stared at him. "You live just beyond the trees? When did you move there?”

He beamed, looking her right in the eyes. "Since I bought the house five years ago when I decided that living here forever was something I wanted to do. I knew I couldn't ever leave the place where I had met the love of my life."

Charlotte laughed then, amused at his gall in calling her the love of his life. Cutting around him, she walked over to pick up her socks and shoes; spotting a bench that was a bit of a walk away, she headed towards there without saying anything to Trevin.

"Where are you going?" He quickly followed behind her, determined to get her to talk to him.

Sitting down on the bench, she still said nothing, putting on the socks and then the shoes while pointedly ignoring him.

"Charlotte, talk to me, please. Why did you laugh at what I said?"

Glancing at him, she sighed and turned towards him so she could see his face. "I was laughing at you saying I was the love of your life. I certainly don't feel like that was true then so it certainly cannot be true now." She pointedly looked down at his left hand and then back up at his face. "Did you ever get married?"

Trevin shook his head. "I dated but never quite found someone I could feel that way about again. I never really thought about it consciously and can admit I probably self-sabotaged all of them in some way."

Not knowing what to say, Charlotte looked down at her clasped hands and her own bare left hand. She'd taken off her ring only after she had left to come back to her hometown.

After a moment, he questioned her in kind. "You said your husband died. What happened? Were you happy together?" When she jerked her head up to gape at him for his daring in asking that question, he shrugged. "You don't have to answer. I was just curious."

Seeing her squeeze her eyes shut, he was about to change the topic when she suddenly blurted out, "He was gay."

~*~

When Trevin said nothing after she blurted out that her husband was gay, Charlotte opened her eyes to look at him. His mouth was hanging open, the look on his face giving away his astonishment.

Realizing that she had rendered him speechless, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Snapping his mouth shut, he eyed her skeptically. "Please don't mess with me like that. Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm completely serious,” she declared, pulling her jacket tighter around her, suddenly feeling chilly. "We got married a year after I left and everything was going fine, or so I thought. After the birth of our son, he became distant and things just changed."
 

She could see his eyes widen at the mention of her son but she continued on before he could say anything. "I didn't understand but I was so preoccupied with Douglas and he worked more and more over the years so I just didn't say anything. I thought he was tired from working so much and that this was how married life was, especially after a baby. When it kept on, I become really suspicious and went through his things. A couple weeks before he died, I found some sites where he had listed a profile that explained in explicit detail what he wanted in a man."

She shifted, crossing her legs as she grimaced at the recollection. "I confronted him and he tried to deny it, but it all finally made sense and I told him to tell me the truth. So he did, telling me he wanted to divorce just a few days later. He died not long after in a car accident." With that, she released her jacket and looked down at her hands, then back up at Trevin. "I just kept thinking, how could I not have known, you know?"

Nodding, he scooted a bit closer and grabbed her left hand to hold it, interlocking his fingers with hers before speaking.

"You couldn't have known how he was if he wasn't up front with you and had hidden it from you." He paused and then grinned at her. "You have a son? How old is he?"

She smiled back at him, his grin infectious. "He is five. He started school this year."

"Ah, so that is why you were at the school that morning.” At her nod, he looked down at their entwined hands. “Does he look like you?"

"No, he looks more like his father. Jack was quite thrilled with that."

Trevin paused for a moment, and then gaped at Charlotte. "Jack? You married
that
Jack?" He let out a hoot of laughter as she nodded.

"What do you find so funny?"

"I'm just so shocked! I would have never guessed you'd marry Jack and should have realized you may have turned to your best friend to help you leave. Damn, he was gay? Wow!" he exclaimed, still chuckling.

At this, Charlotte couldn't help but nod and giggle at his response.

When he finally got over his initial amusement, she spoke again.

"Jack had been coming over to visit that evening anyway. He was planning to leave town to go back home because he needed to work and I was so upset he feared leaving me behind; he knew if he didn't take me with him that I would just find somewhere else to go." She stated, shrugging. "I asked him why he had proposed to me if he had known all along and he said he was trying to pretend to be normal. When I told him I wouldn't have been upset that he was gay, he informed me that it wasn't my reaction he was worried about and apologized for not trusting me although it didn't make the fact that he married me hurt any less."

"Of course you were hurt. He married you under false pretenses and you thought he truly felt about you as one would feel about their lover."
Like how I feel about you
, he thought even as he knew he couldn't share those feelings right now. "I understand."

She squeezed his hand that was still holding hers. "Thanks. Not even my mother knows the truth about my marriage and I can't find the heart to tell her." Just then, she looked down at her watch and noticing the time, jumped up. "I'm sorry, I have to go!"

"Okay. I really would like to see you again Charlotte." Feeling nervous, he was afraid she would reject him but he still asked, "Will you go out on a date with me?"

Looking at him with stricken eyes, she shook her head. "I'm not ready for that Trevin. I'm sorry. It was nice to sit here and talk though. Thanks for listening to me."

"No problem, Sprite. Any time," he drawled, leaning down and kissing her cheek before turning on his heel and heading back to his house.

Charlotte touched the spot on her face that he had kissed, watching him walking away and wishing she had said yes. How would she find out the truth of what really happened if she didn’t spend time with him?
 

Admitting to herself that it wouldn't hurt to spend a little more time with him today, she thought quickly of a way to make it not seem obvious.

"Wait!" She yelled after him, causing him to stop in his tracks and turn around.

He lifted an eyebrow, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"Would you be willing to give me a ride home?"

He smiled, his eyes lighting up at her unspoken invitation.

"Anything for you, Sprite. Follow me," he waved her towards him. When she reached him, he grasped her hand once again in his, and whistled a tune all the way back to his car.

Chapter Six

Even though it was only a ten minute drive to take Charlotte home, Trevin decided that he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass him by. He had to tell her what happened all those years ago. As they pulled away from his house, her head was turned away from him, looking out the window with hands clasped in her lap. Just as he had gotten up the nerve to speak, she turned her head towards him, smiling and nodding pointedly at the little diner they had just passed.

"I remember how we used to go there every Friday night during my senior year of high school; they knew you and I by our names," she sighed at the memory, and then laughed. "I especially recall the time you slipped in some monopoly money in between the bills to pay for dinner and the waitress ran out of the restaurant to give it to you as if you needed it back."