Love's Embers (Canon City Series) (14 page)

Chapter Twenty

Ryan called later in the day and said Zack Strom cancelled the meeting at the last minute. They rescheduled for the next week and Ryan was pissed. He asked if they heard anything from Mike Strom to let him know.

Lark and Nancy both worked the floor in the afternoon and were almost caught up when the woman who handled most of the orders showed up with another one hundred and two. Lark’s secretary was right behind her and handed Lark a stack of envelopes.

It was going on four o’clock and she was tired. Charlie wore her out the night before and this morning. She did look forward to the speech she was about to give, though. Christmas was her favorite time of the year.

She and Nancy called a meeting with all their employees down on the main floor. It was a pep rally of sorts. When everyone quieted, Lark stepped forward.

“You guys have kicked ass the last couple of weeks and I know the hours you’ve worked have satisfied a lot of customers, but probably worn you guys out. Nancy and I appreciate your hard work. We’ve made the cutoff date the nineteenth, which is only two days away. So, we decided to close up shop early tonight. Everyone gets to go on home, or, like me, do last minute Christmas shopping. We’ll start up tomorrow and in the next two days get as many orders filled and out as possible. Before you all leave, stop here.” She held up the envelopes. “Its bonus time,” she said in a sing-song voice.

The employees clapped and cheered and lined up for their checks. Lark handed them out with a grin and wished them all a Merry Christmas. Once they’d cleared out, Lark went up to her office, put on her coat and shut off the light. She met Nancy in the hallway and they walked out to the parking lot together.

“I really like bonus time of the year.” Nancy switched off the lights for the main floor and moved to the exit. “I think they like us for a few days after we hand out those checks.”

“Yeah, I do still have to shop, but I’m too pooped. I’m going home.”

“Are you seeing your new man tonight?” Nancy grinned and arched her brow.

“Probably,” Lark said and stepped outside the door. She pulled her coat tighter around her. It was chilly and a breeze made it even colder. “Lord, I hope this storm blows over fast. We don’t have time for delayed deliveries.”

“How long have you and Charlie known each other, anyway?”

“We’ve been friends for about twenty years. I moved in with my Gran when I was eight, after my parents died. Charlie and I experienced our first hot kiss together the summer we were fifteen years old.” Lark pulled her keys out of her purse and stopped to put on her gloves. “Nance, he’s a really good guy.”

“Yeah, I vaguely remember all that business with his mom and dad. I don’t really know him though.”

“It’s hard to explain. I think Charlie really wanted to deck Thomas when he hit me the other night, but he didn’t. Charlie did threaten Thomas. The thing though that makes it mean so much to me is that he defended me. He did that a lot when we were kids. There were some bullies that used to pick on me because I was an orphan, even though I wasn’t, because I’ve always had Gran. Charlie would come to my rescue and made me feel better. This week, with Thomas, he did it again. Here’s hoping I don’t scare him off.”

“Sweetie, you won’t scare him. Is he coming to the dance on Saturday?”

“We haven’t talked about it too much. I think so, but I’ll mention it to him again.”

They walked to their two cars and said goodnight.

Lark walked into the house and her mouth instantly watered. The kitchen smelled wonderful. “Gran, I’m home,” she said and hung up her coat.

“Hi, honey. I’m in here,” Gran called from the pantry.

“Lord, it smells good in here. What’s for dinner?” She walked to the oven and looked in the window.

“I’m making a roast. Tomorrow and Thursday I’ll be making the pies for the dance. We’ll need to have leftovers if we want to eat anything. I won’t have time to cook.” She came out of the pantry and held a bag of beans.

“Are you going to make red bean pie, Gran?” Lark smiled.

“Very funny. I want to soak these overnight and make Charlie red beans and rice to get him through lunches for the next few days.” She looked at Lark. “Sweetheart, put your coat back on and go over to Charlie’s. That ding-dong wouldn’t accept my dinner invitation and was being silly. He said he’d mooched too much food off us since he got back. You can tell him that he hurt my feelings.” Gran pouted, but smiled.

Lark felt excitement fill her heart, which started to beat fast. She hugged Gran, then turned to the door and grabbed her coat on the way out.

It was cold on the short walk and the wind had picked up. She looked up at the sky and only saw clouds. There wasn’t a star or moon to be seen. She walked up to his front door and could hear Breaker on the other side, woofing. She blew on her hands to try to warm them up and knocked.

Charlie opened the door. He wore a navy blue cable knit sweater and jeans. Lark looked at him and sighed.

“You don’t have to knock,” he said and opened the door all the way.

She smiled. “You are without a doubt the sexiest man on the planet,” she said, as she walked into the hallway.

He took her hand and pulled her farther into the warm house. “Lord, your hands are frozen.” He lifted his sweater and put her hands underneath onto his chest. “That wakes me up.” He laughed. His hands moved around her waist and pulled her into a hug. “Hello, sweetheart, did you have a good day?” He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.

Lark started to laugh. “My, my, but you are very domestic this evening.”

He ran his hands over her hair and laced his fingers behind her neck. “I’m just doing normal for the minute. I wanted to see how it sounded and felt. It was either that or strip you bare in the doorway.” He leaned over and brushed her lips with his.

She looked up at him and kissed him back. “Stripping bare is definitely on the agenda for tonight. Gran says to put your shoes on and come for dinner. You know better than to argue with her.”

Charlie leaned close to her and almost put his lips on hers. Lark could feel his warm breath and wanted to melt.

“I know better than to upset the Metcalfe women. I learned that lesson a long time ago and will never, ever do it again. Can I have one of those erection-causing kisses you give, before I put on my shoes?” Charlie whispered near her cheek. “I’ve gotten used to sitting at the table with a stiffy.”

She felt his tongue graze her bottom lip and laughed. “Ducky, you’re killing me. You can have whatever you want.” She moved her hands under his sweater and stood on her toes. She placed her thumbs over his nipples and circled them. She saw him close his eyes and heard a low moan come from his throat. She placed her lips on his and they gently touched tongues. She let her teeth scrape over his tongue and moved her head back. “We better stop or we won’t leave.”

His hand found her butt and squeezed it. She flinched and her eyebrows creased.

“What was that?” he asked and looked into her eyes. “You just jumped when I pinched your butt cheek. You did it the other night when we walked Breaker and I put my hand in your pocket.”

Lark realized she felt nervous and knew there was no reason to feel that way with Charlie. He would never hurt her. “It’s nothing. I’m just a little weird about my rear end. Just ignore it.”

“No, sweetheart. Is it something we need to talk about?” He put his hand up on her the side of her face and looked quite serious.

“It’s nothing, Ducky. We better get going. Gran will be upset if her roast gets dried out.” She smiled and kissed him.

“You’re right. I’ll get my shoes on.” He let her go, grabbed his boots and sat at the kitchen table to put them on.

Lark watched him unlace the shoes and slide them on. While he tightened the laces and tied them up, Breaker came up along side of her and nudged her knee. She bent over to rub his ears and laughed. “You know what Ducky?”

He looked up at her. “Tell me.”

“I want to come over there and straddle your lap so bad.” She opened the front door and stepped into his yard. She bent over, picked up some snow and held it to her cheeks.

Charlie put on his coat and came out the door with Breaker on his heels. “Lark, are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. I think I just discovered the true meaning of
hot flash
.” She threw the snow down and wiped her face with her coat sleeve. “You’re scorching hot, babe.”

He took her hand and they started to walk up the drive. “Lou, I was only putting on my boots. How is that hot?”

“The way you manipulated the laces with your fingers, it reminded me of the way you touched me last night. Ducky, you have great fingers.” She smiled up at him.

“Wait a minute. See, I’d understand
hot dick
or
hot butt
, but fingers? Hot fingers, really?”

Lark turned around and walked backwards. She wanted to look at him. “Yeah, hot fingers. The way you slid them into me and how I got to suck on them, was so incredible. I love your fingers, babe.”

Charlie looked at his hand, and then at her. “I’ll have to remember you like that.”

“I’m going to have a terrible time trying to sit still during dinner. Maybe I should sit across the table from you. It might be too tempting if we sit side by side,” she said, softly.

They reached the door of Gran’s house. Charlie put his hands around her waist and carried her away from the door to the side of the house where no one could see them. He set her down, took her hand in his and kissed and licked her palm and wrist. He then moved her hand down to the front of his pants and placed it over the zipper. “Talk about killing, you are doing crazy things to me, woman.”

Lark could feel his erection twitch below the fabric. Then she pressed down a little and traced where she knew the tender spot would be, Charlie made a moaning sound and his eyes crossed. He opened his eyes; his hand shot out, grabbed her behind the neck and pulled her close.

Lark felt his mouth cover hers and his tongue dove in and devoured her. It amazed her how quickly he caught on to the subtle movements that could make her heart melt and left her breathless. He put his hands on either side of her face and licked and nibbled her lips.

“God, Charlie. I think you practiced on more women than you admitted. You’re so good at this.” She whispered.

“I told you, babe. Playboy magazine was my sex manual for several years.” He covered her mouth again. “You’re going to make me come in my pants, Lark. We should probably stop, again.”

She leaned back out of breath. “You’re right; Gran would kill us if we were late to dinner.”

“We can’t rush the dinner either. I know we could both down our meals in under five minutes, but we can’t. We have to be tough. It will be hard, but,” he traced his thumb over her bottom lip. “God, I never want to let you go.” He pulled her off her feet into a hug.

Lark wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him. “Then don’t let go, Ducky.”

He looked down at her. “Lou, move in with me. I don’t want to sleep another night alone and I want to wake up with you every day.” He tightened his hold.

“Are you serious?” She slid down to her feet and looked up at him.

“I’ve never been so serious in my life.”

“You don’t think we’d be rushing things a little?”

“I’ve been dreaming of this for thirteen years. So, no, I don’t think were moving too fast.” He frowned. “Am I pushing you too fast? I don’t want to do that.”

She smiled up at him and touched his chin. “No, you’re not pushing. Gran is going to have a stroke.”

“Does that mean yes?” he asked.

“It means yes. I’ve been waiting thirteen years, too.” She grinned. “Let’s go tell Gran.”

They moved arm in arm back to the door where Breaker sat with a smile on his muzzle. His tail started to wag as they approached. He followed them and shuffled up to Gran. He nudged her knee until she started to scratch his ears.

She looked up at Lark and Charlie. “You two have the reddest cheeks I’ve ever seen. You’re either coming down with something, or it’s really cold outside.”

They looked at each other and back at Gran. “It is really cold, Gran. It’s freezing, big snow storm moving in, burr...” Charlie said and rubbed his arms.

Gran gave him the bent eye. “You’re over acting Charlie Stone. Sit down. Dinners ready to go.”

While they served the meal and passed plates around, Lark looked at him and smiled. “Gran, Charlie and I have some news for you.” She looked at her grandmother.

Gran set the bowl of potatoes down and waited patiently.

“I’m going to move in with Charlie. We’re going to live together. I’ll be just next door. I don’t want to get too far away from you,” Lark said and waited for Gran’s reaction.

“Sweetheart, really?”

Lark nodded.

“Well, that’s wonderful.” Gran smiled at them.

“You don’t mind?” Lark asked, surprised.

“Oh sure, I want you to hate me forever for holding you back. Lark, you’re twenty-eight years old and don’t need my permission. I’m very happy for both of you. I think you have needed each other for a very long time. I’m tickled pink.”

Charlie smiled at Lark. “Your Gran is completely cool.”

She nodded. “Don’t I know it?”