Project Love (Cascade Brides Series) (24 page)

When Daniel looked at her, it was difficult to discern
the emotion in his eyes. He pulled her closer. “You know, I never
told you how pretty you look tonight.”

She slid her arms around his waist. “Are you saying I
look like a frump in my coffee shop apron?” she teased.

His brows went up. “Wow, how did a compliment get so
misconstrued?”

She smiled. “Not everything is a straight line, you
know.”

“
Ugh, I'm being led into making a sexist remark.”

She sent him a look of mock confusion. “You mean
because you think feminine logic is squirrelly?”

He groaned. “I never said any such thing.”

“
But the question is, were you thinking it?”

“
You fight dirty.” His smile faded as a new look
came into his eyes. “But I love you anyway.”

The words shot straight to her heart, as powerful as the
first time she heard them. And they demanded a response. “I love
you, too, Daniel.”

It was the right answer. He pulled her close and kissed
her. She gave herself over to his fervor, matching him touch for
touch. The city street whirled away along with her troubles and
concerns. All that mattered was the warm cocoon of Daniel's embrace.

Until her phone rang.

It was muffled but insistent from its place in his coat
pocket. He lifted his lips. “Are you going to answer that?”

“
No. Probably another timeshare opportunity.”

“
Could be Holly wondering what happened to us.”

Charity sighed. “Uh oh, she might think we abandoned
her.” She pulled out her clutch from the pocket, then fished out
the cell phone. Sending Daniel a rueful look, she answered just
before it went to voice-mail. “Hey, we just stepped outside—”

“
Charity? Is that you? It's Hope.”

Charity stared at Daniel, not really seeing him. All her
senses had tunneled down onto the voice on her phone.

“
Hello, Charity. Are you still there?”

She focused on Daniel's confused expression—and
remembered her rash promise. Swallowing hard, she looked away.
“Yeah.”

“
Charity Conrad. Seriously? I have tried this number
before. Why didn't you answer? Why didn't you call me back?”

“
Who is it?” Daniel asked in a low voice.

Charity turned to him, feeling light-headed from a
growing dread. “It's my sister.”

Chapter Thirteen

Charity's stricken expression caught Daniel by surprise.
He couldn't conceive how a phone call from a sibling could bring such
dismay and he felt instantly guilty for pressing her to take the
call.

Even now as she listened to the voice on the other side
of the line, her dark eyes shone with something akin to all out
panic. He took a few steps toward the building to give her a sense of
privacy. But maybe she'd end up wanting him gone for good for
pressuring her the way he had. If she'd let the call go to
voice-mail, she could've called back when she felt prepared—not
when it was the last thing she expected.

And at such a moment. Charity had finally responded to
his love—her feelings confirmed by the sweetness of her kisses. How
would she feel about him now? Especially when they both knew why she
answered the phone, Holly notwithstanding.

Daniel saw her shoulders hunch as she walked a few yards
away. Her voice was low and intense. If it weren't for the fact that
they were on a dark city street at night, he would've gone back in
the building. But he couldn't leave her out here alone. So he waited.

After several agonizing minutes, he heard the beep of
the call being ended. She didn't turn around immediately, but when
she did, the street light above highlighted her wan expression.

“
Charity,” he said quietly. “Is everything okay?”

She nodded and walked toward him. “Are you ready to go
back inside?”

Her hollow voice made him feel like a monster. Daniel
opened the door and followed her inside the building. They made their
silent way to the reception hall, their footsteps echoing down the
mostly empty corridors. Before they reached the main doors, she
slipped off his coat and handed it back to him.

Entering the reception area almost came as a shock. The
blended sounds of music, conversation, and tinkling of dishes seemed
over-loud.

Holly approached them, her eyes sparkling. “Where were
you guys? They just ended the evening and did their whole thanking
'everyone and their brother' routine.” She grabbed Charity's hand.
“My paintings went for three thousand for the set. Can you believe
it?”

Charity looked stunned, but it had nothing to do with
the redhead's success.

“
And I got contact information from several people who
want to see more of my work!”

“
Wow, Holly,” she finally managed. “Congratulations.
That's wonderful.”

“
Thanks. Are you
ready to go? I have a
splitting
headache. I never knew schmoozing was so difficult!”

“
I'll go get our coats,” Daniel said, glad for an
occupation that gave him a small reprieve from his rampant thoughts.

When he returned from the coat check, he found Holly
still chattering about the evening while Charity stood as still as a
statue. She looked as if she came out of a disturbing dream when he
draped her coat over her shoulders.

She offered only monosyllabic responses all the way to
his car and on the drive to their apartment. Luckily, Holly was
riding too high to notice anything was wrong.

When they walked into the apartment, Holly blew out a
heavy sigh, then grabbed Charity in a hug. “Thanks for a fun night,
you guys. Too much fun. As in I don't know when I'll ever do that
again, but I'm glad the care home got some good money, and that I
also have some jobs coming up, so win-win. G'night, you two!” The
redhead headed to her bedroom.

And then Daniel was alone with Charity.

She raised her gaze to him, two spots of color burning
in her cheeks. “Do...you want anything? Tea or coffee?”

He approached her and touched her arm. “Charity, what
happened? That was your sister, right?”

She walked over to the couch, landing on the cushions
with a frown. “Yep.”

He followed and eased down onto the cushion next to her.
“Are you sorry you answered?”

Her eyes searched his. “What do you think?”

Daniel felt his face flush and he regretted always
pushing her. “Why was she calling? Is everything all right?”

“
They're both peachy and apparently suffering from
misplaced pangs of nostalgia.” She grimaced. “At least Faith is.
Hope didn't sound all that happy to talk to me.”

“
Do they want to meet...?”

Charity nodded. “Except they can't until the first
weekend in December because Hope is leaving town with her boyfriend
or something. They had wanted to get together before, but couldn't
get a hold of me. So...yeah, my fault already.”

“
Charity,” he said softly, “I'm sure they weren't
upset with you or anything like that.”

“
I've already botched one plan by the sound of it.”

“
How could you botch a plan when they hadn't yet
reached you?”

“
Welcome to my sisterly conversations, Daniel. It's
all in the tone.”

He released a breath and took her hand, gratified when
she didn't pull way. “I'm sorry for leaning on you about this.”

Her gaze was solemn. “They would've reached me at some
point.”

“
Are you going to get together with them?”

She sighed. “Maybe I should. Just to get it over
with.”

Daniel longed to ask if he could accompany her, but he
felt on thin ice as it was. “Are they coming here?”

Shaking her head, she said, “Oh, no, that would make
too much sense. They want to meet in Sisters.”

“
Near where you grew up?”

“
More or less. At
first they talked about Timberline Lodge, which would've been
appropriate since that's where
The Shining
was filmed.”

Her dark sense of humor gave him some hope she wasn't
furious with him.

“
But it's too far apparently, so we'll get to add
crummy memories to the forced awkwardness of meeting up near our old
stomping grounds.”

Daniel scooted a little closer. “You said it was Hope
who called you?” At her nod, he continued, “How do you know she
wasn't all that happy to speak to you?”

“
She said this is all Faith's idea and we should go
along with it because of that.”

“
Ah.” He stared down at their joined hands. “Is
there anything I can do to make this any easier?”

Charity was silent for several seconds, then she looked
up at him with her expressive eyes. “Will you go with me?”

Chapter Fourteen

Charity thought over the past few weeks as she stared
out the window at the passing scenery. Apparently the awkwardness of
meeting her sisters wasn't the only thing she had to deal with. She
glanced over to Daniel from where he sat in the driver's seat, his
quiet attention on the road.

While she hadn't put
their relationship on hold, Charity had a hard time returning to the
sweet camaraderie that preceded Hope's call. She and Daniel had
continued to see each other, but her avoidance in discussing the
meeting had made things difficult. And she knew she'd hurt him when
she'd refused to go with him to see his family at Thanksgiving.
But
how could I go meet his parents when I can't even handle my own
family?
She'd stayed behind and
worked in the local soup kitchen—just as she had every Thanksgiving
since leaving home. Its purposeful serving aspects helped her detach
from the gnawing apprehension of having to face her fears.

Fears Charity was embarrassed to admit. The meeting with
her sisters would probably be fine and Daniel would wonder what kind
of woman was afraid of her own relatives. There was nothing abusive
or truly neglectful about her background and yet the weeks leading up
to this day had not lessened the fact that she wanted nothing to do
with this forced reunion. She would be faced not only with her
irrational worries, but also the knowledge that she'd left Faith to
deal with the consequences of their mother's death. What kind of
sister did a thing like that?

And how long until Daniel figured that out?

As if sensing her worrisome thoughts, he reached across
the console and took her hand in his. His action just reinforced the
truth that she didn't deserve him. He'd been beyond patient and
understanding—even when she knew he hadn't understood.

If only he knew how much his presence meant to her. The
idea of attempting this meeting without him was untenable. She
squeezed his hand, wishing she could put her thoughts into words. 'I
love you' just didn't cut it.

Charity forced her mind back to her conversation with
Hope the night of the auction. Her sister's annoyance had come
through the lines crystal clear.

Look, I really don't want to do this either. So I say
we deal and get it over with.

I still don't get why we have to actually meet
.

Faith is getting married and she wants us to meet her
fiancé
. A long pause.
As
a matter of fact, I'm engaged, too, so it will be easier to meet
before the weddings
.

Are you implying I'll be invited?

Cute, Charity. Very cute
.

A spasm of jealousy had
gripped her in that moment. Her sisters had
lives
.
They had forward momentum. They weren't in a state of suspension like
she was, waiting for the day when she achieved some nebulous
accomplishment—when she could prove that she didn't need anything
or anyone to succeed.

Charity watched Daniel
for a moment, her heart pounding in response to his glance.
I
am such a liar
.

All further conversations with her sister had been via
text message, which suited her just fine.

As they arrived in the small town where she'd grown up,
her anxiety kicked up several notches. Familiar landscapes rose up to
challenge her memory of them. Business, houses, schools seemed more
finely etched than she remembered; more solid and grounded in
reality. Garish signs, occasional evidences of neglect, and the harsh
edges of the new took her by surprise. But even more, the town didn't
feel so big, so intimidating.

It was just a town—like the dozen others they'd passed
through to get here.

Of course, to the
newcomer, it would be considered charming with its tall firs, patches
of old snow, and quaint little shops on main street. It
did
look like something from an old Western postcard, but she had too
many memories that tainted the pristine image.