laughed so hard she had to brace herself on the bar. “Yeah. Sure. You keep telling yourself that.”
But Walker knew he was right. Rayleen was harmless, and she was going to love Charlie. He was sure of it.
* * *
“OH, CHARLOTTE, there you are!”
Charlie gritted her teeth at the sound of Dawn Taggert’s voice, but she made herself smile as she turned around to greet the other woman. She’d known her boss would likely be at this baby shower. After all, the mom-to-be was one of their old friends from high school, another girl like Dawn and Charlie who’d been invited to all the after-school clubs and none of the parties.
They’d all been good girls back then, and so far, Charlie was the only one who’d fallen from grace. Dawn had yet to miss a chance to remind her.
As Dawn closed the distance across the crowded living room, Charlie realized that Dawn had the mom-to-be in tow. Charlie forced her smile wider. “Sandra! Congratulations! Thank you so much for inviting me. It’s been so long.”
“It has,” Sandra said, hugging Charlie past her hard belly.
“You look amazing.” She did. She had a smooth bob similar to Dawn’s, though several shades darker than Dawn’s blond hair. And despite the amazing bulge of her stomach, she looked as if she hadn’t gained weight anywhere else.
“You look great, too.”
“Thanks.” Charlie smoothed a self-conscious hand over the cardigan sweater she’d pulled on over her dress. She didn’t feel great. She felt dowdy and unnatural and thin as a stick in her modest clothes and ballet flats. She hadn’t dressed like this since she’d interviewed for college, but she’d been trying to change her image. Besides, Dawn had insisted her head of security couldn’t wear heels and be effective. Charlie wanted to protest that she felt much more badass in heels and a tight skirt, but unfortunately she wasn’t in a position to argue.
“Your house is beautiful,” Charlie said to Sandra.
“Thank you. Peter bought it as a surprise when I made partner.”
Partner. Right. They both cleared their throats and shifted uncomfortably, but Dawn jumped right in. “Speaking of work, Charlie, will you come in early tomorrow? You’re going to need to put in a few extra hours in the next weeks before the grand opening of the resort.”
Charlie ground her teeth together as she watched Sandra look away. Sandra was uncomfortable, yes, but she was also trying to hide a smile. “I’ve been in early every day this week. It’s not a problem.”
“I know, although I’m surprised, considering the hours you keep.” She turned to Sandra. “I thought she would’ve settled down after that mess in Tahoe, but...”
Both women turned to look at her with pity, but their pity looked suspiciously avid. Scandal was so delicious, after all. Or it was as long as you weren’t involved. Charlie had enjoyed scandals and gossip herself, up until a few months ago.
She didn’t want to be defensive, but she was under attack yet again, and it grated against her bones. At least Dawn was masking her distaste in politeness this time. “All my late nights since I moved here have been spent working,” she said slowly, carefully.
“Right,” Dawn answered with a sly smile. “That’s why the facilities manager was in your place until ten last night.”
Charlie’s smile slipped as her heart thundered. She’d been worried her suspicions had been paranoia, but this was the confirmation she’d been looking for. Dawn had been watching her. Spying on her.
“We were working,” she finally mumbled.
“Oh, I’m sure,” Dawn replied.
Sandra reached out to pat her arm. “Well, Charlie, we’re just happy to see you on the right track again.”
The right track. Sure. That was why she’d come back here, wasn’t it?
For a few months, she’d been lost. Utterly lost. Shut up in an apartment in Tahoe she could no longer afford and terrified about her future. But she was setting it right now. Working hard, toning down her life. Losing the heels. Keeping her head down. Biting her tongue and biting it hard.
“I’m doing my best with her,” Dawn said, as if Charlie was her new pet project. Considering the effort she put into spying, the idea wasn’t too far off. But Charlie couldn’t be her project anymore. Anger was boiling beneath her skin. She wanted to bolt, but she couldn’t.
She was trapped, and the urge to fight back was getting harder to suppress. But she couldn’t lose this job. She couldn’t.
Her phone vibrated just in time, providing a reason to escape. “Excuse me. I’d better get this. It might have something to do with work.”
Before she was out of earshot, she heard Dawn saying, “I just don’t know what happened to her. She had so much promise.”
Charlie closed her eyes, took a deep breath and answered her phone. It was her knight in shining armor, otherwise known as her cousin Nate, calling with exactly the news she needed.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered. “You really did it? I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Don’t move!”
This time when she turned back to the party, it wasn’t hard to smile. Not at all.
“Sandra!” she called out, hurrying back for one last fake hug. “I have to run, but congratulations again. You’re going to make a great mom.”
She was. Sandra seemed great at everything. Unlike Charlie, she’d actually lived up to her promise.
Before Dawn could ask where she was going, Charlie made her escape and rushed out to the valet to get her car. She pulled away with a groan of relief. Freedom. For a few hours, at least.
When she’d moved back to Jackson, she’d thought reconnecting with old friends would be good for her. After all, she really was trying to get back on the right track. At first, she’d been so beaten up, she’d thought that track had started back with high school and the girl she’d been then. Hardworking, studious and so worried about becoming her mother that she’d never even gone out on a date.
She’d obviously gone wrong somewhere, so why not start where everything had been good?
But she was realizing now that everything hadn’t been good. In fact, she’d spent all of high school scared to be herself.
Muttering a few choice curses, Charlie struggled out of the cardigan, holding the steering wheel with her knees as she yanked off the sweater and tossed it into the backseat.
“Screw this shit,” she said triumphantly as she pulled up to the resort.
Five minutes later she was back in the car in the clothes she’d worn back in Nevada. Tight jeans and heeled boots and a pretty little striped T-shirt.
Today she was going to get her groove back, damn it, and the clothes were only the first tiny step.
Charlie turned on some music and drove into town with the windows down. The breeze was too cold, but she didn’t mind. It was the first time her nipples had been hard in months. She had to take her thrills where she could get them.
When she pulled up to the address Nate had given her, she saw that the apartment building was right next to the Crooked R Saloon. Her cousin greeted her from the sidewalk with a wave.
Thank God for Nate. Charlie had a brother in town, but he never offered any help unless it could benefit him, too. Nate, on the other hand...
Charlie jumped out of her car and threw her arms around his neck to squeeze him tight. “Thank you, thank you!”
“Hey, calm down. It’s no big deal. I’m sorry the place at the resort fell through.”
“Well, you know...” She let him go