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  In one swift motion, he pulled the covers off of her and lifted the air mattress onto its side. She hit the floor with a thud.

  "OW. What the hell?"

  "Hey, look at that. Looks like you're up after all," he laughed, as he presented her with a large steaming cup of coffee and a fresh bagel.

  "You're lucky you brought me food."

  "Or what?"

  "Just be happy you don't have to find out."

  "Ooh, I'm shakin' in my boots." Her dad shook his hands and knees to mock her. "Besides, I knew bribing you with coffee would get you moving."

  "Then why did you have to throw me five feet first?"

  "It was more like two. I thought it would be funny, and it was." He caught the piece of bagel she threw at him in his mouth, and she laughed.

  "Finish eating, and then we really need to get the rest put in the truck."

  "Mm-k," she said, with her mouth stuffed so full she couldn't chew.

  She scarfed down her food before she went into the bathroom to change and wash up. When she came out, he was outside and already had the mattresses deflated and folded up. She tossed her book back into her bag, folded all the blankets and stacked the pillows on top of them. Joe walked inside and they carried everything out to the backseat of her truck.

  As they pulled away from Fort Sill, Oklahoma for hopefully the last time, Charlie didn't feel anything leaving, she'd never let herself get attached to anything enough to care. She read her book and listened to her iPod blast through her headphones. She didn't realize her dad was talking to her until he smacked the outside of her thigh with the back of his hand.

  She pulled her headphones out of her ear and looked over at him. "Huh?"

  "You know, it's a long ass drive, and you're hands down the worst traveling partner ever. You do realize it's your job to keep me awake and entertain me. You're even shittier as a travel buddy this time than you were last time. I didn't think that was even possible."

  She gave him a haphazard smile. "Hey, at least I'm awake this time."

  "Have you talked to Julian?"

  "Yeah, we talked yesterday. I told him I'd text him when we were on our way."

  "I'm glad you guys stayed as close as you have. He's a good kid."

  "We were born best friends, distance will never change that. Speaking of which, how far is our house from his?"

  "You'll see."

  "Seriously? Just tell me where it is."

  "You'll see." He gave her a small smile.

  "Whatever."

  "God, I hate that word," he said, and shook his head.

  She rolled her eyes, whatever.

  ♥♥♥♥♥

  They'd been on the road for hours and they were ready for the trip to be over. She read the last page of her book and closed it.

  Joe smacked the side of her thigh. "You done with that thing already?"

  "Yeah," she said, and yawned.

  "Since you can't run away from me, I thought this would be a good time to talk about your trust." He glanced over at her.

  She groaned, "Seriously. Why do you constantly bring this up? I don't want it."

  "I don't understand why Charles. It's your money, you will be set for life. You have enough obstacles to face and this will take away a lot of stress later in life."

  "Whatever, I can make it on my own without money from Satan and her slave."

  Joe huffed, "God, you're so stubborn."

  "Well I wonder where I learned that," she said, and rolled her eyes.

  "Your mother."

  Charlie cocked a brow at him. "I hope she strikes your ass with lightening for blaming her."

  He chuckled. "Look kid, I don't know how to make this easy on you. If your mom was still here, she'd know exactly what to say and how to fix this."

  "Well I'm pretty sure if she was still alive, her parents would have never given me a trust fund. Can we be done with this conversation?"

  "For now," he said, with a sigh.

  Annoyed, Charlie stared out the window and pulled out her phone to send Jules a message.

  Her thumbs danced across the screen. Hey, how goes it?

  It goes. Where are you guys at?

  The last sign said were 22 miles from Beaufort, SC

  Did your dad tell you you're coming over for dinner tonight?

  We are? Woot!

  I know right. Mom has been cooking all fucking day. I'm banned from the kitchen. She threatened to cut me with her chopping knife if I came in there to steal food again. lol

  Haha, I'd pay to see that. What time?

  7 and you better come hungry.

  K- see you in a bit, Asshole

  Roger that, Butch.

  Charlie slid her phone into her back pocket and raised an eyebrow at Joe. "So when were you planning on telling me we're going to dinner tonight? I thought we were going over for Christmas dinner?"

  "Oh, shit. I forgot all about that. We are, but we're supposed to see them before that. Maybe we can reschedule for tomorrow. I'm tired, and we both smell foul. I'll call Callie to reschedule."

  "I wouldn't suggest that. Jules said she's cooked enough for an army."

  "Well looks like we're going to dinner then," he yawned.

  "Buck up buttercup, it'll be worth it." They looked at each other and laughed.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Charlie swallowed hard as she looked at Joe in disbelief when they pulled into a driveway and parked.

  "Why are we in someone's driveway in the historic district?" She glanced at Joe wide eyed.

  "We're here," Joe said, and leaned both of his forearms on the steering wheel, looking out the windshield. Charlie turned in her seat and took in the beautiful restored Victorian home that sat in front of her. Her mouth hung open as she examined the gray and white trim, the small porch and tower that stood tall in the front facing the street. There was no way this was going to be their house.

  "Holy shit, Dad. Are you serious? This is ours? This is actually going to be our home?" She tilted her head and paused. Her heart raced, and she knew it had to be some kind of joke. Joe just sat there with a grin on his face and she smacked him on his bicep to get a response.

  "Answer me. Is this ours?" She glanced at the house and then back at him.

  "Yep. I went into a bidding war with some couple for this place." Joe held his chin up and puffed out his chest.

  She leaped out of the truck and sprinted up the driveway. The house was stunning, and she wondered if it had a pool. A surge of adrenaline rushed through her as she passed the detached garage and rounded the back corner of the house. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the massive in-ground pool. It was surrounded by slate tile and matching waterfalls that wrapped around a bubbling hot tub.

  "Yes!" She did a small bounce up and down on her toes, and hoped no one saw her. Swimming was her form of therapy, her outlet, her way to disappear from reality, and she couldn't wait to dive in. She bent down on the edge of the pool with her hand in the water.

  "What do you think?" Joe walked out the back patio doors and startled her.

  "This is incredible. No more creepers at the Y." Charlie pumped her fist next to herself in victory.

  Joe held his arms out for a hug and jerked his chin to the side. She closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him. It was the house of her dreams and if anything warranted a hug, that was it.

  "I'm glad you approve, kid. Let's go help the boys unload so we can shower, because Charles, you smell." He tousled her hair.

  "I smell? Have you smelled your pits? They could take out an entire fleet. I'm sure your swamp ass is even worse." Charlie held her throat and pretended to gag as she wiggled her way out of his arms.

  She had butterflies in her stomach for the first time in a long time as she stared at the back of the house with her head tilted back. The sky was full of pink and blue hues as the sun moved toward the horizon.

  "You're probably right." Joe stretched his arms over his head, and arched his back
. His watch reflected light into her eyes, blinding her for a second. Charlie grabbed his wrist down to stop the glare and then looked at the time.

  "Oh, shit. I didn't know it was this late already. We need to get crackin' if we're going to get to Callie's on time."

  Joe pushed the patio doors open and walked inside, with Charlie on his heels. She stopped mid-stride to gawk at the gourmet kitchen, and her eyes took in every detail of the room. She must have had tunnel vision, to some degree, because she didn't notice her dad until he cleared his throat.

  "You okay, kid? You look like you're in shock."

  "I, uh ... wow." Charlie took big, deep breaths to try to calm her rapid heartbeat. She knew it wasn't good for it to race like that.

  "Why don't you stroll around the house and pick out which room you want? I've got dibs on the one down here. Anything upstairs is fair game."

  "Awesome, hey dad?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Thanks. This is everything I could have ever dreamed of."

  "I was hoping you'd think so." He winked at her as she shuffled her feet on the hard wood, and made her way to the entry way of the house.

  The entire place had vaulted ceilings, and doors that stood ten foot tall. Charlie brushed her hand along the oak rails of the stairs as she wandered up them. A large open space greeted her at the top of the landing, and one long hallway that connected both sides of the house into that room.

  She walked down each hall and peeked into each room. The room she chose was at the end of the hallway to the right and knelt in front of the hand crafted fireplace to examine all of the innate carvings. The mantel was flanked by two vast black Victorian bookshelves that had scroll work she'd only ever seen in books. She turned around and took in the bare bedroom, and it was enormous. She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling at the realization there was enough space to set up a sitting area across from her bed. She walked into the master bath and was awestruck by the remodeled features.

  "Holy hell."

  The shower had an electronic control panel inside and tried not to touch it. Oh, what the hell. It's mine anyway, let's see what this bad boy can do, she thought. Charlie jumped back with a giggle when she pushed a series of buttons. Water shot out of six different shower heads and rained down from the ceiling.

  Out of the corner of her eye, an over-sized bathtub sat in front of another fireplace. She swung her arms back and forth and clapped like a seal. A thud in the bedroom startled her, and she hoped no one had heard her talking to herself. Boxes were stacked all over the floor, and the only thing she cared about was finding their toiletries. She lifted boxes off of one another until she found them and carried it into her bathroom. All she wanted to do was play with her new shower and rinse the stink off. Charlie pulled all of her stuff onto her counter and took the rest down to her dad.

  "Hey, here's your bathroom junk." She handed him the box at the bottom of the stairs.

  "Cool. Now I can get the funk off of me. What do you think about that fancy shower up there?"

  "Dude, that thing is bananas. I felt like a preschooler. I couldn't stop myself from playing with all the buttons." She gave him a toothy grin.

  Joe laughed. "I did the same thing. The real estate agent looked at me like I was a moron."

  "Well, I'm going to go get cleaned up. If I don't come back down in an hour, don't come looking. I might be making soap angels on the shower floor with my thousand shower heads."

  "I don't even know how to respond to that." Joe shook his head and walked into his room.

  ♥♥♥♥♥

  As she chewed on her finger tip, she tried to figure out what buttons controlled each shower head. She reached out and pressed the demo button, and jumped back when they all came on at once.

  "Holy shit."

  A rush of adrenaline shot through her as she pushed the key pad again. She got the rain feature to come on, let go of her towel, and stepped into the steaming water. She was hopeful with a digital thermostat she'd be able to enjoy a shower for once.

  With her head dropped back, Charlie sighed as the water ran down her body. Her stomach fluttered as she traced her fingers over the scars that covered her chest and the dull ache that was always present.

  She closed her eyes and mentally replayed each ambulance ride, the surgeries, every scar, and let out a shallow sigh. One thing she couldn't stand about her condition was her inability to regulate her body temperature. She clenched her teeth as her body temperature rose with the warm water, and as usual she got lightheaded from being overheated.

  "Just breathe," she told her herself. Charlie washed, rinsed and got out in a hurry as panic rose up. She prayed she wouldn't pass-out and focused on her breathing. She wrapped her towel around herself, and laid across her stacked mattresses.

  Okay, just suck it up. It's going to pass. Ignore it, and it'll go away. She forced herself up, dumped the contents of her duffel bag onto her bed and sifted through her clothes.

  She got dressed, grabbed her make-up bag from her room, and headed back into the bathroom. As she emptied it into the sink , she stared into the mirror at her tired eyes, their usual dark blue faded to a dull gray.

  Even though Charlie didn't like wearing makeup, she put some concealer under eyes so she wouldn't worry Callie.

  Pain radiated through her chest, and she prayed this episode wouldn't last long. God this is getting old. She took a few slow deep breaths before going to work on her hair. She pulled the towel off her head, tossed it over the edge of the tub, and attempted to fix her hair before she gave up.

  Dizzy, Charlie held onto the hand rail on the stairs as she walked down, one step at a time, being careful in her current state and made her way into the kitchen.

  Joe sat on the marble counter top in the gourmet style kitchen, drinking a bottle of water.

  "Did you take your meds yet? You look like shit." Joe gave her an apologetic smile.

  "I don't know where they are, and, trust me, I feel like I got hit by a mac truck."

  "You left them in the truck. I brought them in." He slid a small box toward her. "We can stay home so you can rest, Callie will understand."

  "No, I'm fine. It'd just be nice to not have to take all of this garbage," she said, and frowned.

  "I know, kid. I wish you didn't have to."

  She opened her weekly pill case, and popped a fist-full of pills into her mouth, swallowing with a hard gulp.

  "Do you have to wear the most torn up pair of jeans you own, Charles? Callie hasn't seen you in a year." Joe wrinkled his nose at her.

  She looked down and smoothed them out. "They're not that bad. Besides, they're my lucky jeans."

  "And you need luck why?" He took a sip from his bottle.

  She shrugged. "I don't, it was the best thing I could come up with."

  "Why don't you drink something and relax for a bit before we go."

  "We'll be late if we do that."

  "I don't care. I'd rather you be okay and a few minutes late than in a ditch because you fell off your bike."

  She nodded and grabbed a drink out of the fridge. She was thankful they'd over-packed the cooler and there was plenty left over. The last thing she wanted to do was get back in the truck after the long drive.

  They sat in the kitchen and talked for a while until she felt better. Joe hopped off the counter and handed her motorcycle helmet to her.

  "You ready to hit it?"

  She nodded. "Yup. Let's do this."

  ♥♥♥♥♥

  They pulled into the driveway and parked their bikes as Jules walked out to meet them. He grinned and pushed his shaggy blond hair out of his blue eyes as he made his way over to her dad. Joe, stepped forward shook his hand and pulled him into one of those strange, half-assed bro hugs. Charlie pulled her helmet off, and quickly ran her fingers through her hair before she got off her bike.

  "Jules, how you doing, bud?" Joe squeezed one of Jules' shoulders.

  "I'm good, Joe. Glad you guys are here." Jules
glanced over at Charlie. "Damn, dude I thought you'd outgrown the ugly duckling stage by now. Guess I was wrong," he said, and stuck his tongue out to the side. He was a half a head taller than her and wrapped his arms around her squeezing her like a rag doll.

  "Are you still waiting for your balls to drop, Jules? Sounds like your voice is still awfully high." She gave him a playful shove.

  He arched an eyebrow at her. "As a matter of fact, they have, and I can show you if you like."

  Joe whipped around and scowled at Jules. "You'd better keep them in your pants if you want them to stay attached, buddy."

  "I was totally kidding, Joe," Jules squeaked out with his blue eyes wide.

  "Mmhm, you're lucky your dad is deployed, and he's my best friend. Even then, sleep with one eye open pal, " he mumbled, and walked toward the front door.

  "Thanks for the back-up, wench." Jules shoved Charlie.

  "You walked into that wall all on your own, dude." She hip checked him to beat him to the door.

  ♥♥♥♥♥

  Callie was her moms best friend and basically the only mother she'd ever known. They were more like family than friends. Charlie couldn't keep the smile from her face when she saw her. Callie walked toward them with a warm smile and open arms.

  "Joe, I feel like it's been forever. You look great," she said, and rubbed his arm.

  "You look great too, Cal, but it's only been a year." He hugged her tight.

  "A year is forever. Now get out of my way. Where's my girl?" She asked, and pushed him aside. Callie grabbed Charlie's hands and held her at arm's length.

  "Charlotte, honey, you are even more gorgeous, if that's possible. My God, look at you. You look more and more like your mother, but with your father's fashion sense." Callie pulled her into a hug and Charlie let her linger before she pulled away.

  "Uh, Thanks." Charlie blushed.

  "Speaking of fashion sense, I know you have plenty of money to buy my girl clothes that aren't rags." Callie gave Joe a dirty look and he titled his head toward Charlie.