We spend the rest of the day at the cottage. I let Thea rest and recoup for the majority of the time but I do try to pick her brain to see what she remembers of the night. To my dismay, it’s not much. She has a calm day and I check in on her every hour or so as she rests.
I’m just walking out of her bedroom when I hear a knock at the front door. Walking over to it, I glance through the peephole, not expecting any visitors.
It’s Charlie.
I open the door and smile as I see him. He’s holding a couple pizza boxes.
“Hey,” he says. “Wanted to bring you guys dinner.” He hands me the warm boxes, Italian spices filling my nostrils.
“Come in,” I say, stepping away from the doorway.
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to intrude. Besides, not sure if Thea is up for visitors.”
He’s right.
“Well, thank you,” I say. “I really appreciate it.”
“We pulled the security footage from Ramona’s,” he says. “I’m bringing the punk in for questioning myself. We’re gonna get him.”
“Thank you,” I repeat.
Charlie nods and then kisses me, quickly. “You’re welcome. I’ll check in with you later,” he says before turning around. I watch as he walks down the steps of the porch and back to his car, grateful for the man that’s been placed in my life.
I close the front door and head back to the kitchen, placing the pizza boxes on the counter. I grab two plates out of the cabinet and turn around as Thea appears in the doorway.
“Charlie?” she asks, nodding at the pizza.
“Yeah,” I say. “He figured we could use some dinner.”
“Iampretty hungry.”
“Here.” I hand her a plate and she crosses the kitchen. We open the boxes; my favorite supreme pizza and a plain cheese one forher. She picks a few pieces out and drops them on her plate before heading to the table.
“So,” she says quietly, “you were right when you said Osborne boys are no good for you. I wish I’d never gotten involved with Jake at all.”
“Oh, honey.” I sit down beside her at the table. “I should have asked more questions before. If I had known your date was with him, I never would have let you go, and this wouldn’t have happened.”
“You never did tell me how you know his dad.” Thea picks up a slice and takes a bite. “Tell Charlie thank you, by the way.”
I smile. “I, uh…” I let out a breath. “I dated his dad for six years.”
“You did not.” She leans back in her chair, eyes wide.
“I did.” I nod. “I was young and naive, and thought it was love. It was before Jake was born.”
“Just think, he could be your son,” Thea says, letting out a laugh.
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t have let that happen. I never wanted kids.”
“And now you’re stuck with me,” she says quietly as her expression turns sour.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I say quickly. I reach for her arm. “I love having you out here, Thea. Truly, I do.”
She smiles weakly.
“James and I just wanted different things. I thought he would propose and he ended up cheating on me. Multiple times. After that, I gave up on love. It really wrecked me. I went into therapy overhim. He was verbally abusive and treated me so poorly, but I didn’t realize it for a few years. Hindsight, ya know?”
“Wow,” she says quietly, stewing over my words.
