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If it was any other reporter he would have agreed with his assistant's assumption, but not Marcy Blake. She was notorious for getting scandals out to her readers first, regardless of how accurate her facts were. She didn't care how her reporting the facts wrong affected people as long as the stories she wrote sold magazines and made her editors happy.
Unease settled in his gut, killing his appetite. He’d kept a low profile as of late so he couldn't think of any scandal she could link to him. Still if she called looking for him it wasn't a good sign. “Thanks for the heads up, Cindy. I'm sure she'll call my cell. It won't take that woman long to get her hands on my new number.” He didn't know how she did it, but somehow she always managed to get her hands on his number. He'd changed it twice in the past two years for that very reason.
He was ending his conversation when Charlie walked in. “Cindy, I'll call you if I hear from Marcy. Let me know if anything comes up down there.” Pushing the end button on the phone, he shoved it in his pocket and gave Charlie a smile. Though she smiled in return, it wasn't the same open inviting one she'd greeted him with earlier. This one was forced and her eyes reflected suspicion. He could tell she wanted to ask who he'd been talking to. For a moment he considered waiting to see if she would say anything, but in the end he decided to just come right out and tell her.
“That was my executive assistant Cindy. I don't know what I would do without her.” Jake stood and moved toward her as he spoke. “Guess some reporter called looking for me today.” Although it wasn't any of her business he didn't want to keep things from her. In his experience when you did that it often came back to bite you in the ass.
Some of the suspicion faded from her eyes, and she accepted his outstretched hand. “Maybe she heard about your work here and had a few questions.”
Holding her hand, Jake led her toward the kitchen door. “She's not that kind of reporter. If it's not guaranteed to sell papers, she's not writing about it.” Damn. He hated the Marcy Blake's of the world. “I'll find out what she wants soon enough, I'm sure,” he said with resignation.
Jake didn't mention the reporter again though he couldn't shake the feeling that a scandal involving him or his family must be taking shape. Rather he focused his attention on Charlie and the Quinns. Once again when they arrived at the hospital they found Jessica with her grandparents. Much like his previous visits he talked to the family about everyday things and Mr. Quinn grilled him about the town's progress.
While Mr. Quinn shot questions at him, Charlie and Jessica used the time to catch up. He still found it odd that the two of them had been such good friends. They struck him as complete opposites especially considering their reaction the day of the accident. Charlie had remained calm and cool while Jessica had been almost hysterical. Yet he could see the close bond between the women as they talked. As he half-listened to Mr. Quinn explain his upcoming surgery, he listened to the conversation between the two old friends.
“You, Kate and I need to go out together the next time you come home. I don't think we have all hung out together since the summer after graduation,” Jessica said.
“We've gone out since then.” Jake noticed that when Charlie answered she looked everywhere but at her friend. “The summer I came home after freshman year.”
Jessica shook her head. “You and I went out. Kate didn't come. And we have not been out since. The day grandpa fell was the first time I'd seen you in years. I didn't even know you were home. You should visit Kate before you leave. Did you know she has two kids now?”
Once again he wondered how long it'd been since Charlie's last visit home. From the previous conversations he'd overheard and what they were saying now, it seemed as if it'd been awhile. Why was that? True, being a doctor in the Navy wasn't a nine-to-five job with vacation time you could take without advance planning, but that didn't mean she didn't have some leave every year. She seemed to get along with her family so why not come home more often?
Whether or not she sees her family isn't any of my business. He often went long stretches between seeing his parents too.
“Doc says I'll need a chair for a while. Physical therapy too,” Mr. Quinn grumbled interrupting Jake's thoughts. “Who has time for that? Who's going to run the store?”
Jake tried to hide his smile as he watched Mrs. Quinn pat her husband's hand.
“Jess practically runs the place now and you know it. You just don't want to do the therapy.”
Mr. Quinn snatched his hand away from his wife, his bright red face giving away his embarrassment. The way Jake figured it, the guy had nothing to be embarrassed about. The woman clearly loved him and didn't have any qualms about giving him a hard time. It was just what he wanted someday. The right woman just hadn't come along yet.
Thinking back over the relationships he'd been in, his eyes moved to where Charlie sat. She was explaining the importance of physical therapy to the Quinns, but it wasn't her words that drew Jake's attention. Rather it was her tone. Though she was straightforward and blunt, her voice was compassionate. Her hazel eyes were warm and caring. There didn't seem to be anything fake or contrived about her. With Charlie what you saw was what you got. It was such a change from the women he normally found himself attracted to. And he suspected it was that very quality about her that had him wanting to get to know her better. Something he hoped would happen next weekend, if she agreed to accompany him.
He'd been mulling over the idea since last night. One minute inviting her seemed like a fabulous idea; the next it struck him as a disaster waiting to happen. Most of the time he wasn't so indecisive, he didn't know why he was this time. It wasn't like another guest would be a big deal. After all more than three hundred people were already expected. Still Jake straddled the fence tipping back and forth like a see-saw.
About an hour later he walked with Charlie out to the parking lot. Like they always did when he left, the Quinns had thanked him for everything and had extended an invitation for dinner at their house once Mr. Quinn left the hospital.
“I think you've got some new admirers.” Laughing Charlie reached for the SUV's door handle.
Darting his hand out before she could grip the handle, Jake pulled the door open for her with one hand while he wrapped his other around her fore
arm anchoring her next to him. If she really wanted to she could move, but the slight touch kept her beside the SUV.
“I can see myself being a bit like Mr. Quinn someday.”
The corners of Charlie's mouth curved upward. “You're going to be a hardware store owner with a broken hip when you grow up?” she asked with a gleam in her eye.
Jake tugged on her arm until she was standing close enough for him to see the flecks of green in her hazel eyes. Focusing on her lips he lowered his head toward her, stopping when they were mere inches apart. Finally, he could do what he'd wanted to do since they exited the hospital.
“I meant a stubborn old man who doesn't like sitting around on his ass.” He didn't give her a chance to comment. Instead he took her lips in a slow tender kiss, one that he intended to tease her with. They'd shared several passionate kisses, but he was always the aggressor. This time he wanted her to control things. Well at least as far as this kiss was concerned. He wanted to see how heated their kiss would be if he didn't keep kicking it up a notch.
Charlie didn't keep him waiting long. She ran her tongue along the seam of his lips enticing him to open for her. When he didn't comply she pressed her body against his, crushing her breasts against his chest and tugging on his bottom lip with her mouth.
Unable to help himself, Jake succumbed to her tactics. Like always she tasted like mint. Whether it was her toothpaste or some candy she favored, he didn't know. But he knew that he was never going to be able to taste mint again without thinking of Charlotte O'Brien.
Jake looped his arms around Charlie's waist and lost himself in their kiss. All thoughts of Mr. Quinn and their visit evaporated as did any thoughts of where they were. His first pull back to reality came in the form of a car's horn. It blared as it passed down the side street near the parking lot. A wolf whistle followed the offensive sound and caused Jake to pull back just in time to see a car pass by.
