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Charlie's shoulders slumped ever so slightly and she frowned. “I've never been on a picnic.”
He could hear the deep sadness in her voice. A sadness that seemed too intense to be caused by the mere detail she'd shared with him.
“I've eaten outside but I’ve never been on a real picnic like that one.” She nodded toward the painting.
Jake opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it, unsure how to respond. Her slumped shoulders and mournful voice told him something buried deep down caused her sorrow. Something that had nothing to do with picnics, but he didn't know what or how to broach the topic. He was still trying to figure it out when Charlie turned to face him. Although the frown no longer marred her face, he could see the deep sadness lurking in her hazel eyes. Eyes that appeared almost green today thanks to her green top.
“Come on. Let’s keep walking,” she said as she took a step forward.
In silence they fell into step next to each other as they continued up the crowded downtown street. More than anything he wanted to banish the sadness he saw in her eyes. Prior to their stop she'd been laughing and relaxed. The woman walking with him now was quiet and solemn, not at all like the Charlie he'd come to know. Somehow he needed to lighten the atmosphere.
“How about we skip dinner and go for ice cream instead? Pirate's Cove is open. Nobody has better ice cream and we can play a round of mini-golf while we're there.” It seemed like a feeble attempt even to him, but it was better than nothing.
When Charlie didn't answer he added, “Unless you're afraid you'll lose.” In the short time he'd known her he'd learned she was not only headstrong and independent, but competitive. If anything would get her going it was a taunt.
Her reaction to his words didn't disappoint. Charlie's shoulders went back and the spark returned to her eyes. “You're on Mr. Sherbrooke.”
They walked the couple of blocks to Pirate's Cove in silence.
“When you said ice cream and mini-golf, I expected one of those little outside stands with a tiny course,” Charlie said as they joined the long line of customers waiting to place orders. The place they'd walked to was anything but tiny. A large eighteenth-century stone building with a flashing neon open sign sat way back from the road. To the left of the building was an enormous eighteen-hole mini-golf course complete with a windmill and waterfall. Behind the building were six batting cages and off to the fa
r right was a go-cart track.
“You grew up in New England and never heard of Pirate's Cove?” he asked feigning astonishment. “You should be ashamed.” The line moved forward and he moved with the crowd. “I used to come here all the time in the summer. They expanded the golf course and added go-carts a few years ago. I think they put in more batting cages too.”
“Really? You came here in the summer?” Charlie gestured toward their surroundings her eyebrows raised.
“And that's supposed to mean what?” Jake knew the joking tone had left his voice and Charlie's slight blush told him she'd noticed.
Jake watched Charlie's shoulder's raise and lower. “Nothing. It's just that you could hang out anywhere in the world and this place seems ordinary. That's all.”
Why did everyone think he considered ordinary below him? “There's nothing ordinary about their ice cream. They make it themselves.” He tried to keep the irritation from creeping into his voice. Jake thought he'd accomplished this but Charlie's next comment told him otherwise.
“I didn't mean to insult you, Jake.”
She dropped a feather-light kiss on his cheek and something in his chest tightened with emotion.
“Forget I said it, okay?”
“Said what?” he asked as they reached a window to place their orders.
Chapter 8
The following Wednesday night Jake called Charlie's cell while he relaxed in his entertainment room. When she didn't answer he left a short message and then checked his own three voice mails. The first was from his mother, the second from his sister Sara and the last one was from an old college buddy. He didn't plan on calling any of them back tonight. He already knew what his mother wanted. She wanted once again to broach the subject of him running for the state Senate. She saw it as a perfect place to launch his political career. A career he never planned on having despite his parents' wishes. He guessed Sara had called to just talk. She often did that, but he wasn't up for a long brother-sister conversation tonight. As for the call from Christopher, Jake guessed the guy was in town and wanted to get together. Normally when Christopher came to Virginia they'd catch a ball game or hit a few nightclubs. Neither activity held any interest to him tonight.
After grabbing the remote for the TV he flipped through the stations searching for something to distract him. The restlessness that plagued him when he wasn't in the field had returned as soon as he entered his office Tuesday afternoon. So far that week numerous pressing issues regarding the foundation had kept him busy but it wasn't enough. As usual he longed to get back into the field. Being cooped up in the office gave him too much time to dwell on his regrets; all the other things he felt were better kept locked away.
Tossing the remote onto the leather sofa, Jake abruptly came to his feet. The need to be moving was suddenly too great to ignore. What he wouldn't give for an excuse to get back into the field and to do some hands-on work. Or to see Charlie again. It'd only been two days, yet it felt much longer. He missed her more than he ever would've imagined considering the amount of time they'd known each other. He'd been in relationships before and been forced to spend time apart but it hadn't ever bothered him all that much. In the past he went on about his life, content to see the girls he dated whenever it was convenient for both of them.
This time the separation only added to his internal unease, an unease he hadn't felt in weeks. In fact he hadn't felt it since he'd learned of the broken dam and the destruction it caused in North Salem and headed to Massachusetts.
He'd expected it to return the minute he saw his parents at his sister's wedding. Oddly though it hadn't, at least not to the extent it usually did. Sure, he'd been frustrated by his father's grilling and his mother's hounding him about entering politics. Yet the normal feelings of regret and frustration at the fact that they couldn't accept the decisions he made hadn't presented themselves with Charlie around.
Leaving the television on, he opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside onto the deck. Splashes of pink and red painted the evening sky as the sun started to set, and a warm breeze stirred the air. Only one thing kept the evening from being perfect. He was alone. Not that he couldn't find someone to share it with him if he so desired, but he didn't want just any woman. The one he wanted was hundreds of miles away.
What was she doing tonight? Had she gone out for an evening run? He knew that she liked running at night. When he'd asked her about it, she told him it helped her to relax after a stressful day. Had she decided to head out for a run tonight? Or was she busy helping her mom in the kitchen? When he'd left there had been a few displaced citizens still staying at the Victorian Rose. Either way he couldn't do anything about it. Jake dropped down into a chair and stretched his legs out in front of him. Then he forced his mind to focus on the meeting he had first thing in the morning.
Jake remained outside until the stars filled the sky. Inside he could hear a sportscaster talking about the Orioles starting lineup for their game against the Rangers. He pushed himself up from the chair intending to go in and do some more channel surfing. He received every channel under the sun. There had to be something worth watching on one of them. His ringing cell stopped him in his tracks. It was Sara's ring tone. Since he knew she would only keep calling until she finally got him, he pulled the phone from his pocket and answered.
