“It’s okay,” Charlotte whispers. “Everything will be okay.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you’re here. This will be your home. Arla isn’t going anywhere.”
I move my hand and tilt my head to look at Charlotte. “What about you?”
“I’m here, Jack.” Charlotte adjusts the way she’s sitting and faces me. She’s so beautiful. She always has been. Her dark blonde hair is in a low ponytail. Earlier, when we arrived, she had it down and curled. It took every part of me not to reach out and pull on one of the ringlets. It was something I had done in the past. Now, those curls are resting over the front of her shoulder, still tempting me.
“We haven’t seen each other in ten years,” I remind her. “We’ve changed. What if we’re different?”
Charlotte chuckles. “I should hope we’re different. We’ve grown up, we’ve changed. Life changes us. I’m a mom who runs a restaurant with a meddling family who has an opinion about everything. You’re protecting our country, making us safe, and now a dad. The dad part is a huge pill to swallow. I’m just letting you know that I’m here if you want. There’s a reason I told you to stay here.”
“What’s that?”
“Because selfishly, I wanted to spend time with you as well. I wanted to see if those feelings I remember from so many years ago are still there,” she says with a shrug.
“Are they?”
Charlotte nods, and this is my cue. I lean toward her and cup the back of her neck to bring her closer to me. “I had no idea how much I missed you until I saw the sign for Holyoak. Living here was the only time in my life I felt like I had friends or any semblance of a family, and now . . . I can’t put into words what all of this means to me, and it’s because of you. You kept our daughter when you could’ve given her up, and now you’ve given me the best gift I have ever received. I feel like I should give you a thank you card or something. I don’t even know.”
“I know what you can give me, Jack.”
“What’s that, Charlotte?”
“A kiss. If you don’t kiss me, I’m going to kiss you. I’ve thought about it since Krew texted that he saw you. I wondered for the rest of the day if you had a wife or a girlfriend and asked myself how I would react. The truth is, I’ve waited for you to come back. Deep down, I knew you’d return to Holyoak, and I’d be here, waiting. Right along with Arla.”
Her words are enough to spur me into action. I close the distance between us and press my lips to hers. They’re soft and familiar. Her mouth opens, welcoming me to deepen the affection I hope she feels coming from me. When we part, her forehead rests against mine.
“I’m so happy you’re back but hate that you’re leaving.”
I pull away and hold her gaze with mine. “I have a lot of decisions to make. My enlistment is up for renewal. There are options for me, and they all have pros and cons, but I promise you, any decision I make, we’ll make together because I’m not going anywhere, Charlotte.”
“Neither are we.”
I nod and fight back another wave of tears. “We can text and video chat every day, and I’ll call on the weekends. With Arla being in school, the time zone sort of messes up when she and I can talk, but it’ll work. There are times when I have trainings and such, but you’ll always know. And I’ll be back for Christmas. If you want me here.”
“Jack,” she says my name softly. “Stop asking if we want you. This is your home now, and if you need me to prove the point, I’ll put your name on the mailbox and give you a key.”
Charlotte makes me happy. I pull her back into my arms and kiss her again. “I think if you’re going to do that, you’ll have to give me some space in your closet.”
Her head falls back in a giggle. “Now you’re pushing it, but I think I can find some space.”
“That’s all I can ask for.”
It may have taken my entire life, but I finally have a family. One that wants me, no matter what.
My Favorite Mistake by Lauren Runow
Chapter One
As I spin the bottom of my bottle around, my mind goes blank, and my sight stays glued to the reflection the glass is making on the table from the flickering candle next to me. It’s been quite the day, and seeing the design helps me remember the beauty I know our world still has.
I need to find any sign of goodness I can right now.
I know I should be at a church or doing a good deed, so I might find better Karma coming my way, but somehow, I ended up here, at a corner bar in the middle of San Francisco.
The pressure was becoming too much, and I had to get out of my house before I snapped. Or at least, more than I already had.
I drop my head to my chest, close my eyes, and take a deep inhale.
“Everything okay?” a man asks.
When I raise my head, there’s a handsome guy with the most piercing blue eyes I’ve ever seen. His hair is short, and his jaw is straight, but his expression is what makes me pause. Genuine concern laces every centimeter of his olive skin.
The kind of concern I wish I got from other people in my life.
When I don’t respond, he tilts his head, leaning down a little closer when he says, “I’m sorry to bother you, but I couldn’t help but stop to make sure you were all right.”
I nod, trying to grin through the pain I’m feeling deep inside that I’ve had to hide for so long. “I’m fine. Thank you for asking.” I blow him off and go back to tilting my bottle.
He doesn’t buy my lies. “Want to talk?”
I glance around the mostly empty bar to see if he’s with someone else.
He points to the door that’s closing after someone apparently walked out. “My friends just left.” He holds up his hands in declaration. “I swear I’m not the type of guy who comes to bars alone, looking to pick up distraught girls.”
I chuckle under my breath. “So, you think I’m distraught?”
“Sorry, wrong word choice. Maybe not distraught. More like you might need a shoulder to cry on or an ear to talk to.”
“I thought guys didn’t like listening to other people’s problems?” I say with my eyes still glued on the table.
He leans down further to catch my sight. “Tonight might be the exception if you’re up for hanging out with a stranger.”
Everything about him is caring and sincere. The way his eyes soften as he waits for my response makes me want to talk to him, and surprisingly, I feel comfortable with him.
I point to the chair in front of me. “Sure. Why not? Have a seat.”
He does and holds out his hand to me. “I’m Travis.”
I shake it. “Michelle.”
“Well, Michelle, can I get you another beer?” He points to the empty bottle now sitting in front of me as I nervously run my hands down my pants. “Or do you want another shot?” He picks up the shot glass that I downed the second it was handed to me.
I purse my lips to the side, wondering which one I want more, and he laughs, picking up both.
“I’ll get one of each. What was in the shot?”