Pretty In Pink (10 page)

Clarice sighed and shook her head.
“Him again? He keeps calling Uncle Charlie. ‘Cause he wants to come back.”

Kimber felt panicky. The sadness so
swift and intense she felt a little sick. Janette carried a tray of drinks,
looking hesitantly happy, but mostly concerned.

“He does, hunh?” Kimber asked.

“Yeah. What can you do?” Clarice
sounded like such a grown up in a little pixie body.

Kimber caught the flash of the white
service van in the window. She peeked out. “Do you think he’ll let him come
back?” she asked, not wanting an answer. Hoping it was no.

But Clarice nodded sagely and said,
“Sure I do. Uncle Charlie is so nice. He’ll let him come back eventually, I bet.”

Janette caught the look finally and
went to put the tray down, but Kimber had had enough. Charlie was on the phone,
his back to them, he shook his head, but kept his voice low so she really
couldn’t hear.

She forced the false cheer out and
sang, “Oh, look! The roof guys are here. I have to go and deal with that.
Thanks so much for having me. Merry Christmas. Ho, ho, ho,” she babbled. She
knew it, yet couldn’t stop. “See you later.”

“Kimber, wait. I don’t think you
underst—” Janette stared toward her.

“I really have to go. You guys have
fun. Thanks for having me for some of it. It was really nice.” Kimber swallowed
back a huge sad sound that threatened to swell out of her throat.

She got out the front door before
Charlie even looked up. She stood abroad of the pink flamingo Rudolph when the
sob finally escaped. The roof guys looked and she shook it off, regaining her
composure. “Hi there! Hi, I’m Kimber Daniels. That’s my house.” She rushed
forward, hoping the red eyes and nose could be written off to just be cold air
and Christmas spirit.

Chapter 8

Carl! That mother fucker. Couldn’t he
just let well enough alone? After everything he’d done, Charlie never wanted to
talk to him again. Now he was on the phone asking for help coming back. He
hated Florida, missed Maryland. Wanted forgiveness. Charlie didn’t think he was
a big enough man to forgive him even if he didn’t love Priscilla any more. Even
if he felt like in the last few days he’d made those first huge steps to moving
on with his life. He still didn’t think he could work with Carl.

“Man, I'll tell them to let you back,
but I’m not working with you. I can’t. I don’t trust you with my back. Or to be
in my life.” Charlie hung up to face his sister. Chances were Janette would
expect him to go ahead and forgive and forget and let Carl come back. But he
couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

“She left,” Janette said, not even
pausing to breathe, “I think she has a misunderstanding about…”

Charlie shook his head. “What the
fuck?”

“What?” Clarice yelled from the other
room.

“Charlie,” Janette said.

“Jesus, Jannette.
God forbid I say a bad word in my own
damn house!”

He put his boots on and Janette said,
“She’s really upset. You might want to just let her have a minute. I think she
is a little confused about what kind of partner Carl is and I take it she’s
been kind of beat up in the romance department.”

“Gee, me too, take a number.” Charlie
tied his boots angrily and cursed Carl under his breath again. He was still
screwing up his life all the way from fucking Florida. “I’m going to go talk to
her.”

“I wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

Charlie tried not to slam the door
because of Clarice. There was really no reason to upset her. Her Christmas was
going to be difficult enough in a small apartment, sort of kind of staying with
him half the time. Clarice’s dad, Bob, had died when she was one. Janette knew
a thing or two about being upset and in pain. “Great. Now I’m a total shit heel
for yelling at my sister, too.” Anger ripped through him and he punted the pink
flamingo across the yard and felt a brief stab of satisfaction as he watched it
sail. “Fore,” he said softly.

“Charlie, my man!” Richard the handyman
gave him a friendly wave and Charlie grunted, waving in reply.

“Ms. Daniels around?” he asked
Richard.

“She just tore outta here. Said she
was going to grab food. Her friend’s in charge. She’s not too shabby either.
But Ms. Daniels…man, I wouldn’t mind planting my—-”

“Don’t’ make me plant my foot in your
ass,” Charlie growled and Richard backpedaled.

“Hey, no offense, man. I didn’t know
you and her were…you know, like, connected.”

“Yeah, apparently no one does. I’m
going in the side door. You make sure you do a good job, or I’ll report you to
the Better Business Bureau. I know you do good work, but skimp. Don’t skimp,
got it.?

Richard gave him a salute. “Got it. No
skimping. Only the best for Kimber.”

“Exactly.” Charlie kicked his boots against
the wrought iron side porch to get the snow off and pushed the door. It opened
for him, revealing Kimber’s kitchen, exactly as the former owner had left it.
“Hello?”

Sarah came sliding in the kitchen on
her stocking feet. He could hear them removing the fallen roof and the noise
rumbled through the small house. “Charlie. She’s not here. She left because
of…”

“A phone call from my ex-partner. My
ex
cop
partner. And she thinks…I mean, does she
really think
that
I’m gay?”

“Bi.” Sarah looked like she wanted to
disappear in a puff of smoke.

“Bi! How did that happen?”

“Well, first it was the flamingo.”

Charlie wanted to go find that damn
bird and stomp it into hot-pink plastic shreds. Instead he blew out a big
breath and tried to still his anger. “Go on.”

“Well, then you came to the door all
made up and in a pink robe and…”

“Clarice did that and she’s five!” he
roared.

“Hey, there Mister Yelly person. Don’t
shoot the messenger.”

Charlie gritted his teeth. “Right,
right, go on.”

“Then the whole partner thing. Two pictures,
one guy, one girl.”

“I am a cop!” he hissed. “Partner is a
standard term.”

“Son, you are preaching to the choir.
I told her that.”

“So why?” Charlie sank down in a funky
painted chair and hung his head. He did manage to resist the urge to actually start
banging it on the table. Apparently for him, it was a bit simpler. Once he’d
come to get her, once he’d taken her into his home and then his bed, he was
willing to take that scary chance on her. She was neat. She was funny. She was
great with Clarice and starting her own business and did not remotely seem like
a Priscilla who wouldn’t give a second thought about sleeping with another guy.

Sarah snorted, shrugged, and dropped
in an opposite chair. “She’s great. She’s awesome. And…truth be told, she’s sort
of damaged.”

“Who isn’t?” Charlie laughed.

“Amen,” Sarah said and smiled at him.
“Bottom line, Charlie, she needed you to be not okay for her from the get go
because she thinks you are okay for her?”

“Pardon?”

“She was attracted to you and it
scared the shit out of her.”

“Ah, well, isn’t that…crazy?”

“Yes.”

“So when she…stayed with me last
night, it was because.”

“In her mind you were still safe. You
were bi. You were torn. But you could be hers a little bit. But then…” Sarah
played with salt and pepper shakers shaped like wiener dogs. Charlie wanted to
grind them to dust between his teeth and then punch someone. He had a little
frustration going on.

“Then what, Sarah. Do
not
keep
me hanging.”

“But then she really liked you.
Really, really, and she liked your sister and Clarice and the family vibe, and
John that last shit she was with, he was a jerk. He treated her like she was
dumb, incapable, and just a mess. He cheated on her, put her down. It was that
classic, why-the-fuck-is-that-great-girl-with-that-douche-bag scenario. So she
let herself like you and then the phone call. It was sort of a self-fulfilling
prophecy deal.”

“But that was my partner who, might I
add, cheated with my fiancée and has been out of my life since. And so has she.
And I like Kimber. A lot…” He pushed his hands through his hair. It almost felt
like the move was to hold his damn brains in his head. “More than a lot maybe,”
he confessed softly.

“I know.”

Something boomed and they both jumped.
“Richie said that she was out getting food?”

“She lied. She has this place her dad
used to take her when she was little. The soft place. She goes there when she’s
upset. It’s out by Loch Bell Road.”

“Out there? But it’s snowing. Pretty
hard now! Again. Dammit.”

“I know, but she can be totally stubborn.”

“She didn’t drive that stupid little
sports car, did she?”

“Um…”

“Aw hell.” Charliestood. “Those roads
are twisty and slippery, and she’s in a roller skate!”

“More yelling! Hey!”

“I don't mean to yell, I'm just upset.
Look there's food and booze and Elvis, plus a Christmas tree at my house if you
want to go. I’m going to make sure she’s okay. Richie won't fuck up the porch
because I already threatened in him with the BBB.”

Sarah laughed. “Booze you say?”

“Yep, something pink and fizzy.”

“Dude, I am so there. I’ll keep any
eye on them from her, but call when you find her okay.…Okay?”

“Yeah, right," Charlie was
dangerously distracted. "You got it.” Charlie had his truck down the
street before Sarah even made it across his lawn.

* * * *

He found her on one of the Seven
Serpent twists. She’d slid across the median and into the shallow ditch on the
far side of the road. Not much damage beyond stress and wounded pride. Charlie
parked in front of her, his truck on the wrong side of the road, but safely on the
shoulder.

He knocked on the window and God help
him, he had to laugh when Kimber actually pretended not to see him. “How can
you not see me?” he yelled through the windshield. “No one else is here and
you’re looking right at me!” Snow settled in his hair and eyelashes and she
shrugged.

Charlie put his head down and gathered
his patience. “Kimber. Please! Open the window.”

She pushed the button and nothing
happened. “Start the car!”

Instead she opened the door and leaned
out a bit. “I’m not here.” That was all she said before the tears started.
Then, “I feel kind of stupid. Scratch that, I feel way stupid.”

Charlie cracked. He leaned in and took
her face in his hands and kissed her. A car whooshed by way too close for
comfort. He deepened the kiss and then took her wrists in his hands. “Come on.
Get out of this car before you get hit. Snow or no snow, folks are ripping up
this road like they’re in a race.”

“I can’t. Go home, Charlie. I don’t
want to wreck your life.” She started to pull the door shut and he grabbed it,
a quick flash of anger arcing through him.

“Hey! Wreck my life? You want no
chance of that?”

“Of course not.”

“Then get out of the damn car and come
with me. Come back and sing, decorate, eat and drink, and snuggle in my bed
with me. Give me a chance.” He tugged her and she started to rise then stopped.

“But the phone call—”

“Was a guy who used to be my best
friend and my partner and slept with my girlfriend and has been out of my life
and I like it that way.”

“But—”

“But you
want
me to be inaccessible.
I talked to Sarah.”

“Sarah knows—”

“A lot more about you than you think. She
loves you and she wants you to listen to me.” Okay, so he made that last part
up.

“But the flamingo…” She blushed deep
red in the cold blue-tinted air. More wind whipped and the snow gave a surreal
hush to what was normally a very busy and dangerous road.

“Was my sister and the makeup was my
niece and the rest was your imagination. Apparently to make me safe, though I
am a cop. Safety is my middle name,” he joked. “And for tonight,” he tugged and
this time Kimber stood. “I’d like to be happy. No worries about folks who hurt
me or any of it. Just you and a hug. Can I have a hug?”

She hugged him. “Of course. God, I
know I’m a bit…off.”

“Recovering broken hearted, is how I think
of it. I’m one too.”

“So you said.” She kissed him on her
own then and Charlie’s heart felt like it would swell right out of his chest.

The moment was lost when some asshole
came ripping up the road and started a slow sickening slide right toward them.
Charlie put her behind him, his hand protectively on her hip. The car righted
itself and was on its way. Charlie wanted to shout, it had given him such a
scare, but he let it go. “Get in the truck,” he said. “We need to talk and I’ll
call a tow for you.”