For Love of Charley by Katherine Allred Page B

grumbled.
“The wedding is going to be in two months.”
    “That’s wonderful!” Frannie gushed. “I love
weddings. I’m engaged, myself. It’s just that Ben and I can’t agree on a date.
He wants to elope, I want a big wedding with all the trimmings.”
    Suddenly Cole’s entire attention was fixed
on her. “Ben?”
    “Yes, Ben Zimmerman. You may remember him.
He’s the sheriff now.”
    Cole glanced at Charley and smiled. “Yes,
as a matter of fact, I do remember Ben.”
    “Great! You can catch up on old-times
Thursday night. I’m having a birthday party for Charley at the Red Dog.”
Frannie smiled at Kristy. “You’re invited, also. Bring a date if you want.”
    Kristy nodded. “Thank you. I’d love to
come. It’s been kind of lonely around here with no one to talk to but him.” She
yanked her thumb in Cole’s direction with obvious disgust.
    Charley looked positively fascinated at
Kristy’s sisterly attitude, and Cole almost laughed.
    “Are you staying here in town?”
    “I’m staying at Cole’s for now.” Kristy
smiled at Charley. “He has so much room it seemed silly to rent something. As
soon as everything is done here, I’ll be going back to L.A. to handle his
business there. You should drop by sometime. It’s really a beautiful house.
Bring your swimsuits. The pool is great.”
    “Thanks. We may just do that.” Cole saw
Charley sneak a quick look at him to see how he was taking the invitation. He
did his best to look like it didn’t affect him one way or the other.
    Kristy glanced at her watch. “I have to get
going. I promised Mrs. Paulson I’d be home as soon as possible. The woman is
convinced there are wolves all over the mountains just drooling to turn her
into a midnight snack.” She climbed into the car. “See you later.”
    Frannie started toward her Volkswagen. “I
have to go, too. I’m meeting Ben in a few minutes. Night!” She waved.
    Cole looked down at Charley, wishing he
could come up with an excuse to stay with her. The darkness that surrounded
them seemed to get deeper and quieter.
    “Who’s Mrs. Paulson?” She sounded nervous.
    “My housekeeper. She’s never been out of
Los Angeles before and thinks we’ve moved her into the wilderness. It’s Kristy’s
fault. She’s always telling her stories about the Wild West and scaring her to
death.”
    He saw her hesitate. “Kristy seems very
nice.”
    “She is. I hope you take her up on her
invitation. She could use a friend or two.”
    “How long have you known her?”
    It was his turn to hesitate. They were
finally having a conversation and he didn’t want to stir up the bad memories
again. But he couldn’t lie to her. “Ten years. Jim McIntire was the first
person I met when I got to Los Angeles. It was the day before Kristy’s
fourteenth birthday.”
    She nodded. “And now you’re all going to be
a real family.”
    “We always have been. Jim doesn’t have to
marry my mother for that to happen.”
    Charley looked up at him, searching his
face in the moonlight. “You know, it’s funny. I keep forgetting that you’ve
been somewhere else, living another life for all this time. Nothing ever
changes around here. You see the same people every day, do the same things
you’ve always done, and it’s like the rest of the world doesn’t exist.”
    Mesmerized, Cole watched her lift her hand
to his cheek. He was afraid to move, afraid to breathe. Suddenly, his heart was
slamming into his ribs.
    “But it does exist. You’ve been there.” Her
head tilted as she studied him. “It’s changed you, hasn’t it? You aren’t the
same person you were before. Not even the same one you would have been if you’d
stayed here.” Her thumb moved over the stubbled beard of his chin and up to
caress the edge of his lips. “You look the same, but deep down, you aren’t. I
don’t think I know you anymore.”
    “Would you like to?” He could no more
prevent the husky quality of his voice than he could stop the