Page 65 of A Night To Remember

“Okay. Jake,” she called to him as they were about to walk out the door.

He turned to her, impatience in his expression. “What?”

What did she have to say to him? Now that she’d made her decision, why was it so hard to stick with it? “Nothing. I’ll see you Sunday.”

He nodded.

When they were gone, Charlie felt desolate. She only had herself to blame.

“Uncle Jake!”

His head shot up as one of his nieces, Kammy, demanded his attention. Kristy sat eating an ice pop. He’d brought ice cream for the girls, and they all sat at one of the tables with their treats. After taking one bite of his ice cream sandwich, Jake put his aside, his appetite nonexistent. “What is it, sweetheart?”

The redheaded girl sighed with exasperation. “I was trying to get your attention for a long time. You were daydreaming.”

“Was I? I’m sorry. What did you want?”

“We’re finished with our ice cream, can we see some more animals? You said you’d take us to the monkey house.”

“Wait until Kristy is finished and we can go.”

“She is finished,” Kara pointed out.

Jake looked down to see Kristy licking what was left of her pop. She’d gotten most of it on her shirt and his pants. “Geez,” he muttered, grabbing napkins to wipe his daughter off. He should have been paying closer attention, but his mind was elsewhere.

What should have been a fun day for him, Kristy and the twins, was turning out more miserable by the minute, and it was all Charlie’s fault. After she’d delegated him to being the stud in her life, he hadn’t quite recovered. Even the time away he’d taken hadn’t help.

He’d come to the conclusion that he’d have to get over her, but why did it hurt so much? Jake wiped the sticky film from Kristy’s face and hands. “Ow, Daddy. I don’t like that,” his child protested, making him realize he was being rougher than he’d intended.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He kissed her cheek and resumed the cleaning up, this time being more careful. Yet another thing he could blame Charlie for.

“Are you okay, Uncle Jake? You’ve been acting funny all day?” Kammy eyed him shrewdly.

He sighed. “I guess I’ve had a lot on my mind. I’m sorry if I’ve been more distracted than I should be.”

“What are you distracted about?” Kara asked.

Jake laughed at his twin inquisitors. “What is this? Twenty questions?”

“Well, you’re usually really fun,” Kammy answered and then turned bright red when she realized how her words may have sounded. “Sorry, but it’s true.”

She was right. Whatever his problems with Charlie were was between him and Charlie. He shouldn’t allow it to affect this outing. Even if it took the performance of his life, he’d make sure the rest of the day was fun for the girls. Later when he was alone, Jake decided the fight wasn’t over yet. He was certain what he and Charlie had was worth fighting for and he wasn’t ready to give up.

Chapter Seventeen

Jake wasn’t supposed to drop Kristy off until noon so Charlie figured she’d have a lazy Sunday morning and sleep in. That plan however, was ruined when the persistent sound of the doorbell cut into a blissful sleep.

Charlie raised her head just long enough to glance at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was 7:30. “Go away,” she muttered, grabbing an extra pillow before putting it over her head to block out the sound. It was obviously someone who had the wrong address because she didn’t know anyone who would visit her this early in the morning unless…

She sat up with a groan. Maybe it was her parents. They sometimes dropped by unexpectedly and perhaps they were ready to forgive her after their last strained visit. She’s spoken to them a few times on the phone, but they’d mainly called to see how Kristy was doing. She threw on her robe and slipped into a pair of fuzzy socks before heading to the door.

When she looked out the peephole, she was surprised to see Jake holding their daughter in his arms. With a frown, Charlie unlocked and opened the door. “Jake, what are you doing here so early? I didn’t expect you until later. Is everything all right?” She stepped back enough to let them entrance.

“Hi, Mommy. I missed you!” Kristy greeted with her arms out.

Charlie gladly took her daughter and rained kisses on her little face. “I missed you too.” She then looked at Jake again as she placed Kristy down. “What happened?”

“Nothing, we’re here to take you to breakfast. Get dressed.”

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