Page 39 of His Boys to Protect

But he still wanted Ward.

Charlie pulled his hands away from his ears and covered his eyes instead.

“What if you ask him?” Skylar whispered. “I mean, worst he can say isno, right?”

Charlie heard silence for a long moment, followed by a heavy sigh.

“Yeah, you're right,” Dakota mumbled.

Charlie peeked out between his fingers. He saw Dakota pull out his phone, tap on the screen, and put the phone to his ear as he stood up and took a few steps away.

“Ward?” Dakota asked into the phone. “Hey, it's Dakota. Sorry to bother you again–” He broke off, listening, then said, “Yeah, actually.” Dakota listened again. “Are you sure? I don't wanna put you out…Okay. Yeah. Thanks. See you in a bit.” Dakota slowly lowered his phone, staring at it and shaking his head. “He's coming over,” he announced, sounding surprised.

Charlie held his breath, forcing down the urge to squeak with joy. He didn't want Skylar to hear it, but it also didn't make anysense. Why was he excited to see Ward when the man threatened to come between him and his Sky?

Still, the need to be in the man's arms slowly overpowered everything else. Charlie shot to his feet and ran to the front windows. He looked out at the dark view. The porch lights shone down on the parking lot, but beyond that, almost everything was black. Car headlights swept down the road, and lights from houses dotted the landscape like stars, but there was nothing else to see.

Skylar came over to stand beside him. “You okay?”

Charlie shook his head. No, he was not okay. He couldn't look at Skylar as he signed,Mad?

“Why would I be mad?”

Charlie hesitated, then wound up signing in a flurry. He told Skylar how he was mad, seeing Ward kiss him, and that Skylar should be mad, knowing Charlie wanted to see Ward. Despite all that, Charlie couldn't help wanting the man to be there. The feeling was too loud to be ignored.

Skylar turned to face him. “Charlie? It's okay. Really. I'm not mad. If he makes you feel better, then that's a good thing.”

Charlie ducked his head. There was something odd in his Sky's voice, but Charlie couldn't define it.

Skylar's words were true, though. Ward did make him feel better, but Charlie was ashamed to outright admit it. Ward gave him something that Skylar never could, something that Charlie couldn't even quite put into words yet. Which was probably for the best, since he didn't want Skylar to know.

Charlie turned to stare back out the window.

“It's gonna be a while before he gets here,” Skylar pointed out. “Why don't you go finish setting the table while you wait, yeah? It'll help pass the time.”

Charlie considered that. Skylar was right, of course. He turned and ran back to the tasting room, checking the table firstbefore he grabbed the napkins Skylar had brought out. Charlie laid one at each place around the table, making sure they were neatly folded and parallel. Then he ducked back into the butler's pantry that connected the tasting room and the kitchen. Charlie gathered up silverware and distributed it around the table, making sure the utensils were aligned properly, the knives all facing the same way. He went back for water glasses, placing them precisely in relation to the plates. After one more trip to get wine glasses, Charlie circled the table again, studying his work.

The table looked unbalanced. An odd number of place settings feltwrong. Charlie considered putting out dishes for Sabrina, but then there would be no space on the table for her picture.

And Sabrina's picture had to stay. He could tolerate that better than not having his sister with them at all. Charlie reached out and touched the frame, then had to straighten it again.

Outside, tires crunched over gravel.

Charlie ran to the sitting room and looked out the front windows. A white truck had crested the top of the hill and pulled into the lot. Charlie rocked, watching as the truck stopped moving, the lights went out, and the driver's side door opened.

Ward got out and ran a hand back through his hair.

Charlie rocked faster. His anger and envy vanished at the sight of the man. All he wanted was for Ward to come inside, sit in his chair, and hold him until the rest of the loud feelings went away.

Ward crossed the lot, stepped up onto the front porch, and disappeared from sight right before Charlie heard the front door open.

Charlie darted away from the window and stopped in the open space where the foyer bordered the sitting room. He felt Skylar somewhere behind him, close but not right at his side.

Ward looked up as he pushed the door shut, his gaze going straight to Charlie. It flicked to Charlie's side—probably looking at Skylar—then came right back again. The man's eyes darkened, and the lines on his face faded. Charlie wasn't always good at reading people's expressions, but this one was loud and clear.

Rightness. And joy.

Charlie felt a smile pull at his lips. He couldn't explain it. What he should have felt was lingering anger and jealousy, but the longer the moment stretched out, the more he got the nagging sensation that Ward's expression fit.

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