Page 35 of Sweet Redemption
Chapter Seventeen
Charlie ~ One month later
“Charlie, where do these boxes of books go?” Mike asked as he picked up two of the five boxes near the door.
“All five boxes are going to Piedmont. Can you please put them in my car, I’ll drive them over this afternoon.” I said, handing him my keys.
Mike grabbed them from my hand and asked, “Can’t you do it tomorrow?”
“No. I have too much stuff still to do.” That was a bold faced lie but I didn’t want Mike hovering.
“Why don’t you go to the dance tonight? The VFW is hosting it. I’ll save you a dance,” Mike singsonged.
“I’m allergic,” I said, with truth to my conviction. I had two left feet.
“You’re crazy,” Mike muttered as he took the boxes out.
I heaved out a relieved breath when Mike waltzed out of the nearly empty library. He was insistent that I go to that bloody dance. Being alone was better than hanging around with a group of seventy-year old plus men and women. Mind you, there was nothing wrong with hanging with old folks. It was just that I didn’t want to talk to anyone. Mike included.
I took a good look around the library. I walked back toward the very last row, where the top shelves were still filled with books that were for me. Though, everything else was packed and cleared out. There was only a handful of furniture left, a desk, a couple chairs andashelving unit, which a few of the town folks had purchased and would pick up tomorrow. I glanced up at the beautiful but decaying ceiling and was glad I had taken a few pictures. It was a shame the preservation society couldn’t save it—or the building for that matter.
In three days’ time this building and the history of this town would be no more, which absolutely saddened me. This was my place of refuge, a place of discovery and a place where I felt most at peace with myself.
I had told Markus the truth about the call… it was just that I liedwhenI got the call. It was a few weeks prior to meeting him. But I guess this was my way out before I fell deeper in love with a man I barely knew.
Mike asked when I fell in love with Markus, but I didn’t know when it happened. Was it during the drive when I realized I had strong feelings for the man or the few nights we made crazy love? Maybe all of it drew me in to him. Even when he avoided me at the wake and funeral, my love never wavered. Yet, I deserved to be treated better. That was why I walked away from Markus.
Though, I would never forget him. Heck, my thoughts still wandered and remembered the short time I was with Markus.
“Hey Charlie.” Mike’s bellow drew me out of my thoughts.
“What do you need, Mike? I’m back here, by the last row,” I called out as I set the ladder against the shelf, grabbed a small box and began to climb.
“I’m going to put the last three boxes in your car and then I have to head back to the station. Do you need anything before I leave?”
That man was so sweet. Mike was the one who picked me up at the airport. It was his shoulder I cried on for the first two weeks when I came back, but without a clue as to the reason why. I wouldn’t divulge that detail. I knew Mike well enough that if he’d ever found out I was crying over Markus, he would track him down and grind his bones to dust.
“Nothing right now. Thanks for your help.”
“Okay…And Charlie?”
“Yeah?” I started loading up the box that was wedged under my arm and the shelf.
“You have company.”
Company? What was Mike talking about? “Mike?”
I heard nothing. What the heck did he mean I had company? I shoved the box onto one of empty shelves and took a step down. I lost my footing and twisted the same ankle I had injured a month prior and landed on my rear.
“God Bless America!” I shouted as pain reverberated up my leg when I tried to shift it around.
“This feels likedéjà vu.” A familiar voice caressed my ears.
Markus?No. That couldn’t be. He wouldn’t be here. Why would he come here?
Then I saw him, a frown on his face, as he concentrated on my ankle. “Christ, woman, you’re a danger to yourself.” Without hesitation, he scooped me up, carried me to the desk by the front door and placed me gently on it so he could examine my injury.
I was too stunned to feel the pain. The shock of seeing him right there in real life took all of my senses and threw them out the window. The intoxicating scent of Markus enveloped me and the way his warm hands were touching my bare skin had my mind scrambling for some brain cells.
