Page 20 of Charlie and Her Sweet Escape
Charlie’s fond gaze watched him. “Hansel’s care requires a lot,” she started, apologetically. “And I’ve got a thing this afternoon.”
“What thing?” Rosie sat on the couch and patted the spot next to her for Charlie.
“A kind of secret thing.” Charlie cringed.
“We won’t tell anyone,” Rosie assured her. “Right, Ben?”
“Not a soul.” I mimed zipping my mouth shut. I grabbed a chair from the table and brought it over to sit in front of them. Hansel tentatively sniffed my leg. “Hey, little guy.” I dropped my hand down for him to sniff next, then gave his ears a scratch. He was softer than I expected.
“He’d probably let you pick him up,” Charlie said.
I scooped him into my lap, where he settled into a ball and closed his eyes. Maybe taking him in would be much easier than I expected.
Rosie snapped a picture of me and Hansel, and when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, I knew she’d sent it to our family group chat.
“We’re ready to know the secret.” Rosie turned her full attention to Charlie.
“Well…” Charlie bit back a huge smile. It was good to see her happy. Since her engagement, her light had dimmed. To see it still flickering gave me hope that everything really was going to work out well for her. Charlie had been like a little sister to me for so long, and I wanted her to be happy. But I could only do so much. She wasn’tactuallymy sister. I couldn’t kidnap her and hold her hostage on the family island until she came to her senses, no matter how hard Rosie had tried to convince me last night that it was the only logical course of action.
“Okay, I know you won’t tell anyone.” A wide, breath-stealing smile broke across Charlie’s face. “Greg and I are in the final interview stages forMarried in the Wild!”
“What?” Rosie squealed, and Hansel’s head shot up to look around before resting on my leg again. “I need all the details.”
“I applied a few months ago. They want to get a feel for our chemistry. We’re scheduled for a video call at four.”
“I love that show,” I said. “You’ll be perfect on it.” Charlie would know exactly which plants were edible and which would keep her alive and get Greg killed (unfortunately). She loved being outdoors, and she wasn’t one to ever give up—even when she should.
“Thank you,” she said. “I hope you’re right.”
“How did you convince Greg to go on the show with you?” Rosie asked.
“Well…” She glanced away from us and stared at her twisted fingers. “I had to give up Hansel and agree to move to Juneau.”
I glanced at Rosie, who looked as stunned as I felt.
Rosie stood and paced. “You mean Gregmadeyou agree.”
“He didn’tmakeme.” Fire sparked behind her eyes. I used to see this a lot more, but now it was mostly when she was defending Greg. “It’s a fair compromise.”
I gave my sister a hard look, communicating with my stare that she needed to be very careful.
Rosie visibly swallowed whatever angry thing she’d been about to say.Her voice was almost strangled when she said, “But you love it here.”
“I do,” Charlie said, with false happiness, like she could convince us this horrible thing was good based on her tone alone. “But I’m sure I’ll love it there too. We each needed to give something, you know?”
Now I was the one biting my tongue to keep from saying anything. They both had to give something? More like Charlie had to sacrifice for Greg, who was never satisfied.
Rosie huffed out a frustrated breath. “I just think?—”
I lightly nudged Rosie’s foot. Despite her defense and forced smile, Charlie was about to cry. At what point would she break?
“So how do I take care of Hansel?” I asked her. I ran my hand along his back, and Hansel’s eyes closed in contentment.
Charlie blinked rapidly as she stood to retrieve the box of dog supplies I’d carried in. She rooted around in it and pulled out a three-inch binder with tabs, gaining her composure.
Rosie stood with a yawn. She’d traveled almost twenty-four hours to get here. “Wake me when this is done.”
We both nodded as she stumbled sleepily toward the guest room.
