For Love of Charley by Katherine Allred Read Free Book Online Page B

click sounded, and
then the dial tone. She’d hung up.
    Damn. Cole struggled into the boots he’d
pulled off earlier, praying Charley wouldn’t leave the house. “Kristy! I’m
going to Charley’s,” he yelled up the stairs. Without waiting to see if she
heard him, he grabbed his keys and ran out the door.
    The drive to Charley’s house was the
longest in his life. He’d probably broken every speed limit law in the county.
Relief welled inside him as he brought the Jag to a skidding halt. Both
vehicles were still in Charley’s driveway. At least the women weren’t
attempting to drive.
    As he started up the walk, the silence from
Charley’s house was a little unnerving. From what he’d heard on the phone, he’d
expected to at least hear laughter. The front door was ajar and he pushed on
it, stepping inside.
    Frannie was sprawled on the couch,
clutching toilet paper and several bars of soap to her chest, snoring
contentedly. Charley was sitting on the floor, the phone next to her, an empty
wine bottle in one hand. Another empty sat on the coffee table. She looked up
at him in surprise.
    “How did you do that?”
    Cole smiled and squatted in front of her.
“How did I do what?”
    “I was just talking to you on the phone.”
    “I know. You hung up on me.”
    “I did? Good. You deserve it, cause you’re
a pig and all pigs are men.”
    “If all pigs are men, where do baby pigs
come from?”
    “Don’t try to confuse me with all that sex
stuff. You used to do that all the time.”
    He resisted the temptation to pull her into
his arms, but it was a hard-won battle. Instead he brushed her hair away from
her cheek. To think, thirty minutes ago he had been ready to give up. Now he
knew the truth. He would never give her up. “You remember that, do you?”
    “I remember everything.” She peered up at
him.
    “Is that why you got drunk tonight,
Charley?”
    “Frannie made me. I told you, we were celebratin’.
And my panties were cutting me in half.”
    Cole laughed. “I’m not even going to ask.
Come on, let’s get you up and into bed.”
    “I can’t walk. There’s something wrong with
my feet.”
    “I’ll carry you. If I can get you untangled
from the phone cord.” He finally had to unplug the phone to get the job done,
with Charley hanging on to him for support. When they were finished, he scooped
her up, and for a second just held her close. Her arms curled around his neck,
and she buried her face against him.
    “Frannie says I need a roll in the hay.”
    Cole almost dropped her. “Oh, really? Did
she offer any suggestions as to who with?”
    “You.”
    “Remind me to double her salary,” he
mumbled.
    “Not gonna happen, though.” She snuggled up
tighter against him as he moved down the hall.
    “Why is that?” He found her room by the
process of elimination. One room had been turned into an office. The other was
too bare and clean. The third was the only room that looked lived in.
    “Cause I don’t love you anymore. And even
if I did, you’d just leave again. Can’t let you do that to me twice. I’m not
that stupid.”
    Cole sat her on the bed. At some point in
the evening, she’d managed to drape a red lace slip around her neck. He pulled
it over her head and tossed it to one side. “What if I told you I wouldn’t
leave again, Charley?” His voice was soft, and for a second he didn’t think she
had heard him.
    “I wouldn’t believe you. You left before,
you will again.” She collapsed backwards across the bed.
    He sighed. “I was afraid you’d feel that
way. But sooner or later you’re going to know the truth.” When he bent to pull
her shoes off, he grinned. No wonder she’d thought there was something wrong
with her feet. She was wearing a three-inch spiked heel on one foot and a
canvas sneaker on the other. Carefully, he straightened her out on the bed and
pulled a blanket over her.
    “Cole?” She caught his hand and held on.
    He sat down next to her and cupped