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He was rather proud of his co the dance, but the shared-driving idea By the time Carrie had left his apart children wasn’t so difficult if you applied a bit of coet involved The dance was an issue between Charlotte and Carrie, and his instincts told hi
It would’ve been different if Charlotte had come to him for advice, but she hadn’t and he doubted she would There wasn’t any reason for her to, at least not with regard to Carrie Charlotte was the one with parenting experience, not hihts over his role in this drah his instincts now told hiret this
Carrie answered the doorbell and shtly when she saw him
Charlotte looked pleased to see him, too, but she also looked like she’d rather not be Jason was learning to read her quite well, and that skill was co in handy
"Hello, Jason," she said softly
"Hi I stopped by to see how Higgins is doing" A weak excuse, and one she was bound to see through in the next couple ofslowly Jason squatted beside him and affectionately rubbed his ears "How do you like your new home, fellow?" he asked
"Do you want a cup of coffee?" Carrie called out from the kitchen Her voice was enthusiastic The kid wasn’t any better at disguising her elanced up at Charlotte He didn’t knoas going on with her lately She’d been avoiding hiive her the space she needed For now He was a patientit as hard as she could, but her resistance wasn’t strong enough to defeat him
For the first time in his life, Jason had met a woman who needed him Unfortunately she was too self-sufficient and proud to ades And his intuition told hi out qualities in her--a sensual confidence and an ability to laugh, have fun--that she’d been repressing for years
The woether the various pieces she revealed Once he had the whole picture, he’d be able to scale those defensive walls of hers
He strongly suspected Charlotte’s problee She’d been badly hurt, and gaining her trust and her love would require time and patience Where Charlotte was concerned, Jason had an abundant supply of both Carrie brought him a cup of coffee, and Jason pulled out a kitchen chair, then nonchalantly sat down Carrie did the salanced at the two of the on here that I should know about?"
The kid couldn’t have been ain "Carrie ca honesty was the best policy, after all The way he figured, if they were forthright about what they’d discussed, then Charlotteit behind her back
"Jason," Carrieunder her breath
"Carrie came to you?" Charlotte demanded "About what?"
"The dance," Carrie admitted sheepishly
"You went to Jason about an issue that’s strictly between you andback the chair when she stood She faced hercorees with me He ca In this case, honesty ht not have been the best policy "I didn’t ever say I thought your mother was unreasonable"
His defense carowing redder Her eyes, the eyes he’d always found so intriguing, were filled with disdain
"Who gave you the right to intrude in my life?" she flared
"Charlotte, it’s not what you think" Jason could feel hiret
"You’re under ive ument; he should’ve listened to his instincts and stayed out of this
"You et close to Carrie and ht to express your opinion on how she should be raised, but you’re wrong What goes on between hter and me is none of your business Do I rined, Jason nodded The best thing to do noas o" Charlotte’s voice trembled as she pointed to her door
"Mom," Carrie shouted "The least you can do is listen to hi himself every kind of fool, h to cast an apologetic glance at Carrie, but he agreed with Charlotte He’d butted in where he didn’t belong
After Jason’s departure, Carrie went to her rooins scra for a place to hide
Charlotte was so angry, it was all she could do not to follow Jason and tell hiain She would have done it, too, if she didn’t know she’d regret it later And if she didn’t need to coax Higgins out from behind the couch and coht she was going toJason to side with her, then her daughter rong
"I hope you realize what you’ve just done!" Carrie shouted as she opened her door
Still stroking Higgins, Charlotte ignored her
"You’ve insulted Jason"
"He deserved it"
"Like hell"