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The question hung in the room then turned slowly and slapped Charlie across the face In that second, she had what could only be described as an out-of-body experience She could see herself clearly fro-boned, too ht—she wore no makeup and had been known to take scissors to her own hair if it started to bug her
She dressed for comfort and had always told herself that if people didn’t like her appearance then they were shallow That beauty was less
Only Clay had spent his adult life surrounded by beauty The world’s obsession with it had rewarded him handsomely He was the kind of man who turned heads and made hearts beat faster
Under normal circumstances, he would never have seen her, let alone wanted her She was part of the invisible ordinary The only reason they had any contact was because she had gone to him and asked him to help her
Hurasped what she had done What ?
“Oh, God,” Charlie whispered
Doet out I’m sure you can find someone else Someone hom you have more in common” She paused “I don’t say this to be cruel You’re hter and I care about you But we both know that Clay would never be interested”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but then she didn’t have to Charlie rose “That’s your motherly advice? Get out because he would never want someone like me? Are you even human?”
Do you the truth”
“Right Like you did after the rape I believe that tireat advice was to not lead on uy like him had expectations”
Anger joined sha First the police hadn’t believed her, then her ownfair
“I’d been raped Do you get that? Do you understand anything that doesn’t involve you?”
Do to help Reality can be unpleasant but is best faced head-on”
“Okay, Mom Here’s your reality check I don’t want you here You and I have nothing in common, which I could live with, but there’s more You’re a selfish bitch who has only ever been disappointed in me You don’t want to be a parent—you want to be the lead dancer in a production Well, that tiet the hell out of here”
Charlie felt her eyes burning Dammit, she hated to cry
“You’re throwingto help”
“I don’t want your help and I sure as hell don’t need a mother like you”
Dominique remained in place for another couple of seconds, then nodded once She crossed to the table by the door, collected her purse and let herself out Charlie walked into the kitchen and turned off the pot of si sauce, then she sank onto the floor and dropped her head onto her knees
Deter in her eyes and the , she reh worse and she would get through this
The problem seemed to be, she wasn’t exactly sure what “this” was
CLAY STARED AT the drill tower Today it was benign enough—a seven-story fras where ould nor, recruits would have to find their way through ss and tucked into corners Fire would add to the heat and chaos
But that was for later Today he simply had to cli a hose
The other volunteers stood in se how bad it would be Clay kneasphysically fit wasn’t the issue Right noas more concerned about Charlie
He hadn’t seen her in a couple of days Although they hadn’t had an appoint him When he’d arrived at the drill tower, she’d been busy unloading hoses In front of others, she was usually all-business Still, he couldn’t escape the sense that so
“Line up, people,” Charlie called When everyone was in front of her, she pointed to the skeleton structure “This is the drill tower Today you’re only going to have to cli, you will spend hours in it, learning every brick You will grow to love it and hate it” She grinned “At the same time”
It was mid-September The heat of su to be close to eighty Which oing to be too bad, Clay thought The second one would be a bitch
“You will have five minutes to climb seven stories,” she continued “Once you’ve coain The second climb must be completed in ten minutes Any questions?”
Someone asked about a water break Clay was iuy’s head off He knew the tienerous When there was a fire, no one could afford to wait ten minutes for someone to saunter up seven stories He planned to take the stairs at a run
An hour later, the volunteers were dripping sweat They’d all passed easily Charlie warned theain, the ti
Clay helped load the equipment into Charlie’s truck When they were finished, she turned to him
“Would you please stay a second?” she asked
“Sure”
They waited until everyone else had driven away Charlie stood by her truck, her shoulders tense, her eyes notBut Charlie wasn’t the type to play gaether on whatever it was He liked that about her
She drew in a breath “I really appreciate all you’ve done,” she began “Helping ”
He grinned “My pleasure, and I mean that”
She didn’t shtened and her eyes darkened “Yes, well, I’m fine now We don’t have to do that anyether”
He leaned against the truck and considered her words “Why the change of heart?”
“I shouldn’t have asked you to begin with It’s ridiculous and inappropriate”
“I’”
He didn’t understand Seducing Charlie had been soether They had chemistry and enjoyed each other’s company They trusted each other He kne rare that could be Sure, it wasn’t love—there hadn’t been a lightning bolt—but it waswith Charlie wasn’t anything he illing to lose
“You’ve been great and I want to say thank you,” she continued
“What happened?” he de?”