“He didn’t.” She wheeled out her bike then lowered her garage door.
“Hey, are you going for a ride now? I’m not doing anything, so I’ll come with you.” Bobby abandoned his ball in the middle of the driveway and raced toward their garage. “Dad, open the door so I can get out my bike.”
“I told you we have work to do around here.”
“All I do is work. I had to pack up our old house then clean it up. Now you’re making me clean up this house so I can unpack the same junk. You never let me have any fun. Why did you bring my bike if you’re never going to let me ride it?”
“Charlotte didn’t invite you.”
Bobby turned hopeful eyes to Charlotte. Yep, that was puppy love Rick saw in his son’s eyes. “It’s all right with you if I come, isn’t it?”
Charlotte’s face didn’t give anything away. That was a change from the girl he used to be able to read like a book. But back then she’d only had one page. Whatever her dad wanted was what she did. Now she seemed to have developed the ability to keep her feelings from showing on her face. “I ride fast.”
“I’m fast. Aren’t I, Dad. I can probably ride faster than you.”
“I’m riding a long way. I’m going to the beach and riding on the sand, which isn’t easy. You need strong muscles in order to do that.”
Bobby pumped up his chest. “I am strong. I carried those heavy boxes yesterday plus I helped bring in our beds. And I can ride a long time.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “Come on, Dad. Open the door.”
“I can tell him no if you want to go alone.” Rick made the whispered offer despite knowing how disappointed Bobby would be.
Charlotte looked at Bobby, who was holding his breath, his face revealing his anxiety. Her lips turned down but Rick could tell she was weakening. She nodded once. “Fine. This time.”
Bobby grinned.
“Okay. I’ll be right back,” Rick said, following his son.
He opened the garage door. Bobby wheeled out his bike and then Rick did the same. He’d loaded their bikes at the last minute, hoping he and Bobby could do something fun that would draw them closer again. Rick didn’t want to let the opportunity slip away. They could clean later.
“What are you doing?” Charlotte asked when Rick rode up beside her. She’d accepted his apology and even eaten dinner with him, but clearly she hadn’t forgiven him. Not that he blamed her for holding a grudge.
“You said you didn’t mind company.” Under other circumstances he wouldn’t foist himself on her, but this was a chance to get closer to Bobby. And who knew, maybe he would be able to show Charlotte how much he regretted his past behavior, that he wasn’t the same person he’d been back then.
Her lips twisted and her eyes narrowed, but she still looked ridiculously sexy. “I said Bobby could come.”
“Yeah, Dad, she said I could come. We don’t want you hanging around us.”
Rick froze. He knew his son was lashing out because he was in pain, but that didn’t make the rejection hurt any less. Rick met Charlotte’s eyes. There was some emotion there, but before he could figure out what it was, she blinked and it was gone.
“Oh, for pity’s sake,” she snapped, “let’s just go.” She pressed her pedals and shot down the driveway, Bobby not far behind.
She wasn’t kidding when she said she rode fast. Good thing he was in shape. Even so, it took him two blocks to close the distance between them. Their speed didn’t allow them time to talk, but it didn’t hinder him in checking out her spectacular body and the way her round bottom looked on the seat of her bike.
After about a mile, Bobby began to fall back and Rick slowed. Charlotte had been adamant about not adjusting her pace in order to suit them, so he was surprised when she slowed as well. Not enough that Bobby would notice and take a hit to his ego, but enough for them to catch up to her at the entrance to the beach. She stopped and stood with her legs on either side of the bike. “You’re a great rider, Bobby.”
His son beamed and stood a little taller. “Thanks. Are we going to ride on the sand? I’ve never done that before.”
“Yep.”
Bobby gave a cheer and his smile broadened. Incredibly, Charlotte had managed to get smiles out of his son without really trying. Maybe she’d be able to help him get Bobby back on the right track, since nothing he tried was working. But that was if she would agree to spending time with them, something he seriously doubted.
“Stay away from the edge of the water. The damp sand is murder to get through.” With that Charlotte once more began pedaling furiously. She set a good pace as they rode, but he had the feeling she was going more slowly than usual in deference to Bobby. Words couldn’t express how grateful he was to her for that simple kindness. It was such a sharp contrast to the way Bobby’s mother had walked away without giving him a second thought.
After about twenty minutes Charlotte made a U-turn and they started back across the beach. She didn’t stop when they came to the entrance, but rather sped onto the road. Then she slowed, and she and Bobby rode side by side. The wind carried their voices but Rick couldn’t make out the words. Once they laughed and he was filled with envy. To his shame he was jealous that Charlotte had established a rapport with his son that he’d lost. She’d gotten more smiles out of Bobby today than he’d managed in months. Worse, he envied his son for making Charlotte smile, something he had yet to do.
When they arrived home, they pulled into Charlotte’s driveway and hopped off their bikes. She unlocked her garage door and started to raise it.
“That was fun,” Bobby said, running to help Charlotte. “Thanks for letting me come.”
“Sure.” She smiled. “I guess you need to help your father clean up before your furniture gets here. See you later.”
Bobby sighed and Rick waited for the explosion. It didn’t come. Instead, Bobby nodded. Grinned. “Yeah. See you later.”
Rick tossed Bobby their keys. “Unlock the door and put up your bike. I’ll be there in a minute. I need to talk to Charlotte.”
Charlotte stiffened, but didn’t speak until Bobby was out of earshot. “We don’t have anything to talk about.”
“I just wanted to thank you for letting us come with you. I know you would have preferred to go alone.”
“I didn’t mind Bobby’s company.”
He tried not to wince at her direct hit. “Got it. Well, thanks. You made Bobby’s day.”
She turned and vanished inside her garage, pulling the door down behind her. He turned away from the closed door and pasted on a smile before he went to join his son.
Charlotte sat on her patio, staring into her coffee and trying to beat back the guilt that poked her conscience. No matter how hard she tried to block it out, she kept seeing the hurt on Rick’s face when she’d told him he was a nuisance. Okay, so she hadn’t said it in so many words, but her meaning had been unmistakable. Naturally she didn’t want him hanging around, but she didn’t have to be nasty about it. Especially since she’d allowed him to accompany her on her ride. He’d known he and Bobby had intruded and he’d been trying to be polite. In the blink of an eye she’d turned into the horrible person she was sick of being. A person she’d vowed to stop being.
She exhaled, but the guilt stayed with her. Now she owed Rick an apology. Unlike him, she wouldn’t wait twelve years to deliver it.
The sound of a large truck rumbling down her street yanked her away from her musings. Air brakes sounded followed by the slam of doors. Rick’s movers had arrived. Her quiet morning over, she walked to the front of her house