Page 24 of Second Chance Savior

Charlie had clearly followed the path of my eyes. She frowned. “Your brother has nothing to do with this. You’ve always pissed me off plenty on your own. It’s not endearing.”

“Out of all the descriptors people have used for me, endearing has rarely been one of them.”

She set the ceramic mug roughly on the counter. When she glared that way, she looked so much like her teenage self. Charlie was far more accomplished and sophisticated now, far more beautiful, yet that same fire still ignited in her eyes when she was angry or frustrated.

“I’m making breakfast,” she said tightly. “Do you want eggs?”

“Sure. I’ll help.”

“Feed Cleo. I put some food for her in the fridge.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t test me, River.”

Chuckling, I went to the fridge to find sustenance for the furry beast, who was currently meowing near Charlie’s feet. I opened the container and set it on the floor.

Cleo lifted her tail and showed her butt to me before she deigned to eat.

I pulled up a stool at the island and checked my messages. Nothing new from Cerberus. I sent off a quick encrypted text to the Protectors thread, letting them know I was working on something and I’d let them know more when I could.

Trace:

Do you need backup?

Me:

Not yet. What happened at the party I missed? It must’ve been terrible without me.

Owen:

We were bereft.

Me:

Oh, big word for a small-town sheriff.

As expected, Aiden had proposed. I said congrats and included a few celebratory emojis. My tone was sarcastic—that was what my friends expected of me—but genuinely, Iwas happy for them and wished I could’ve been there. Domestic bliss would never be the life for me. But I was glad my friends had found it.

“Tell me about Hartley. How’d you wind up there?” Charlie had her back to me as she scrambled the eggs.

I set down my phone. “I came to help a friend from the Agency who was struggling. Wound up deciding to stay.”

“I thought you hated small-town Colorado.”

“Why? I loved our summers growing up.”

She squinted at me over her shoulder. “Could’ve fooled me.” Charlie went back to cooking. “You said the very last summer, when you were seventeen, was the best one. Yet you didn’t care enough to come back.”

That wasn’t true at all. But there was no point in explaining.

“What about Genevieve Blake?” Charlie asked. “You mentioned her. The reporter. She’s a close friend? How did that happen?”

“Are you asking if I’m dating her? I’m not.”

She jabbed at the eggs with her spatula. “I just want to know what you’ve really been doing, since you’re being so secretive about it.”

“Not a secret. Not from you, anyway. I told you I’d explain everything when I had the chance.”

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