About Time (Broken Vows #4)

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Hattie Past- Age 19

The bus rolls into Harriston before the sun is even up. Donovan yawns as I climb into his car. “Tell me again why I’m the one picking you up at the ass crack of dawn instead of your sister or brother-in-law,” he grumbles.

I kick off my flip-flops and prop my feet on his dash. “Because you love me?” I say like it’s a question.

He rolls his eyes. “Not at three in the morning, I don’t.”

“You want to open a bar, and three in the morning is too early? Might want to rethink your plans, my friend,” I tease him.

“Yeah, well, I’m spending this summer doing construction to earn some cash. I’m still too young to get a liquor license. Can’t have a bar without booze.”

“Well, thank you for coming to get me. I always feel bad to have Martin or Elisa come out in the middle of the night because they are responsible for Wren.”

He looks at me with sympathy, something I hate more than anything. “They are supposed to take care of you too, but you’d have to let them.”

“I can take care of myself,” I mutter.

Donovan knows better than to start this conversation with me. I’m fiercely independent. I’m okay with being needed, but I can’t let myself need anyone. I’ve taken enough medical and psych classes now to know it’s lingering trauma from my father taking off on me and my mom dying when I was too young to lose my only parent. Being a burden to someone is my worst fear.

That’s why I chose to go to college in Florida right after graduation. Technically, I attend Central Valley University in Centralia, but for the last year, I’ve participated in an exchange program with our sister university in Florida. It gave me the space to figure out who I am without our small town defining me as that poor little orphan girl being raised by her sister. In Florida, I got to be myself; I only had to figure out who that was.

I can’t say that I’ve completely figured that out yet, but I’m further along than when I left here nine months ago. Now, I just have to make sure I don’t lose myself over the summer.

Nine months should be plenty of time to get over a crush. It’s enough time to grow an entire human being, but the moment I see Charlie inspecting tomatoes at the grocery store, I’m right back to dealing with butterflies swarming in my gut.

“You don’t want that one,” I say coming up behind him.

He jumps and drops the tomato on the floor. It bursts open on impact, spilling juice and seeds all over the floor. The stock boy starts to glare in our direction until he sees Charlie, then he just shrugs and walks away. There are very few people in Harriston who haven’t been charmed by Charlie Storm.

“Don’t you know not to sneak up on old people? I could have had a heart attack.”

I roll my eyes. “Whatever, you’re what, thirty?”

“I’m twenty-nine,” he corrects me, somewhat affronted I gave him an extra year.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize heart disease was prevalent in your late twenties.” I reach around him, test a few of the tomatoes until I find a firm one, and hand it to him. “Better make sure you get some lycopene to fight aging.”

“All right, smart ass. Don’t bust my balls this early in the morning. You’ve been gone a while, I’ve gotten rusty.” Charlie sets it in his basket and looks up. He freezes and swallows hard.

I’ve changed a lot while I was gone. My long blonde hair has grown past my shoulders and has streaks bleached out by the Florida sun. My already slender body is more toned thanks to my new group of friends teaching me how to surf. The biggest change isn’t really how I look so much as how I see myself. When I look in the mirror, I don’t see the insecure teenage girl who hid inside the pages of a book. Now, I see a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it.

“Martin said you were away at school. Are you back for the summer?” Every word he speaks sounds slightly strained.

I bite my lip and let it slide through my teeth before I answer him. “Maybe. Depends really on whether or not I find a way to keep myself busy.”

“Hmm, yeah, it’s good to keep busy. I know Martin and Elisa have been looking forward to having you back home.”

I lean forward, aware that this position gives him a perfect view down my shirt. At first, I don’t think he’ll give in, but then slowly, his eyes leave mine and slide down to my exposed flesh.

He chuckles and shakes his head as he meets my gaze once again. “Tell your brother I said hi.”

I give him a tight smile and nod. Looks like I just found something interesting to do this summer.

Bring Charlie Storm to his knees.

On the outskirts of town is a popular lake. For some reason, everyone calls it “the pond,” even though it’s way bigger than a pond. It’s surrounded by trees, and the beach is really just where the lawn disappears into the water. There’s a rope someone tied up in a high branch of a tree that people use to swing out into the water. Mostly it lets the guys show off for whatever girls are hanging around.

I’ve been back in town for about a week, and I’m already running out of things to do. Sitting by the pond with the same people I’ve hung around for years makes me wonder sometimes if I imagined being away in Florida for most of the last year. In just a few minutes, I am caught up on all the gossip. Nothing changes around here, not even the drama.

I groan and roll over to my stomach.

Mandy nudges me with her elbow. “What is going on with you? You used to love hanging out at the pond.”

Used to is the operative word, as in something that is no longer true but was at one time. I can’t exactly tell my best friend that I’ve grown past lying around watching guys strut around, trying to catch our attention by being the biggest dumbass.

“I’m just ready to get back to school,” I reply lamely.

“Ugh. You need to learn to enjoy life a little bit. You take life way too seriously. Be nineteen, not ninety,” she chides me.

I am not really sure what to say to that, so I say nothing. The good thing about Mandy is that she’ll eventually fill any silence with chatter, and she never digs too deep.

She sits up and slaps her hands together. “I have the perfect idea.”

I groan, but she ignores me. It’s never good when Mandy gets an idea.

“Let’s go on a double date!” she shrieks.

I’m nodding my head because Mandy’s schemes usually fall apart fast, so there’s no point in arguing with her. This time though, there’s one really big and obvious wrench in her plans.

“Did you forget neither of us is seeing anyone? Who are we going to double date with?” I ask her.

She taps her finger on her chin. “That does present a complication. Isn’t there anyone you’re interested in?”

Charlie instantly pops into my head. I picture his dark, wavy hair that he has to tie back to keep from flopping in his eyes while he’s fixing cars. I remember how his warm chocolate brown eyes felt like they were looking straight into my soul when he gave me his full attention the other day.

I shake my head because while I might want to flirt with Charlie, I certainly don’t want to tell anyone about it. This way I can try and fail without anyone ever knowing.

Mandy cocks her head to the side. “Who is it? When I asked if you were interested in anyone you got a funny look on your face. Is there someone?”

I start to wave her off, and she gets a pitying look on her face. My stomach tightens. Mandy wouldn’t judge me, but I don’t need her feeling bad for me because I have a hopeless crush on a man while I can’t even maintain the attention of a boy.

She playfully shoves my shoulder. “You hooker! Were you seeing someone while you were in Florida? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I open my mouth to set her straight and then close it. What is the harm in letting her believe I had someone back in Tampa? Instead of disputing her misconception, I nod my head.

“Well, then, we really need to find someone to go out with. Unless,” she pauses and looks at me with wide eyes. “Are you trying long distance? You know that never works.”

I shake my head. It’s one thing to have a fake ex-boyfriend, but I don’t think I can commit to a fake boyfriend.

Mandy bobs her head several times. “Okay, then it’s settled. We need to find dates.”

Donovan pulls himself out of the water and onto the dock. He stands over us and shakes himself off like a dog. “Do you really think you’re going to get Hattie to go out with a flesh and blood man? I’m pretty sure she prefers her men fictional.”

I shrug. “He’s not wrong.”

His face becomes more serious, and he turns his attention back to Mandy. “Why are you worried about finding dates? You’re both hot chicks, just let them find you.”

Mandy’s eyes narrow, and she props her hand on her hip. “Donovan Miller, I’ll have you know that it’s the nineties, and women can pursue men without it being weird.”

“Really? It’s the nineties? I didn’t know what decade it was. In that case, go ahead and chase till your heart’s content,” he quips back.

Silently, I gather my things and head to my car. When they start butting heads like that, they won’t stop until they’re forced to. Usually, that would be my job, but I’m not in the mood for it. Mandy and I drove here separately so I don’t have to stay to watch it.

A lot of people think it’s flirting, but I know better. They don’t hate each other, but they’re only friends because of me. I’d hoped while I was gone for the last year, they might have found some common ground outside of me, but I don’t think they spent any time together at all.

On my way to my car, I hear someone call my name, and I turn around. Liam Hale runs up to me wearing the same cocky grin I’ve seen on his dad, Griffin.

I smile down at him. “Is Wren with you? Uncle Charlie is boring and doesn’t know how to play.”

Bending down so I’m closer to his level, I mock whisper, “Well, he is pretty old. Maybe he forgot how.”

“Then you should join us because you’re practically still a kid yourself,” Charlie retorts.

Liam completely misses the fact that Charlie just insulted me and starts hopping up and down. “Yes! You should join us.”

Charlie smirks at me, knowing I can’t say anything back to him with an eleven-year-old hanging on every word. I paste on a bright smile and pull my cover-up off over my head.

It’s there and gone quickly, but I don’t miss the way Charlie’s eyes heat while he takes in my string bikini. When he sees me looking, he turns his head.

Inside my head, I’m listing all the reasons this is a bad idea. He’s ten years older than me and friends with my sister and brother-in-law. Then there’s the fact that while I am starting to see he could be attracted to me, it’s also not lost on me that he’ll hate himself if he were to ever act on it. Any of those reasons should stop me, but it doesn’t.

Instead, I take Liam’s small hand and follow him down to the grassy beach. Almost immediately, he spots a kid from school and runs off. I consider ducking out at this point, but of course, this is the part where the young boys want to show off their tricks for the grown-ups.

Liam shouts, “Watch this Hattie! Can Wren do this?”

I use my hand to shade my eyes and shout back random encouragement. I’m so focused on watching Liam and his friend try and do flips in the water that I don’t notice Charlie sneak up on me until I feel the heat of his body radiating against my back.

His finger lightly moves my hair and tucks it behind my ear. I feel the faintest graze of his touch against the shell of my ear, and my body erupts in goosebumps.

His warm breath caresses the side of my neck, making me shiver. “Does your brother know you go around wearing scraps of material for clothes?”

My heart races and beats so hard I’m afraid he can hear the muscle pounding against my chest. I turn my head slightly and whisper back, “You may not have noticed, but I’m a grown woman, and I don’t have to have my guardian’s permission to dress myself.”

“I’ve noticed, and I really wish I hadn’t,” he answers gruffly.