Read Online Love's Embers (Canon City Series) by Lauren Marie - Free Book Online Page A

that night. She felt so stupid back in June. The blame fell on her for that night. She’d wanted to trust Thomas, but couldn’t after she found out about his lies and indiscretions. Gran would never understand any of it and Lark didn’t want any of it to get out.
    She got up off the bed and changed her work pants to a pair of flannel-lined jeans. She put on a heavier sweater and socks, too. Looking at herself in the bathroom mirror, she saw the puffy rings under her eyes and tried to cover them up a little. On her way out of her room, she stopped in the attic and grabbed Charlie’s letter.
    At the back door, she put on her coat and boots. Once outside, she realized it was freezing cold, but at least the snow stopped. The sun set and she could see stars shine bright. She stomped through snow and found herself at Charlie’s front door.  Raising her glove, she didn’t have the first clue what she would say to him, but she needed answers and knocked on the door.
    Lark put her hands in her pockets and heard the dog woof. Then footfalls came to the door and the lock clicked. Charlie opened the door with his pants half way undone and a bare chest. They stared at each other for a moment.
    “I need some answers,” she said and pushed past him into the front hall. The house was as she remembered. It was dark and looked sad and empty. “First of all, I want to apologize for freaking out on you.”
    “Okay.”  He closed the door and hit a switch on the wall that turned on the light. “I planned to take a shower, but I suppose it can wait.”
    She looked at him again and her breath caught in her throat. She turned away and looked at the kitchen. “I came at a bad time. I can come back later,” she said.
    He shook his head and frowned. “No, it’s okay.” He pointed toward the living room.
    Embers glowed in the fireplace and she went over to it to get some warmth. On the mantel she saw what looked like a bunch of letters bound together with a rubber band. She turned back to him and saw Charlie bent over to pick a thermal shirt up from the floor. He pulled it over his head and buttoned his pants.
    “Do you want a cup of coffee? I bought a microwave oven and can warm it up in no time.” He put his hands together and waited.
    “No. No coffee.” She moved forward and felt something under her feet. She stood in the middle of his sleeping bag. His wolf, Breaker, sat by it looking up at her. “Charlie, please, tell me the truth. What happened? Why didn’t you get in touch with me?”
    “You said it doesn’t make any difference anymore.” He scratched his jaw. “So it’s not important. You’ve moved on and I’m going to start college next fall. That’s all that matters now.” He reached for a wooden chair, the only piece of furniture in the room and set it by the fireplace. “Have a seat.” He sat down on the hearth and Breaker sat next to his feet.
    Lark walked to the chair and sat. She’d said those words to him in the midst of her panic. She needed to calm down. “It is important. I was having an anxiety attack and blabbed the first things I thought. Charlie, I’ve carried a load of guilt on my shoulders for thirteen years and now I can get the answers. What happened?” She took off her gloves and looked at him. Charlie stared at his hands and seemed to be deep in thought.
    He laughed. “When I was first put into detention, I got into a lot of fights. There were other boys there who got their jollies by picking fights. The new kid always got tested.” He looked at her and arched his eyebrow. “You know how I was back then. I didn’t take crap from anyone.”
    “You were fearless,” she said.
    “The second year I was in there a new therapist started working with those of us with anger issues. I got counseled the rest of the time I was in juvie. The last two years I met three times a week with this lady therapist and got a lot of my own guilt and fears worked out. My number one fear was that I’d