One Night at Christmas Read online

  “Um, he doesn’t want your food, Naomi. You need to eat it yourself. Go ahead before it gets cold.” Her daughter picked up her fork, and Charon turned to Bryson. “Are you going to tell me what you’re doing here?”

  He grabbed a napkin she had swiped from a fast food restaurant and cleaned his hands while scanning the room. “I heard you were here, and I wanted to see you.”

  “You heard?”

  “I promise I wasn’t checking up on you, but…uh…”

  He reddened, and she lost track of the conversation just looking into his face. Her entire being had missed him. How could the feelings still be so strong? Over the last years, she had buried the love she felt for him and refused to spend more than a moment or two remembering their time together. To do so would have been torture. Plus, she thought it might make her resentful of Morris and the life they shared. As it turned out, he was the one stewing.

  “Sit down.” She removed a few clothes off one of the chairs at the table. “Would you like something to eat? We have plenty.”

  He seemed to be about to refuse, and she didn’t blame him. Bryson must have eaten in some of the best restaurants in New York. He probably never had to budget or think about whether to eat less at dinner so he could have lunch for the next day. She stuffed down feelings of self-pity and focused on enjoying the sight of the best friend she ever had.

  “Sure,” he said, surprising her.

  “You really want some?”

  “Were you offering to be polite?”

  “No, I meant it, but…never mind. Okay, let me fix your plate.”

  She hurriedly went about piling his plate with generous portions. Bryson was a big man, and he had always eaten a lot at each meal. While he removed his coat, she kept an eye on what she was doing. At the same time, she checked out his body.

  The blue oxford shirt couldn’t hide the broad shoulders and solid chest. When he sat down, she breathed a sigh of relief because it removed his slacks from view. She was about to check out his crotch, recalling how blessed he was in that department. Her mouth watered with longing because his aftershave or cologne filled the room.

  They ate in silence with Charon sneaking peeks at Bryson. He appeared to be relaxed and comfortable eating the Wal-Mart meal and sitting in a dumpy motel room. Her daughter sat between them. Nothing intimate could happen, but her heart beat faster. Something told her when he left again she would remember this night forever.

  She caught his eye and jumped. He kept staring, having no shame about being caught. There she was in an old faded T-shirt, gray sweatpants, and super thick socks that served as slippers.

  “Are you going back?” he asked.

  “W-what?”

  “To him. Are you going back?”

  “Wow, we haven’t seen each other in all this time, and the first thing you ask is if I’m going back? I don’t want to discuss it in front of little pitchers.”

  “I remember that old expression.” He knew she meant she didn’t want to discuss her marriage in front of her daughter.

  “So in other words, you’re not sure?”

  She sighed. “Does it matter?”

  “It does.”

  “You don’t have a right to be coming here telling me it matters whether—you know—and questioning me.” She didn’t mean to get her back up. In the past, they talked about everything. Now she didn’t know how to be comfortable with him.

  He wiped his mouth and tossed the napkin on his empty plate. “Let me be more direct. I want to take care of you, but I can’t do it if you still belong to him.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Charon drew her feet up on the chair and hugged her knees. The coat she wore wasn’t quite long enough to warm her legs, but she was determined to have this conversation outside the motel room since Naomi was sleeping. If she needed to curse at Bryson, she could do it freely.

  Although she had dragged two chairs outside, he chose to stand, leaning against the wall. Maybe it was a power play he’d grown used to at the office.

  “You didn’t just ask me to be your mistress again.” She stated it like she knew the truth, but she wanted clarity. Even as she spoke the words, her anger stirred to the point that she wanted to crack him over the head with something.

  “Calm down, Charon.”

  “Calm down? We haven’t seen each other in years, and maybe you forgot but I didn’t. You’re married!”

  “You know what my marriage is like.”

  “No, actually I don’t. But I don’t care. I’m not helping you to cheat.”

  “Charon, hear me out. I never would have come here or even raised the subject if you hadn’t left your husband.”

  “So it’s my fault? I provoked you to make me an indecent proposal?”

  “Would you stop with the dramatics?”

  She scowled at him.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it the way I did. To be honest, all the way here, I wrestled with what to offer.”

  “I can take care of myself. I don’t need your ‘offer.’”

  “And I don’t like to see you suffer.” He said it low and sweet. She thought she heard pain in his tone, which surprised her. Not that it should. They were once friends, and she didn’t think so badly of Bryson to think he wouldn’t care about his friend’s wellbeing.

  “I appreciate that.”

  “But you’re turning me down?”

  “Bingo.”

  He rolled his shoulders. “I can’t let you stay here.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I said I can’t—”

  “I heard what you said, but when did you become the boss of me to ‘let’ me do anything?”

  “Charon.”

  “Don’t Charon me, Bryson. I’m serious.”

  “And so am I.”

  He approached her, and she nearly jumped out her seat. When he knelt beside her chair, her pulse went out of control. He grabbed her hand. She pulled away. He settled on resting a hand on her knee. She wished he’d kept the hand, damn him. His touch destroyed her resistance. The only advantage she had was that she could hide her reaction in the low lighting out there.

  “I’m sorry to come off highhanded,” he said.

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Okay, I’m not. You know how I am. I’m not sorry for how I think. I’m sorry for pushing you where you don’t want to go. But I am pushing, Charon. You’re not staying here. It’s unsafe.”

  “I can take care of us.” Her argument had gone flat. He really sounded like he cared, and it was killing her.

  “No.”

  “Stop!” She jumped to her feet to move away from him. “It won’t be much longer. I have money saved, and as soon as our application is approved at the apartment complex I have my eye on, we’re out of here.”

  She lied. Yeah, she was looking at a particular complex, but no, she didn’t have the money for it. Morris had sucked her dry. She needed time to save up, and she would, but even this cheap motel was taking way more than she could afford to give. Maybe she should ask Bryson for a loan.

  “Let me put you in a better hotel until you move.”

  She licked her lips. His suggestion still sounded like he wanted to keep her. She couldn’t let pride get in the way of taking care of her daughter. She hesitated. They might not be cheating, but his wife might see the hotel on his bill and know he had no business in North Carolina. “My girlfriend will let us stay.”

  He frowned. “If she was going to do that, you’d be there already and not here.”

  She pressed fingers to her temple. “Janice keeps Naomi while I’m at work. We’re on different shifts, so it’s convenient. At first I wasn’t sure what I would do after I left Morris. I didn’t want to put too much on Janice by asking to stay at her place and asking her to babysit my daughter.”

  He seemed to believe her. The fact was, she refused to stay with Janice. A couple years ago, she had it out with Janice’s live-in boyfriend. Now he didn’t like her, and the feeling was mu
tual. He was a decent guy but a know-it-all, and Charon couldn’t take his acting like all women were stupid. Janice might put up with it, but Charon didn’t have to.

  She could have tossed her pride aside if she thought Bo would have said she could stay. Her instincts turned out to be right when Janice told her Bo said she should have stayed with her husband no matter what the problem was. God, she couldn’t stand him.

  “Charon, are you listening?”

  She looked up and found him standing in front of her, far too close. He ran a hand over her arm, and goose bumps broke out on her skin. She told herself to move back, but her feet refused to budge. Barely a half-foot of space stood between them, and she was tempted to lean in closer, to touch his chest and kiss his lips.

  He studied her face in silence. She licked her lips. What in the world had he been saying? She wanted to ask, but she couldn’t find her voice. He was too damn close. She couldn’t think.

  “You’re still beautiful,” he whispered.

  That did it. She jumped away. “You have no business saying that.”

  “You’re right. Charon…”

  “Don’t, Bryson. Please.”

  “Alright. How about this? Let me give you some money.”

  “No.” Desperation shouted inside yes.

  “For my meal. That’s only fair. I came here and ate dinner unexpectedly. I bet from what I ate you and Naomi could have eaten leftovers for a couple days.”

  She snorted. “That’s true. You still eat like a horse.”

  “Thanks.” He wasn’t offended.

  “Okay, fine. I’ll take dinner money.”

  “Good.” He pulled a leather wallet from his back pocket, and with deft fingers flipped through the bills. She was glad she couldn’t see clear enough to know how much cash he carried around. Not that she was jealous or resentful of Bryson. He worked damn hard for his money.

  He handed her the cash and folded her fingers over it. Before she could stop him, he drew her into a hug. Her entire body came to life, and even as she told herself not to, she hugged him back. He felt warm and strong and comforting. This was her friend, her previous lover. Tears welled in her eyes, and she tried blinking them away. A couple slid down her cheeks, but by the time he drew back, she’d wiped away the evidence.

  He dropped his hands to his sides and curled his fingers into his palms. “I’m going to go.”

  “That’s best. Thanks for stopping by.”

  He frowned but didn’t comment.

  “Take care of yourself, Bryson.”

  “You do the same.”

  There wasn’t much more either of them could say. He drove away, and she slumped into the chair she vacated. The tears wanted to fall, but she wouldn’t give them permission. Instead, she let the chill in the air freeze her emotions. When she came to herself, she realized she was outside alone at night and went inside, locking the door tight behind her.

  She grabbed her purse and took it with her into the bathroom. The bills were stuffed in her bra like an old lady. Of course she’d done it only after Bryson left. Now, she removed them and counted them out. That grocery store rotisserie was some expensive stuff in Bryson’s mind. He’d given her two hundred dollars.

  Chapter Twelve

  Charon pulled up to her friend Janice’s apartment building only to find Janice tearfully stuffing a bag into her car. Charon unbuckled her seatbelt and thrust the door open. “Stay still, baby.”

  She hurried over to Janice’s car. “What’s going on, Janice? Are you okay? Did you and Bo have a fight?”

  Janice burst out sobbing. “No, Charon, it’s my mother. My sister called to say she had a heart attack last night. They don’t know if she’s going to make it.”

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

  She shook her head, braids flapping around her face. The misery in her eyes tore at Charon’s heart. “I just can’t believe they waited until this morning to call me. I have to drive up there. They could have told me last night. I’d be there by now. She can’t go, Charon. She can’t!”

  “I know, girl. But it’s going to be okay. She’ll pull through.”

  “I’m not so sure. She’s on heart medication already. I don’t even know what to do with myself. I can’t think. All I want to do is be there.”

  “I hear you. Is Bo going with you?”

  “No, he has to work.”

  Charon frowned. “He can take off! You need him. I’m not even sure you’re in your right mind enough to drive all the way to Maryland. Wait a minute. Let me talk to him.”

  “Girl, no. The last time you and Bo got into it, I was caught in the middle. I don’t have the strength, not with my mother.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault, and don’t worry. I’m a mess, but I’m going to get there one way or another. Believe that.” She gasped, and her eyes rounded. “I can’t believe I forgot about you. I was supposed to watch Naomi. You’re due in this morning.”

  Charon waved her off. “It’s fine. I’ll ask somebody else.”

  “Who?”

  “Never mind.” Charon hugged her and pushed her toward the car. “Get going. It’s seven hours to home. The sooner you’re on the road the better. And call me when you get there or even on the way—if you need to talk. I’m here. I would go with you in a heartbeat if I could.”

  “I know.” She hugged Charon again. “I’m so sorry for letting you down.”

  “You’re not. You have to think about your mother and your family.”

  It hit Charon as it did many times before that she had no one except her baby girl. She and her cousin shared the occasional Christmas card through the mail. She used to feel good about adding Morris to that small group, but now she couldn’t wait to cut him off. She should never have married him in the first place.

  After Janice pulled out of the parking lot, Charon climbed back into her car. She sat dumbfounded behind the wheel, wondering what she was going to do. One of the other girls had brought her kid to work, and their manager had a fit. Charon couldn’t do it. She could call out, but her manager would dock her for it.

  “Should I get out, Mommy?” Naomi asked.

  “No, baby, we aren’t staying.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “I’m not sure yet.” She chewed her lip, thinking about Janice. Although she told her she would get someone else to watch Naomi, there was no one else. At least, there was no one else she trusted. She wouldn’t dump her baby off with just anyone. Being low income, she figured there were some programs that could help her with childcare, but it would take time to look into them. She needed help now. Nervousness stirred in her belly.

  If I just had some time—just a little. I could get on my feet.

  Bryson came to mind. She tried to reject the thought of him, but like the man himself, his image refused to fade. He invaded her thoughts, insisting she take notice. If she called and asked him for help, would it be so bad? It wasn’t like she was offering her body. Even if he did think that, if she made it plain that she would not be spreading her legs for him, he would still help. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind on that head.

  She phoned him, and to her surprise, he answered on the first ring. Good thing he kept the same number. “Bryson?”

  “Hey.”

  Someone on a loudspeaker spoke in the background. She guessed he was at the airport. Had he flown in for one night just to see her? No, surely not. Then again, he’d done it in the past. Only he was getting compensation for that—sex.

  “I was wondering if your offer to help me was still on the table.”

  “Of course.”

  She glanced into the rearview mirror at her daughter and climbed out of the car. When Naomi was out of earshot, she continued. “I won’t sleep with you for help.”

  “Okay.”

  He wasn’t even going to deny he would have made that kind of deal. “You’ll still help?”

  “I’ll call and make the r
eservation at the hotel.”

  “No, not that.” She paced. Naomi unbuckled her seatbelt, and began playing around in the backseat with a couple of toys she’d found there. Charon rubbed her forehead. She didn’t want to let Bryson back into her life. It would hurt too much when he left it again. But she didn’t have a choice. “There’s no apartment application because I don’t have the money. I’ll have it in a few months, but meanwhile a hotel is going to be too expensive. Maybe I can get a second job. No, I need a babysitter. Ugh, I’m not sure. I need to think.”

  “Are you in a safe place?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me where. I’ll come to meet you.”

  “Aren’t you at the airport?”

  “I am, but I can reschedule the flight.”

  “I don’t want to cost you more than I have to. I swear I’ll pay you back, Bryson. You came to visit me, and I’m sure you didn’t expect to be dragged into my mess.”

  “How about this? So we don’t have to wait for me to get another car, you pick me up at the airport, and we’ll decide where we can go to get breakfast and talk.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Good, and I’ll fill up your tank.”

  She groaned.

  “Stop complaining. We’re doing this. And you’re wrong. It’s exactly what I expected to do.”

  “What?”

  “Come to Charlotte and be your hero.”

  He chuckled as she rolled her eyes. They made plans for where she would pick him up and how long it would likely take her to get to the airport. After she disconnected the call, she got Naomi settled again and they were off. Second, third, and fourth thoughts rolled through her mind as she went to meet Bryson, but she fully intended to follow through with the plan. She might feel guilty about using him, but at least they weren’t going to be lovers.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Oh, God, I’m a kept woman!

  Charon gazed about the living room of her new apartment and marveled at all she had in such a short time. Bryson had moved mountains and leased this place for her, in a quiet neighborhood. Even when she got on her feet, she wouldn’t be able to stay there. He refused to listen, and what could she do? She needed a safe environment for her daughter. Bryson had been generous.