“Charlie, I really appreciate you coming along. It’s nice to have a girl to shop with,” Jules says, and I smile at her in the rearview mirror.
“Happy to do it,” Charlie says. “How are you liking Nova Scotia so far?”
“It’s beautiful. Quiet, but beautiful. Next time we come back, Sophie will be old enough for us to bring her.”
Charlie smiles at the mention of Jules’s daughter. Does she want kids of her own? I do, eventually. I’ve been so busy working toward an NHL career I’ve not given it much thought, though. I drive her to her house, and she invites us to wait inside while she gets changed. We step into the big old homestead, and she calls out to her mother.
Mrs. Baxter comes around the corner, a smile on her face when she sees me.
“Wes, it’s so great to see you,” she says, holding her arms out for a hug. I lean in and hug her, and her smile widens when she sees Rider and Jules behind me. Her hands go to her cheeks. “Oh my, you’re Rider Lewis.”
“The one and only,” he teases, and Jules rolls her eyes at him. “This is my wife, Jules.”
“Mom, I’m going to grab a quick shower,” Charlie says after the introductions. “Then we’re headed to the city for some shopping. Jules didn’t pack for boating, so I’m going to help her pick out some things.”
“What fun,” Mrs. Baxter says.
Charlie rushes up the stairs, and I can’t help but stare after her, my eyes on her cute little backside.
“Come in, come in,” Mrs. Baxter says, and I tear my gaze away, hoping she hadn’t noticed the way I was drooling over her daughter. She walks down the hall and gestures for us to follow. I take my time walking, lagging behind to study the pictures decorating the walls. As an only child, I sort of envy her. I’ve always wanted brothers and sisters. My cousin Lester, named after his grandfather as well, stayed with us one winter, but I spent a lot of my weekends at hockey camp, and did a month-long stint out west, while he took my spot on the local team and joined in the practices. His parents thought getting him out of the city for a bit would smarten him up and get him on the right track.
I grin as I take in the smiling faces and it’s easy to pick out Charlie in the childhood photos. While she’s a very down to earth girl, there’s a dreamy look on her face in her pictures. What kind of dreams does Charlie Baxter have, and do they take her away from this tourist fishing town?
We sit at the big oaken table, and Mrs. Baxter pours us lemonade. Just then Jules’ phone rings and she holds it up. “If you’ll excuse me, it’s my sister and she’s looking after our daughter.” She disappears into the other room, and Mrs. Baxter sits with us. Using my thumb, I swipe at the condensation beading on my glass as she dives right into hockey, and I just laugh. Jules comes back into the room and Rider shoots her a questioning glance.
“Everything is good,” she says. “Sophie has a slight fever, but she’s teething and I’m pretty sure that’s all it is.”
“Jules is a nurse,” I explain, and Mrs. Baxter smiles at her, but then her smile falters.
“My youngest, she’s in high school. I think she’d be a great nurse, but she says she prefers to work the boats.”
“Really?” I ask, a bit surprised by that. Everyone I grew up with wanted out of this small fishing town.
“She’s smart as a whip.” She makes a clicking sound with her tongue and points to her head. “And the world needs more nurses.”
I take a big drink of sweet lemonade. “You don’t want her to stay here and join the family business?”
“I just want her to be happy. I want all my girls to have life experiences, and then decide what’s right for them. It can take time to figure out who you are and what you want.”
“What about Charlie?” I ask, curious about the tough girl who I’d mistaken for a guy. Breton was quick to point out that Charlie wasn’t interested in men, and maybe she’s right. I don’t mean to sound cocky here, but women sort of like me. They throw themselves at us players all the time. Charlie seems like she’d rather throw somethingat me. But each to their own right. Love is love, and who she loves is her business.
“Charlie, well she…” Her head lifts at the shuffling sound behind me. “I want her to be happy.”
I study her for a second, and sense she wanted to say something else entirely, but decided against it. I turn and nearly bite off my tongue as Charlie comes down the hall, the fresh fruity scent of her showered skin reaching my nostrils. Face free of makeup and hair tied back, looking exactly like the girl next door—a girl who is out of this farm boy’s league—she bounces into the kitchen dressed in a pair of black cotton shorts that tie at the waist and a lightweight blouse with the top two buttons undone.
“Don’t you look lovely,” her mother says.
She drops a kiss onto her mother’s cheek and it’s easy to see how much they adore one another.
“That was fast,” I comment.
She smiles. “Low maintenance. Are we all ready to go?”
“Thanks for the lemonade,” I say as Rider stands and helps Mrs. Baxter take our glasses to the sink.
“Come by anytime,” she calls out. “Maybe we can all have a barbecue. We’re all hockey fans in this house, and I’m sure my daughters would love to meet you, Rider, and Wes, they’re going to love to see you again.”
Charlie touches her mother’s arm lovingly. “I’m sure they’re too busy for that, Mom, and Jules and Rider are only here for a week.”