Be Mine (Jackson Boys 2)

“I miss you.” Charlie breaks the silence first.

“I miss you, too.”

“Can you tell me why you left?”

I stare at the pavement in front of me. The lights of oncoming cars bounce in the dark night. The street lights prevent the darkness from fully encompassing us. Life is like that, I think. It’s dark, but there are spotlights or beams of brightness. Cass is a beam. Charlie is a beam. Nick was a beam. Those three filled my life and drove the shadows into the corners. I think I owe Charlie an explanation.

“There was someone in my life that made it difficult to stay.”

“Did he hurt you? Charlie’s dad, that is?” She guesses it right away.

I shift in my seat. I know that we’re in a car and Chip can’t hear a thing, but he still scares the shit out of me, so I hedge. “He…he felt dangerous and not in the sexy, brooding kind of way.”

“I see.” We listen to the drone of the engine before she speaks again. “But you’re safe here?”

“Yes.”

“And Dallas is unsafe?”

“It was.”

“Was, as in past tense?”

I nod.

“You don’t have to tell me anything more, but I have a proposal for you.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“I need help. I have a new business.”

“Really? Doing what?” Charlie didn’t work back in the day. Nick once told me she was fragile. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I didn’t pry. I figured she would tell me if she wanted to. Maybe she would have if I’d stuck around.

“I do things for players.”

I can’t keep the shock out of my eyes.

“Oh, not sexual things.” She laughs. “I run their errands. I find apartments for them. I buy gifts. Little stuff that are bothersome but take up a lot of time. I did that for Nick—” She pauses and shoots me a glance. “Is it okay if I bring him up?”

I swallow the lump in my throat at the mention of his name. “Of course, why wouldn’t it be okay?” I croak out.

“I thought…maybe you had a thing for him and that is why you left.”

“No.” Not a singular thing. Many things. Many naughty, sexy things. Nick Jackson has featured in every masturbatory session I’ve had since I left Dallas. Not that I plan to reveal this to anyone, particularly not his best bud, Charlotte. Happily, we arrive at my apartment complex and I use that to avoid any more Nick related questions.

Charlotte and I take the stairs to the second floor and she inspects my apartment while I pay the babysitter. After checking on Cassidy, I place a kettle on the stove. “Want some tea?”

“Sure. That sounds good.”

“Watch the water for me while I grab some sheets.”

By the time I get back with the bedding, Charlie has two cups of hot water with tea bags steeping. Next to her mug is her oversized purse that is bulging at the seams. I wonder what she totes in that massive thing.

“Come here and let me explain what’s going on. Remember that first year when Nick and I moved to town?”

I nod. The memory of Nick appearing like an angel in the middle of the Stacks parking lot isn’t something I’ll ever forget. It was the first random act of kindness I’d experienced. My throat gets tight every time it pops into my head. I take a sip of my tea to cover up my sudden onslaught of emotions.

“I took care of everything for Nick so he wouldn’t have any distractions from the game. I found his condo, I took care of his laundry”—that explains why he was so bad at folding, I muse silently—“I stocked his fridge, paid his bills, and basically made it so all he had to do was play the game. And I kept doing it. Last year after he won the Super Bowl, he credited me with part of his success, so teammates of his came to me and then word spread to other Texas athletes. Now, I’m swamped with work. I don’t have enough time in the day to do all the research I need. I can spend a week calling up schools, interviewing neighborhoods to find the exact right fit for my clients, the best dry cleaner, the best dog walkers, and then I have to fly there to visit. If I had a more established business, then it would be easier, but…”

“But you’re starting out and building your business from scratch.”

“Exactly.” Charlie reaches into her huge purse and pulls out planner after planner, all in different colors with a thousand Post-it note flags sticking out of the edges. “I’ve got all these planners and notes but feel more disorganized than ever. I want to do this so bad, Lainey.” There’s a note of desperation in her voice. “I don’t want to brag, but I come from a lot of money. My dad inherited millions and my mom made it into a fortune. Nate, my—I mean, Nick’s brother is a Navy SEAL. Nick just won the Super Bowl. All I have is this and Stacks.”