The Charlotte Chronicles (Jackson Boys 1)

Shortly after plates are cleared away, Lainey stands. “I’m glad that you’re here. Charlie is glowing so much that I have to leave because I forgot to put my sunscreen on, and if I stay any longer, I’m going to get burned.”

“So soon?” Charlotte protests.

“Babysitter,” Lainey says as if the one word explains it all. And apparently it does, as murmurs of sympathy go round the table.

“Danny flaked out on you again? I told you not to hire her.” Nick throws down some bills on the table. As he stands, the chair legs scrape across the wood floor.

“What are you talking about? You flirted nonstop with her when I was interviewing her.”

“Exactly. Cassidy shouldn’t be watched by some girl who’s got more interest in getting into my jock.”

“So that’s your test? If they want to sleep with you then they’re not worthy to watch Cassidy?”

“That’s right.” He takes her arm and starts pulling her toward the door. “We don’t want Cassidy to grow up to be all about boys. She needs to be an independent woman.”

“Why don’t you just stop showing up for my nanny interviews? Then they won’t have anything to be hungry about,” she retorts but doesn’t pull away.

“I’m going to be around eventually. It’s better to know up front.”

Lainey rubs her forehead as if this is an argument she’s heard before, but by now they’re too far away for me to hear her response.

I look at Charlotte. “How long has he been wanting to sleep with her?”

Reese spits out his beer all over the table, and Charlotte has to flag down a waitress to come over to clean up the mess.

“Lainey and Nick have a complicated history.”

“That’s an understatement.” Reese snorts.

Ignoring Reese, she continues, “She dated a Mustang while she was waiting tables here, and she got pregnant. He accused her of tampering with her birth control and told her that he was not going to support the baby. She hired an attorney to prove paternity because she didn’t have a lot of money, not enough to support a child and herself.”

“The guy turned out to be an asshole?”

“Worse. The player then had a change of heart and said that if she was going to pursue paternity against him, he would challenge her for custody. And since she was an out of work waitress who slept around with football players, who was the judge going to side with?”

“So what happened?”

“I met her when Nick was drafted. We kind of bonded, and we all pitched in to help her. So, well, when the bar came up for sale, Nick and I bought it and hired her back. She runs the bar and helps with my business.”

“What’s with her and Nick?”

Reese must have kicked her under the table because she yelps, “Ow!” Frowning at him, she reaches down and rubs her leg. “He’s Nick’s brother and my future husband. I’m not keeping secrets from him.”

“This is Lainey’s secret,” Reese hisses.

“Nate’s not going to say anything to Nick.” She turns to me. “Promise me you won’t say anything to Nick.”

“Charlotte, baby, you know I can’t promise that.” I shift uncomfortably in my seat.

“You will once you know the whole story. Nick sees Lainey and totally falls for her. He pursues her hard during his rookie season. This was before he knew of her circumstances.”

“So where’s the player who knocked her up now?”

Reese gives Charlotte a hard look which she ignores. “He’s the quarterback coach now.”

“I see.” And I do. Nick has to maintain a good relationship with his coach, and knowing that the coach dicked over a girl he likes wouldn’t be the way to do that.

“Chip got injured Nick’s rookie year and went from backup to quarterback coach in a matter of a couple years. He comes here regularly to rub it in Lainey’s face. And we grin and bear it because we don’t want to affect Nick’s relationship with the team. He only knows that the father is an asshole and . . .” her voice trails off.

Reese and I turn to see a tall, blond-haired man heading toward our table. He’s clad in a navy polo and chinos, but his coiffed hair has an expensive look to it. By the tightening on Charlotte’s face, this must be Chip.

“Charlie, looking gorgeous as ever.” He places a hand on the back of her chair and another on the table in front of her. The cage he creates shuts the rest of the table out and her in. To say this annoys me would be an understatement. But I get the dilemma for Charlotte and Reese. This is Nick’s coach and someone they don’t want to create conflict with for the sake of Nick, but they also clearly can’t stand him.

Reese has turned away to stare at a nearby television, and Charlotte is suddenly entranced by the napkin in front of her.