A Family Name (17 page)

"This is amazing," she said, casting a
sidelong glance at Will.

"It's nothing really," Will replied with his
self-deprecating tone that made Charlotte bristle. Didn't he know
how wonderful it all was? The opportunity he was giving his
students… Charlotte shook her head.

When Will lapsed into a long silence,
Charlotte turned to face him fully. His eyes were closed, and his
jaw was clenched. She could see from the twist of his features that
he was in pain. Helplessness swallowed her whole. The intense
desire to ease his suffering washed over her, akin to nothing she
had ever felt except when dealing with the kids.
Can this be
love?
The thought made her breath catch, but she refused to
allow herself to dwell on it.

Reaching out, Charlotte took Will's hand. He
opened his eyes, which she could have sworn were shiny. She wished
he felt comfortable enough to cry. A man like Will would never cry
in front of anyone, no matter how much he was grieving.

As he laced his fingers through hers,
Charlotte felt her world tilt on its access. With a gentle tug,
Will wrapped his arms around her. Charlotte laid her head against
his chest, listening to the gentle thumping of his heart. How could
he be so calm when they were standing so close? She was fairly
certain that her own heart was beating like a hummingbird's
wings.

"I can't help but think that if Steve hadn't
been so committed to this project, than he and Gretchen would still
be alive." Will's voice caught, and Charlotte pulled back a little
so she could look up at his face. He gazed down at her with such an
intense look that she knew this was him trusting her with something
he hadn't shared with anyone else.

They stared at each other for what felt like
an eternity. Time stretched in all directions, slowing down,
enveloping them, and sealing them off from the rest of the world.
Charlotte couldn't bring herself to look away or even blink. She
knew that if she did anything to break the spell, things would
never be able to travel down that path again. This moment would
change everything.

Charlotte slid her hands up Will's chest,
encircling his neck. Will tilted her head back and dipped toward
her. She could feel his breath against her cheek as his lips
brushed her skin. A shiver rolled down Charlotte's back, sending
delicious chills racing over her whole body. He smelled divine — a
heady combination of leather and something woodsy. Her fevered
brain counted the seconds before Will's lips touched her own.

The crack of thunder echoed through the
valley, rolling off the trees. Will and Charlotte broke apart and
looked up at the sky. Charlotte couldn't shake the confusion from
her head. They had been about to kiss, and now this? The dark storm
clouds had blown in while they were distracted. Charlotte turned
back to Will feeling lost. What were they supposed to do now?

"Come on," Will said tugging on her hand.
With lightning flashing and thunder crashing, they ran through the
meadow to a small out building that looked more like a lean to than
an actual structure. They ducked inside just as rain began to fall,
thick and heavy. Charlotte peered out through the door as
visibility was reduced to a few feet just as a wall of water poured
from the sky. When she turned toward Will, she noted that he was
lighting a kerosene lantern on a small table in the middle of the
room.

"What is this place?" Charlotte wrapped her
arms around herself as she peered into the shadows.

Will dusted off his hands on his jeans.
Charlotte averted her eyes to avoid the thoughts that snuck into
her mind anyway. The fact that they had almost kissed ran contrary
to everything that Charlotte knew should happen. If she and Will
got involved, how would that affect the kids? How would that affect
her?

"It used to be an old bunk house for cowboys
stuck out on the range during winter storms. Since we don't run
cattle in this pasture anymore, it fell out of use. When we started
doing the dig, we started using it as a little base camp, I
guess."

"Oh." Charlotte couldn't get anything else
out of her mouth but a gasp as Will stepped up close to her.

"Now, where were we?" Will murmured as he
reached out and drew her closer.

Charlotte bit her lip, sucking in her breath.
She tilted her head back and gazed up at him feeling almost giddy
with anticipation. He lowered his head, and Charlotte felt like he
was moving in slow motion. When his lips met hers, she let herself
melt into him. She wound her hands around his neck, drawing him
closer. Will's mouth slid across hers and the kiss deepened.
Charlotte felt like she might fall into this kiss. His teeth grazed
her lower lip, jarring her out of the easy give and take back into
reality. Instead of making the moment awkward, it only heightened
the tension.

With her eyes wide open Charlotte could see
the tiny flecks of gold in Will's hazel eyes. His long dark lashes
brushed his cheeks as he blinked. Never before had Charlotte been
this aware of her intimacy with anyone. When they broke apart, they
were both breathing hard. Will braced his hands on Charlotte's
shoulders as they both waited for things to get back to normal. The
only sounds in the small building were their ragged breathing and
the rain pattering steadily on the roof. Yet, neither one of them
looked away. They continued to stare into one another's eye. She
was unsure what this new development meant or where it would lead.
All Charlotte knew was that she would need to reassess what she was
willing to risk. Otherwise she was in big trouble.

Will tapped the steering wheel of his truck
in an upbeat rhythm. The past few days with Charlotte he had felt
raw and vulnerable, but amazing nonetheless. Every time he thought
of their kiss a goofy grin spread across his face that he couldn't
suppress even when he wanted to. As he exited the expressway at
Mountain View he decided to stop off at the café for a cup of
coffee. He hadn't been there in quite some time, and it might be
nice to catch up with some of the locals.

Driving through Mountain View, Will noticed
how many homes had for sale signs in their front yards. So many
people moving away. As he pulled his truck up to the café, he
remembered feeling stuck, mired, in this town as a kid. Rapid City
had always beckoned, and he had spent most weekends driving to and
from the city in search of fun. With the rapid depopulation of this
town, what did it offer the kids? If Charlotte decided to keep her
job, she'd have to commute like he did. Was that the life they
wanted?

He smiled at a few of the older men who
gathered regularly in one corner to swap news and gossip. He knew
his dad was friends with many of the men, but Will figured he
shouldn't hold it against them. While he waited for his coffee to
be made by a girl who looked little older than Lexi — actually she
probably
wasn't
much older than Lexi — Will decided to
broach the subject of moving the family down to Rapid City. Even if
the situation turned out to be temporary, the kids would have so
many more opportunities.

The coffee tasted like soggy cardboard and
smelled like wet dog, but Will didn't want to hurt the girl's
feelings so he took it with him, abandoning it in the truck's cup
holder. His stomach churned as he pulled out of Mountain View and
headed back to the ranch, and he didn't think it was from his one
sip of coffee either. He had no way of knowing how Charlotte would
react to his suggestion. Just because they had shared a kiss did
not mean they had a relationship. They hadn't even bothered to talk
about things yet, so this conversation would mark the first big
discussion that could move them into real relationship
territory.

Sierra and Lexi came running out of the house
to greet him when he pulled up. A moment later Charlotte exited the
house with Shane on her hip. The smile that spread across her face
made Will's breath catch. He hoped that she'd jump on board with
his suggestion. It might be the first step to turn them into a
family. The thought crept up on him, but as it settled into his
consciousness he wasn't surprised. Clearly he had been heading in
this direction for awhile. Now to find out if Charlotte was
too.

After a round of hugs, Will said, "Lex, why
don't you take Sierra and Shane to see Grandma Karen? I need to
chat with Charlotte for a bit."

Lexi took Shane from Charlotte's arms, and
the three kids headed across the driveway to the main house. Will
watched until his mom had answered the door, ushered the kids
inside, and waved to him. Then he turned to Charlotte and motioned
toward the front porch.

"A talk in private, huh? Sounds serious,"
Charlotte said. He could tell that she was trying to keep her voice
light but when it cracked it gave away her nervousness.

"Well, yeah." Will ran a hand across the back
of his neck, suddenly feeling odd. "So I was thinking maybe we
should move down to Rapid City for awhile. I mean, there's not much
school left, but summer in the city is always fun. I have a condo
down there. It might be a little cramped but the girls could share
and…"

"What are you talking about?" Charlotte
laughed. "Why don't you come sit down and explain this again? Why
would we move?"

Will shrugged, and leaned against the porch
railing. He crossed his arms over his chest, trying to decide the
best way to discuss this with her. Obviously she didn't understand
what he was getting at. "I just thought that being down in Rapid
would give the kids more opportunities."

"Why would we move?" Charlotte repeated, all
traces of laughter gone. "Will, we don't know how long the five of
us get to be together. Why on earth would we want to do something
so disruptive? Besides I like it here. So do the kids."

He winced inwardly at the truth behind
Charlotte's words. They didn't know how long the five of them would
get to be together as a family, but they were right now, and that
was why he wanted to give them all the opportunities he could.
Things he had been deprived of growing up on the ranch. Why
couldn't Charlotte see that?

"Have you been to town? This place has nearly
a one hundred percent attrition rate. There won't even be any kids
left for a school next year. I want our kids to have more than
that." Will leveled his gaze at Charlotte feeling a bit
petulant.

Charlotte gave a short, brittle bark of
laughter. "We aren't moving. The end. There is no way we are
bringing any upheaval into these kids' lives. That is the last
thing they need."

Will opened his mouth to make some smart
retort, but he found his mind blank. Staring at Charlotte, Will
just shook his head, pushed himself away from the porch rail, and
stalked toward the house. Maybe they could discuss things later
after the suggestion had sunk in a bit, then maybe Charlotte would
come around to his point of view.

In the kitchen he rummaged around to find
something to eat. He was coming up empty when the front door
creaked open. Charlotte came up behind him, opened the
refrigerator, and handed him a plate with a sandwich on it.

Will faltered. When he raised an eyebrow at
Charlotte she merely shrugged. "You weren't home for lunch. I
thought you might be hungry."

Grabbing two bottles of water, Will sat down
at the kitchen table. Charlotte retrieved a container of cookies
from the counter and sat down across from him. They ate in silence
for awhile before Charlotte asked, "Why would you want to
move?"

It was the third time she had asked him, and
he realized that he hadn't really given her an answer. While he
chewed his ham and cheese on rye, Will considered her question. It
was fair of her to ask. He watched as Charlotte broke a cookie into
thirds before taking a small bite. Seeing her lips part as she ate
made him remember their kiss, and his train of thought effectively
derailed.

"Is it because of your dad?"

"Is what because of my dad?" Will asked
before startling himself out of his distraction. "Oh, no. Not
really, although getting some distance from him might actually be
nice. No, I just really want to give these kids more opportunities
than I had growing up. I know that sounds trite, but I swear I mean
it."

"Wow, that's the most I've ever heard you say
at one time," Charlotte said, a smile quirking up one corner of her
mouth.

"Hey now," Will protested, but he felt a
smile crossing his face. He popped the last piece of sandwich into
his mouth.

Charlotte sighed and pushed the plate of
cookies away. "Don't mention any of this to the kids. They've just
started to get settled, and we can't take that away from them.
Besides this week haven't you noticed that all three of them have
been acting like siblings?"

"You mean the massive amounts of arguing
going on this week?" Will reached across to snag a cookie.

"That's exactly what I mean. They all seem to
be gelling. I don't want anything to disrupt that."

Will nodded. He knew where she was coming
from, although he hadn't seen what Charlotte had in the kids. The
bickering irritated him so he usually tuned it out, but now that he
thought about it, he could see what she meant. Sierra and Lexi had
stopped competing with each other for attention, to arguing about
things like who got TV time first or who took too long in the
bathroom. Just like he and his brothers had when they were
younger.

"Let's take them to Rushmore tomorrow," Will
said. "It'll be nice to get away from the ranch just the five of
us."

Charlotte raised her eyebrows, but she didn't
comment on the change of conversation. Instead she favored him with
a smile that made his pulse pound. What he wouldn't give to kiss
her again, right now. He had a feeling, though, that she wasn't in
quite the right mood for that, and for the first time in his life
he wanted to take things as slowly as he needed to insure her place
in his life for a long time. Whatever delusions he had about not
being in over his head in this relationship fled in the wake of
sitting there.