Love's Embers (Canon City Series) by Lauren Marie

face.
    “Lark, you’re silly,” Gran said and stood up. “Charlie’s coming over for dinner again tonight and he wants to take us out tomorrow night. You’re not doing anything, are you?”
    She could see by the way her grandmother looked at her that they were going out for dinner tomorrow night. When Gran wanted something, it didn’t take much to get Lark to agree and Gran did like to get out of the kitchen every now and then. “I think that sounds just fine, Gran.”

Chapter Twelve

    Lark was in bed reading. She felt tired, but her brain was going in fifteen different directions. She tried to piece together this rumor business and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. She couldn’t figure out who would have started the rumor and why. She thought about Charlie and his wonderful, warm lips and then tried to not think about him, but it was difficult. She thought about Thomas and found she really didn’t want to think about him. She realized she’d read the same page for an hour and put the book on her night stand and turned off the lamp.
    She scrunched down into the covers and looked up at the ceiling. Gran’s dinner tonight tasted so good. She thought about going downstairs and having another slice of meatloaf, but decided she felt too comfortable in her bed. Gran was the best cook and always prepared something tasty. She could even make Brussels sprouts taste good.
    Charlie was very charming during dinner and scored all kinds of points with Gran. Lark smiled to herself. He’d volunteered to help wash the dishes after they ate and looked great with a kitchen towel tucked into the top of his pants. After he’d gone home, she’d heard Gran rearrange the plates and silverware in the dishwasher. Lark asked her what she was doing.
    “Okay, so I’m a control freak about my dishwasher. If it’s organized properly, the dishes wash better, and if you put the spoons with spoons and forks with forks in the silverware tray it’s quicker to get them put away.” Gran smiled at her and laughed. “So I’m overly-efficient with my dishes. Does that make me weird?” Lark laughed about that one and told Gran no she wasn’t weird .
    She thought about Charlie again and smiled. He’d asked her if she could run him out to Bicken’s ranch tomorrow. He wanted to get reacquainted with his horse, Fox. He said he’d pay her back for the years she’d paid to have the horse boarded, but she wouldn’t accept anything monetarily from him. Fox become one of her friends over the years and she went out to the ranch as often as she could to ride him up into the mountains. He was sure-footed and a very smooth ride. Lark always felt that horse possessed a gentle soul and she loved him more than anything.
    Charlie also asked if it would be possible to go into town to the furniture store. He wanted to find a couch and some bedroom furniture. Gran mentioned that Lark’s old set was stored in the garage and he was welcome to it.
    Charlie frowned. “Do you mean all that white furniture and the bed with the pink canopy?”
    Gran smirked at him and rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to use the posts. You’d have a double bed frame and all you’d need to get is a mattress and box spring. And as far as the white night stand and chest of drawers goes, you could refinish those and I wouldn’t be unhappy. They’ve been sitting in the garage for years. Would you mind if he repainted them Lark?”
    No, she wouldn’t mind if he refinished it. After she’d graduated from college she’d bought a new bedroom set in blonde wood and never wanted a pink canopy again. If Lark took him into town, it would be a good time to start her Christmas shopping.
    There was a light tap coming from somewhere in the room and it took her a second to realize the sound came from her window. She sat up and looked. Charlie was on the outside
    tapping and waving. He wore a huge grin on his face.
    Lark got out of bed and went to the window. She unlocked it and slid