CHAPTER 13

John slid into the couch next to her. "Ms. Lily, we have a problem."

She scrunched up her nose. "Would you kindly refer to me as Charlotte? Ms. Lily sounds like my mom.

Gritting his teeth, he said. "As long as you're in my custody, you're Ms. Lily."

"Do you ever relax?"

"Ms. Lily, your brother is unreachable for a week. Do you have anyone else you can contact?"

She raised her knees and encircled them with her arms. "Yes, but I would rather not."

"Why?"

"I'm not in the mood for a lecture."

"Maybe you need one."

"And maybe you need better security at your jail."

He gritted his teeth again. His teeth would be nubs by the time Ms. Lily left his jurisdiction. "The hearing is at 10:00 on Wednesday. This is Monday. I have no place to hold you for the next two nights."

"I'm fine right here."

"That's my point. You've worn out your welcome here. My mother doesn't like the way you're acting. I thought we talked about the cordial aspect. Did I not make myself clear?"

"She expects me to wash the dishes."

"And somehow that is beyond your realm of capabilities?"

She gave a scowl. "There isn't a dishwasher."

The last place he wanted Ms. Lily was in his home, but again he was out of options. "Here's the deal. You apologize to my mother and wash whatever she asks you to wash. You keep your mouth buttoned and be grateful that I don't lock you in a cell next to Tosin."

"You wouldn't." She paled. He'd struck a chord.

"There are rules in life. Regardless of your circumstance, you seem to enjoy disobeying them."

"Most people would refer to that as independence."

"I call it foolish."

She took a deep breath, but she didn't respond. Finally. she asked, "What do I have to do?"

"Be cordial and respectful. Is that so difficult?"

"No."

"You may stay here till the hearing if Mom is okay with it. I strongly suggest you find someone to make your bail."

"Fine," she murmured and John briefly felt sorry for her.

On the surface, she seemed to have everything, looks, intelligence and money. Yet he saw a lost little girl fighting for some-thing. She most likely had no idea what that was. He certainly didn't.

But there was something about justice. Right and wrong.

And there was something about Charlotte Lily.

They walked into the kitchen as Hae was getting food out of refrigerator for lunch.

Charlotte looked at John and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Stark, for complaining about the dishes.

"Sure, hon." Hae placed a loaf of bread on the table. "We all pitch in around here, even though we don't have a fancy dishwasher. Don't we, Alice?"

"Yep."

"We'll forget about the minor mishap if you fill the glasses with ice and pour the tea.

"Thank you." Without even checking for an ice machine, Charlotte walked to the refrigerator. She knew that there wasn't. She located ice trays, brought them out, and put ice in the glasses that were sitting on the counter.

Alice pointed to the trays and said, "You have to refill those."

Great. Now she had three people telling her what to do. But she completed the task without scowling or cursing. That was an accomplishment.

"I'm getting paper plates." Alice ran to a pantry. "I also dislike doing the dishes." She placed paper plates and napkins on the table. "When will we have a dishwasher, Grandma?"

John stroked his daughter's hair. "Alice, Grandma likes her house just how it is. We should have lunch."

After diligently pouring the tea, Charlotte took a seat. Not much was said as they assembled ham-and-cheese sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles.

Afterwards, Charlotte grabbed the plates and put them in the trash. She carried the cutlery and glasses to the washbasin. She pondered her next move as she gazed at the dishes. Water, of course. She wasn't an idiot.

A tangy male scent reached her a moment before Wyatt shoved a stopper into the drain. He turned a faucet and water spurted out. He then took out a dish soap from a cabinet below and squirted it into the water.

"Simple," he said, his eyes holding hers. For the first time she noticed the green highlights in the brown orbs. Very sexy. And warm. She felt it all the way to her painted toenails.

She instantly got to her feet, grabbed a sponge, and started washing the dishes. There weren't many, and she quickly arranged them in the drainer so they were absolutely straight to dry. She then released the water and wiped the sink and counter. She cleaned the sponge and set it on the sink. No problem. She had done dishwashing, the hard way. Maybe she could put that on a résumé.

"I need to talk to everyone before I go back to the office," John said.

"All right, Daddy. What's up?" Alice stood in front of him, shifting from one foot to the other.

John cast a downward glance towards his child. "Ms. Lily will be staying with us until Wednesday because her brother is unable to come,"

"Where will she be sleeping?" Alice queried.

John lowered himself to Alice's level. "I was hoping you'd let her sleep in your room since you have a trundle bed."

"No way." Alice shook her head. "She snores."

Despite wanting to argue the point, Charlotte chose to do as advised and button her lip.

"You can sleep with me," Hae said to Alice. "We've done it before, when we've had company."

"No way, Grandma. I ran into your giant Elvis the last time I had to stand up to use the bathroom. He started singing 'hunka hunka of burning love' and it scared me. I almost peed in my pyjamas. I'm staying in my room."

John took Alice's arm and led her out onto the back porch.

"I can sleep on the sofa." Charlotte said to Haetel.

"Let John handle it. He has a way with her." Hae placed a dish of cookies on the table. "How about a chocolate-chip cookie? In the worst-case scenario, you can stay the night with me!"

"I think a big Elvis might scare me, too."

"Oh, hon, you might be all shook up, but Elvis doesn't scare anybody." She waved a hand toward the refrigerator. "Bring the milk and the glasses."

Charlotte began to explain that she had just cleaned the glasses and wasn't going to scuff them up again, but she also wanted cookies.

As she ate her fill, she could see John and Alice sitting on the steps. She wondered what he was saying.