Healing Hearts (Hope River #3) - Margaret McHeyzer Page 0,74
you, and me, no one would know why there’s one lonely magnolia among all these birch trees.”
“That makes it even more special.” Dropping Charlie’s hand, I turn slowly looking up. “Do you think we can have our picnic under the tree?”
“I don’t see why not. Although, we may have some unwelcome visitors.” Charlie points directly up to a bird sitting on a branch above us. “Let’s move just a little this way.” He picks the picnic basket up from where he laid it, and moves back.
“Hang on, I’ve brought a rug. And by rug, I mean a sheet. When I was looking for one, Aunt May pointed out that we don’t have a picnic rug. So, a sheet will have to do.” I take it out of the basket, shake it out, then lay it on the ground doubled-over. I sit, and Charlie sits opposite me. “Tell me about your family,” I say.
“Well, you know Hope.” He grins. “Everyone knows Hope. She’s always been one of those people who you can’t help but like.”
“I can see it runs in the family. Because I can’t help but like you too.”
“Hopefully in a different way?” He shakes his head and snickers.
“You’re a dork. But yes, in a different way. What about your parents?”
“Just average people who always worked hard for us, and didn’t have a lot of money to their names. But Hope changed that for them.” He leans on one elbow and looks out to the river. “When Hope and I were younger, we had a stable home, and never went without anything. But I remember one night, it was just before my birthday. God, I think I was turning fourteen, maybe?” He shrugs. “Anyway, I wanted these basketball shoes, and they were like two-hundred dollars. Everyone had them, and I wanted them too. My parents were modest people, who didn’t live an extravagant life. But like I said, we never went without.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Anyway, I heard Mom crying one night when I should’ve been asleep. I snuck out, because hey, I wanted to know what was happening. She was crying because they couldn’t afford the shoes and Mom was going to sell a piece of jewelry my Grandma had left her when she passed away. Mom was devastated she was going to have to part with something that meant so much to her. But she turned to Dad and said, ‘our son means more to me than a piece of gold.’” Charlie’s eyes soften as he looks down at the sheet and sighs. “I knew I couldn’t let her sell it. Not for a stupid pair of shoes. The next morning at breakfast, I made a point of saying how glad I was that I didn’t get those shoes because everyone was complaining about how they were falling apart after wearing them for only a few weeks.” Charlie smiles. “The look on Mom’s face. The relief that washed over her was something I’ll remember ’til the day I die.”
“She was willing to sacrifice something that meant so much to her, because she loved you more than the jewelry.” I place my hand to my heart. I can feel my eyes tearing up. “Now that is beautiful.”
“And once Hope started flipping houses… she really does have a knack for it. I mean, I’ve never met a person who works as hard as Hope. She’ll have several projects going on at one time, and still find a way to give back to the community. When her business took off, which was quite quickly, she paid off our parents’ mortgage, and bought them brand new cars.”
“Your sister is inspirational,” I say after carefully choosing the right word.
“And you know what? She never seeks to be the center of attention. It just naturally falls in her lap. People gravitate toward her, and want to help her. She has a way with everything she does. But, she’s also a pain in the butt. My God, I can’t count how many times have we gotten into screaming matches. She’s very headstrong. But now I’ve learned how to deal with Hope. And that is to accept that she’s right ninety-nine percent of the time, so I have her back regardless of the situation.”
“You two are really close. I like that. I used to wish I had a sister or a brother, but then I think about how toxic it was growing up at home, and I’m thankful I didn’t.”
“Because you wouldn’t want them going through what you did?”