Charlie Bishop and Happy Lowman were childhood sweethearts as they grew up in Bakersfield, California, but fate intervened sending Charlie with her parents to Alaska. Now, several years later, they are both in the same place again, but will fate int...
At promptly seven o'clock, there was a knock on the door and Charlie sighed as she walked out of the kitchen to answer it. She'd thought for a second about not answering but that wouldn't be fair to Happy. When she opened the door, his grin turned to a frown as he stepped inside and shut the door.
"What's wrong?"
Charlie shook her head as she leaned against the wall beside the door. "It's just been a shit day. Do we need to go out tonight? Can I give you a raincheck?"
Happy laid a hand on her cheek and made her look up at him as he nodded. "Yeah, we need to do this tonight, because you've had a shit day. It'll take your mind off of it. Come on, grab your phone and shit." Charlie sighed and nodded as she stepped over to the table where her bag sat. She picked up her gun and badge and shoved them in her bag before grabbing her keys and phone. Happy lifted a brow. "You always carry those?"
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, I never know when I'll get a call, so I make sure they're with me at all times. I'm just not going to wear them." She motioned for him to walk ahead of her, locking the door when they were outside. "Where are we going? Am I dressed okay?"
Happy's eyes scanned her body as he took in the black skinny cargos tucked into Doc Martens with a black tank top and purple and black plaid flannel. Her hair was down and curly from being in a braid all day. He smirked and nodded. "Yeah, you're fine, although I kind of wanna stay here now."
She snorted as she smacked him on the arm. He chuckled and got on his bike, waiting on her to join him. Once she did, he backed out of the driveway and they roared down the road. As she held onto him, she thought back to the times they had ridden together when they were teenagers. He'd had a beat up, piece of shit bike back then, but he'd loved it and rode it everywhere.
When they reached their destination, Charlie couldn't have wiped the smile off of her face if someone had pointed a gun at her head. She laughed as he cut the engine, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "A carnival?"
Happy nodded as she got off the bike and he followed, swinging an arm around her shoulders as they walked. "Yeah, Tig and some of the others are here. I thought maybe I could win you a new stuffed animal to replace that piece of shit on your desk."
Charlie pressed a hand to her chest and gave him a look of mock horror. "Homer is not a piece of shit! He's priceless!"
Happy snorted and shook his head. "You're so fucking weird. Who names a pink unicorn Homer?"
Charlie grinned. "Me."
Happy paid the admission as Charlie fidgeted from one foot to the other, anxious to get inside. He chuckled as she pulled on his hand, practically dragging him through the rides to the main part of Fun Town. When they reached the center where the food trucks were set up, they saw Tig, Jax, Bobby, and Clay with the pretty brunette walking their way. Tig saw them first and grinned.
"Oh shit, it's the cops!"
The others laughed as Charlie winked at him. "Off duty. You're safe."
Everyone laughed as the woman with Clay stepped forward. "We haven't met. I'm Gemma, Clay's wife, and Jax's mother."
Charlie smiled and nodded. "Charlie Bishop, nice to meet you." She winked. "You're really the spine behind these guys, right? You can tell me."
Gemma nodded and chuckled as the guys groaned. "You got that right, sweetheart. Come on, we'll walk around and get to know one another. while the guys go do whatever."
Happy shook his head. "You're bogarting my date, Gem."
Charlie chuckled. "It's okay, Eeyore. Go win me something."
Happy glared at her as the others laughed. "Stop with the Eeyore shit, Charlene."
She just smirked as Jax pulled Happy away toward the games. Gemma shook her head as she tucked Charlie into her side. "You have got to tell me how you two met."
Charlie shrugged. "We met in school. He was my best friend." She sighed as she watched him walk away, clowning with his brothers. "He was my everything."
Gemma frowned at her. "So what happened?"
Charlie looked at the other woman. "My parents decided to move to Alaska to be off-gridders and I had to go too. Life just got in the way."
Gemma grinned. "And now, here you are again. That's some crazy fate shit."
Charlie sighed and shrugged. "Maybe. We'll see, I guess."
An hour later, Gemma and Charlie met back up with the boys, finding them by the cotton candy. Happy grinned as he handed Charlie a purple dragon. Charlie smiled and took it from him, hugging it to her chest as she reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "Her name is Harriet."
Happy rolled his eyes. "Homer and Harriet. Jesus. You're never naming our kids or pets, little girl."
Before Charlie could reply to that, she heard a voice from behind her. "Detective. I see you're getting into the swing of things here in Charming." She turned to see a man and a woman with a teenage girl. The man held his hand out with a smile. "Elliott Oswald. This is my wife Karen and our daughter Tristan."
Charlie shook hands with the man and smiled at the woman. "Of course, Mr. Oswald. I've heard that you're one of the main movers in town. It's great to put a name with the face."
His wife, Karen, gave her a fake smile before eyeing Happy and the others with clear distaste. "We'll have to have you over for dinner one night if you have any free time from your new... friends."
Charlie cleared her throat as she heard Happy mutter from directly behind her. "Well, that sounds just... lovely, really. What an endearing invitation." She turned to Happy and wrapped a hand around his arm, effectively ignoring the other woman. "I'm hungry. Feed your date."
