Chapter 210
Charlene grabbed her laptop and headed over to Stewart’s place for dinner at Kenton’s house. After a delicious meal of roast chicken and mashed potatoes, Kenton helped her with her paper.
As the night grew late, Charlene hopped into her car, ready to head home when her phone rang, it was her Aunt
Maisie.
“Hey, Charlene, Maisie said urgently. “I planned a boat trip for the kids tomorrow, but something came up withs my family and I need to go back home. I can’t take them with me.”
Charlene listened, nodding as if her aunt could see her. “No worries, Aunt Maisie. I’ve got a free day tomorrow I’ll take them out for you.”
No sooner had she hung up than her phone buzzed again. This time, it was Granger calling.
“Hey, Granger,” she quickly said, “if this is about Daisy, I already have plans for tomorrow and can’t make it Granger chuckled on the other end. “Mind sharing what those plans are? Daisy’s been eager to see you.” Charlene saw no harm in explaining. “I’m taking my cousins on a boat trip.” “Well,” Granger paused, “Daisy would love that. Would it be okay if we tagged along?”
Charlene hesitated for a second, then replied, “Let me check with my cousins first. I’ll get back to you.”
Five minutes later, she called Granger back with a thumbs-up.
The next morning, around eight, Charlene arrived at the harbor with Nadine and Carl Ross. They found Granger and Daisy already there, waiting.
As soon as Daisy spotted Charlene, she dashed over, “Ms. Ross!”
Charlene crouched down to hug Daisy, beaming. “Daisy, it’s been too long.”
Seeing the puzzled looks on Nadine and Carl’s faces, Charlene introduced everyone.
Granger smiled warmly, “Hey there,” and handed them some gifts. “I wasn’t sure what you guys liked, so ! just picked something. Hope you like them.”
His thoughtfulness left them pleasantly surprised, especially Charlene.
After the small talk, they all boarded the boat. Nadine and Carl knew about Charlene’s upcoming divorce from Thorne. As they watched Charlene holding Daisy’s hand and chatting with Granger, Nadine gave Carl a nudge and a knowing look, as if to say, “Could this be Charlene’s future husband?” Carl shrugged, whispering back, “Seems like it, doesn’t it?”
Nadine leaned in closer to her brother, muttering, “And he’s quite handsome.”
He appeared much more approachable than their soon-to-be-ex brother-in-law. But as they watched Charlene playing with Daisy, a mix of emotions swept over them. They knew Charlene was likely to lose custody of Jasmine to Thorne.
It was evident Jasmine preferred staying with Thorne, as she’d been back in town but rarely visited the Ross family home. They couldn’t fathom how much this must hurt Charlene.
Seeing her newfound happiness with Granger brought them relief. They joined in playing with Daisy, thinking that if they were kind to the Harden family now, maybe, just maybe, they’d be kind to Charlene in return if she ended up marrying Granger.