Charlotte silently agreed as she watched Lana work her magic on the older man. Lana was in her forties and she guessed Caldwell was close to sixty, but sparks were flying between them.
Kell appeared from the throng of people eating, drinking and enjoying themselves and pulled her to her feet. “We need to talk,” he murmured.
Travis sat down next to Noel and immediately took Reece from her. Charlotte wanted to take him, but Kell tugged her along the stones lining the pool until they were on the far side and relatively alone. “Reece will be fine,” he murmured when she looked over her shoulder.
She knew he would be, but she still got a little nervous if he was out of her sight for too long. She figured that would probably be standard for a while after her terrifying brush with death. When his hands settled protectively on her hips and he pulled her close, she looked back at him. “What’s going on?”
For the first time in a week Kell finally looked as if he was relaxing. That definitely had to be a good sign.
“Carlson let Harrison know that the rumor on the street is Renaldo Diaz has left the country. Likely gone back to Mexico. If he was going to make a move on us, he’d have done it by now.”
Charlotte let out a shaky breath, feeling a ton of pressure lift from her chest. Even though the man she’d seen killing Cecil had let her go, she’d still been looking over her shoulder everywhere she went. “That’s great news.”
“Well, I’ve got even more good news. After Monique was arrested, her fingerprints were matched to an unsolved fire a few years ago. Turns out she tried to burn down her ex-boyfriend’s house while he was still in it. She’ll do some time but it sounds like the DA might push to have her institutionalized. Either way, she’s not our problem anymore either.”
At the news that the woman who had trashed her car would be going away too, Charlotte wrapped her arms around Kell’s neck and kissed him hard. Living with him the past week had been an easier transition than she’d imagined, but there had been those dark clouds hanging over their lives. As they lifted, she realized she’d never been happier in her life. With the son and man she loved more than anything, she finally felt at peace with the world. She was going to start her volunteer schedule next week and planned to stay with it until Reece was old enough for school. Then she would return to teaching—unless of course they had another baby in the meantime. Something Kell had mentioned last night, but she was quite happy the way things were. Who knew, though?
When someone let out an obnoxious catcall—she was guessing Vincent—she grudgingly pulled back from Kell.
His fingers just tightened on her hips. “I say we kick everyone out and see if Noel wants to babysit Reece for an hour…or two.”
Biting back a smile, she shook her head. “Think again.”
He grumbled good-naturedly, but she knew he would never kick any of these people out of his house. Not after they’d helped protect and save her life. Friends and family were the most important things in the world, and after these few past hellish days, Charlotte was more aware of that than ever. Now she had a brand new start with Kell and Reece and she intended to savor every moment of it.