Rachel finished wrapping a clan's man's leg and looked up at the sound of giggling. Her daughter was at the bottom of the stairs with the Bennett boy and they both looked like they had a great secret. In her mind, they were standing way too close. She had to turn away as Charlie leaned up to kiss Connor. Rachel tied a tight knot and gave the man instructions on keeping infection out. Then she went to confront her daughter. "Don't you two have work to do?" she asked.
"It's not the end of the world if we slack off a little," Connor replied with a half-smile. He turned his attention to Charlie and Rachel swore his eyes actually turned into hearts. What was more revolting was that Charlie looked back at him in the exact same way.
"Where's Miles and Monroe?" Charlie asked. "We have news."
"News?" Rachel repeated.
"Is there an echo around here?" Connor teased. Charlie hit him lightly and they both smiled. "Sorry. Yeah, we have something to tell everyone. Can you gather them up for us?"
Rachel wasn't sure what the hell was going on but she nodded. "Yeah, sure." She went to get Miles and Monroe while the love birds were busy wrapped up in each other.
"The hell is going on here?" Miles demanded as he took in the display.
"We have news," Charlie smiled. She looked at Connor. "You want to tell them?"
"No, you tell. You're so cute when you do it."
"Someone say something before I yak," Miles drawled. "This is sickening."
Charlie rolled her eyes but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Connor and I are engaged," she announced proudly. She held out her hand to show off an old fashioned ring. "He proposed last night."
"The ring was from Nunez's compound," Connor explained. He kissed the tip of Charlie's ear to make her giggle. "It wasn't a grand proposal or anything but it was nice. I could have done better with more resources but she said yes so that's all that matters."
"This is not happening," Bass declared.
"It really is," Charlie told him.
"You are not marrying him," Rachel snapped.
Charlie and Connor both flinched but they tried to remain civil. "We aren't asking permission," Connor said with strained patience. "Charlie and I are getting married. We're going to wait until things have died down a little but it's going to happen."
"She can't marry you," Miles insisted. "You're her cousin. Our family may not be the most upstanding people in the world but we're not hicks."
Charlie pursed her lips. "I know you and Monroe like to think you're brothers but you're not actually blood related. So there's no problem there." Miles began to look shifty. Charlie's eyes narrowed. "What aren't you saying?"
Miles looked at the ground. "Connor is actually your cousin," he admitted. "Because he's my kid."
Everyone in the circle froze. "Say that again," Bass ordered softly.
"Connor isn't your son. He's mine."
"Which makes him my cousin," Charlie murmured. She tightened her grip on Connor's arm. His face looked ashen and she didn't know what to do about it. He pulled her even closer as though her presence made it easier for him to process this.
"He's not your cousin," Rachel sighed.
"How's that?" Miles frowned.
Charlie turned slightly to give Connor a brief kiss. "Mom, if Connor is Miles' son, then he's my cousin. That's how it works."
"Only if Miles is your uncle," Rachel pointed out. She let out another sigh. "Since we're all being so honest now…Miles is really your father too, Charlie. You and Connor are half siblings."
"Are you kidding me?" Miles demanded.
"I think that's my line," Bass snapped.
Charlie untangled herself from Connor's embrace and took his hand. "You three obviously have a lot to talk about so we're going to leave you to it." She tugged Connor away from the group and together they hurried to a deserted spot at the edge of camp. When Charlie was sure they were going to be left alone, she turned to Connor. "You okay?"
"There's a very strong chance that my dad didn't want me so much that he lied to everyone around me and told them all I belonged to his former best friend." Connor sucked in a breath. "I'm not sure what okay is anymore."
"Look, if you want to call this off because of that, I understand," Charlie told him.
Dark brown eyes peered into her own blue ones for a long moment. "Do you want to call this off?" he asked.
Charlie reflected how much his eyes really did look like Miles'. Then she snorted. "Incest is hardly the worst crime committed by this family. Besides, we don't know for sure anything they said is true, right?"
"Right," Connor nodded. He looked past her for a moment then back at her. "It's been nearly thirty years," he murmured. "Whoever my father is, he wasn't there when it mattered. So why should it matter now? My father was a mechanic from East Lansing. He died in the Blackout." Connor brushed her hair behind her ear. "What about you?"
"My father was a good man that died back our village trying to protect my brother," Charlie declared loyally. "And nothing they say can change that." She leaned up to kiss him. "We chose each other, Connor. That means more than any of their lies."
"I love you so much," he told her. "And I'll make sure you're never alone."
"I love you too."