Chapter 3:

I can see it from my window

Once Bass and Miles left, Charlie went to work hitching the stable horse up to the old- fashioned, two-seater carriage she had bought last year, moving it around to the front of the house. Circling back, she made her way to the bath house hurrying through a cool bath before heading upstairs to put on one of her nicer dresses and a pair of heels that had once belonged to her mother. Grabbing cash, diamonds and a matching pocketbook, she headed to town.

She stopped near the general store, tying the horse up to the available post there before heading across the street, glancing up and down the sidewalk as she pushed opened the door to a nondescript two-story building disappearing inside.


Bass and Miles watched from where they sat at a table in the bar.

"Heels?" Miles croaked at the sight of Charlie in a form fitting dress, the likes of which he'd last seen on the socialites in Philly.

"Damn," Bass muttered.

Miles shot him a sharp look causing Bass to shrug. "Nothing's changed, Miles. You know that. We both want her just as much if not more than we did when we left. Hell, she was the reason we left. Remember?"

"I remember," Miles grumbled.

They'd been sharing women their whole lives. The thing that made Charlie different was that they actually cared about her and didn't want her hurt.

She and Miles had been close since the day they met, an underlying connection that went deeper than mere niece and Uncle.

She and Bass had completely bonded the summer before Frank had shipped them out, to the point that Miles knew there had been a few hot and heavy make out sessions, including one bout of oral sex that he had shamelessly listened in on.

For the first time in his life, Miles had been jealous of something Bass had.

"Hey Carter?" Bass called out getting the bar owners attention. "What's in that building across the way? The brick two-story."

"That there is Catherine Walters' place of business."

Bass tilted his head. "And what exactly is her business?"

"She's a right respectable seamstress, now."

"Now?"

"She's the former owner of one on the biggest brothels in the Georgia Federation."

Miles felt a headache coming on as he leaned forward on his elbows, resting his face in his hands.

"And how exactly does Charlie know her?" Bass asked.

Carter chuckled. "When word got around about Cathy, all the ladies in town decided to band together and snub her. But not Charlie, no sir. She walked right in and they've been the best of friends ever since. She stood up in the middle of the next town hall meeting and chastised each and every one of those ladies for behaving the way they had towards a single woman trying to make a living for herself. It was quite a sight to see."

"I bet it was," Bass murmured turning to look back out the window as Miles rubbed at his temples. "Thanks Carter," Bass said waving the man away.

"She's best friends with a hooker, Bass!" Miles hissed out between his teeth when the man had moved far enough away.

"Which explains where all the toys came from." Bass mused. "Probably the one that helped set up the room as well."

"Shit." Miles breathed looking out the window.

Bass turned his attention back to building across the way to see Charlie standing on the bottom step talking to an older, buxom ginger with an hourglass figure dressed in nothing but a robe. They watched as Charlie smiled, shaking the package in goodbye as she turned in their direction.

Bass poured them a drink just as she walked in, her heels clicking against the bare concrete floor. She greeted Carter and waited for him as he came around the bar, holding her package in front her, much the way a coed would hold a book, flat against her belly. Carter hemmed and hawed, nearly tripping over himself as he escorted her into the back room.

"We are so fucked," Bass muttered watching the interaction before turning back to Miles.

"Think I'm imagining something now?" Miles asked his eyes darkening as he watched them reemerge, Charlie tossing her hair over a shoulder, lips painted blood red, smiling sweetly as she guided Carter out to her buggy, letting him strap the crate he was carrying on to the small platform in back that had been added on for just such a purpose.

Carter must have told her that they were in bar as her head jerked up, looking in their direction. They both picked up on the moment of ...uncertainty, which flashed across her face.

Shaking her head, she took Carters hand placing something in his outstretched palm, closing his fingers around it. Saying something else to him, she nodded her head down the street. Carter nodded back and headed inside the bar stopping by their table.

"Charlie's going to run down to the smoke shop. Said she'd stop by and have a drink with you before she headed home."

"Thanks Carter," Miles mumbled.

They didn't wait long for her to return; one of their very own soldiers carrying a box for her, placing it alongside Carters crate. Bent over, with hip jutted out, Charlie reached into the box handing something back to the young man. Standing, she ran a hand down his arm causing Bass to shift uncomfortably in his seat.

As the soldier went on his way, Charlie picked up the one package she hadn't let out of her sight, her free hand wrapped around something else.


She came to a stop at their table, laying her package down on the table. Opening her pocketbook, she pulled out a cigar trimmer, neatly snipping the cap off the cigar in her hand. Picking up the lit candle on their table, Bass and Miles watched with rapt attention as she wrapped her lips around the head of the cigar, its circumference causing them to form a beautiful "o" as she took her time, taking a long drag before releasing the cigar from her lips to expel the smoke above their heads, only to repeat the process all over again.

Miles didn't think he'd ever seen anything sexier in his life. Neither did his cock, which was straining at the confines of his jeans.

Sliding onto the chair between them Charlie sat down, causing the hem of her dress to inch up impossibly high. Turning towards Miles, she crossed her legs. Leaning forward she perched her elbow on her knee, holding out the cigar, showing just a hint of cleavage. "Want a taste?" she offered holding it out to him.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Miles raised his eyebrow with a smirk. "You have no idea." He answered grasping her hand with his own, bringing the cigar to his mouth.

Charlie's tongue popped out to wet her lips as she tilted her head, her eyes skimming down to his crotch as she sat back in her chair, letting Bass caress her collar bone with his thumb.

"Got your favorite, Charlie," Carter said suddenly appearing at her elbow with a bottle and glass.

"Thank you Carter. Will you please put the drinks on my tab? Charlie replied never taking her eyes from Miles as her fingers toyed with the hem of her dress.

"Sure thing." Carter said with a smile, pouring her a glass and retreating back to the bar.

"I don't need you to buy me a drink Charlie," Bass said after the man had walked away. "We should be buying you drinks."

Charlie smiled, reaching out for the cigar between Miles fingers bringing it to her lips, taking a few puffs before handing it to Bass.

"Now Bass," She said swinging her foot as she brought her wine glass to hover in front of her lips, "I have a hard time believing that you wouldn't want a woman to take control every now and again."

They watched as she closed her eyes, swishing the drink around on her tongue before swallowing.

Bass, taking a long draw from the cigar, leaned forward in his seat to place a thumb on her chin.

Opening her eyes, Charlie grinned watching as he leaned closer closing his mouth over hers. Charlie kept her eyes on his, as he blew the smoke into her mouth before sitting back down.

With a wicked glint in her eyes, Charlie leaned towards Miles, pressing her lips to his. Miles held stiff for a moment before relaxing, bringing a hand up to tangle in her hair. She let him end the kiss and cupping his cheeks, used her thumbs to wipe the lipstick away from his lips.

Standing, she drained her glass before pulling several Texas bills out of her purse throwing them on the table. "Bring the bottle home for dinner, won't you boys?" she asked picking her package up off the table, her heels clicking towards the door.