Thanks for the feedback. I hope to update at least once a week, most likely on the weekends. This is going to be a journey of sorts for Charlotte and Cooper. So I hope you all bear with me, as we move along.


Last we left our favorite characters... Charlotte had just been given an unexpected surprise...


Chapter 4

Travis and Duke observed Charlotte through the terrace doors. They had been watching her for the past ten minutes, wondering when she'd come back inside.

"I can tell she wasn't expecting this," Travis commented.

Duke shook his head. "Not at all. But you know, I'm not surprised that Landry did this," he turned to Travis. "He always known deep inside, Charlotte's got the motherin' instinct in her. Hell, she was the one who took care of Landry and me growin' up."

"Well, she doesn't seem so thrilled about the news right now."

"I'd give her time. She's still trying to process everything. Landry did right by naming Charlotte as Zane's guardian. My nephew will be well taken care of."

"We've still got some things to talk about regarding Landry's son. But it can wait until tomorrow. I'll let your sister absorb all of this news," Travis picked up an envelope and brought it over to Duke. "Landry also left this for Charlotte. I don't know if he had some eerie premonition or somethin', but he came by my office about a month ago and dropped it off. Said she should get this too, in the event of his death."


Charlotte stood on the terrace, hands pressed against the railing. She looked out at the open area, her mind still trying to process everything. Landry had entrusted her with the responsibility of raising his son.

Before this afternoon, she had thought the reading of Landry's will would only involve dividing his assets, but that wasn't all. His will included passing on responsibilities, the most important one of all having to do with raising Zane. It was one she wasn't expecting, let alone ready for.

All of her life, she never had a female role model to look up to. Her mother used alcohol and drugs as an escape, diving into the bottle daily and leaving her children to fend for themselves. Albeit, the hired help at the King household had in part been tasked with the responsibility of making sure the children were taken care of, but not once did Charlotte ever see her mother really take on the responsibility of being a parent.

Perhaps her mother did at some point, maybe cared that she had children, but Charlotte figured she was too young to remember. And now here she was, someone who has been put in charge of raising a child when she hadn't the slightest idea where to start. It was funny in a way, as Charlotte knew how to do everything else in life successfully, like being a doctor and running a hospital. But when it came to kids, that was a different story altogether.

"Lottie?" Duke spoke from behind. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Charlotte replied. She saw Duke walk toward her. "I still think Landry was three-sheets to the wind when he had that provision drawn up in his will. Were you aware of this? I mean, did he even talk to you about it?"

Duke shook his head in disagreement. "No, he didn't. I'm as surprised as you are, but I believe he knew what he was doin'. Here," he handed the envelope to his sister. "Travis said this was for you."

Charlotte carefully opened the envelope, revealing a letter inside. "It's from Landry," she began reading the words on the page.

Dear Charlotte,

I know what you're thinking sis. I've gone and lost my marbles naming you as Zane's guardian. And as much as you refuse to believe it right now, I knew what I was doing. But you're probably still shaking your head as you read this, which is why I'm writing this letter.

As you know by now, I've joined Big Daddy up in heaven. Yes, I know… gone too soon. Writing this makes my heart hurt, because I'm thinking about Zane. Zane is the best gift God has ever given Shelly and me. He's my reason for getting up every morning, because seeing that smile on his little face just lights up the room.

And now, Zane will be in your care. I hope he brings you as much joy in your life as he has done in mine.

I know you're thinking to yourself that you can't do this…that you don't have a nurturing bone in you because of how Momma neglected us. Well, I say you can do this. I know you can because I believe in you.

When we were kids, I never forgot how you took care of me, how you took care of Duke too. You kept Duke and me in line, especially on the days when Momma forgot we existed. Charlotte, you had a mothering instinct in you then and you've got it in you now. You just have to let yourself believe.

And I'm sure, whatever man you've got in your life will love you and help you in any way he can with raising my son. I could have easily entrusted Zane to Duke, but being how he's already got three young ones, I didn't want to saddle him with my son.

You'll be wonderful with him. I know you will.

Take care of Zane, Charlotte. Love him as much as you loved me, because he's all you have left of me (aside from my money that is.) Raise him to be a good man, just like his daddy turned out to be.

And remember, I'll always be watching over the both of you. I love you, sis.

-Landry

Duke watched Charlotte fold the letter and slip it back into the envelope. "Well, what'd it say?"

Charlotte pursed her lips together and inhaled deeply. "Said that he hope Zane brings me the same joy that he brought Landry," she held the envelope in her hand and turned to face the open field. "Said that I've got the motherin' instinct in me, regardless of what I think of myself."

"I tend to think that too," Duke placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "You did a good job taking care of Landry and me, if I remember correctly…despite how much trouble we were."

"Landry and you… two peas on a doggone pod," Charlotte chuckled to herself. "You know, there were days when I wanted to smack the both of you upside the head 'cause you were both being a pain. Never gave me privacy or nothin'."

Duke smiled. "But isn't that what brothers are supposed to do?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "And you wonder why I begged Big Daddy, askin' him if I could move into a room on the other side of the house." She sighed softly, looking down at the letter in her hand. "I don't know if I can do this. What if I mess that lil' boy up? It was easy with you and Landry, 'cause you both were kids already. I just made sure we all stayed outta trouble."

"Lottie…" Duke drawled, putting both hands on his sister's shoulders and looking directly into her eyes. "You can do it. I know you can. You're gonna love that baby boy with everything in your heart, because every time you look into his eyes, you'll see Landry in 'em. Besides, you're not alone in this. I mean, you'll have Cooper's help."

"I have no idea how Cooper is going to react to this."

"I think he'll be thrilled. You did tell me how much he adores kids. Heck, Jacob hasn't stopped talkin' about Uncle Coop."

Charlotte smiled. "He loves your kids too. Coop loves all kids. Loves 'em so much that he's already been picturin' a baby in my belly."

"See, he already knows you'll be a good momma," Duke assured. "He's gonna love helpin' you raise Zane." He noticed Charlotte looking past him and turned around to find Cooper walking across the grass. "Travis is still waiting inside, so I'm gonna go show him out. He'll be back tomorrow to talk about the arrangements regarding Zane. I'll leave you and Cooper to talk."

Charlotte waited for her brother to close the terrace door before meeting Cooper by the railing. She greeted him with a kiss, seeking comfort in his arms. She remained there for a moment before stepping back and leading him to a pair of chairs. "I think we should sit down."

"Okay," Cooper replied, wiping some sweat off his brow. "Sorry, I had a little too much fun chasing Duke's kids around. Jacob loves playing tag."

"I can tell," the blonde laughed. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to tell Cooper about the news. "So, Duke and I found out what Landry's will said."

"How'd that go?" he asked.

"Well, as expected, Landry left Duke and me his money and his house," Charlotte began, thinking it would make sense to lead in with that. "He also left Duke the law practice and arranged some sort of financial account for Momma."

Cooper smiled. "That's great. So I guess you and Duke will split the assets?"

"I guess. He and I haven't talked about that yet," Charlotte replied. She moved forward a little, reaching for Cooper's hand. "There's somethin' else, though. He named me Zane's guardian," she waited for a reaction from her fiancée and began to worry when he wasn't saying anything. "Now I understand if you're not ready for this, to be an instant dad and all. Heck, I don't even know if I'm ready to be a mom."

As expected, Cooper's smile grew from ear to ear. "So, Landry wanted…wants…wanted us to raise his son?" he saw Charlotte nod her head. "Wow, can't say I expected this."

"Neither did I and frankly, I'm really freaked out about it," Charlotte replied, still holding his hand. "Coop, I'm gonna need your help, because I know I am not capable of doin' this alone. I don't know how to be a momma."

Cooper squeezed the blonde's hands reassuringly. "Sweetie, you already know how much I love kids. It's why I became a pediatrician. Of course I'm going to help you. We're in this together, you and me."

"You're sure about this?"

"Baby, I'm not going anywhere."

Charlotte smiled, cupping his face and leaning in to kiss him. "You are an amazing man."

"Thanks. I like to think that of myself too sometimes," he grinned, Charlotte lightly smacking him on the knee. "You know, we're going to need a bigger place. I don't think it's right raising a one-year old in the loft," he paused. "Assuming you want to raise him in L.A. that is. If you don't want to, I guess I can make the adjustment of living the small town life."

"We'll bring him out there. No way I'm stayin' here and going back to small town livin'. How soon can we find a bigger place?" Charlotte replied, putting Cooper at ease. The loft was tight enough with the two of them living there, let alone how much more cramped it would get when they added Zane into the mix.

Cooper thought to himself for a moment. "Well, what do you think of one of the places we looked at last month? I remember you liked the one by the beach," he suggested, trying to jog the blonde's memory at the same time. "It's got more than enough room and it's not that far from the practice or St. Ambrose."

Charlotte knew which house he was talking about, also recalling the morning they had spent looking at different places in the Santa Monica area. While living by the beach wasn't necessarily at the top of her list, it was a convenient place for them to live. "Think you can contact the realtor to see if it's still available?"

"I can give her a call later and find out. I'm sure it still is. If not, I bet we could find another place real quick."

"Thanks."

Charlotte moved closer to him, as they sat in silence for the next few minutes. It was the first time she let herself relax after being internally wound up with emotion for the past two days. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, taking in the quiet moment.

The terrace door creaked open from behind, causing both of them to turn around. Duke stepped outside, holding Zane in his arms. The baby boy rubbed his eyes, sucking on the pacifier in his mouth as he leaned against Duke's shoulder.

"Someone just woke up from his nap and I thought he could use some fresh air," Duke said, carrying Zane over to where Cooper and Charlotte were seated. He leaned toward his sister, carefully transferring the baby boy into her arms. "There you go. You're a natural. He loves you already."

Charlotte cradled Zane in her arms, gently running her fingers through his soft blonde hair. She tried not to let her apprehension show as she held him. "Hey there, Little Man. Did you sleep okay?" hearing him whimper. "Oh what's wrong? You miss your daddy, don't you?"

Duke and Cooper stood by, watching Charlotte talk with the baby boy. Both men smiled at how loving she was toward Zane. "She's a natural," Duke whispered. "I don't know why she keeps sayin' she doesn't have any motherin' in her."

Cooper motioned for Duke to step aside with him. They walked toward the opposite end of the terrace, completely out of earshot from Charlotte. "She's afraid of turning out like your mother," Cooper explained. "It's one of the reasons why she's been so resistant to idea of having kids."

Duke glanced over his shoulder. "I figured that. Momma never really showed us any affection all the often. Makes sense that she'd feel that way since she had no one to learn from," he turned around to watch the blonde. "But she's got nothin' to fear. From what we're seeing right now, she's already letting Zane into her heart," hearing Zane giggle as his sister gently bounced the boy on her knee. "She's gonna raise Zane well. You both will."

"I know, I just need to get Charlotte to believe that," Cooper said, finding himself unable to take his eyes off the blonde. "I've got a feeling that little boy is going to bring out a side of her she never knew existed."

~end chapter