Chapter 5

Heading up the stairs, Bass picked up one of the two oil lamps that Gene had left burning on the hallway table. Going to his room, he threw what little shit he had in his pack before taking a few minutes to use the wash basin to clean up.

Knocking lightly on her door, Bass waited a moment before twisted the knob and pushing the door in.

She was poking around the room, going through drawers and flipping through books wearing an over-sized t-shirt that barely skirted her thighs and nothing much else, causing his mouth to water.

"Not much of a pack rat, am I?" She asked over her shoulder as he tossed his bag aside causing her to raise an eyebrow. "You're not expecting me to unpack that are you?"

"No," he drawled out, "But I'm damn near sleep-walking. Can I unpack tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I guess so," She smiled walking over to the large bed on a fancy iron bed frame with mounds of pillows and fluffy blankets. "What's up with this?"

"It was the one thing you insisted on when you and I started doing the recon missions while your Mom and Miles stayed here. You wanted a place to lay your head down when we were home. Miles and I about broke our backs carrying that damn thing up here."

Charlie eyed the bed for a moment. "Have you ever slept in it before?"

Bass shook his head. "Nope, never been invited."

Walking around the bed, Charlie came up behind him, griping his hips where his jeans hung low. "Sebastian Monroe, would you like to sleep in my bed tonight?" Charlie asked huskily as she ran her nose across his back.

Bass blew out a breath as he looked towards the ceiling. "Charlotte, you're going to regret this when you get your memory back."

Charlie shrugged as she placed a kiss in the middle of his bare back. "I'm just asking you to sleep, Bass. It's not like we're married or anything," she chuckled thinking about their conversation the other morning. Walking back to her side of the bed she pulled back the blankets climbing in with a groan.

Enthralled with the look on her face it took Bass a moment to gather his wits. Shucking his pants, he blew out the oil lamps, sliding into bed beside her.

"Night, Charlotte,"

"Night, Bass."

Charlie found herself spooned up against Bass' back, her legs tucked up under his ass and one hand splayed against his belly when she woke. Her breasts rubbed against his back as she yawned and stretched. Bass groaned, covering his face with his hands. This woman was killing him. He didn't know how he was going to keep his hands off of her.

There was a loud knock on the door disturbing the early morning silence between the two of them. Charlie sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. "Come in."

"Jesus, woman are you trying to get me killed?" Bass hissed hurriedly pulling a sheet over her legs and up to his chin as Miles pushed into the room an instant frown on his face.

"Morning, Uncle Miles," Charlie beamed a good night's sleep having done her a world of good.

Bass watched as Miles couldn't help but smile back. He saw it too. The lightness that this Charlie had without all the crap weighing her down.

"Just Miles, Kid. We'll be leaving for town soon. Your Grandpa would like to see you at his office and Bass needs to make a report on this last trip." His scowl returned as he eyed his best friend in his daughter's bed.

She patted Bass' leg. "Sounds like fun. We'll be down in a bit." Miles nodded and left.

"Charlie, what are you doing?" Bass asked her after Miles had left and she had slipped out of bed searching for clothes to wear.

Pulling off the shirt she had slept in, she tugged on a pair of panties before turning to him, hands on her hips. "All that crap that happened before? That happened to everyone else, not me. Or at least not this me. And while I'm still this me, I want to enjoy it. Because if I had the same feelings about you as the old me as the new me does, which I'm thinking I did, and didn't act on it, which I'm assuming I didn't, then I'm seriously messed up in the head. And so are you!" she said flinging the bra in her hand around. "I mean am I seriously not good enough for you?" she asked over her shoulder as she clasped the bra, twisting it into place.

The next thing she knew Bass was spinning her around, pulling her flush with him, one hand scorching her lower back while the other tangled in her hair. He bent his head so that his beard rubbed up against her jaw causing her to bite back a moan. "Don't ever think you're not good enough for me, Charlie. I've wanted you since the first moment I laid eyes on you." He lifted his head to look her in the eye. "I've told you about the fucked up history between us Charlotte because I'd hate to see you do something you'd regret later."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," she replied winding a hand around the back of his neck pulling him down. Their lips had barely touched when Miles started yelling for Bass from the bottom of the stairs. Touching her forehead with his, Bass groaned. Charlie grinned playfully pushing him away from her. "Get dressed before he comes up here and dresses us himself."

"Wouldn't put it past him," he grumbled searching for the rest of his clothes.

They rode into town dropping Charlie off at Gene's before continuing on to the Ranger headquarters so that Bass could fill out a report on this latest recon mission. They had promised Charlie they would be back in time for lunch so headed back when they finished.

Rachel and Gene were in what passed for Gene's office working silently when they arrived. Miles leaned against the door frame. "Rachel. Didn't know you'd be here."

"Where's Charlie?" Bass asked not seeing her.

"She's not here."

Miles eyes narrowed, "And just why's that?"

Rachel remained quiet keeping her back to the men.

"Gene, how's Charlie?" Bass asked stepping into the room, the concern bleeding through his voice.

Gene approached the two men. "Physically she's fine. She keeps having flashes of memories and that's a very good sign that she'll eventually regain most if not all of her memories."

"How long?"

"There's no way to tell, Son. It could be a matter of days or it could be months. I would encourage keeping up any routines that you had before, answering any questions that she has and I know that's it hard with the lives that we're living but try to keep the stress and conflict to a minimum." He had raised his voice a bit at the end looking pointedly at Rachel before turning back to Bass. "She trusts you and thinks very highly of you. Just keep building on that."

"Where is she now?" Miles asked again.

"I don't know, Miles. Rachel came in about an hour ago and Charlie left shortly after that."

"Really? Why's that?"

Rachel turned to the two men. "I was giving her my thoughts as a concerned mother about her growing relationship with Bass when some words were exchanged and she left."

"Jesus," Bass huffed storming out of the house.

Miles sighed. "Rachel."

"I just can't see her throw her life away for him, Miles. I just can't."

"So help me God, Rachel, if you do ANYTHING to make me lose my daughter again, we're finished."

Gene's eyebrows pushed up his hairline as he watched Miles follow Bass out the door before turning to his daughter.

Miles turned to Bass once he mounted his horse. "You're the only person I can trust her with Bass. Don't fuck this up."

Bass looked him in the eye. "I won't, Brother. You have my word."

Miles nodded looking down the road before looking back at Bass. They both spoke at the same time. "Bar." Nudging their horses into action, they headed towards the one open bar in town.

They found her not sitting at the bar, but in the back playing pool by herself. A drink sat untouched on a nearby table as a hand rolled smoke hung out the corner of her mouth. Miles looked at Bass and just shrugged. When she stood from taking her shot, Bass took the cigarette, taking a puff off of it as Miles racked the balls.

"Let's play," he said playfully shoving her shoulder as he went to grab a stick, winking as she leaned over to break the balls.

Bass and Miles spent the afternoon teaching her the finer points of playing pool as they shared stories of their youth and even some stories of their exploits in the Militia together.