Chapter 3 Charles's p.o.v

Charles

After getting off the phone I tell my dog Duke that I won't be long and head for my truck. It doesn't take long before I arrived at my old family house. I pulled up in front of the house and see the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She has long brown hair that curls its way down her back. She had the most amazing curves that would drive any man crazy. She looked good in her jeans and tank top. I hear the chatter of her kids in the backyard as I step out of my truck. "Hey, Miss Stacey glad to finally put a face to the name, I say." "Hello, Charles, it's nice to finally meet you as well." "Well, let me go open up the house for you." "Oh well, my parents will be here soon with the U-haul, she tells me." As I walk toward the front door I hear the rumble of a vehicle coming down the driveway. I walk back to Stacey's side and introduce myself to her parents. "Mama! Mama!" A small little girl comes running our way. "What is it, baby girl?" The girl couldn't have been more than five years old. She was cute a button though. She had long curly hair like her mama but she had blue eyes instead of green like Stacey. "We found a turtle in the backyard can we keep it, the little girl asked?" "No baby the turtle belongs outside with its family." "Okay mama, she says before heading to the backyard." "Pen, honey, be careful please, and help watch Liam for me, Stacy says." "Yes, ma'am she replies." "You got yourself a pretty little girl there I tell her." "Thank you, Charles, I appreciate everything you have done for me she says. Oh before I forget she says walking to her car." She reaches in the passenger window and grabs her purse taking out an envelope and handing it to me. "Here's the first and last month's rent." "Mama, can you help me unload my car, she asks?" "Sure little dove, Mary replies." I walk up to the house to unlock the door and open some windows. After getting the windows opened I head outside to see if I could be of help. Her father and I start to take in the heavy stuff when I had an idea. "Hey, Miss Stacey." "Yes, her sweet voice calls out." "I'm gonna call a few of my ranch hands to come and help us with the heavier stuff, I say." "Oh, are you sure, she asks?" "I can help y'all." "No ma'am we got this, I say back." "Okay if you're sure it's no bother, she says." I pull out my cell and call up Cody and Jaxon to come help with the furniture. "Hey boss what's up, Cody asks?" "Is Jaxon with you by chance, I ask?" "Yeah, he's standing next to me." "Okay, I got a tenant in the old family farmhouse and I'm helping unload her stuff." "Okay, he says." "Can y'all come to help us, I ask?" "Sure bossman. We'll be there in a few." "Thanks, man I appreciate it, I say." "No problem Charles." I hang up just in time to see Stacey come out of the house. The way the sun kisses her exposed skin. She is a really good-looking woman. I just hope Cody and Jaxon don't try and hit on her any time soon. We continue to unload what we can when we hear a truck coming down the drive. Once they park and get out they make their way to us. "Hey, boss where do you want us to start?" That's when Stacey comes out and the guys look up at her. "Now that's a beautiful curvy woman, Jaxon says." "What's her story, asks Cody?" "She's in the middle of a divorce, her husband left her for a younger woman, I say while looking through my sunglasses at her." "Ope, it looks like boss has his eyes on her, says Jaxon." "Oh shut up, she's my tenant and has three kids to look after. Hey, Stacey, I want you to meet a few of my friends. This is Jaxon and this is Cody." "Howdy, ma'am. Nice to meet you says Jaxon." "Well hello, guys. Thank you for helping out, she says." She bats her eyes at us and excuses herself to check on her children. It doesn't take us that long to get everything in the house and set up. By the time we are finished, it's supper time. "Well, thank you all for the help, Stacey says." "It was nothing ma'am, Cody says." "Well, I better get these kids loaded up so we can head to the store for groceries, she says." "Stacey honey, we are gonna get going now, her mom says. Are you sure this is what you want? I hear her mother ask her." "Yes mama, it will be better this way, she says. But you will be so far away from us if something happens. What are you going to do with the kids while you work, her mother asks?" "I'll find a sitter mother, she says. Listen I thought long and hard about this and it's not a rash decision. Everyone knew what he had been doing behind my back and nobody thought to tell me, she says. He made me look like a fool in a small town." "So that's it then, her father asks?" "Yeah, dad that's it." "Okay, pumpkin if you think this is the best for you and the kids then I won't say another thing about it." "Yes, I do dad, she tells them." "All right honey then we are gonna get out of here and head home." "Thank you for all your help mama and daddy." She moves to stand next to me and we all watch them head down the dirt road. Stacey turns to me and says, "well I better get these kids fed. Kids, she hollers. Let's go to the grocery store and get something for supper." "Well instead of doing that why don't y'all head over to my place and I'll cook you a nice meal, I say." "Oh no, we couldn't impose on you, she says." "No no, it's no trouble, I say. This way you can relax and hang out with the kids, I tell her." "Are you sure, she asked?" "Yes, we three will take care of supper for y'all, said Jaxon." "Well if you're sure it's not a problem she says." "Of course, it's not, says Cody." "Okay, let me get the kids in the car..." "Oh, y'all can ride in my truck if you want and I'll bring you back afterward." "Let me grab Liam's car seat from my car and we can go, she says." I help her buckle in the two younger ones. Isaac is old enough to buckle himself in. I walk around to her side and open the door. Hey, my mama raised a gentleman. I offer my hand and she takes it. I make my way around my truck and hop in. It's silent on our way to my house. "Oh, I forgot this is Isaac he's eight, Penelope is five and little Liam is two. Can you all say hello and thank you to Mr. Stanton, she asks?" "Hello and thank you, Mr. Stanton, they say together." "Please just like your mama, you can call me Charles, I tell them." "Yes, sir, they say." "You have very polite children, Miss Stacey, I say." "Thank you, I try to instill manners in my kids. They should respect adults, she says." It only takes us a few minutes to get to my house and the guys are already there waiting. I park my truck, get out and start to head around the truck, but the guys are already there opening her door. "Thank you guys, she says." "We are gentlemen, Cody says." We all make our way into the house but Stacey stops and turns to the horizon. I can't seem to think about what she is looking at until she speaks. "It's a beautiful view, she says." I look into her eyes and say "yeah never saw anything more beautiful until tonight." She blushes at the attention and it's the prettiest thing I've ever seen. "Come on, let's head inside, I say." I turn to open the door and see Cody and Jaxon smiling like fools. "We were wondering where y'all got to, but I see you are just admiring the sites, Cody says." I push past them to go to the kitchen. "Make yourself comfortable Miss Stacey, I say. I'm sorry I don't have any toys for the little ones to play with." "That's okay, she says." "How about this I say walking into the living room, I'll turn on some cartoons for them to watch." "Okay, thank you, she says." I turn on the tv and find something that all the kids like and head back into the kitchen to start supper. Stacey comes in asking if I need help and I shoo her away to go relax with the kids. I decide on something simple like spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. "Supper's ready y'all, I holler." Stacey and the kids walk in saying it smells amazing. Stacey gets the kids set down at the table and starts making their plates. Cody and Jaxon stay and help themselves to some supper as well. I stand in the doorway just watching the events unfold in front of me. It feels good having a woman grace my household again. The sound of the kid's laughter got me second-guessing myself. Maybe I should start dating again. It's been three years since I was with Ellen. I haven't been with a woman since she did me so dirty. You see Ellen and I were engaged and it was getting close to the wedding when I find out she had been sleeping with my ex-best friend Logan. That tore my world apart. I've been pretty lonely since we split. I bet it's something that Stacey can understand. My mind starts to turn toward the gutter by watching her. She's got curves in all the right places. She's not slim but toned. She got a little bit of sun today but it looks good on her. She has a woman's body. It's sexy as hell. Man, she's your tenant you shouldn't be thinking about her like that. I look away from her ashamed of myself. Her husband just left her with three kids. I catch the eye of Jaxon and all he does is wink and smile. God, I hate him sometimes. He knows that he's irritating me and it just causes him to smile wider. There used to be four of us when Logan was our friend. We all grew up together and had been there for one another and then Logan was sleeping with my girl. Cody and Jaxon stuck by me and cut all ties with him because of it. They have been pushing me to get back into the dating scene but I guess I just wasn't ready to.