Free Charlie's Last Stand by Isabelle Flynn Page A

the kids
tonight? Beth bailed on us and we have reservations at La Cocina for dinner.”
    “I can't.” She never said no to her brother. Ever. He and
her sister-in-law had taken her in after the divorce. They supplied a happy
place to land, and she provided free babysitting. It was a mutually satisfying
relationship that had worked well in the last year.
    So it was no surprise that her brother's eyes bugged out and
he stopped in the middle of reaching for his cup of coffee. “Why?”
    “I have plans.” She pulled a mug from the cupboard and
poured the last of the carafe. She didn't need to look at her brother to know
exactly the kind of face he was pulling. Wide brown eyes, mouth open in
disbelief. Little Charlie was ready to date again.
    “Oh, well, I'm sure Diane won't mind coming over here
tonight.”
    Diane? “What are you talking about?”
    Her brother took the last drink from his coffee cup and
stood. “Your plans for tonight. Sue and I don't care if you want to have Diane
over to ring in the New Year. I'm sure you girls can wait until after bedtime
to start the margaritas.”
    “Girls?” Of course. Why would she have an actual date with
an actual guy on New Year's Eve? She sloshed a little too much creamer into the
mug and slammed the top on. “I don't have plans with Diane. I'm sorry about the
kids. Can you do dinner on another night?”
    “No, we can't. It's New Year's, Charlie.” He reached for his
newspaper and rolled it up. “Are you saying you have a date?”
    This was the tricky part. Technically she did not have an
actual date planned for the evening...but she would before the day was out. She
was sure of it. She didn't look at her brother. There was no lying if he pulled
that big brother stare down on her. “Sorry. I hope you can get things worked
out before tonight.”
    She rushed out of the house, leaving her brother behind to
figure it out for himself.
    ****
    Only a few more hours and Chris could call the year a
complete success. Not only did he open his own practice but it was thriving,
with far more patients than he needed to maintain a one-man shop. As long as
today went well, this would go down in the books as one great year.
    He arrived at the office at his usual time but the door was locked.
It took several attempts using the different keys on his keychain before
finding the right one. He was just turning the lights on when patients arrived
behind him.
    He stumbled over a greeting he hoped was suitably pleasant
and welcoming and rushed to the front desk to see if Charlie had left him a
note. Nothing. She was never late. In the year since they opened the office, he
couldn't even remember one instance of her not being there when he walked in
the door. It was one more sign that something was wrong. He’d been getting more
and more concerned about her lately. She hadn't seemed like herself in weeks
and now not showing up on time. It had to mean something.
    He was about to call her cell when Diane stomped her way
into reception.
    She came to an abrupt stop when she spotted him behind the
front desk. “Where's Charlie?”
    “She's late. Can you call her to see if everything's okay?”
He stood and relinquished her seat.
    “What do you mean she's late? She's never late...and Doc,
did you let these people in here early?” She whispered the last through her
teeth in an attempt to keep the five women and children from hearing them.
    He shrugged. “What was I supposed to tell them?”
    “That we're closed.” She shook her head. “You don't see
patients for another thirty minutes. What am I supposed to do with them until
then?” Diane placed her hands at her hips and just looked at him.
    “It's okay. I'll start early. Just check them in and I’ll be
ready.” He grabbed the paper bag from the desk. The one that contained two
coffees, a black, no sugar for him, and a pumpkin spice latte, complete with
whipped cream and cinnamon for Charlie. He had hoped to catch some time alone
with her,