CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The brackets from her jeans clattered in the dryer drum, as Callie watched her going-away party from the laundry room window.
It was hard to believe that just eight weeks ago her life had been on an entirely different track. She’d lived a good but narrow life with Julian, one with little wiggle room. She hadn’t noticed because she’d been so busy—no, that’s not true. She had noticed, but the straitjacket had made her feel safe. Living within the lines had given her the false sense that nothing could go wrong.
But it had. It had gone spectacularly wrong.
Thank God. Thanks to Fin’s speech and Julian’s correct belief that she’d never really commit to him, she’d busted out of it.
Her gaze landed on Fin’s brothers. They surrounded him, and he laughed like the wild, free soul he’d always been.
She should feel that same way. After a phone call with Hilda Morrison, Callie had scored an interview in the woman’s penthouse for the day after tomorrow. Not only had the patron loved the exhibition, she’d gotten a huge kick out of the footage of her and Fin going at it on the library table.
Callie was going back to New York. She’d get to live with Fin. And, if she got the fellowship, her career would be back on track.
Her heart squeezed, though, because she knew Fin would hate living in New York. It would kill him to live so far from his brothers. To not be able to train with them, advise them on what to eat, critique their torque on the trampolines. But, as far as compromises went, it worked, and it wasn’t forever.
If she didn’t get the fellowship and had to start as an archivist, it could take as many as ten years.
That’s a long time.
But she loved him. Heart and soul, this man owned her. So she’d stop looking so far into the future and live for right now. Embrace their life together.
“Look who’s been asking for you.”
Callie turned to find her mom coming into the laundry room with Theo in her arms. He twisted around to see his aunt, then shimmied free and came right up to her.
Pure love flooded her for this boy, as she knelt in front of him. “Hi, sweetheart.”
Opening his fist, he showed her a palm full of crushed flowers. Oh, it was a daisy chain bracelet. Crushed, but still beautiful. “I made this for you.”
“How did you know I love flower bracelets?”
Color rose high on his cheeks. “Uncle Fin told me.”
“They explored the meadow while his parents got ready for the party,” her mom said.
“Thank you, Theo.” She carefully slid her fingers through the delicate chain. “It’s beautiful. I love it.” In her dress and wedge sandals, she sat on the floor. “I’ve had the best time with you this summer. I’m going to miss hanging out with you.”
His brow creased. And, of course, she realized he didn’t understand that she and his uncle would be leaving. They wouldn’t be back at least until Thanksgiving, three months away.
Too long for a little boy. “Mom, can you please get your phone?”
“Sure thing.” In a swish of fabric, her mom left the room.
Callie got up on her knees and felt around for her phone on top of the washing machine. “I live in New York City.”
He shook his head. “No, you live here. With me. And Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Fin and Gramma and Grampa.” He looked so earnest, so…adamant.
“I don’t live here, Theo.” She reached for him, holding his little hand. “But we’re going to talk all the time.” She opened her social media account and connected with her mom through Messenger.
Her mom came back into the room, answering the trill. She smiled when she saw her daughter’s image on the screen. Crouching, her mom handed the phone to Theo.
Callie waved. “Hi, Theo.”
He looked between her and the screen but didn’t say anything.
Her mom got into the frame with Theo and waved back. “Hi, Aunt Callie.”
The little boy looked like he wanted to leave, so she needed to find a way to make this interesting for him. “Do you want to do art with me?”
He nodded warily.
“We could do art every Sunday afternoon. Would you like that?”
“At my house?”
“Yes, you’ll be in your house. And I’ll be here. On this phone.”
“Why are you going away?”
Her heart squeezed, and she blinked back tears. “Because I live in New York. But we’ll talk every Sunday and do art together.”
Eyes filled with disappointment, he looked away from her. “I go find my daddy now.”
Frustration slammed her hard. She watched his little fist close around the handle on the door. Sunlight flooded the laundry room as he opened it and took off across the lawn.
Callie got up. “I’m going to stay in his life. I am. Will you help me with supplies?”
“You know I will. And you’ll be back for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
She had no option but to trust that it would all work out.
For their last night in Calamity, they’d opened the skylight’s screen to let in the cloudless August sky. Moonlight poured like cream over their naked bodies, and stars blazed in a midnight panorama.
Callie had one leg hitched across Fin’s thighs, an arm wrapped around his torso, and her head nestled in the crux of his arm.
She would get to do this for the rest of her life. She’d never have to feel the stark loneliness of living without half her heart. It felt almost too good to be true. Like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because, really, who got this much happiness?
In a few hours, she and Fin would catch a flight to New York together. She’d booked them a great long-stay hotel near the museum and, better, she’d found an amazing apartment through her closest friend Delilah. A rent-controlled sublet in midtown that was unusually large for Manhattan standards, it had a master suite on a different floor to give them privacy when his team stayed with them. The owner needed to meet them first, but she couldn’t think of a single reason to turn away a stable, employed couple.
She’d mostly packed her bags, printed out their boarding passes…everything was set for the next phase of their lives. She’d start her fellowship, and he’d plan his next trip.
Well, she hoped she’d get it. Hilda had seemed to be on her side.
Those damn fools have their heads up their asses. I might pull my fellowship, offer it to the Guggenheim.
She still had to get through the interview tomorrow, but even if she didn’t get it, she’d find a job in her field and make her way to her dream job.
Callie snuggled closer to the love of her life. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
His fingertips stroked her bare shoulder. “I can.”
They’d agreed to be honest, so she needed to get it off her mind. “I’m scared that you’re going to hate New York. I’m scared you’re going to miss your brothers.”
“Do I get to wake up with you every morning?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
“Then it’s all good.”
“And after a few years, I’d be open to coming back to Calamity.”
His muscles tightened. “Yeah?”
“I want to raise our family here. I want our kids to grow up with my parents and your brothers. With Ryder and Theo.”
“I like that, wild thing.”
“So we’re good, right?” You’re not going to bail on me, right?
“We’re perfect.
She knew that. Of course she knew that. After everything they’d gone through? He’d never risk losing her again.
******
Fin jerked awake. It took a moment to figure out where he was and what he needed to be doing. What had awakened him? He didn’t hear an alarm.
And then he remembered. He was leaving today. Moving to New York.
He glanced down to see Callie’s hair spilled across his chest. By her steady breathing, he knew she slept soundly. She had an arm slung across his stomach, her knees propped against his hip, and her cheek on his right pec. His heart swelled so big it hurt.
He loved this woman.
Just the sight of her, the smell of her shampoo and the press of her body, got him hard. He brushed strands of her hair away from his mouth before reaching down to give his thickening cock a squeeze. No more of that. She needed her rest. They had a big travel day ahead.
Besides, he’d have her just like this every day for the rest of his life. Thank Christ.
A muffled bark of laughter and male voices jolted him. His brothers. That’s what woke me. What the hell were they doing up this late—or was it early? He couldn’t tell.
He should go back to sleep, but he got that familiar punch of anxiety from knowing they were hanging out without him. Carefully, he eased out from under her and slid his legs off the mattress. Climbing down the stairs, he yanked on his jeans and T-shirt and headed out of the room.
“I’ll take a leave of absence,” he heard Brodie say. His brother had flown in for the going-away party. He was supposed to head back to Utah today.
“You can’t come with me.” Will. “You skipped out on your job all summer. I’ll be gone two weeks.”
Two weeks? Where was he going? In his bare feet, Fin hurried down the carpeted hallway.
“I did more work this summer than anyone else on my team,” Brodie said. “And I can do modeling on my computer from anywhere.”
“His point is that you don’t get special privileges.” Will sounded annoyed. “Everyone else has to show up for work. You don’t get to spend the summer working remotely.”
“Guys.” Gray.
His brother was home? And they hadn’t told him?
“Quit arguing about it,” Gray said. “I’ll go with you.”
“Yeah?” Will said. “That’d be great.”
The three of them making plans without him had him pounding down the stairs.
“I’ve got to find a new trainer,” Will said. “With Coach retiring and Fin out of the picture, I have to find someone else.”
Out of the picture. That shouldn’t have gutted him.
But it did.
Crossing the living room to find his brothers in the kitchen, Fin squinted against the bright lights. “Hey, asshole.” He caught Gray up in a big hug. “Thanks for telling me you were coming home.”
“Got in a few hours ago.” His brother’s hair had grown to his shoulders, and his tan stood out against his white T-shirt. Funny how Gray came across as a total surfer dude, when he was actually a hardcore champion.
Fin pulled away. “Why didn’t you fuckers wake me up?”
“You and Callie hit the sack early.” Will bit back a smile, and they all shared a look.
“What’s that mean?” He hated being left out of their inside jokes.
Gray smiled. “It means we’re glad you and your wildcat are back together.”
“Wild thing,” Fin said.
“That’s not what it sounded like.” Gray cocked a half-smile.
“Fuck off.” Fin turned to Will. “What’s going on? Where you going?”
“I signed up for FreeFest.”
“What the hell?” Since when did Will do FreeFest?
Snowboarders and skiers got medals and endorsements from the Games, but they got status from the annual post-season freestyle event, where the top athletes in each of the disciplines judged each other. The athletes considered it the purest acknowledgement of their talent when judged by their peers.
“I thought you didn’t want to risk it?” With his eye on Olympic gold, Will hadn’t wanted to screw around with ungroomed courses on remote mountains. Look what happened to Traci.
“Gray’s home five minutes, and he already talked him into it,” Brodie said with a laugh. “Told him to quit playing it so safe.”
“But what about the Games?” Underneath the confusion and frustration, it all boiled down to hurt. Will had always consulted him on big decisions. They’d agreed that, with the highest scores consistently in the rankings, his brother didn’t need to prove anything to anybody. The judges had done that for him. Will was in a class of his own.
Shake it off. This doesn’t affect me. Fin had a full plate—moving with Callie and planning his trip for Braverman. I’m good. It’s all good
It was just…it sucked that they’d made a decision like this without him. Of course, since Fin was out of the picture and Will needed to replace him with a new coach, why would they need to involve him in their plans?
“So, cool.” Will clapped a hand on Gray’s shoulder. “You’re coming with me.”
“No, we’re both going.” Brodie’s tone put settled on the discussion.
Fin turned on his brother. “You want to be on the Olympic design team or not?”
“You know I do,” Brodie said.
“Then get back to work.” I’ll go with Will. His blood started pumping at the thought.
“This is Freefest, and he doesn’t have a coach. We should both be there.” Brodie motioned between him and Gray. “Besides, I want to. It’ll be fun.”
It would be fun. All of his brothers, along with their snowboarder and skier friends? At Freefest? Hell, yeah. “Where is it this year?” he asked.
“Chile,” Will said.
“When?” They could have at least asked him if he wanted to go. He didn’t have anything important going on in New York for the first few weeks. Callie had an appointment to see an apartment and an interview with the scholarship donor. He didn’t need to be there for either of those things.
“We head out tomorrow for two weeks.” Will turned to the kitchen table, scattered with photographs. “Before Callie gets up, you think you could look at these?”
“Yeah, of course.” Before Callie gets up? What did that mean? “You’re competing in FreeFest, of course I’ll look at them. What does Callie have to do with anything?”
“You’re leaving today. I don’t want to stir shit up with her.”
“She doesn’t have a problem with me helping you.”
Turning to the table, he sorted through the pictures, but he couldn’t see the images. His heart beat too fast. Behind him, his brothers laughed, talking about their plans in Santiago, the house they’d already rented on the mountain, and the other athletes who’d signed up.
While Fin moved across the country, they’d go on hanging out like this, traveling together, eating dinner, training. What separated Fin from them was that he had Callie. His brothers might never fall in love, which meant they’d never have to choose.
It wasn’t a choice, of course. He was Callie’s, heart and soul. No question. He was moving to New York. He just didn’t want to lose his connection with his brothers.
He didn’t have to. He spun around. “I need to get a look at the mountain. When you first check in, there’s a heli ride for all the competitors. I need to go on that.”
“Wait, what’re you saying?” Will asked.
Excitement barreled through him. “I’ll go with you.” Would Callie see that as letting her down? Other than the appointment with the landlord and her interview, they didn’t have anything else going on. So, no. He wasn’t bailing on her. He could go.
He could fucking go.
The smile left Will’s face, and it looked like he was keeping his emotions in check. “You serious?”
“Yeah. If you need me, I want to be there.”
“Of course I need you. But what about Callie?”
“It’s two weeks, right? We don’t have anything going on in the next two weeks. It’s fine.”
“We don’t have anything going on?” Callie stood in the entryway, arms folded across her stomach.
Anxiety hit his bloodstream like cold fluid. “Oh, hey.” He cut over to her, leaning in to kiss her cheek. She ducked and swerved. Shit. She was pissed. “Did we wake you?”
“No, I have to get up because I’m moving to New York today.” Her tone said, Remember? “What’s going on?”
“Will signed up for FreeFest.”
“And you’re going with him.”
“I’d like to. It’s just two weeks.”
“And since we don’t have anything going on in New York, it works out perfectly.” She looked down at her white sneakers. “Okay.” She turned and headed for the door.
Yeah, she was pissed, but he’d talk to her. If she really wanted him to go with her, he absolutely would. But first he’d try to explain where he was coming from. “Hang on. I’ll drive you.” They’d talk on the way.
“No need. I have to get my dad’s truck back to him.”
He caught up with her. “Hold up. Listen to me. I’m moving to New York. I’m signing with Braverman. Our plans haven’t changed. This is just two weeks, nothing else.”
“I heard you loud and clear.” She snatched the tote she’d left by the front door.
“Wait a second. This isn’t like me bailing on the prom. All you have is the interview and apartment hunting.” When she eyed him stonily, he said, “Do you want me there to see the apartment?” Because he could do that. Fly out of New York. No big deal.
Though he might miss the heli ride up the mountain.
“She’s expecting to see a couple.” She dug her keys out of the side pocket of the tote. “That’s the whole point of the meeting. We’re twenty-three, and she wants mature tenants.”
“Okay, so I’ll go to New York with you, and then the day after tomorrow I’ll catch up with my brothers.”
She did that thing again, where she drew in a breath and became weirdly composed. She even put a hand on his arm, like he was some old geezer she’d shown around the museum. “That’s not necessary. Delilah will come with me.”
“Just talk to me, okay? I don’t know where your head is right now.” He looked back to his brothers, watching from the doorway to the kitchen. “If you don’t want me to go… I just figured you didn’t need me to choose an apartment. You have to know, I don’t care where we live as long as I get to be with you.”
“I know that.” She gave him a smile. “Let me go. My mom’s making a big breakfast for the whole family, and I don’t want to miss it.”
She acted like everything was cool, but Fin knew something was off. He shot a look to Will. “I only have to go for one week. He really only needs my help choosing a spine.”
Will gave a terse nod.
“Yeah, so, I’ll just go for a week.” Perfect solution. What was a week in the scheme of things?
“Great.” She waved to his brothers. “Good luck out there, Will. Nice to see you, Gray.”
Fin grabbed her arm before she walked out the door. “We’re good, right? Nothing’s changed?”
She gazed up at him, an unmistakable hint of sorrow in her eyes. “Nothing’s changed at all.”