Chapter 22
ZEKE
I woke to the chirp of my alarm. A heavy weight pinned me to the bed, and flyaway red hair tickled my face. I freed an arm from under Callum to tap off the noise, then flexed the pins-and-needles out of my hand.
I should get up.
I didn’t want to. Lying here with Callum through the morning hours, with a day off and no need to stop touching him, would be perfect.
Sadly, I had a kid brother who needed breakfast before heading to school, and while I meant to let him do that on his own more often, the morning after a police convention on his front lawn was not a good day to be lazy.
Working my way out from under Callum without waking him turned out to be easier than I expected.
As in, he grunted and went right back to sleep.
Well, he was entitled. He’d not only played sixty minutes of intense, losing hockey, but then faced hours of the kind of law enforcement action I was familiar with and he really wasn’t.
No wonder he was wiped out. A new bruise I hadn’t noticed last night decorated one shoulder blade, and the dark circles under his eyes looked deeper than I wanted them.
Leaving him sleeping, I snuck into my bathroom for a cleanup, finding flaky spots that our delayed wet toweling last night— or early that morning— had missed.
My ass ached in a very satisfying way, and I caught myself beginning to hum a pop song as I washed.
God, that man out there made me a sappy mess.
Emphasis on both the sappy and the mess.
He said he loves me. Which made sappy a perfectly reasonable state of mind.
Of course, his declaration happened after a lot of tension, and then some excellent tension-relief, but I couldn’t make myself doubt him.
The shine in his blue eyes and the way he kissed me— and bit me— said it all.
I chuckled, and hung the wet facecloth I’d used over the shower rail to dry.
Halfway down the stairs, faint sounds came to me from the kitchen.
I felt bad that Jos was up first, worried about how unsettled a preteen had to be to get up early on a school day.
But when I reached the kitchen doorway, it was Roy who turned from the stove, smiling at me.
“Hey, you’re up. Good morning.” He gestured at a bowl on the counter.
“You said pancakes, so I mixed up a batch. Ready to go whenever people are.”
“Thanks. You didn’t have to do that.”
He waved my remark away. “I get up early anyhow. Too stiff to lie around in bed, you know?” He did have a limp as he went to the refrigerator to get out the orange juice.
“Arthritis?” I asked.
“Yep. And a bad back. Don’t get old, son, it’s for the birds.” He hesitated. “Sorry, didn’t mean to call you son, here in your late father’s house.”
“No, I liked it.” I was surprised to find that was true.
I’d been the responsible adult for so long, the word warmed me.
“Are you doing anything for your joints? A friend swears by this supplement with UCII.” Daniel had torn his ACL and come back after desk duty singing the praises of his new regimen.
“I take supplements, I take ibuprofen.” Roy lowered his voice.
“The docs wanted me to do hip replacement, but I’m trying to put surgery off a year.
I want Koda to be settled into running the store when I’m not available, so I can focus on my recovery and not worry.
Right now, Callum would try to jump in and help, and while I love that boy, customer service is not his strong point. ”
I chuckled, because Roy had a point. “Let me know if you need help. I’m pretty good with people.”
“You’re a good man.” Roy leaned on the counter and eyed me. “So, how are things with you and Callum? You seemed pretty tight last night.”
A snicker wanted to escape my lips, remembering exactly how tight. The thought that this was Callum’s father-figure asking my intentions helped sober me. “I love him and he loves me.” Saying the words made me smile helplessly. “It’s new, but yeah. We’re together.”
“I like how he is when you’re around. Less angry, less closed in. I tried to give him a good childhood after his parents passed, but there was always some hurt in him I couldn’t erase. He’s happier with you.”
“You did give him a good childhood. He adores you,” I insisted. “He wants more than anything to make you proud and make your life easier, like you did for him.”
“It probably didn’t help that I kept letting Wayne into our lives.
” Roy sighed and sat down at the kitchen table.
“I knew Wayne was making bad choices, but I didn’t know he was so rough on Callum.
I always hoped loving and supporting Wayne enough would give him whatever he was searching for, always the wild kid, chasing extreme sports and then the gambling highs.
But I guess love is no substitute for adrenaline. ”
“You can’t love someone out of an addiction.” I’d sure as hell seen proof of that over my years policing the streets. “It’s to your credit that you tried, but I think it’ll help Callum that you had kicked Wayne out at last, before he got arrested again.”
“Should’ve done it long ago. Should’ve paid more attention to the boy.” Roy’s shoulders slumped.
“You did your best. Callum admires you.” And now you can both move on.
I didn’t say that, though. I couldn’t imagine how much it would hurt to lose a child to his own criminal behaviour.
I tried to imagine if it was Jos. He wasn’t even my son, and it would half-kill me.
I scrambled to change the subject. “Anyhow, I have the day off and so does Callum.” The hockey team had a no-practice day, and I was going to take advantage.
“I’m trying to think of something fun to do. You want to join us?”
“I need to be at the store. But if you want to make Callum happy, you might think about doing the Grouse Grind with him. No, wait, too early in the season. Do the BCMC trail to the top of Grouse Mountain.”
“A tough vertical hike?” I stared at Roy. “That would make him happy? Isn’t it like work?”
Roy shrugged. “A bit. Sure. But Callum was always most at peace with himself when he was exercising out in nature. We used to do the BCMC trail a few times a year, back when my hips still behaved themselves.” He chuckled.
“It was a bit like walking a Golden Retriever. I’d plod upward, and Callum would run ahead, then come back down to find me, then run ahead again, then show me this cool thing he saw.
It was worth the sore muscles to see him happy.
I bet you could keep up with him better. ”
“I think you’re overestimating my level of fitness if you imagine I can match Callum.” When we ran together, I was seriously outclassed. But I did like hiking. “I’ll think about it.”
“Or axe throwing, or an escape room. He needs to be busy, after he’s been stressed.”
“Good thoughts. Although I bet Jos might like the axe throwing, so maybe we’ll save that for a weekend.”
Jos mumbled from the doorway, “I might what?”
“Like to come with Callum and me axe throwing sometime.”
That woke him up a little. “Yeah, maybe. That could be cool. Could Brayden come too?”
“I’d have to get his mom’s permission, with flying axes and all, but sure, we can work that out.”
“Great. Hey, I heard the mixer. Is someone making pancakes?”
I moved to the stove. “Mr. Roy put together the batter and I’ll cook them.”
“Jos should just call me Roy,” the old man put in. “No formality here.”
“Sounds good. Jos, two pancakes or three?”
“Three.” He dropped in his seat and belatedly added, “Please,” with a glance at Roy.
Added bonus for having Roy around— if he brings out the manners in Jos.
Jos asked, “Is Callum here?”
“Upstairs sleeping. We were up really late.”
I expected Jos to ask more about the arrest scene, but he said, “In your room?”
“Yes. Is that a problem for you?”
“Nah. Mom would’ve flipped her lid, but I don’t care.” He slanted a look up at me. I wasn’t sure if he expected me to react to the comment, or to him mentioning his mother casually without losing it. But I approved of both.
“You’re the one who has to live around us,” I said, mirroring his casual tone. I wasn’t sure if the reminder Krystal had passed would hurt him, but he just nodded and stuffed half a banana into his mouth.
Jos had headed off to catch his school bus before Callum wandered downstairs, his wet hair showing he’d showered.
Roy and I were sitting at the table with our empty plates pushed aside, scrolling the news.
I got up and went to Callum, reaching for him but slowly, watching for any recoil with his grandfather right there.
Callum blinked sleepily and kissed me, then said, “Pancakes?”
I laughed. “As many as Jos left for you. I think he’s going through a growth spurt.” He’d ended up eating five. “Have a seat and I’ll cook up the rest of the batter.”
After dropping into his chair, Callum turned to Roy. “Hey, are you okay?”
“I should be the one asking you that,” Roy told him. “You had the more exciting night.”
“Nah. More annoying maybe. Especially since we fucking lost.” He took a gulp of the juice I set in front of him. “Are you okay with Uncle Wayne going back to prison?”
His grandfather patted his arm. “I’m okay with you being safe and willing to stay in my home without thinking you’ll be bullied. I… need to work through some things, no doubt, but I’ll pick your future over his now, every time.”
Callum bit his lip and nodded. “Thanks.”
“Should’ve made that call a long time ago.”
The silence got heavy, so I said, “Hey, Callum, Roy suggested we should hike up Grouse this morning, for fun. Is that really your idea of fun?”
He brightened. “Hell, yeah. You up for it?”
“After we give your grandfather a lift to the store, sure.”
Roy said, “I don’t need a ride, son. I’ve been walking that route for seventy years.”