Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Callum pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped inside the Flying Crane. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been in the waterfront bar. A quick glance around showed him it hadn’t changed much. The same glossy curved mahogany bar still took up an entire wall, and the long mirror on the wall made the room look huge.
Though the high tin ceiling was aesthetically pleasing, noise reverberated like a chaotic storm trapped in a metal box.
For a midweek afternoon, the place was hopping. It didn’t make sense, until he saw a sign touting Wings Wednesday.
Chris had said he’d try to grab a table outside. When Callum didn’t see his friend at any of the tables or barstools inside, he wove his way through the crowded bar and pushed open the door leading to a deck overlooking the water.
Most of the tables out here were also filled, but the noise level in this open space didn’t make his head pound. He saw a hand wave as he scanned the area. It appeared Chris had gotten lucky and scored a table by the rail.
“I’m glad this time worked for you,” Chris said when Callum reached the table .
Callum pulled out a chair and sat. “Couldn’t have been better. Parker has a session with Dr. Gallagher.”
“When do you need to pick him up?”
“I don’t. Brynn said she’d bring him home.” Callum smiled at the harried male server who stopped tableside. “You have something local on tap?”
The young man nodded. “Of course. The two most popular are our hazy IPA and our American lager.”
“I’ll take the lager. Thanks.”
“Right away.” The young man set a basket of bar mix on the table and hurried off.
Callum glanced around, his gaze lingering on the smooth waters of Green Bay. “It’s nice out here.”
“I agree. At least out here, you can hear yourself think.” Chris’s lips quirked upward as he lifted his Green 19 pale ale to his lips.
“That, and the view is a huge plus.” It felt strange to Callum to sit at a bar at four o’clock on a workday, enjoying a drink with a friend.
In Boston, when he was in the office during the week, he worked long hours. By the time he finally left work, the only thing he wanted to do was go home and crash. The site visits, while demanding, allowed for more free time. And when he was participating in an event, that was where the real fun happened.
“So, you and Brynn?”
Callum jerked his thoughts back to the present. He knew what Chris was asking, but there was no way he wanted to go there. His relationship with Brynn was private and personal, and that’s how he wanted to keep it.
“Yeah, she’s taking Parker home,” he said, deliberately misunderstanding.
The server dropped off his beer, and Callum handed him a twenty. “Keep the change. ”
“Thank you, sir.” The young man’s eyes widened as he unwrapped the bill. “If you need another, just flag me down.”
“Home, as in to her house, right?” Chris took another drink of his beer. “I heard you and Parker are still living with her.”
“We are staying with her,” Callum corrected as he scooped up a handful of bar mix, then followed it with a sip of beer.
“I thought you’d move in with your parents once they got back in town.”
Callum shrugged. “By the time they returned from their cruise, Parker and I were settled in. It made sense to stay put.”
Thankfully, Chris didn’t press any further on that point. “I’m sure it helps to have her around. Like today, if she wasn’t bringing Parker home, you couldn’t have met me.”
Callum smiled. “It is nice.”
“How’s the parenting thing going?”
“Parker and I, we’re finding our rhythm.” Callum sipped his beer. “He’s a great kid.”
“So, are you staying?”
“Staying?”
“In Good Hope.”
Callum wondered how Chris could have thought that staying was even a possibility for him. Chris knew his job was in Boston.
“No, I’ll be heading back, probably sooner rather than later.” Callum set down the pint glass. “My boss is starting to put on the pressure. He’s a good guy, but understanding a family emergency only goes so far.”
“What will you do with Parker?”
“What do you mean?” Callum frowned. “He’ll come with me.”
“Wow, I admire your confidence.”
Callum decided his confusion must have shown, because Chris laughed.
“I’m talking single-parenting, man.” Chris shook his head. “I couldn’t do it. No way. Thank God I have Dana. Even as a couple, we knew we needed to be around family when we started having children. By the way, I don’t know if Addie mentioned it, but we saw her and Parker at the Dairy Sweet the other night. We were walking to our car when she and your kid pulled into the drive-through. That’s what I’m talking about—having family nearby means you get a break every now and then.”
“Addie and Parker really hit it off.” Callum had opened his mouth to change the subject when Chris called to a friend at a nearby table.
“Hey, Roger. Text me and let me know when soccer registration starts. Dana lost the sheet, and it’s not on the website.” Chris turned back to Callum. “Roger Murphey. He was two years behind us in school. He coaches fall soccer. If Parker were staying, I’d tell you to get him signed up. Those spots fill up fast.”
Callum only smiled and took another long drink of beer.
“With kids, there’s always something. School activities. After-school sports. At least my job is eight-to-five. Yours involves a lot of traveling.”
“It does.”
“How are you going to make that work?”
“I’ll figure it out.” Callum spoke confidently but found he couldn’t quite quell the unease skittering up his spine.
He was grateful when Roger left his table to join them.
“The more the merrier,” Chris told the man.
Callum agreed with the sentiment, knowing—or rather, hoping—that this would effectively end any more talk about the horrors of single-parenting.
It was nearly five thirty by the time Brynn arrived home with Parker. Her last session had gone until five, so Parker had played with the toys in the lobby under the watchful eye of Peyton, the receptionist.
When she exited the car and headed toward the mailbox at the curb, Parker raced toward the door, eager to tell his dad about the puppet he’d played with during his session with Liam.
Parker didn’t realize that the puppet play was more than just fun. The therapeutic technique allowed him to project his emotions onto the puppet rather than speaking directly about himself, making it easier for him to discuss difficult feelings or experiences.
Play therapy was Liam’s specialty, and in Brynn’s mind, Parker couldn’t be seeing a better therapist.
But as she stepped onto the porch, it wasn’t Parker on her mind but Callum. She wondered if he’d enjoyed meeting up with Chris at the Flying Crane.
She liked seeing him renew old friendships and start to build up those connections in the community. Although she didn’t know Dana very well, perhaps the four of them could get together sometime, or maybe she and Callum could have them over for dinner.
She and Callum. Dinner parties. Backyard barbecues with friends and families. The thoughts made her smile.
Her smile faded when Parker pulled open the door and put a finger to his lips. “Daddy is on the phone.” He spoke in a hushed tone. “We have to be quiet.”
Brynn nodded to show him she understood and stepped inside. She could hear the conversation…and it didn’t sound friendly.
“You call this notice?” Irritation filled Callum’s voice.
Silence lingered for several long seconds while Brynn slipped into the kitchen and carefully set down the supplies she’d purchased over her lunch hour to decorate Parker’s bike for the children’s parade on Saturday.
Like a silent ghost, Parker followed her.
The plan was to watch the Hometown Heroes Parade and check out the Pancake Feed in the town square before returning home for Parker’s bike and the Children’s Bike Parade that afternoon.
It would be a full day, but one Brynn was looking forward to.
She wasn’t the only one. Parker couldn’t wait to ride his bike in the parade.
“I understand the position you’re in. And yes, the site does need to be reassessed.” Callum sounded weary. “Let me see what I can do.”
More silence.
Brynn moved to the doorway separating the kitchen from the living room but remained silent. Callum’s back was to her, and he gave no indication he was aware of her presence.
“I said I’ll see what I can do.” Whatever the person on the other end of the line had said spiked Callum’s temper. “Yes, I’ll get back to you tonight.”
Brynn watched Callum shove the phone into his pocket, his shoulders stiff as he stared out the window into the backyard.
Parker’s hand stole into hers, and Brynn gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“Callum,” she called out. “We’re home.”
He turned and smiled, but the smile appeared forced. Raking a hand through his hair, he expelled a tired breath. “What time is it?”
“Five thirty.”
“Brynn got stuff to decorate my bike,” Parker said eagerly. “For the parade.”
A look of almost pain crossed Callum’s face but was gone so quickly that Brynn wondered if she’d only imagined it. Still, something was definitely wrong.
“I don’t have anything started for dinner,” he told her, dropping into the closest chair. “Right after I got home from meeting Chris, I took a phone call from the office.”
Parker’s forehead puckered, picking up the tension in the air .
“No worries about dinner.” Brynn kept her tone cheerful. “I’ve got a lasagna casserole in the freezer. I can pop it into the oven.”
“Sounds good,” Callum responded, his gaze returning to the window.
“I’ll start the oven heating.” Because she feared Parker might pester his dad with questions, she held out a hand. “Come and help me, Parky Sharky?”
“Sure.” Parker sprinted across the room and wrapped his arms around his dad’s legs. “I’m sorry you’re sad.”
She smiled when Callum hoisted Parker up in his arms and hugged him tight.
“Grrr,” Callum said. “Bear hug.”
“Grrr,” Parker said in delight. “Bear hug.”
As she turned on the oven, Brynn considered ways to carve out some alone time with Callum to find out what was going on and what she could do to help.
After she retrieved the casserole dish, her gaze was drawn to the sack on the kitchen table. It wasn’t filled only with bike decorations.
She slipped out the puzzle book she’d purchased for Parker and handed it to him when he returned to the kitchen, now all smiles.
“What is this?” Parker asked, staring at the book’s bright red and yellow cover.
“It’s a book of picture puzzles.” Brynn smiled. “The lasagna is going to take a while to heat up. I thought you could look for the hidden objects before dinner.”
“What will you do?” Concern filled his eyes. “While I’m doing the puzzles?”
Such a sweet, kind, caring boy, she thought and planted a kiss on the top of his head.
“I’m going to be helping your daddy with some business things. ”
“That’s a good plan,” Parker told her. “I think Daddy is sad. You’ll help Daddy, and he’ll be happy again.”
Callum wasn’t sure how Brynn managed it, but within fifteen minutes of her arrival, the casserole was in the oven, and Parker was at the table, finding hidden animals in pictures.
Brynn filled his water bottle and handed it to him before sitting on the sofa. “Now, tell me what’s wrong and what I can do to help.”
While Callum admired her take-charge attitude, this problem was his to solve. “I’m not sure you can.”
“Try me.”
“Okay.” Callum took a long drink. Then, too restless to sit, he set the bottle down, pushed to his feet and began to pace. “One of the locations on tap for a big July Fourth event received an ungodly amount of rain last night. There is concern that the site may no longer be viable. They want me to go there immediately and check it out.”
“Because if it’s not viable, they’ll need to cancel.”
“Yes, and the organizers want to know immediately.”
“They can’t make that call?”
“They could,” Callum confirmed, “but making the call is what they hired us to do. Phillip, the company owner, is saying my judgment is the only one they trust in this situation.”
“When would you need to leave?”
“Tomorrow morning, first thing.” Callum stopped pacing and turned. “The problem is my parents and Addie are out of town this weekend. It’s Deb and Mike’s fifty-fifth wedding anniversary, and they’re having a big party Saturday night in Appleton.”
“You hadn’t mentioned your grandparents’ celebration.”
“Parker was excited about the bike parade, and the anniversary party is a big fancy event at a country club, not really a kid kind of thing.” His gaze shifted to the bag of decorations on the kitchen table, and he winced. “I’d take him with me, but?—”
Understanding filled her eyes. “If your concern is what to do with Parker, I’ll watch him. I’ll do the bike parade thing and take care of him until you get back.”
Surprise, mixed with gratitude, rushed through him. “I don’t think it will take long, but I can’t guarantee when I’ll return.”
“If you’re not back on Monday, your parents will probably be happy to watch Parker during the day. If they’re tied up, there are day camps at the Y that I’m sure he’d enjoy.” When Brynn took a step closer, and he wrapped his arms around her, Callum felt his world that had been knocked off its axis steady and right itself.
“If you can watch him this weekend, my parents or even Addie can most likely take over on Monday.”
“Even if he spends the day with them, he should come home with me every night.” Her gaze met his. “It will give him a sense of security. I don’t think he’ll worry as much that you aren’t coming back.”
“I am coming back.”
“Never doubted it for a second.” She cupped his cheek and kissed him. “But I’m not a six-year-old.”
“Thank you.” Thinking about what Chris had said, he bowed his head until his forehead met hers. What was he going to do when he didn’t have her?
“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “We’ve got this covered.”