Finding Home

36. Caleb

Chapter 36

Caleb

A s I enter my living room, there’s a crowd gathered around the latest arrivals, Dax and Violet, so I head over to Aubrey and grab her hand while waiting for the dust to settle.

When the crowd around Dax and Violet finally dissipates, I head over with Aubrey and we welcome the much-anticipated duo to our little party. To my relief, both Dax and Violet greet me warmly and thank me for the invitation. They congratulate me on Raine and offer a warm hug to Aubrey, too, after I’ve introduced her as my girlfriend.

Holy shit. Now that I’ve made the decision to propose, I’m wishing I could introduce Aubrey as my fiancée to them tonight. Better yet, as my wife. But I suppose girlfriend will have to do for now.

Small talk ensues, and soon, Aubrey and I are engaged in a pleasant conversation with Dax and Violet about Raine and their son, Jackson, who’s currently being babysat by Dax’s big brother and his brother’s wife across town.

“Are we too late to meet Raine?” Violet asks, looking around .

“Yeah, sorry,” I say. “She was here earlier, but she’s already crashed.”

“I’m sure meeting so many people was highly stimulating for her,” Violet says.

“Yeah. Definitely.”

Dax smiles. “Hopefully, we’ll meet her next time.”

Next time.

Aubrey flashes me a look that says, Oh my god, before replying, “Absolutely. Yes.” She turns to Violet. “How old is Jackson?”

“Almost nine. He’s Dax’s spitting image. I honestly haven’t seen a lick of proof my child got any of my genes, whatsoever.”

We all laugh.

“Can I see a photo?” Aubrey asks. And for the next several minutes, we check out photos and videos of both kids, with Dax proudly showing us a short video of his young son wailing confidently on an electric guitar.

“Damn, he’s really good,” I say.

“That’s my boy.”

I can’t resist teasing Dax a bit. “I do think it’s a bit strange you’re teaching him to play the second-coolest instrument in the world, instead of the coolest.”

Dax snorts. “Teach your own kid to bang on drums, if you want. My son is gonna play the coolest instrument. Guitar . Just like his old man.”

We all laugh again, and, suddenly, it feels just like old times. Easy and comfortable. Like no time has passed. I thought it’d feel awkward to stand face-to-face with Dax again, and even weirder to face him with Violet on his arm. But if these first few minutes of this reunion are any indication, we’re going to be able to patch things up and move on from the past in record speed .

Aubrey says, “Caleb has already started giving Raine drum lessons.”

“Not surprised at all,” Dax retorts with a smile.

“She mostly likes playing along to ‘our song,’” I offer proudly. “‘Fool in the Rain.’”

“Nice,” Dax says with a chuckle.

“To be clear,” I add, “ I’m the fool in the song title. The big, stupid fool.”

Dax’s blue eyes warm and soften. “We can all be big, stupid fools, on occasion. Nobody’s perfect.”

Endorphins flood me. Seriously, why didn’t I do this years ago?

Violet looks at her husband and shoots him a look that reminds me of the one Aubrey flashed me a moment ago. One that silently screams, Isn’t this going great? But what she says out loud is, “Your daughter is adorable, Caleb. I can’t wait to meet her one day soon.”

Dax clears his throat and smiles at Aubrey. “It’s great to finally meet you, Aubrey. Miranda speaks really highly of you.”

Violet interjects, “Miranda said she’s thrilled you came into Caleb’s life and finally turned her brother into an actual adult.”

I give Aubrey’s hand a squeeze. “That she did. Aubrey’s been a godsend.”

“No, you did that for yourself,” Aubrey coos, and the look of unadulterated adoration she flashes me damn-near brings tears to my eyes.

Violet noticeably looks between her husband me, her lips twisted, before motioning toward my sister on the couch. “Speaking of Miranda, I think she’s beckoning to me. Do you want to come with me, Aubrey?”

“I’d love to.” In parting, Aubrey flashes me a pointed look, this one encouraging me to get everything off my chest with Dax, once and for all—to leave nothing unsaid, like I told her I want to do tonight. I stumbled and stammered my way through a less-than stellar apology five years ago at Reed Rivers’ wedding, but I’ve learned a thing or two, since then—things I very much wish to make clear to Dax now.

When the ladies have left and I find myself standing alone with Dax, I take a deep breath and speak on my exhale. “So, hey, Daxy, I owe you an apology. A good one this time.”

Dax looks genuinely confused. “You already apologized to me, remember? At Reed’s wedding. There’s no need to do it again.”

“No, there is. Hear me out. It’s gonna be hard to get this out.” I take another deep breath. “Back at Reed’s wedding, I didn’t have the capacity to fully appreciate the position you were in during our tour together.” I look across the room at Aubrey, who’s now chatting happily with my sister, Violet, and several other women. “But thanks to Aubrey and Raine, I finally understand the meaning of true, unconditional love. What it feels like to love someone so fucking much, you don’t have a choice in the matter.”

Dax nods, looking at me intensely.

“What I know now, but didn’t back then, is that I would have done the exact same thing in your shoes. If you’d dated Aubrey years before me, and then I happened to meet Aubrey at a party later on and fall hard for her, then I’m certain nothing and nobody could have stopped me from making Aubrey mine. Not even my friendship with you, even though I genuinely loved you like a brother.”

Dax’s Adam’s apple bobs. “Thanks for saying that, Caleb. But we both know I handled things badly. I should have spoken up sooner. I should have?—”

“No. You couldn’t do that.” I shake my head. “You were the opener for my band on your very first world tour, and you knew I was a hotheaded prick with anger management issues. Was it realistic to expect you to come to me, right away, and possibly risk everything for your band?” I scoff. “No fucking way. You had a skyrocketing career to consider and two bandmates who were counting on you, along with a girl you couldn’t possibly give up for the sake of our friendship. In the end, you decided our friendship wasn’t the most important consideration—and rightfully so.” I exhale. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize all this. I hope it’s not too late for you to accept my full and sincere apology, so we can put the past behind us, for real this time, and start our friendship back up.”

Dax takes a deep inhale. “I’d love that.” He puts out his hand, but I pull him into a bear hug. And mere seconds later, even before we’ve pulled apart, we’re swarmed by our respective bandmates, all of whom must have been watching our conversation from afar with bated breath.

For a while, both bands—all three members of 22 Goats and all four members of Red Card Riot—mix and match hugs and chatter about what a dumbfuck I’ve been. That it’s been far too long since we all hung out together, like we used to do. Clearly, we’re all excited to put this beef to rest, for good.

When the conversations between our two bands have run their course, I drift over to Aubrey across the room and pull her into a corner, where I give her a quick update about the outcome of my conversation with Dax.

“I’m so thrilled for you,” Aubrey says. “Things are going really well with Violet, too. She’s being so nice and welcoming to me, and I really feel like it’s genuine.”

“Of course, it is. She’s a sweetheart.”

Aubrey’s faces catches fire. “ Guess what ? Miranda told Violet and the other women about the Summer Festival, and they’re all going to talk to every famous person they know to get amazing donations for the auction!”

“Oh, man, that’s huge. Everyone here, especially Violet, is super well connected. Violet’s brother owns my label, remember? If she gets him involved, it’s game over, baby. You’ll have more cool shit than you know what to do with.”

Aubrey grips my arm with white knuckles and wide eyes. “ Violet said she’d call her bestie, Aloha Carmichael, to ask for a donation ! Can you believe it? I almost passed out.”

I laugh. “That’s awesome, babe.”

“My mom’s going to die. Raine’s going to die. I’m going to die. Oh my god. This year’s festival is going to be incredible .”

Boom.

The blaze in Aubrey’s dark eyes suddenly makes me realize the obvious: I should propose to her at the Summer Festival, in front of her family and friends and everyone who knows and loves her the most.

Aubrey fans herself and giggles. “I was a little anxious a small-town girl like me wouldn’t fit in with all your fabulous, famous friends, but they’ve all made me feel right at home.”

“They’re just people, baby. Same as you and me.” I take her hand. “Speaking of your small town . . . I’ve been thinking about the lake house. You know, what to do with it.”

Aubrey visibly holds her breath.

“And I think . . . if it’s okay with you . . . we should make Prairie Springs our home base and this place our second home.”

Aubrey clutches her heart and whimpers. “Seriously?”

“If that’s okay with you.”

“It’s all I want! Yes! Thank you so much.” She throws her arms around me. “I’ve loved being here, and I know Raine has, too; but it’s not our home. I’ve been so homesick, and I think Raine has been, too.”

Now that she’s saying the word— homesick— I realize it’s exactly how I’ve been feeling, too, ever since we got to LA. Frankly, that’s a bizarre thing for me to feel, since this place has been my home for over a decade. But the fact remains, I felt more at home at the lake house with Aubrey and Raine, than I’ve ever once felt here in LA.

Aubrey wipes a tear. “I didn’t want to drag you back to Prairie Springs, if that’s not where you wanted to be. But I’ve been aching to go back home.”

“Aw, baby. Don’t cry. We’ll go home soon.” I put my finger underneath Aubrey’s chin and kiss her gently. “I wish you’d told me.”

She shrugs off the comment with a wipe of her eyes. “What about all the band and business stuff you’ve got going on here?”

“Prairie Springs isn’t Mars, baby. It’s an easy flight back and forth.”

Aubrey sniffles. “What about tours? What will happen when you start doing those again?”

I smile. “We’ll figure it out, whenever the time comes. For now, let’s get back home to Prairie Springs and start building our life there together.”

“Without the custody hearing hanging over our heads.”

“Exactly.”

“I can’t wait.” She smiles broadly. “I’m so happy. ”

“Me, too. Happier than ever.” I kiss her again. “Wherever you want to be, that’s where I want to be, too. You and Raine are my home now, okay?”

“I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

Aubrey bites her lower lip. “I know we’re planning to go home next week, but can we go sooner? When my parents go on Wednesday? I’m feeling so homesick, I think I’ll melt down if I have to say goodbye to them.”

Shit. Wednesday is the day before my sister is available to go engagement ring shopping with me. But what choice do I have, when I’m looking into Aubrey’s big, brown, doe eyes? This glorious woman owns me, heart and soul. Her wish is my command. Which means my sister’s just going to have to cancel all her silly plans and help me, earlier than anticipated.

“Wednesday, it is,” I say with more confidence than I feel. My sister can be awfully strong-willed and stubborn, when I least expect it. But something tells me this one time, she’ll bend to my wishes. She’d better. Because the perfect place and time to propose to Aubrey is now perfectly clear to me, and there’s no turning back.