Keller and Callahan

Chapter 21

Despite one more bloody mary and an order of eggs benedict, Olivia’s stomach was still in knots. After leaving the restaurant, she had let herself into Sam’s cabin and stripped out of her own clothes and threw on one of Sam’s Callahan Center t-shirts. She felt it would make her feel closer to him while he was with Jensen, tackling whatever issue led to the darkness she’d seen in his eyes.

As she sat in one of the cabin’s cozy and well-broken-in easy chairs, she gazed out the window and thought about how much could change so quickly. She thought first of the letters she and Sam had exchanged when he had been sent away, how even though it was difficult to be apart, it stung a little less knowing he would be back and they would start the next chapter of their lives together. And all it took were a few unanswered letters to completely shatter her vision of where she thought her life was going.

Having to move forward without Sam had been even more difficult than she could have imagined. She had felt the full range of emotions once he didn’t return. Confusion, as to why he would disappear without a word. Sadness, that he had obviously not carried the same feelings for her as she did for him. And then anger, at him for making her feel this way, but also anger with herself that she was letting one boy dictate so much of her heart and her life.

After a couple years had passed and the potency of her emotions had dulled, she often thought of the situation as just one piece of her life that was left unfinished. And she hated that. Feeling as if there were answers to the many questions she had, that she would never get the full story, meant one chapter of her life couldn’t fully close so she could truly move on.

Which brought her to the present. When Sam had shown up, she had felt a lot of the same emotions. Confusion, as to why after ten, long years, he had decided to come back. Sadness, that she had missed out on so many years of his life and he had become a stranger to her. And anger, that despite being pissed at him for so many years, she was still in love with him. And what the hell am I supposed to do with that? She was in a steady groove in her life, had learned to live without him, and now that he was here, it shifted her world irrevocably.

It shouldn’t have surprised her that he was able to charm her so easily - he had always had those beautiful eyes that could pull you in, and now was no different. Realizing her life felt complete when he was around, made the choice easy for her. Despite their past, and all the demons that still lurked there, she was determined to tackle them together. Even if that meant putting her heart on the line, in fear that he would disappear again, she decided a future full of happiness with Sam was worth the risk of not having that chance at all.

The click of the door broke her out of her thoughts and she turned to him.

“Hey stranger,” she said quietly.

God, she looks beautiful. She sat so comfortable in the chair, her long legs wrapped up underneath her. She wore one of his t-shirts - only his t-shirt, and he thought it was the sexiest he’d ever seen her. Her body looked completely relaxed, the only thing that gave her away was the concerned look in her eyes.

“Hey beautiful,” he came up behind her, swept her hair behind her shoulder and gave her a deep, lingering kiss. Needing to be closer to him, she stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Inhaling his smokey scent, she took comfort that he was here, and for today, that was enough.

“Ok, Callahan. Spill,” she said into his shoulder.

Pulling her down onto his lap, he wrapped his arms around her waist and exhaled deeply against her neck. “Are you ready to hear the rest? Because if you are, I need to tell you.”

“Sam. From here on out I am expecting you to tell me everything. No more secrets. No more running.” She cupped both his cheeks in her hands and looked at him fiercely.

“No more secrets. No more running.” He repeated with reverence as he lowered her hands and linked his fingers with hers.

“I’m here and I hope you know you can trust me with anything,” she said this so sincerely, Sam trusted every word.

“I do. Which is why I’m going to tell you the reason why I didn’t come back after I turned eighteen. The reason why I couldn’t,” he said, his eyes wild.

“Couldn’t? I don’t understand,” Olivia shook her head in confusion.

“A week before my birthday, I received a letter from my father. Basically blackmailing me for money.”

“Blackmailing you? How?” She asked with her brows furrowed.

“He said if I ever didn’t send the payment he requested when he asked, that he would burn the campground to the ground, and this time he wouldn’t fail.”

At this admission, Olivia gasped and covered her agape mouth with her hand. Sam pressed on. “But that’s not all. He said if I ever came back here, that you and your family would be in danger.” Sneaking a glance at her face, he saw fire in her eyes. “And there was no way in hell that I would ever take that chance with Cassie, your dad. With you. So I did the only thing I could do, and that was do as he said, even though it killed me.”

He silently reached into his back pocket and slowly opened his wallet and unfolded the letter he had kept on his person every single day since receiving it. It continually burned a hole in his pocket, a constant reminder that whenever his heart longed for Olivia, that letter was a reminder to him that staying away was protecting her the only way he knew how. Taking a deep breath, he handed over the letter and watched as her eyes scanned the vicious words written by his father all those years ago. The words that had taken a decade of love from each of them.

Once she was finished, she laid her palm onto his cheek, and looked him straight in the eyes. “I understand why you had to do what you did. But I’m pissed that you didn’t think you could tell me. We could have figured it out together. You were never alone in your shit when you were ten, you didn’t have to be alone in it with this either. Damn it, Sam. We could have figured out a way. I would have done anything to help you. So would my dad.”

“But don’t you see? I couldn’t risk anything happening to you. There have been a lot of shitty things I’ve had to survive in my life, but being the reason something happened to you,” he grasped both her cheeks in his hands and whispered to her mouth. “I wouldn’t survive that.”

“Nothing is going to happen to us. We’re going to fix this. Together.” She said as she covered his hands with her own. With so much conviction Sam had to smile.

Resting his forehead to hers, it was hard to believe that this beautiful, compassionate, strong woman belonged to him. “I’m not losing you again, Olivia. I’m never letting go.”

A smile crossed her lips, and she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “Good. Because I wasn’t going to let you disappear again. Even if I have to chain you to the bed. I wasn’t going down without a fight.”

A devilish smile crossed his lips and he pinched her ass playfully. “Hmm…on second thought, maybe I was planning on taking a trip somewhere…” he said with a crooked smile as he gave her a slow kiss. “Maybe you’ll have to use those chains after all.”

“Let’s save those until this is all over, Callahan,” she said as she gave his hardening erection a quick squeeze. “In the meantime, what’s the plan? What made you decide to come back now?”

Shifting his weight underneath her, he adjusted her so she was straddling his legs and facing him. “He sent me a postcard every year on my birthday with an address to send the money to. Every year it was someplace new, because he was on the run, he could never stay in one place for too long. But the last one he sent me, the address he wanted to send the money to was my old house.”

A chill immediately ran down Olivia’s spine. “You mean he’s back here?”

“As soon as there was a chance he could be anywhere near you, I had to come to you. I’ve gone by the house a couple times since I’ve been back, and it looks deserted and empty. I didn’t see any sign of him.”

Confusion clouding her eyes, Olivia stood up and began to pace. “So if he’s not at the house, he must be hiding out somewhere else. Can we go to the police? He’s not going to get away with this, Sam.”

With hands on her hips, fire in her eyes, wearing nothing but his old t-shirt, he thought he’d never love her more. Here they were, together, with zero secrets between them. He had told her everything, shown her every deep, dark part of him, and through all that, and moreso, because of that, she was accepting him whole-heartedly, just as she always had. It was invigorating to know he didn’t have to go through this alone, that she was here with him every step of the way. And he had absolutely no doubt they could get through anything together.

They had always made a hell of a team.

“I’ve gone to the police, handed everything over to them. They are aware and on alert. And I have one more ace up my sleeve,” he said with a sly grin.

Narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms in suspicion, she stopped pacing the room and turned to look at him, “Enlighten me, Callahan.”

“So Jensen isn’t just my business partner. He’s more of a silent investor, he helps me out when I need it,” he said.

“Ok…go on…who is he?”

“He’s on the board of our center, and volunteers when he can - he’s become a really close friend of mine. But he’s actually a Las Vegas detective.”

“Holy shit. I need to sit down for this,” she gracefully lowered herself onto the couch across from Sam. “So he’s here to help?”

“He has been working with local PD on this and has a team of a few officers stationed undercover throughout the lodge. They’re going to be on alert over the next few days of the holiday. Given the past, I have a feeling my dad wants to be make a big splash on the 4th, just like he did ten years ago,”

“But you said you didn’t see any sign of him. Maybe he’s bluffing.”

“That’s the last piece I need to tell you.” He tightened his grip on her hand and squeezed. “Jensen has been grabbing my mail while I’ve been here. There was another postcard. He’s never sent more than one, only on my birthday. But this one came, and the address he wanted me to send the money to was here. Keller Campground.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a full minute before either of them spoke. When Olivia did, it was cold-blooded fire.

“Callahan. Let’s get this son of a bitch.”