Rough and Rugged: A Meet Me In Milwaukee Charity Anthology

Chapter Six

Gemma

I’d make an absolute fortune off that darn “men in gray sweatpants” calendar if Caleb was on the cover.

The thought popped unbidden into my head as Caleb reappeared from wherever he’d gone. His just slightly too long hair had dried with a hint of curl and his t-shirt and sweatpants fit him to perfection. With his bare feet and his beard and something that was simply Caleb, he was so sexy I nearly stared. I caught myself just in time, tearing my eyes away from him to glance down at the notebook in front of me, before looking back up at him. I felt a telltale heat in my cheeks and prayed he didn’t notice.

From the look he gave me, I wondered if he did.

“Whatcha working on?”

What was I… I shook myself out of my Caleb-induced haze and glanced back down at my notebook.

“Oh… um, that thing we talked about earlier.”

Caleb’s jaw tightened as he stopped across the table from me.

“That calendar? The mountain man thing? Aren’t those guys usually half naked? I’m not sure about my wife photographing other half naked men.”

I straightened, surprised by the heat in Caleb’s words.

“No one ever said they’d be half naked, although that’s a great suggestion.” Caleb clearly did not see the intended humor in my statement. “Besides, if my husband was on the cover...”

My heart thumped a little as I said the word “husband.” I’d rarely called Caleb that, just as I’d rarely heard him call me his wife. Even though I was teasing him, it felt intimate somehow.

Caleb scoffed at that as he shook his head.

“It would be a failure for sure.”

I leaned back in my chair, shaking my head at him in return.

“The majority of women over the age of 18 in this area would completely disagree.”

“They also all think I’m the village idiot now, so…”

My heart grabbed at his words – so many people underestimated him since his injury – but I kept my response light.

“Well, they can’t be right about everything. You can act like an idiot sometimes, no question, but that doesn’t mean you are one. Like the time you and Cade decided to race climbing that tree and both of you fell.”

It hadn’t been funny at the time – and had resulted in a sprained ankle for Caleb and a broken arm for Cade – but it was just one of so many memories of them now.

“Yeah, that was pretty damn dumb.” Caleb rubbed the back of his neck, his expression relaxing a little. “Anyway, forget what I said. You don’t need me acting like I have a say in what you do.”

“I always value your opinion, you know that.” When there was no response from Caleb, I went on. “Although, when you asked me what I was working on I was actually talking about the idea I had for selling prints of the wolves on the sanctuary’s website.”

Now Caleb’s cheeks flushed a little pink, seemingly a little embarrassed at the conclusion he’d jumped to. He backed up to lean against the kitchen counter, set down some clothes he was holding, and folded his massive arms across his chest again.

“It’s a good one. Your photography is amazing. We’d sell out in no time.”

“The wolves are just so beautiful,” I demurred, a little self-conscious about the compliment, as always. “I barely have to do anything.”

And Caleb was frowning at me again.

“Don’t downplay your talent like that, Gem. What you do is special, and it takes a lot of hard work.”

How different Caleb was than Stefan. I rarely thought of Stefan these days, but it was hard not to compare Caleb’s unwavering support of my photography to Stefan’s impatient dismissal of it. If I wasn’t already very well aware of the favor Stefan had done me by dumping me, that alone would make it obvious.

“I love it, like you do the sanctuary. So, should we do it?”

Caleb’s expression didn’t lighten as I expected.

“I don’t see how we can. There already aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.”

Knowing I was going to get pushback, I tried anyway.

“Let me help with it. I can get everything set up on the website, the orders can come directly to me, and I can print and ship them.”

The thunderclouds gathered on Caleb’s face as I talked.

“You have your business to run. You don’t need to be wasting your time on this.”

I tried to hold onto my temper. I really did. He was just so frustrating.

“Aren’t you the same man who just said you don’t have a say in what I do?”

“Dammit, Gem…”

Why was he allowed to help me, but I wasn’t allowed to help him?

Hurt and anger mixed with exasperation, and I interrupted him, asking him the blunt question I’d promised myself I never would.

“Why are we still married, Caleb? I’m twenty-five; I have my inheritance. Why haven’t we gotten a divorce?”