That One Summer: A Collection of Steamy Contemporary Romance

Chapter 14

Aneka

The next Friday night, Caleb came over for dinner and spent the night. I got antsy and woke up early to shower and make breakfast while he lounged in bed a little longer. After we ate, he hopped in the shower.

I finished loading the dishwasher, and my phone buzzed on the counter with a video call request from my son. I tapped the green button, and Jeremy’s smiling face filled the screen.

“Hey, Mom! What’s up?” he asked.

“Hi, baby. I’m good.”

“I heard.”

His smirk told me he’d seen the online gossip, but I played dumb.

“What did you hear?”

“You told Naomi that guy was an old friend. But according to Celebrity Bossip, it’s more than that,” he probed.

As a mega-preacher, Elijah had long been a staple on black gossip sites. I guess I was getting my own articles now.

“Caleb is an old friend. But he could also be more than that someday. I’m not rushing into something new,” I said, feeling a teensy bit like a liar, so I changed the subject. “How’s the internship?”

“It’s a lot of grunt work, but it’s going well. The associates enjoy having someone who’s even lower status than are, but I’m learning a lot.”

“How’s your sister? You two aren’t bickering too much, are you?” I asked, genuinely concerned about their relationship during this summer adventure. Crashing at his sister’s place for a few months before returning to North Carolina was a test of their patience. Jeremy was quieter, more easygoing. As teens, his sister drove him nuts with her noise and opinions.

“Naomi’s Naomi as always, but everything’s fine here,” he said, quickly brushing past the conversation about work and his sister. “I actually called about something else.”

His tone made me nervous. “What?”

“It’s, um, about Dad.”

“What’s wrong?”

A chill stiffened my back. Jeremy sighed, eyes narrowing and his mouth screwing sideways like he was chewing something foul.

“Dad didn’t want me to tell you, but he had a colonoscopy recently, and the results were suspicious. He needs more tests.”

A knot formed in my stomach. “He messaged me a few days ago. Why didn’t he say something?”

“Because he knows you’re waiting on the divorce papers, and he didn’t want you to worry.” Frustration punctuated my son’s tone. “But I can’t sit here and pretend I don’t know. I’m mad about all the things he’s done, and I know what I’m about to ask might be unfair, but—”

His emotion was ramping, so I jumped in to reassure him. “Hey, I still care about your father’s well-being. He’s your dad. I’ll call him and see what’s going on.”

“Thanks,” he said, the worry in his eyes easing.

“Of course, baby. You can always tell me anything.”

I kept my voice calm, pissed as I was that Elijah would drop this on the kids and ask them to keep it a secret. What the hell?

“Someone has to check on him,” Jeremy said.

“Well, he has Tyffani,” I countered, and now, I could be happy about that. I wished Elijah well, but selfish as it was, I didn’t have the energy to be his nursemaid.

My son shook his head. “They broke up. You didn’t hear?”

“No. He said nothing to me about that, and, well...”

“I know. It’s not like she’d call you.”

“When did this happen?”

“A week ago? I’m not sure.”

“Does Naomi know about all this?” I asked, wondering if she was having the same reaction.

“Dad told both of us,” Jeremy admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But she thought we shouldn’t tell you if Dad didn’t want you to know. I... I can’t pretend everything’s fine.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to suppress the outrage bubbling inside me. I could hear the worry in Jeremy’s voice. Of course, Naomi chose silence. Despite her extroversion, she’d always been more stoic than her brother, more prone to hiding her emotions.

“Listen to me. I don’t want you two worrying about any of this. Focus on your internships and getting ready for school in the fall. I’ll call your father and check on him,” I promised.

“Are you sure? I mean, after everything he’s put you through...” Jeremy trailed off, uncertainty clouding his features. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Of course, you should if it’s bothering you. I can handle talking to your dad.”

We were the adults, and I didn’t want our mistakes to ruin their summer. Or mine, but I stopped my spiraling emotion before self-pity took over. I wasn’t the one facing a cancer diagnosis. I wasn’t the one worried about my dad.

“Take care of yourself and your sister, okay? And don’t worry about calling me if you need anything.”

“Okay. Thanks. I love you.”

“Love you too, baby.”

We hung up, and I leaned back in my chair, exhaling slowly as the weight of the situation settled in. Then I picked up the phone and dialed Elijah’s number, torn between concern for his health and resentment about the extra drama he’d created.

But a health scare wasn’t his fault. I repeated that to myself over and over as the phone rang.

“Hello?” His voice filled my ear, familiar yet distant.

“Hey. It’s Aneka.”

“I know,” he laughed. “What’s going on?”

“I actually called to ask you.”

“Everything’s fine,” he replied dismissively, but I knew him well enough to sense the strain behind his words.

“Jeremy called me earlier,” I admitted.

He heaved a sigh. “Ah, I wish he hadn’t done that, but I guess there’s no point in hiding it now.”

“He’s worried about you. And so am I,” I confessed, my compassion for him resurfacing. “What is this about your colonoscopy?”

Vulnerability softened his voice. “The doctor found something suspicious. I need more tests.”

“What does suspicious mean?”

“We don’t know yet. That’s why I didn’t want to say anything to you.”

So he called the kids? I tapped the brakes on my fury.

“Well, I’m sorry you’re going through this,” I began, thinking about Tyffani, “alone.”

“You heard about that too,” he groaned, hesitating before continuing. “I hate how much I messed things up between us. I threw it all away. If I could rewind time and change things, I would in a heartbeat,” he said, his voice cracking. “Have you ever thought we could...”

He trailed off.

“Oh, Elijah, no.”

“But sometimes—”

“No,” I repeated with gentle force. “We’ve gone too far. Too much has happened. Not just Tyffani. Our problems were bigger than her.”

I felt hollow saying it. I wasn’t sad or even angry—just done and astonished that he didn’t realize how done I was. He couldn’t see it, bless him, because he still needed someone to fill whatever emotional hole consumed him.

“It’s a lot right now. The divorce. Making a care plan with the doctor. Sometimes I want to put everything on hold until I get my health situation straight,” he said.

“You mean the divorce?”

“Just until I get through my treatment.”

I blinked, shocked by his suggestion, then I thought of Caleb and the hope I had for building something new. But even without Caleb, I didn’t want to put all my life on hold. Still, could I turn my back on Elijah if he was in crisis?

The rightness of my path forward sank in. “Finalizing things will only make this simpler. We’ve put it off too long already. Being divorced doesn’t mean I’m not here if you need me. I promised Jeremy I’d check on you. If you need help, I’m here. Okay?”

“Sure,” he clipped.

“I mean it. I don’t want the kids worrying. Jeremy sounded like he was ready to drop his summer job and come home. I don’t want that. If you need help, call me.”

“Of course. I don’t want the kids to worry, either.”

Then why drop the news like this?

I shook the doubting voice out of my head. None of that mattered now.

“What exactly did the doctor say?”

“They removed some polyps, and I’m waiting on the pathology.”

“When was your screening? How long does it take to get the results?” The questions bubbled out of me, and I stemmed the tide on more. I always asked a thousand questions. Gathering data helped me plan, and planning helped me not worry.

“A few days ago. I’m not sure about the timeline. I... I was in shock. This has been so hard. I’m not used to managing these things by myself,” he confessed with a chuckle. “You’d always be sitting next to me with your notepad, keeping track of everything. I miss that.”

Of course he did.

“Old habits die hard.”

“Not just habits. I took you for granted, ‘Neka.”

You sure did, Mr. Happy Pants.

“Don’t think about that now,” I said as much to myself and the rude voice echoing in my mind as to him.

“It’s hard not to. I miss you. I think about—”

I cut him off. “Let me know when you have your next appointment. I might be able to pop back down to Houston for a few days.”

“I’d like that.” His voiced faded off, then re-surged. “How are things in Bliss? This time of year, there have to be more mosquitoes than people.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s true in Houston too, and anyway, a lot has changed here. A new art collective moved here from Austin. New businesses. Lots of new faces in town plus old friends. It’s exciting.”

“Everybody up in each other’s business, I bet.”

“Everyone was in my business in Houston, too,” I mused, allowing myself one pointed comment.

Silence stretched on the line, and I let it grow instead of rushing in to relieve the tension. The clock on the microwave ticked to the next minute, but I held my tongue.

“I don’t know what you expect me to say to that. I don’t want an argument,” he said.

“Then don’t take shots at Bliss. It’s my home.”

“Houston is home.”

“Houston is your home.”

“I don’t want to argue,” he repeated.

“I’m not arguing. I’m asking for you to acknowledge...” I trailed off. What did I want from him?

Peace. A speck of responsibility.

Knowing I wouldn’t get either from him over the phone, I sighed. “I should go.”

“Thanks for checking on me. It means a lot that we can still be there for each other,” Elijah said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Of course. We’ll talk soon.”

I hung up with a mix of relief and uncertainty. His request to delay the divorce because of his medical scare made me uneasy. I made a note to call my lawyer. Let them follow up with his people. That’s why I was paying them so much money.

What was that people said? Divorce is expensive because it’s worth it.

I sure hoped so.

“Hey.”

I jumped and turned. Caleb peeked his freshly showered head into the kitchen.

“Hey,” I echoed.

“You okay? I didn’t want to interrupt. It sounded like you were talking to your... family.”

“Yes. My son. Then I had to call Elijah. He’s having some health issues.”

“Nothing serious I hope.”

Something strained in Caleb’s voice, but he came closer and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. Thinking about him being sick, maybe very sick, brings up a lot of feelings. He’s not my problem anymore, but... old habits die hard.”

Hadn’t I just told Elijah that? I didn’t want to have the same conversations with Caleb that I had with him. I pressed my fingertips to the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut.

“He and his girlfriend broke up, apparently. I think...” I trailed off again, then stopped myself. Nothing I had to say at the end of that sentence was flattering, and I didn’t want to spend my time with Caleb slamming Elijah. It felt inappropriate. Even disloyal—as much to Caleb as to Elijah.

“He’s used to leaning on you. It makes sense.”

I hesitated. “I told him I’d help him if he needed it. He’s waiting for some test results.”

“Tests?”

“I guess they’re doing a biopsy. He was short on details. I was his detail person,” I added with a dry laugh.

Caleb nodded, understanding in his eyes. “Well, if you need to talk or anything, I’m here.”

I got up from the kitchen island and headed to the doorway, enveloping his waist. He’d thrown back on his T-shirt and jeans, but his body was still damp. “No. We had plans today. The art gallery. Bliss is now a cultural hot bed thanks to you.”

Concern creased the corners of Caleb’s eyes, but he smiled anyway. “You give me too much credit.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only reason we have more art in town than the Christmas craft fair at the church every December,” I said.

“Don’t knock the craft fair. Those church ladies can throw down on the quilts and homemade ornaments. Sheila Travers made me a quilt for my guest bedroom that one of my friends from California said could fetch $1,000 at the shop he visits in Sausalito.”

“Did you tell Sheila?”

“I did. She’s sold a handful on consignment. She couldn’t stop laughing at how much ‘those California idiots’ will pay—direct quote. She and Mr. Travers took a cruise with her quilt money, but she said she’s done.”

“Why?”

“Doing it for the money wasn’t as fun, and the clients are annoying,” he said. “Again, her words. Not mine. But she’s working on a doozy for the craft fair. You have to be here at Christmas to see it.”

“Absolutely. Where else would I be?” I asked, laughing.

Caleb’s smile dimmed, and he didn’t answer.

“Bliss is home. I don’t think I even knew how much until I got back.”

“Good.”

His smile came back full force.

“You need to go get ready. We have artists to meet and then I thought we could grab lunch. The Lucky Duck has a chicken and dumplings special every weekend Friday through Sunday.”

“That sounds amazing,” I began, then hesitated. “But I thought we could stay in tonight since you’re out of town this week.”

“Take out?” he suggested.

“Forbes is right. You are a genius.”

I laughed and squeezed his arm. He pulled me into a tight hug, warmer and more comforting than dumplings. I nestled into his neck, then slid tiny kisses over his neck and jaw until our mouths met. Warm sparks shot down my spine. His plush lips worked mine until I moaned.

His chuckle rumbled against my lips. “I am. Aren’t I.”