Chapter 14
Fourteen
Callie
This is ridiculous. I’m sitting on Peter’s sofa while he’s pacing and calling every plumber he can think of. While I appreciate him helping us when we’re in a bind, I hate that it’s happening so frequently.
Lexi sits down beside me with a book in her hand. “You should be less grumpy. We could be at home with no water.”
“I’m fine.”
She snorts. “Okay. But seriously, I don’t understand why you’re so upset with us being here.” She glances at the romance book she’s reading and then back at me. “Unless it’s because you like him.”
Good grief. She’s hitting close to the mark and she doesn’t even know about the crush I had on him when we were kids.
“Yeah, as a friend. It doesn’t mean I want to stay here when we just moved into our house.”
“Mmhmm.” She doesn’t say anything else, but goes back to reading her book.
She doesn’t believe me. I’m not surprised. She reads way more into situations than she should. I guess I’ll have to get a handle on my reactions around Peter. Otherwise, Lexi may get the wrong idea.
Or, maybe she has the right idea. Peter seemed to take his sweet time putting a shirt on a few days ago. Even though he’s put some distance between us since that whole situation, he’s more attentive than anyone I’ve ever known.
It’s frustrating that we’ve needed this much rescuing, but it’s nice not to have to take care of everything on my own.
I can’t remember the last time that happened.
Maybe in the beginning of my relationship with Conrad.
Back then he did everything he could to let me know he would take care of me.
Until he didn’t. Not emotionally, financially, or faithfully.
There’s no way I should have stayed with him as long as I did. I shake my head. This isn’t the time to be going down memory lane, especially when it’s all the bad times. Right now, I need to deal with the problems in front of me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Peter slide his phone into his pocket. He takes a few steps toward us and plops onto the recliner. Why do I get the impression he’s about to say something I don’t want to hear?
“Well, I have good news and bad news.”
“Can we start with the good? I don’t know if I can handle the bad news first.”
He leans back and clasps his hands together. “The plumber can come out to fix your water.”
“That’s great.”
“At the end of the week.” He adds. That must be the bad news he mentioned.
“That’s not so great.”
He unclasps his hands and holds his arms out wide. “At least you have a place to stay. And it’s free. You won’t have to get a hotel room or anything.”
“Yeah, but this feels like too much, Peter.” I point down at the sofa I’m sitting on. “You barely fit on this thing, and now you’ll have to sleep on it even longer.”
He waves away my comment. “It’s all good. But you may want to go by your house and get enough clothes and your car. The roads are melted enough that you should be safe.”
“Of course.” I don’t know why I didn’t suggest we bring my car back with us earlier. Probably because I was frustrated with Peter ordering us to stay at his house until the water is fixed.
“Just let me know when you want to get it.” He stands and turns toward the hall. “I need to get some laundry done now that I have power. Pierce texted me while I was on the phone with the plumber and said we’re opening the winery up again tomorrow.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize y’all opened on the weekends.”
“It’s actually our busiest time. We spend most of the week prepping for it.”
“That makes sense.” Starlit Fields has grown since we were kids. He said Piper is a lot of the reason for it, and I believe it. She’s always been competitive. And looked for ways to annoy her big brothers. It’s one of the few things we had in common.
“Yep. I have a feeling folks are going to be filling up the lobby after being stuck at home for a few days.”
That’s not a bad idea. I may have to go check out what improvements they’ve made over the years.
“Most likely.” I’m silent for a few seconds before adding. “We can get my car after you start your laundry. Maybe we can wash some of ours, too? I know Lexi will need clothes for school.”
“You don’t even have to ask.” He smiles. I swear it’s gotten sexier with age. My cheeks heat at the thought. “Besides, the chances of you getting a machine at the laundry mat are slim to none. Everyone will be headed there to wash their clothes in bulk.”
He heads to his room. When I glance over, Lexi is staring at me with a glint in her eye.
I’m already doing a terrible job of keeping my interest in him from showing.
Maybe I need to keep a note in my pocket to remind me that getting involved with anyone right now is a bad idea.
Especially if I’m relying on them to house me while waiting on repairs.
“Who is that?” Lexi asks as we pull into driveway that goes past the main building for the winery.
A blond woman is standing next to her car and waves us down. As she steps closer to our slowing vehicle, I realize it’s Piper.
“It’s one of Peter’s sisters.” Pushing the shifter into park, I wrap my jacket around me tighter and step out of the car.
Piper studies me for a moment before she places my face. “Oh my God, Callie?”
“In the flesh.” I open my arms and she rushes forward for a hug. “How have you been?”
“Oh, you know, keeping my brothers in line as usual.” She takes a step back. “I didn’t realize you were back in town. What are you doing here?”
Dammit, I’m going to have to tell her we’re staying with her brother. “I actually just moved back with my daughter.” I point to the car where Lexi is leaning forward to see our interaction.
“That’s amazing. It’ll be nice having you back home.” She moves her head side to side. What is she doing? “But what are you doing here, specifically?”
“Right. Our pipes busted and Peter said we can stay with him until the plumber can get over to fix it. We moved into Beau’s old house.”
“It’s about time that house sold. Beau will be happy to know it’s going to a friend.” She’s about to head back to her car and stops. “Wait, did you say you’re staying with my brother?”
“Um, yes?”
“I need to know how that happened. I didn’t think the two of you were still in contact with each other.”
The need to flee is rising, but I know if I don’t give in to her curiosity, she won’t drop it. Or worse, she’ll talk to Peter directly. I imagine she’s going to do that anyway. Should I send him a text warning him?
“We weren’t. But my dog ran off on New Year’s Eve and your brother happened to be the person who found her. He came to check on us when the weather got really bad and told us to stay with him.”
She taps her lips and grins. “I guess it’s a good thing he ducked out of the party early that night. What does your brother think about you staying with Peter?”
How is that even relevant? “He’s glad someone was looking out for us. He can’t drop everything and run to help while working at the ranch.”
“True.” Piper slowly backs away and waves. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
I should definitely text Peter and tell him about Piper’s questions. But…I’m not going to. He can be as uncomfortable as I am.
I slide back onto the driver seat and pull away from the main building. There’s a big chance dinner is going to be interesting tonight.
The sky is darkening and I’m working on dinner. It’s the least I can do after everything Peter has done for us.
Is it elaborate like the chili he makes? Not even close. But it’s the thought that counts, right?
“Do you need help with anything, Mom?” Lexi comes into the kitchen with her phone in her hand. She’s not even looking up to see where she’s going. Has she gotten that acquainted with Peter’s house in the short time we’ve been here.
“I think I’ve got it.” The weekend will be over soon and she’ll be back at school after the unintended break. “Have you checked your school email?”
“Yes, Mom.” I can practically hear her roll her eyes. “They gave us a break from any assignments in case we didn’t have power. Which is a good thing because we didn’t.”
I’m not sure the answer required so much snark, but at least she’s taking care of what she needs to. “Can you take out Alice? I’m sure she wants to run off some pent-up energy.”
“Mom, she’s the most chill and lazy dog I’ve ever seen.” She shoves her phone into her pocket. “Besides, she hates the cold. I’ll take her out, though.”
“Thank you.”
Lexi’s need to tell me things I already know astounds me. But the dog still has to go out. And I need some space. Not really from her, but to gather my thoughts and prepare myself for when Peter gets here. I just know he’s going to be upset about Piper knowing I’m here.
I add the noodles to the boiling water and slide the garlic bread into the oven.
Now, all I need to do is make the salad.
This is the kind of busy work I enjoy. There’s no thinking, just making sure I go through the process of the meal I’m making.
It feels good to be doing something normal again, even if I’m not in my own home.
The back door opens and I hear boots hit the floor before heavy footsteps enter the kitchen.
“Why are you cooking?” Peter asks. The question borders on an accusation, like he doesn’t want me in his kitchen. “You’re my guest.”
I add the vegetables I cut to a bowl before facing him. “I want to. It’s the least I can do after the kindness you’ve shown us.”
Little does he know that if we had stayed where we were, I can’t think of a single person who would have helped us. My ex-husband did a fine job of slowly turning everyone in our area against me. It was the catalyst to us moving.
He opens his mouth as if he’s about to say something, but quickly closes it. Instead, he moves toward the cabinet holding the plates and pulls out enough for the three of us. “I’ll get everything out.”
“Thank you. The food should be ready soon.” I’m glad he isn’t actually mad at me for cooking. He must know I need this bit of normalcy. Though, I don’t know how.
He also hasn’t said anything about Piper. There’s no way he would pull out that tidbit of information in front of Lexi. Maybe I got lucky and Piper didn’t say anything to him. At least that worry is off my plate.