Chapter 1
Two Weeks Earlier
“Callie, you’ve cleaned the same spot on the coffee table three times,” David said in a mostly-loving voice. Still Callie could tell he was annoyed. “Don’t you think it’s clean enough?”
“You mean accept defeat? Never. I’m determined to get this ring out.” The sixty-six-year-old woman was on her knees, bent over the coffee table in the living room, scrubbing furiously. “We should’ve replaced this thing years ago. Or at least gotten some sort of tablecloth.”
“I really don’t think the girl’s going to care.
” David lowered himself down onto the couch and sighed.
“Isn’t she coming straight from the women’s shelter?
I know they do their best with what they have.
.. but I can’t imagine the place is The Four Seasons or anything.
I’m sure she’s seen a lot worse than a coffee table with one or two rings on it. ”
“Two?!” Callie’s eyes widened, leaning back to get a better view of the table. “Is there another one?” she asked, glancing back at him
Shaking his head, David chuckled. “No. I can barely see the one you’re trying to scrub out.” He furrowed his brow and blinked quickly. “When did you become a neat freak anyway? I thought I always won first place in worrying.”
This made her laugh. “We both became worriers after we had kids. But I just want everything to be perfect for Sasha. She’s been through so much and she deserves to experience what it’s like to live in a nice, clean place. Her and the baby.”
“But the house is already nice and clean. Too clean, maybe.” He patted the cushion next to him. “Come on, take a seat. You don’t want to meet her for the first time looking all frantic and sweaty. You need to catch your breath before she gets here.”
Callie took one last look at the table and glared at the stain that seemed to mock her, standing up with a huff.
David was right that making a good impression on their new guest was far more important than ensuring that the house was pristine.
Sitting beside him, she let her head fall back into the soft cushions.
“So,” David said, turning to her, “remind me again how long the woman and her baby are staying.”
Callie faced him and arched her brow. “The woman has a name. As does the baby. Sasha and Dorothy, but according to the social worker, everyone calls the baby Dot.” Her eyes grew warm, and she smiled. “Isn’t that cute?”
“Adorable,” he said dryly.
Rolling her eyes at his lack of enthusiasm, she chuckled and then straightened up in her seat. “I’ve asked a few times already, but I’m going to ask again—are you sure you’re okay with Sasha coming to live with us? Because if you’re not, this is kind of your last chance to say something.”
David paused before responding, but Callie knew not to read too much into it, having been his closest confidant for over forty years.
He was a thoughtful man, and he liked to think before responding to important questions.
This served them well when they were younger and used to get into fights.
However, there were a few arguments in the past that had pushed even him over the edge, despite his steady demeanor.
“I’m fine with it.”
“Really?” Callie narrowed her gaze, scanning for any signs of a lie.
David nodded. “Really. I think you’re doing a good thing.
We have too much space in this house for us, anyway.
And I agree that it’ll be fun to have a baby around.
I guess I just still have questions about the logistics and things.
.. I wish I could’ve had a chance to talk to the social worker too. ”
Callie leaned forward and frowned. “It’s not like I was trying to hide anything from you.
It’s just that the woman I spoke to at the shelter was busy.
Overworked, is probably the more accurate word.
Once I told her that we could absolutely take in Sasha and her baby, there wasn’t much more to discuss. ”
David laughed. “See, that’s what makes me nervous. I think there were a lot of other things you should’ve discussed.” He put his hands up. “But hey, you know how I am—I like to have an itinerary.”
She smirked. “That’s putting it mildly! I saw your trip folder for Dubai. It was thicker than your English-to-Arabic dictionary!”
“My point exactly,” David said. “I like to have everything planned out to a T, so when you came to me with this idea out of the blue last month, I thought for sure we’d do a lot more… prep?”
Callie stared at him, blinking quickly. “What do you mean? What else should we have prepared for?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“We already got her room all ready, we bought all the stuff we need for the baby…”
“That’s not really what I mean.” He tilted his head. “Don’t you think it’s a little odd that we’re only meeting this woman for the first time on the day she arrives? And why didn’t the social worker come to check out the house first? Isn’t that sort of standard practice?”
“Maybe if Sasha was a child,” Callie replied with a small laugh.
“But she’s a grown adult. The social worker isn’t responsible for her wellbeing really.
She’s just more of a facilitator.” Callie waved a hand in the air.
“I don’t really know the details, but I honestly don’t see why it matters.
What we do know is that a single mother is down on her luck and she needs a place to stay.
Like you said, we have the space, so why not let her rest her head here?
She’s a member of our community, David, and she needs help. It’s as simple as that.”
“You’re right. Forget everything I said. I’ve always admired your dedication to the people in this town, and I’m happy to help you however I can.” He smirked. “Even if it means losing a little sleep from a crying baby.”
“No, don’t say that.” She shook her head.
“It’ll be fun! We barely got to spend any time with Ariel’s kids when they were under a year old, but now we get a sort of second chance.
Besides, the other day you slept through that hurricane alarm that went off on both our phones.
I don’t think a crying baby is going to give you as much trouble as you think. ”
“Maybe not. Speaking of Ariel, have you talked to her? Or any of the kids recently? Do they know about this?”
Callie turned away and bit the inside of her lip. Oh right. The kids.
“No, not yet. I’ll talk to them about it soon though.”
Even without looking, Callie knew David was staring at her.
“It’s not that big of a deal.” She shrugged. “I just thought it’d be easier if we let Sasha and Dot get comfortable here and then tell the kids.”
“You don’t think they’ll be supportive?” he asked.
“It’s not that.” Callie looked up at the ceiling, trying to gather her words. “I just think they’ll… have a lot of questions.”
David chuckled. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No, of course not.” Callie shook her head.
“It’s just—they’re sensitive. I’m worried they’ll have a hard time wrapping their heads around this.
You know how Taylor worries. He always thinks we’re gonna get scammed or something.
Remember over the summer, when he called in a frenzy, thinking we might’ve handed our social security numbers over to this phone scam thing. He thinks we’re dummies!”
“In my case, he’s not wrong,” David said.
“If it weren’t for you coming to my rescue with that email phishing scam, I would’ve wired that money to the woman claiming to be Mallory!
” He swore under his breath. “It’s really messed up when they use your own family against you.
I was ready to send a check in the mail if I had to. Anything for my baby girl.”
Callie snorted. “Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. But still—we’re not complete fools! We know how to take care of ourselves, even if the kids think we can’t.”
“I don’t think any of them feel that way, even Taylor. They’re just looking out for us. And they’ll be on board in the end. But if you lie to them about it—”
“I’m not lying! I’m just going to keep this under wraps for a bit, that’s all.” She rubbed her hands together. “Not that it’s even going to come up anytime soon... The kids never call these days.”
Callie didn’t mean to sound bitter, but there was an undeniable edge in her voice.
She loved her kids more than anything, but it was hard on her as a mother to have all three of them living so far away.
Ariel was the closest, but even she was a five-hour drive from Ferndale.
She’d only moved there a few months ago, and if history were any indication, her family wouldn’t be there long since her husband’s work kept them on the move.
Callie hadn’t seen her grandkids in two years.
Taylor was also too busy to visit regularly. He and his wife were both environmental lawyers and ran their own practice in Washington, D.C. He would drop by Ferndale every time he was on the West Coast for business, but he was never able to spend more than a single night with his parents.
And then there was Mallory.
Oh, Mallory…
“They’re going to be here for Thanksgiving though,” David reminded her, “so you definitely need to talk to them before then.”
Callie scoffed. “Do you really think they’re all going to show?”
He raised his brows and shrugged. “They all agreed to come this year.”
“Yeah, but we’ve been burned in the past...” Callie said, her gaze downcast. “One or two of them always ends up having some excuse and then cancels last minute.” She sighed. “I want to keep my expectations low this year…”
“Keep your expectations wherever you want them, I’m just saying I don’t think you should count on the kids canceling and then not tell them about Sasha. Seems like a good way to cause trouble.”
Callie leaned back and considered David’s words. “Yeah, you’re right. I won’t keep putting it off forever. But let’s just give Sasha a week or so, before we bombard her with the entire family. And vice versa.”
David put his hands up in the air, as he always did when he decided to let Callie win. “Whatever you think’s best. I’ll follow your lead on this one.”
“Thanks. I really mean it. I appreciate you letting me do this in the first place. I know it’s a lot to ask... and this is your space too. It means a lot to me that you’re willing to open up the home to Sasha. Not everyone would.”
“Of course,” David said with a reassuring smile. “You know I always have your back. No matter what.”
They shared an understanding look; the kind only two people who had known each other for a long time could give each other.
Callie loved David, and she was grateful to have someone as supportive and caring in her life, even if things between them weren’t always perfect.
David pulled his gaze away first and then checked his watch.
“So, when’s she supposed to be here again? At—”
But before David could finish his words, the doorbell rang.