Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
“What time is your flight tomorrow?” Brynn did not doubt that his boss had already put him on one.
“Noon. Out of Milwaukee.”
“That’s good.” Brynn nodded, already thinking ahead to the morning. “That gives time for Parker to be up and for you to say good-bye.”
Callum shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Won’t seeing me walk out the door be harder on him?”
“His mother disappeared one day and never came back.” Brynn kept her tone matter-of-fact.
“You’re right.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Don’t worry.” She moved to him then, wrapping her arms around him. “I’ll take good care of him.”
Callum nuzzled her hair. “I’m going to miss you.”
Her heart swelled with love. “Ditto.”
“Let me stay with you in your room tonight.”
“What?” She jerked her head back from the comfortable position on his chest. “I can’t…we can’t, not with Parker in the house.”
“It’s not a problem. He’s been sleeping deeper now that he’s more comfortable.” Callum tightened his hold on her almost imperceptibly. “I want you beside me when I wake up and all the hours between.”
“You don’t fool me.” She poked a finger into his chest. “I know what you want.”
His blue eyes remained serious. Despite her teasing tone, he didn’t crack a smile. “If it’s to show you how much you mean to me, then yes, you know what I want.”
She wanted that, too.
When his lips closed over hers, Brynn returned the kiss with all the love in her heart.
Their lovemaking that night touched a spot deep in Brynn’s heart. The love that had been a small blossom opened fully as she responded to every caress and kiss.
Brynn loved this man. Loved every part of him. Loved his kindness, his caring, his goodness. He wasn’t perfect, but neither was she. As their lovemaking intensified, she accepted what she’d always known—he was the half that made her whole.
“I love you.” The words spoken in a raspy voice as the world exploded around her had her responding in kind, speaking words she’d never said to any other man who wasn’t related to her.
The next morning, she woke to him stirring beside her. When he started to rise, she tugged him back down.
“Hold me. Just for one more minute.”
He did as she asked, and she buried her face in his neck. “I want to remember this moment.”
She felt his chuckle more than she heard it.
“I’m not leaving the country.” Callum pulled back, studying her face. “I’ll be back before you can miss me.”
“Not a chance.”
He kissed her then, long and slow and sweet. When he heaved a resigned sigh and swung his legs over the sides of the bed, Brynn knew she could no longer delay the start of this day .
She dressed quickly, then sat on the bed and watched Callum stuff clothes into a black duffel.
“Done,” he declared moments later.
Pulling her brows together, Brynn asked, “Is that all you’re taking?”
“I hope to only be gone a couple of days.”
“You really think you could be back that soon?” Brynn’s heart skipped a beat. “Parker will be happy to hear that.”
“I won’t promise, you know, just in case…”
“Daddy?” Parker stood in the doorway. The smile that had widened when he saw Brynn faded as his gaze settled on the duffel at his father’s feet. “Are you leaving?”
“Work stuff.” Callum gestured to Brynn. “Brynn is here. I shouldn’t be gone long.”
Parker took a tentative step forward. “Can I go with you? You won’t even know I’m there. I won’t complain about anything. I’ll be really, really quiet.”
The bald hope in the boy’s eyes tore at Brynn’s heart.
Callum was equally affected, because his voice was thick when he said, “I’d take you if I could, bud, but I can’t.”
Brynn watched Parker’s face as Callum explained what he’d be doing and how it wouldn’t be safe for a child.
Parker’s face, now pale, with blue eyes appearing too large for his face, simply stood there.
Brynn doubted Parker had heard a word of what his father had said beyond the fact that he was leaving town.
Callum pulled the boy into his arms. Instead of flinging his arms around his dad, like he’d done last night, Parker remained stiff, his face expressionless.
Sensing the resistance, Callum stepped back, holding the child at arm’s length while studying his face. “I am coming back.”
Parker only shrugged.
Expelling a shaky breath, Callum seemed to force a cheery tone. “I can’t wait to see how you decorate your bike. Will you and Brynn send me lots of pictures and, for sure, a video of you riding in the parade?”
Again, the only response was one thin shoulder rising and falling.
Callum slanted a glance at Brynn, and she saw the SOS in his troubled eyes.
“We’ll send lots and lots of pics.” Brynn might have spoken to Callum, but her words were as much for Parker as they were for him. “We’ll FaceTime, too.”
Brynn slung an arm around the little boy. “We’ll be fine, won’t we, Parky Sharky?”
Tears slipped down his cheeks, but Parker didn’t utter a sound.
“Oh, Parker.”
He pulled from her grasp when she tried to hug him and walked away.
“Where are you going?” Callum called.
“To my room,” came the reply.
“I’m leaving now,” Callum said. “Will you walk me out?”
“No,” was all Parker said as he kept walking.
Seconds later, they heard his bedroom door slam shut.
“He’s really upset.” Worry furrowed Callum’s brow. “I hate leaving him like this.”
The behavior wasn’t unexpected, considering all the losses that the child had experienced. She nearly brought that up, but Callum obviously knew the boy’s history.
“He’s got another session with Dr. Gallagher on Monday. If you’re not back by then?—”
“I’m not sure.”
“He’ll have a chance to discuss some of these feelings.”
“I wouldn’t be going if Phillip hadn’t given me the ultimatum.”
“It’ll be okay. We’ll stay in touch. Parker will realize you haven’t abandoned him.” Brynn met his gaze. “Each time you leave, it will be easier because he’ll know you always come back.”
After Callum drove away, with only her outside to wave him off, she went inside. That’s when Brynn heard the sobs coming from Parker’s room.
Closing her eyes briefly and praying for the right words of comfort, Brynn gave two short raps on his door.
Like a light switched off, the sobbing ceased.
“Parker, may I come in?” Brynn made no move to open the door, waiting for his reply.
“Okay.”
He sat on the unmade bed, dressed in shorts and a blue T-shirt with exploding fireworks across the front. That he wore what they’d discussed he’d wear today for the bike parade gave her hope.
Brynn took a seat on the bed beside him. “It’s almost time for the Hometown Heroes Parade to start.”
He ducked his head. “I don’t want to go.”
“What about the Pancake Feed?” Brynn wished she could sweeten the deal by saying his Nana and Papa would be there, but they were likely already in Appleton.
He shook his head.
“How about I make us French toast? We can eat here before we go to the town square to decorate your bike.”
Though there were no rules requiring it, most bike parade participants decorated their bikes and trikes in the town square once the Hometown Heroes Parade and the Pancake Feed concluded.
Brynn held her breath as he took a long time to consider what she was proposing before he finally nodded.
He looked so young and forlorn sitting there on the bed, his face streaked with tears. Her heart ached for him. He’d given off don’t-touch-me vibes to his father, but that wasn’t the feel Brynn was getting from him now .
“I’m really missing your daddy right now, and I think you’re missing him, too.” Though Parker didn’t respond, she sensed he was listening. “Hugs usually make me feel better. They might make you feel better. May I hug you?”
The boy’s jerky nod was the only invitation Brynn needed.
She wrapped her arms around the small, thin body and pulled him close. When he began to cry, she tightened her hold and fought back her own tears.
Maybe it would have been different if they’d been able to decorate the bike beside boys or girls Parker knew. But he hadn’t been in town long enough to make friends. Now, Brynn was surrounded by kids talking excitedly to one another, while Parker had barely said three words since they’d left home.
Though Parker had agreed to come, he appeared to have no interest in decorating his bike with any of the items she’d purchased. He allowed her to put red, white and blue streamers around the handlebars, but when she suggested he thread the additional streamers through the wheel spokes to create a wheel-of-color effect, he simply stared.
“Give it a try,” Brynn urged. “The streamers will spin when you ride and look really cool.”
She gestured to where a group of younger boys were doing just that…with the help of their dads.
Parker shifted his gaze and then suddenly stilled. He slowly rose to his feet.
Brynn wasn’t sure what to think when he took off running. “Parker, stop.”
If he heard her, he paid her no mind. When he yelled, “Daddy,” her heart flip-flopped. Had Callum’s flight been changed? Had he driven back to spend the day with them after all ?
She finally caught up to the boy, but only because he skidded to a stop.
Callum was her first thought when she saw the man. Almost instantly, she realized the man wasn’t him. There had been plenty of people in Good Hope who’d had difficulty telling the Brody twins apart. She’d never been one of them.
The joy on Parker’s face vanished. Confusion replaced the hopeful look in his eyes. “You’re not my daddy.”
Brynn placed a hand on Parker’s shoulder. “Parker, this is Connor, your daddy’s twin brother and your uncle.”
“Parker knows me. He and I FaceTimed.” Connor dropped down to crouch before the child. “I told you I was going to come to Good Hope to meet you in person, and here I am.”
Parker’s gaze turned watchful. “You have red hair.”
“So do you.” Connor laughed and glanced around. “Where is that brother of mine, anyway?”
“He’s gone,” Parker spoke before Brynn had a chance. “He left.”
Connor glanced at Brynn.
“Callum was unexpectedly called away on business. Parker and I are hanging out together while he’s out of town.”
“My parents?” was all Connor said, but Brynn heard the underlying question. Why you and not them? “They’re in Appleton this weekend for Mike and Deb’s fifty-fifth anniversary party.”
Connor’s lips twitched in amusement. “I’ve heard of a fiftieth, but who has a fifty-fifth party?”
“Ah, that would be Mike and Deb.”
Connor laughed and shifted his gaze to Parker. “Hey, bud, I assume you decorated your bike for the parade. I’d love to see it.”
“We were just getting started,” Brynn explained when they reached the bike that looked woefully underdressed.
“How ’bout I help you get this red beauty ready?” Connor rubbed his hands together, the sparkle in his eyes reminding Brynn of the feisty young boy he’d once been. “While we spruce it up, I’ll tell you about the ones your daddy and I decorated, including the year we each attached a bubble machine to the backs of our bikes. When we turned it on during the parade, it created a stream of bubbles.”
Parker’s eyes widened as he reached for the streamers and began following Connor’s lead, weaving them through the spokes. “I like bubbles. Bubbles would be cool.”
“They were amazing,” Connor agreed and shot Brynn a wink. “It was almost as much fun as the time we made our bikes look like rocket ships.”
He went on to explain to his nephew how red, white and blue streamers spilled out of cardboard “rocket boosters” on the backs of their bikes. “We used foil for a metallic look and added stars to mimic a space shuttle.”
“I like the bubble machine best,” Parker declared.
“Hold your vote.” Connor ruffled his nephew’s hair. “I haven’t yet told you about the water guns we attached to our handlebars and sprayed our friends as we rode past.”
Parker let out a peal of laughter, and Brynn saw the first genuine smile on the child’s face since Callum had announced he had to leave for a few days.
Pulling out her phone, she snapped pics as Connor “borrowed” sparkly tinsel and metallic streamers from other parade participants to put on the wheels, assuring Parker that they’d make the bike look like “fireworks in motion.”
By the time the parade was ready to start, they’d run across Chris, and Parker had taken his place beside Mya and her brother, Wade. Brynn pulled out her phone but didn’t start recording, preferring to wait until the three children rode past.
“I didn’t realize you were coming this weekend, but I’m so glad you’re here.” They’d been so busy decorating that Brynn hadn’t had a chance to ask many questions, including what he was doing in Good Hope and whether Callum had known he was coming .
“I wanted to surprise everyone.” Connor gave a little laugh. “Guess the surprise is mine. They’re all out of town.”
“Not everyone.” Brynn met his gaze. “Having you here has made a big difference to Parker. He’d been inconsolable since Callum left. So if you ask me, I’d say you came at exactly the right time.”