15. Chapter 15 - Paxton
Monday, two days after Family Field Day, I found myself working the bar in the taproom, letting myself get distracted by thoughts of Cal, the pressure of his soft hands in my hair, the taste of him on my tongue, the way he sounded when he came.
Not long after the kids had come indoors, so had the rest of the family, and soon enough, I had headed home.
The following day I’d worked and we hadn’t had a chance to see each other and now, every cell in my body was aching to see him again.
It was a quiet day and I was alone even though we’d been open for a couple of hours.
After a while, I settled on a barstool and turned on the TV that was mounted in the corner, passing the time by watching baseball. I was engrossed in the game when the door to the taproom opened. I reluctantly tore my gaze from the screen to see Cal coming in, and immediately my mood brightened.
“Hey,” I said as I turned the volume down.
Cal gave me a shy smile and made his way to the bar, placing a messenger bag on the stool next to him. “Hey.”
“How’s the ankle?”
“Better. Still hurts, but not nearly as much. I can walk pretty normally, at least.”
“Good.”
We were both quiet for a moment before Cal pulled out his laptop and placed it on the bar. “Well, I guess I’d better get to work. Those grant applications aren’t going to write themselves. Neither is this article.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
He shook his head, his dark hair falling across his forehead. I had the urge to brush it away for him. “I’ve got it under control.”
He worked quietly for a while, occasionally asking me a question about the meadery, my suppliers, and the property I wanted to buy, before going back to work, typing away. A few customers came in here and there, but the taproom remained mostly empty for a long time.
Around four, Cal glanced up at me from his laptop, not for the first time, but with a furrowed brow, his lips pressed together. “Well, that’s that one, I guess.”
I frowned. “What’s that one?”
“We just got a response from the first application I submitted. It was a no.”
I took a slow breath and nodded. “Well, it’s just the first one, right?”
“Right. Just the first one.”
I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest and stomach. “Now what?”
“I keep applying. We’ll find something. Don’t worry.”
Instead of dwelling on it, I changed the subject. “How’s the article coming?”
“Almost done. I was just about to send it off.”
“Can I read it?”
He smiled a little and let out a surprised little laugh. “You want to?”
“Of course. If you don’t mind, I mean.”
After another moment’s consideration, he turned his laptop to face me. “If there’s anything you want me to change—”
I held up my hand and shook my head. “Shh. I’m reading.
” The article was long, longer than I’d anticipated, and almost exclusively about Celestial Cask.
There were a couple of mentions of Foggy Basin Brewing, but only in passing.
The article talked about the history of the meadery, details about how we were different from most meaderies around the country, profiles of different flavors we served, and so much more.
I had never felt more understood in my life. “This is… great.”
Callum’s face lit up. “You like it?”
“It’s amazing. It’s so thorough.”
“It’s not too much, is it?”
I shook my head again. “Not at all. Do you think your boss will like it?”
He raised his eyebrows quickly. “I hope so. It’s a little more… focused than my usual pieces. But I think this place deserves the attention.”
My cheeks and chest warmed at the compliment. “Thanks.” A beat passed. “Are you… sticking around? Do you have somewhere to be?”
He shook his head. “Nowhere to be. What did you have in mind?”
I glanced at the time. Tommy would be in soon. “Up for a surprise?”
His eyebrows shot up but he nodded, a smile on his face. “I’m open to a surprise.”
“Perfect. Wait right here.” Ten minutes later, I was pulling my pickup around to the front of the meadery and texting Callum to meet me outside. As he stepped out into the parking lot, I noticed he was still favoring his ankle a bit.
He climbed in the truck and buckled up. “Okay. Where to?”
“Surprise, remember?” I put the truck into gear and pulled onto the street. It wasn’t a long drive to our destination, a few miles away, and soon, I was headed down a short, bumpy road that led to the lake.
When I pulled into the gravel parking lot not far from the boat launch, Callum turned to me with a soft, knowing smile. “You brought me to the lake?”
I shrugged and let out a little chuckle. “I thought we could both use some cheering up. I used to spend a lot of time here as a kid.”
“I don’t have—”
“Neither do I. But we can adapt.”
He nodded once to concede the point. “Lead the way.”
We got out of the truck and Cal followed me to the shore, where I turned and headed down the trail that followed the curve of the lake to the west. “Watch your step. Don’t want you turning that ankle again.”
“You do this a lot? Go hiking out here?”
“Not as much as I used to.” A few minutes later, we came up to a clearing where the tree line receded fifty yards or so away from the shore, which was wide, flat, and beachy. Callum slowed to a stop. “Almost there,” I assured him, ignoring his look of confusion.
We kept going another couple of minutes before we came to a much smaller clearing, and where the water met the land, there was a small, steep drop-off.
Several trees loomed on the bank, one of them with a long, thick rope tied to one of its branches.
The rope ended in a wide wood plank, worn smooth over the years, which was held to the tree trunk by a hook that someone had drilled into the tree.
“What’s this?”
I went to him and took him by the hand to drag him closer to the lake bank. “A rope swing.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not. Let’s go swimming.” Without missing a beat, I kicked off my shoes and stripped to my boxer briefs. “Your turn.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, glancing around like he was looking for someone. “I don’t know.”
Closing the gap between us, I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and slid my hands onto his waist. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I’m going swimming. You can just watch, if you prefer.” With that, I released him, went to the tree, and unhooked the swing.
“You sure that thing is even safe?”
I laughed and nodded. “It’s safe. I’m confident.
” With that, I positioned myself onto the swing and kicked off the bank.
I soared out over the water and when the swing was at the peak of its arc, I released my grip and let myself fall into the water, splashing down hard and plunging under the surface.
I came up with a huge smile on my face, my heart racing from the exhilarating jump, and swam to shore before making my way to Callum.
He grinned and shook his head, and I took the opportunity to pull him to me, holding my dripping body against his dry clothes and kissing him before he could protest. When I stepped back, there was a person-shaped outline on his shirt and I gave him another smile.
Cal sighed and shook his head. “Thanks,” he said dryly, pulling his shirt off.
“You getting in, then?”
He let out another sigh, but there was a smile teasing at his lips. “Fine.” He drew out the word like he was being put out, but the smile grew.
In just a few minutes, we were taking turns hurtling ourselves off the bank and into the river, laughing and splashing each other until the sun began to set in the distance.
I couldn’t stop myself from discreetly checking out his body as we played in the water, noticing the lines of his muscles and the swell of his ass every time he got out of the water.
Just looking at him made my stomach heat with lust. Eventually, we made our way back to shore and I hung the swing where it belonged before we sat at the water’s edge to catch our breath and dry off a little, looking off into the sunset.
“This was…” Cal started. “Better than I expected.”
I laughed. “Is that the best compliment you could come up with?”
He looked at his feet and chuckled, shaking his head. “Sorry. I had a great time. Thank you for bringing me here.” He reached over and laced our fingers together. “Honestly.”
“Hey, you brought me to your family reunion, so I brought you to my favorite place as a kid. It’s only fair.” My stomach tightened and I decided to make a move before I lost my nerve. I leaned in and kissed him, soft and quick, before pulling away.
When I looked at him, Cal’s face was flushed and he was looking at his feet, smiling widely. He was quiet for a few moments before he nodded and spoke. “Tell me about your family?”
My heart tightened in my chest but I nodded.
I let silence hang between us for a long time before I spoke.
“I’ve told you about my grandparents. My parents…
aren’t in the picture. My mom never was, and my dad died when I was a kid.
My dad’s brother, my uncle Paul took me in while he ran the meadery.
That’s why I took it over when he was… ready to hand over the reins. ”
“Where is your uncle now?”
I let out a shaky breath. “He lives north of here. He…” Another breath. “He had a car accident. That’s really why I took over. He survived, but he had a pretty severe brain injury. He can’t… He was in a coma for a few months after that. When he came out of it, he wasn’t the same.”
“God.” Callum reached over and put a hand on my knee. “I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head and waved away his apology, fighting the tears that threatened to spill.
“It’s like he has dementia. He lives in a residential facility.
He doesn’t remember a lot. I don’t see him much because he gets confused and agitated.
The nurses say it’s better not to cause him more stress.
Sometimes they call when he’s having a really bad episode and some of those times, hearing my voice helps him calm down. Like that night—”
“I remember,” he said quickly.
We sat in silence then for a few moments, listening to the bugs and the frogs, a lump in my throat from fighting the emotion. “Anyway, that’s why I don’t talk about my family much.”
He nodded and leaned his head against my shoulder, and we sat there quietly on the bank of the lake until the sun had set and the stars had come out, my mind filled with memories and sadness that warred with the happiness and peace I felt around Callum.