Chapter Four
Ollie pulled up in front of the cottage and went around to open the back to let the dogs out. He wasn't surprised when the front door opened and Rosa came out. Rather than coming to greet him, she folded her arms across her ample chest and leaned in the doorway, watching him curiously.
"Morning," he called, grabbing the dogs' bag and waiting for them both to jump out.
"Morning," she called back, peering past him toward the passenger door of the Cullinan.
He made a face at her, and she shot him a mischievous smile. "I didn't know if you'd be by yourself this morning."
"I'm not," he said, looking down at Peanut and Butter. "These guys are with me, as always."
She wagged her finger at him. "The girl yesterday. Callie. I liked her."
He nodded.
"And you do too, Oliver." She fixed him with a look. "So do you want to explain what was going on?"
He avoided her gaze as he said, "We were out walking the dogs."
"And?" she asked in a stern tone.
"And what?"
"And why did she thank me for letting you walk them here?" Rosa's eyes narrowed. "I hope you're not lying to her."
Ollie's stomach dropped. He'd barely slept a wink all night. He felt so bad that he hadn't been honest with Callie. He'd had every opportunity while they ate dinner, sitting on the terrace out by the pool at Jacob and Becca's place. He had no excuse. But he hadn't been able to make himself do it.
"Ollie?" Rosa asked in that same stern tone. "What's going on?"
He blew out a sigh. "I really like her."
"And isn't that a reason to be honest with her?"
"Yeah, of course it is. I just made a mess of things, and now I don't know how to fix them."
She scowled at him. "Yes, you do. I raised you better than that, young man. What's the fastest way to fix anything if you think you're in trouble?"
He gave her a rueful smile, remembering all the times as a child she'd somehow known when he'd stolen a cookie from her kitchen. He blew out a grudging sigh, much as he used to do back then, and said, "I have to tell the truth."
She nodded sagely. "I know who she is. She's Becca's friend, isn't she? The one who came from Kansas."
"That's right."
"And from what I can tell, you didn't want to tell her where you live because she's more down-to-earth than the girls you usually go out with and you think she might not be interested in a rich boy."
He nodded.
Rosa reached out and slapped the back of his head gently. "You wouldn't hide anything from her if she wasn't important to you. But the fact is, you can't become important to her until you tell her the truth."
"I was kind of hoping that I could maybe wait until I become a little bit important to her — at least enough so that she'll forgive me when I do tell her how things are for me."
Rosa shook her head. "She can't even know you until you tell the truth. Why would you lie to her anyway?"
"It didn't start out as a lie," he said.
"When I first met her, she was nervous about meeting the gang, you know, because she comes from a different world.
She thinks she won't fit in because folks around here tend to have more money.
She's not used to that. I just wanted her to feel at ease with me.
That's all. That's how it started. But then, over the course of the weekend, while she was being the bridesmaid and everything, I felt like she turned to me because I wasn't one of them.
" When he saw Rosa's expression, he added hurriedly, "I never told her that I wasn't. She just assumed, you know, since I was the one who went to pick her up.
I was working. In her mind, that meant I was working for them, and she wasn't wrong. "
"Maybe not," said Rosa, turning away to let the dogs inside. "Do you have time to come in?"
He hesitated, knowing that if he did, he'd only get a lecture, and it wouldn't be anything that he wanted to hear or that he hadn't already berated himself with. "I should get going."
When she turned to look back at him over her shoulder, the disappointed look on her face made the guilt sit heavy in his chest.
"I'll tell her," he said. "Today."
Rosa nodded. "I think you should. I think she'll forgive you if you tell her soon enough. But Oliver — the longer it goes on, the worse it'll be."
"I know." He blew out a sigh. "We haven't known each other long yet, but I really don't want to blow my chance by being an idiot."
Rosa scowled. "If you do, it'll be your own fault. What I meant was that the longer you leave it before you explain yourself, the more you'll hurt that girl. And she doesn't deserve that. Now go."
"Yeah, but—" He took a step forward, but Rosa shook her head and closed the door in his face.
As he turned to get back in his SUV, he felt like the biggest asshole. Now, not only was he lying to Callie, but he'd disappointed Rosa. And neither of those sat well with him.
~ ~ ~
Callie stepped forward and gave Walt a hug. "You be good now, you hear me," she told him.
He chuckled. "I think that's my line."
"Oh, I'm always good," said Callie.
Walt gave her shoulders a squeeze before letting her go and standing back. "I hope you're gonna come and visit us more often now."
She nodded slowly. "I've promised Becca that I will."
"Then you'll have to keep that promise," Elena said with a smile. "She's made new friends here, but I know she loves having you around. I know she’d love to see more of you."
"I'll be back at some point soon, I promise," Callie told them. "And I'll bring you each a mug. What color would you like?"
Elena's eyes lit up. "Oh, I love the sea-green ones. If I could have one of those, I'd be more than happy. Thank you so much."
"It'll be my pleasure," said Callie. "And you, Walt — do you need a new coffee mug for the greenhouse?"
"If you mean one of them fancy ones like Becca has, then yeah, I'll take one. A green one." He tilted his head. "Always fascinated me how people make things from clay. You have a potter's wheel and everything, do you?"
"I do. And you know, if you ever want to come up there and see me, you can give it a try yourself."
Walt chuckled. "Thanks for the offer, but I'd probably make a mess and not much else. I'm better at helping things grow than making them myself."
A rush of warmth filled Callie's chest when she saw the little smile he shot at Elena. "I'm not like you talented ladies."
Elena waved a hand at him, but it was easy to tell that she was flattered by his words.
"I'll see you when I see you, then," he told Callie before ambling out of the kitchen, no doubt headed back toward his greenhouse.
Callie smiled at Elena. "I'll bet he's glad to not have to deal with cornflowers all day every day now that the wedding's over, isn't he?"
Elena chuckled. "Maybe, but I think he grew fond of them over the last few months." She studied Callie for a moment. "And what about you? Are you glad to be leaving all of this behind and going back to your own place? Get back to making your pottery and enjoying some peace?"
Callie nodded slowly. "Yeah, I am looking forward to it, but.
.." She looked around the kitchen, realizing for the first time that she felt completely at home here now.
She turned back to Elena with a smile. "Don't tell anyone I admitted it, but I'll miss you guys. And even this place. It felt so … alien to me at first. I’d only ever seen houses like this on TV before I came here. But now I can see that it’s just a home — bigger and fancier than what I’m used to but still a home. "
Elena winked at her. "I won't say a word to any of them. But I will say this to you: what matters about a house isn’t the size of it or how it’s built, it’s the love inside it that counts.
No amount of money can make up for a lack of love.
And it’s the same when it comes to people — it’s not what they have in the bank, but what they have in their heart that counts. "
Callie leaned in to give her a hug. "You're right, and it seems to me that you're the heart of this home."
Elena held her close for a moment. "I like to think that I’ve done my best in the years since Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs passed.
Jacob, Xander, and Hannah were all grown already.
Xander and Hannah were away living their own lives.
Jacob was here, but he was more lost than the others.
I used to worry about him." She stepped back with a smile.
"But now he has Becca. She's the heart of this place now.
She's the one who brought the love back. "
"Isn't she awesome?" Callie's smile faded. "She'd hate it if you felt like she was replacing you somehow, though. That's not how she is."
She was relieved when Elena laughed. "There's nothing to worry about. I know how she is. I don't feel replaced — more like I've been promoted. She talks all the time about making me and Walt grandparents."
"Aww, that sounds about right. And you'll be grandparents to a whole herd of kids if she gets her way. I hope you're ready for that."
"I can't wait." Elena raised her eyebrows. "And you? It seems all these girls are eager to start families. Are you the same?"
Callie shook her head rapidly. "Nope. That's not for me. I'll be happy to be Auntie Callie to Becca's kids, but I don't see myself having any."
When Elena gave her a puzzled look, she shrugged.
"We're all different, I guess. I thought that was the path I had to follow in life — get a steady job, work my way up, get married, have kids, take care of everyone else till I got old and died — all in the same town I was born in.
Now that I've managed to escape that fate, it might be selfish, but I want my life for myself. "
She met Elena's gaze, feeling as though the older woman might think less of her for it.
Instead, Elena nodded. "I don't think that's selfish. You should live your life the way you want to. Only share it with who you want to — and if that's not children for you, then that's your choice." She smiled. "Any idea if you might want a man to share it with?"