Chapter Six
Callie watched Ollie in the rearview mirror for a moment; he was looping ropes through hooks on the wings and attaching them to rings on the ground — apparently ‘tying the plane down’ wasn’t just an expression.
She took her phone out. She would have called Alara this afternoon or tomorrow anyway to see how they were doing as they made their way up the coast. She felt a little guilty for the reason that she was calling now, but the need to know that Alara and Zia were both okay — and to help if they weren't — outweighed that.
"Hello?"
Callie grinned at the sound of Zia's little voice. "Hello. Is that Princess Zia? This is Lady Sunshine calling."
"Miss Callie Clay!" Even though she spoke in a stage whisper, there was no missing the squeak of excitement in her voice. "I miss you already."
"I miss you too, my little friend. How are you? How's your mommy?"
"Mommy's sleeping. She had one of her headaches. But she took some of her pills — they help. She just needed a while. She gets tired, you know. I was making postcards quietly. I'll send you one."
"Thank you. I'll look forward to it. When your mom has an address for you guys, I'll send a mug for her and... would you like a dandelion necklace like mine?"
"Oh wow! Yes please! Do you think I should wake Mommy? Tell her that you're on the phone? She's been asleep for a long time now."
Callie's heart leaped into her mouth as she imagined the worst. "Maybe you should. Do you know where you are?"
"We're parked near the beach. It's very foggy in the trees, but not so much down here. I want to collect shells, but I'm not allowed to leave the camper until Mom wakes up."
"No, you should definitely stay inside."
"Oh, she's waking up now..."
Callie guessed that Zia had set the phone down — her muffled little voice asked, "Are you okay, Mommy? Do you feel better now? Is your head okay? Lady Sunshine's on the phone — Miss Callie Clay."
A few moments later, Alara's voice, low and melodic, asked, "Callie?"
"Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I just got back to Fort Bragg and I was thinking about you two, wondering how far you'd gotten by now."
"Fort Bragg?" Alara’s voice was still thick with sleep.
"Yeah, it's where I live. Where are you guys?"
"Umm..."
Callie held her breath. She'd totally understand if Alara didn't say that she was here. If she felt rough, the last thing she might want would be a visitor.
"We're just north of Fort Bragg, actually."
"Oh wow! So close! I don't suppose you're sticking around for a while, are you?
I'd love to come see you guys. Ollie's with me, and I know he would too.
Zia said you'd had a headache, and we'll have to pass the stores on the way to you if you're north of town.
Do you want me to pick up anything for you? "
"Oh, I..."
Callie didn't want to give her the chance to back out now.
"It's not a problem. I need to pick up a few things myself since I've been gone a week.
I need fresh fruit, bread, milk, and eggs — and hmm, whatever else I can think of.
Do you want me to double up and bring you the same?
And anything else fresh — I know what it's like when you're on the road.
You have to detour too far to get fresh food.
And do you need anything from the drugstore? Headache pills or anything else?"
She tensed, waiting while the silence stretched out, then let out her breath when Alara eventually said, "If you really don't mind, then yes, that'd be wonderful."
"Awesome. How about you text me a list when you've had time to think about it? We'll see you soon." She let out a short laugh. "If you tell me in the text where you are — sorry, I think I was a little too excited to see you again."
"Thanks. But you're sure Ollie won't mind?"
She chuckled. "Absolutely sure." She thought he'd be glad to see Zia again, but more than that, it struck her that he'd do anything for Reaves.
~ ~ ~
Ollie leaned his head back against the headrest and breathed in the damp ocean air that came in through the cracked window as Callie drove along the coast road. She shot him a quick glance.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he said with a smile. "I can see why you like it here."
She let out a short laugh. "And that's different from saying that you like it too, isn't it?"
He laughed with her, even though her question caught him off guard. "I'm not sure that it is. If you want to know the truth, I guess I kind of wondered why you would move here instead of to Napa, where Becca lives."
"Napa's not the center of the universe, you know."
"No, I know," he agreed quickly. "It's just, I guess it's always been the center of mine, that's all. But my point was that it's nice up here. Even the air's different."
"It is," she agreed. "It's cooler. It might be damp, but it's cooler. It suits me." She paused. "For now."
He wanted to ask what that ‘for now’ meant but thought better of it.
He was enjoying seeing her in her own environment. They'd already stopped at the grocery store and the drugstore, and people had recognized her and greeted her warmly in both. Even her truck and the way she drove it spoke of a capable woman.
Woman. Not that she hadn't seemed that way while she was in Napa. Just that it was more apparent here.
It made him smile to think that now he was the one who was out of his element.
She pointed through the windshield. "I'm guessing that they're parked just up there."
"Did she sound okay?" he asked. "Do you think Reaves was just overreacting?"
Callie shrugged. "There's no way to tell yet, is there? We'll figure it out when we see her." She smiled. "I think it's kind of cute that he's worried about her."
Ollie smiled as he imagined the look on Reaves's face if he were to tell him that Callie thought he was cute.
"He is interested in her, but I think he would have been concerned even if he wasn't." He frowned when he remembered.
"He said that he'd run into her the other night at the gas station.
He was surprised that she had Zia out so late — it was after the bachelor parties.
She had a headache then, too. That's why they were out, because she needed to buy Tylenol. "
Callie frowned. "Do you think she's broke?"
Ollie shrugged. That hadn't occurred to him. "I don't know," was all he could say.
Callie worried at her bottom lip. "She's only going to Oregon for a job with benefits, you know. She needs something steady. A guaranteed paycheck, even if it does mean working standard hours."
She shuddered at that as if just the thought of it made her uneasy.
He pursed his lips, guessing that Callie could relate to Alara's situation — and lack of benefits — because she worked for herself, too.
He probably shouldn't ask, but he had to. "Do you have any kind of benefits?"
She barked out a laugh. "Shit, I'm sorry. That sounded like you meant something else completely. But look—" She turned off the road into a pull-out area, and he could see Alara's Suburban and camper parked at the far end.
Callie brought the truck to a stop. "Do you want to grab the bags that are on your side?"
"Sure."
As he gathered the bags of groceries that Callie had bought and wouldn't let him pay for, he guessed that she'd gotten far more than Alara had asked for. He smiled when he noticed the strip of sparkly stickers in one of the bags. He'd bet good money that Alara hadn't asked for those.
~ ~ ~
Callie grinned when the camper door flew open and Zia appeared, waving madly at them.
"Lady Sunshine, you're here!" she cried.
"I am, Princess Zia." She held the bags up. "And I brought you some goodies."
"Thank you." Zia's gaze only flicked toward the bags before she stared intently at Ollie. "You're Prince Daddy's best friend," she exclaimed.
"I am," Ollie agreed.
When they reached the door, Zia clung to the frame with one hand and leaned all the way out, peering past them. "Is he here with you?" she asked hopefully.
"I'm sorry, sweet pea, he's not," Callie told her.
She felt a little bad for Ollie. Zia had bestowed names on pretty much everyone at the Jacobs estate over the last few days, but she only referred to Ollie as either Reaves's best friend or one of the Flying Ones.
Alara appeared behind her in the doorway. "I told you not to go out, Z," she said with a stern smile.
"My feet didn't leave the camper, Mom."
Callie and Ollie exchanged a smile as the little girl hauled herself back inside.
"Well, how about you let Callie and Ollie come in," Alara said. "It's so nice to see you guys. Come on in, sit down."
Zia ran to the seating area and patted the cushions beside her. "Come sit with me," she told them. "I thought I might never see you again, and now here you are."
Callie glanced at Alara, who nodded and gestured for them to sit. Callie dropped her bags in the kitchen area. "I got what you asked for and a couple more things I thought you might need."
Alara eyed the bags. "That looks like a lot more things. You must tell me how much I owe you."
"That's okay," said Callie. "Do you want to sit down? I know we just came along kind of uninvited. And you look a bit pale — are you feeling okay?"
She was surprised when Alara looked from her to Ollie to the sofa and back again. From what Callie had seen of her, she wasn't the kind to stop and sit down, but it was obvious that she was considering it — and likely that she needed to.
"Go on," said Callie. "Take a load off. I'll feel awful if you start bustling around after us."
Alara sat, and Zia went to grab Ollie's hand.
"I wish you'd brought Prince Daddy with you," she told him. "But I'm still glad you came. It'll give me one more chance to see if I can find your wings."
Alara shot Ollie an apologetic smile, but Callie just laughed.
Ollie sat beside Zia, and she stood up behind him on the seat, running her little fingers over his shoulders. "They must tuck away so neatly," she said.