Chapter Seven
Callie chuckled and raised her hand when she checked the rearview mirror before pulling away.
Little Zia was leaning all the way out of the camper door again, clinging precariously with the fingertips of one hand as she waved wildly with the other.
Ollie turned to look back over his shoulder and chuckled.
"Alara has her hands full with her, doesn't she?"
"Yeah." Callie's smile faded as she turned out onto the highway. "Zia's awesome, but I imagine she'd be hard work, even for a mom who's on top form. And it seems to me that Alara's a long way from that."
Ollie sighed and took his phone out. "I'm gonna have to call Reaves. I texted him to let him know that we'd found them and that Alara was okay, but I know he'll be waiting for me to report in."
"What are you gonna tell him?" Callie asked as she pointed the truck toward home. "I mean, Alara's okay, but she's obviously not really okay, is she?"
"No." Ollie held his phone up. "All I can do is tell him the truth. Tell him how things seem." He frowned. "Do you know when she's supposed to be starting this job?"
"Yeah, she's supposed to start on Monday.
That's why she didn't want to hang around any longer after the wedding.
" Callie frowned. "But you know what? She was in a real hurry to get up there so that she could get settled.
I don't even know if she had a place to stay.
All I knew was that she had to be there to start work next Monday and that she had someone who said they'd keep an eye on Zia. "
"But it's Wednesday now, Callie. And we're — how many miles up the road?"
Callie's heart sank. "Well, it's 118 miles from my place to Becca's, I clocked it the first time I visited. And it only takes me a couple of hours in this thing. Maybe Alara goes slower because she’s towing the camper, but it still shouldn’t have taken them more than three and a half hours to get here.
" She shook her head. "I wonder how long they've been stopped where they are.
If it's taken her a few days to get this far, how likely do you think it is that they'll make it all the way to Portland before Monday? "
Ollie shook his head. "Not very. I don't like it."
"Neither do I," Callie agreed. "But what can we do?"
"Let's talk to Reaves first."
She could see why he wanted to. Reaves cared about Alara and Zia — and if it weren't for him, she and Ollie wouldn't have even known that they were here.
But she decided that no matter what the two guys might decide they wanted to do, she was for sure going to swing back by the camper this evening after she dropped Ollie back at the airport.
That thought made her realize that she was almost home. She glanced over at him. She hadn't known whether she wanted to bring him to the cottage or not. Now it seemed that the decision had made itself.
He gave her a small smile. "Are you okay? Sorry about all this."
"I'm fine. You don't need to apologize. It's not like it’s your fault. If anything, I'm glad I know that they're here, and I wouldn't if it weren't for you and Reaves. Go on, give him a call."
Ollie held her gaze for a moment before bringing his phone up.
He hit the call button, and Callie relaxed a little when he put it on speaker.
Whatever was going on with Alara, Callie wasn't just invested, she was involved.
And while she respected that Reaves cared about them, she didn't see why she should step back and let him start making all the decisions.
It only rang once before Reaves answered. "Hey, bud. So how are they?"
"Yeah, they're okay."
Callie made a face. It was obvious from Ollie's tone that they really weren't okay.
"Shit," said Reaves. "What's happening? What's wrong? Why are they still there? I expected that they would have made it to Portland by now or at least be close."
"Yeah, Alara's not feeling great," said Ollie.
"Is that all she said?" asked Reaves. "Are you still with Callie? What did she think?"
"I'm here," said Callie.
"Oh, hey. How did she seem to you?"
"Not good, to tell you the truth. She looks tired, wiped out, dark circles under her eyes. As you know, she'd been taking a nap because she had a headache. Zia told me that she'd been sleeping for a long time, and while we were there she looked as though she was ready to doze off again."
"Callie brought her some groceries, though," said Ollie. "Orange juice and protein shakes and fresh fruit and veggies. Maybe that'll help?"
Callie didn’t comment; Reaves sounded as unconvinced as she felt.
"Maybe. I mean, thanks, Callie. It was good of you to do that."
She didn't bother to respond. There was no need for him to thank her — she hadn't done it for him.
"Did she say what her plans are?"
"She said that she's going to get back on the road tomorrow."
"So, they're staying there overnight?" Reaves asked. "If I get going now, I could be up there before dark."
Callie really felt for him. She knew that he didn't want them to leave in the first place, and now he was concerned about them on top of it.
"You don't need to drive," said Ollie. "If you want to come, I'll fly back and get you."
"I don't know. What do you think?" Reaves sounded uncertain. "Maybe I should just call her? I mean, of course I want to come up there and check on her, but I should probably ask first, right?"
"I think you should," said Callie. "I understand how you feel. I feel the same way. I think we all do." Ollie nodded. "We want to help and it seems like she could use it, but until she asks — or at least agrees to let us — there's not much we can do."
"Yeah." Reaves sounded defeated. "I'll give her a call now, and if she says I can come see them, I'll take you up on that offer, Ollie. I'll call you back and let you know, if that's okay."
Callie glanced over at him and loved the way Ollie smiled as he said, "Sure thing. Just let me know, bud. If she says you can come, I'll be right back to get you."
"Okay. Thanks, guys. I'll call you back soon."
Callie felt for him as the call ended. The poor guy was eager to say the least. But she had a feeling...
"She's going to say no, isn't she?" Ollie asked.
She was surprised that he picked up on it. "I expect she will. But not because she doesn't like Reaves."
"No, I get that," said Ollie. "She's used to fending for herself and Zia. I don't expect it would come easily to her to accept anyone's help."
"No, I don't expect it would," Callie agreed.
They were almost to the cottage now, and she glanced over at him again, wondering what he'd make of the place. The trees had closed in around them as they approached, and when she turned off the road, he grinned.
"Is this it? Your cottage? We're there?"
"This is it," she said with a shrug. "It's nothing like what you're used to in Napa, I know, but to me it's home."
Ollie nodded as he peered out through the windshield. "It's a cool little place, isn't it?"
That made her smile. "I like to think so."
~ ~ ~
Callie parked the truck and Ollie followed her out.
There was a one-story cottage with chipped paint, a redwood deck half swallowed by ferns, and as they approached, he caught the scent of.
.. something familiar. Looking around, he spotted the source — purple flowers.
A flash of something from childhood, too distant to hold onto.
Warmth. Laughter. A big hand holding his.
"Lilacs." He felt pretty dumb when he said it out loud.
Callie turned to him with a smile. "Wow, I wouldn't have expected you to know what they were. I love those things. Aren't they awesome? They're the reason I bought this place — they remind me of home."
Happiness buzzed in his chest. He didn't know why, but something about her feeling a connection to the same flowers that he did felt... important somehow.
"I remember them from when I was a kid," he explained. Though he couldn't have said from where. The estate had gardens, but he didn't think there had ever been lilacs there.
He understood the feeling of home, even though he didn't associate it with the estate where he'd lived all his life.
Behind the cottage was a shed with its own little porch and railing.
"Is that your kiln?"
"Yep, that's where I do all the damage."
He stepped up onto the porch and held the screen door while she let them inside. The place was unmistakably Callie's, and he drank in the sight. No fancy finishes. But everything had that touched-by-human-hands feeling. Nothing matched. Everything glowed.
"It's perfect," he said softly.
She glanced at him like she was trying to figure out if he meant it. "It's not Napa."
"Exactly."
Inside, the place smelled like eucalyptus and clay. Her sink was stacked with drying bowls. There was a note on the fridge that said, Don't forget to live, scrawled in Sharpie. A wind chime made from shattered mugs tinkled by the back door.
Ollie went and gently traced his finger over the pieces, smiling. "Do you ever sell these?"
She shrugged. "Nah, no one would want them. I make them from the accidents. They're broken. Or crooked. Or chipped. Or weird."
"So... the best ones, then?"
She smiled. He meant it.
"Can I get you anything? It didn't dawn on me till we were almost here that I hadn't even asked if you wanted to come. I could have taken you straight back to the airport."
He covered the distance between them in two long strides.
Looking down into her eyes, it hit him that this was the moment.
He could just come out and tell her that although he wasn't from one of the wine families, he was still wealthy.
He didn't need to point out that he was even wealthier than the people she'd been so unsure of. They knew each other a little better now, and after their visit with Alara and Zia — especially knowing that she was okay with not telling Alara why she’d really called her — he felt like she might be more open.