Chapter Fifteen #2
When she arrived at the airport, Callie parked the truck and cut the engine.
She stared out at the runway for a moment, smiling as she remembered the last time she'd been here with Ollie.
Well, their goodbye hadn't been all that great, but the last time she'd flown in here with him — that had been awesome.
"Are you okay?"
She turned to smile at Alara. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Don't worry. I'm looking forward to seeing him."
"Me too," Zia piped up from her seat in the back. "I can't wait to see Prince Daddy. You're not mad at Secret King anymore, are you, Lady Sunshine?"
Callie looked over her shoulder to smile at her. "No, I'm not. It was just a bit of a misunderstanding, that's all."
Zia nodded sagely. "Sometimes people keep secrets for good reasons, you know. Isn't that right, Mommy?"
Alara smiled through pursed lips. "It is, Z. But even when they're for the right reason, secrets sometimes hurt people. It's always best to be honest when you can."
"I know. Can we get out and go and look for the airplane?" Zia asked. "I finally get to see them flying."
Callie chuckled. "You know they fly inside the plane, right? They don't just fly themselves."
She panicked for a moment when Zia's little eyebrows drew together.
She hoped that she hadn't just destroyed one of the kid's illusions.
She relaxed when Zia smiled and said, "They have to fly in an airplane so they can take people with them.
But I know they have wings. They just hide them well.
" She met Callie's gaze. "That's one of his secrets, you know. Secret King."
They got out, and Alara unbuckled Zia from her seat.
Callie hadn't been sure whether they'd all be able to fit in the truck on the way back, but Zia had been so desperate to come to meet the guys when they landed.
Alara had wanted to come, too. And if she were honest, Callie was grateful not to be left alone with Reaves and Ollie.
It was going to be difficult enough later when it was just Ollie.
They still had so much to say to each other.
Zia caught Alara's hand and then took Callie's as well. "I'm going to miss the Land of Fog and Clouds, you know." She looked up. "But you will come visit us, won't you? When we live at the castle with Grandpa Grape?"
Callie smiled. "Don't you worry. You know I'll see you again."
"I wish you could come and live in Grape Land, too."
Callie was grateful to Alara when she pointed to the row of small aircraft standing in front of the hangars. "Have you seen the planes, Z?"
Zia studied them closely. "They're very small. I thought airplanes were bigger. The ones that came to the Kingdom of Cornflowers were much bigger, weren't they?"
"They were," Alara agreed. "Oh, but look — do you think this might be them?"
Callie shaded her eyes with her hand as she peered up at the sky. There was a small plane that had just turned to line itself up with the runway. She smiled, hoping that Ollie had the lights lined up right — two red and two white, like he'd taught her.
The three of them watched the Cirrus touch down and thunder along the runway until it finally slowed down and turned at the end to taxi back to them.
"Oh my gosh!" Zia exclaimed. "I thought they were going to go all the way off the end."
Callie laughed. "It looks that way, doesn't it? But Ollie and Reaves know what they're doing. They're good pilots."
Her breath caught in her chest when Zia stared up at her and said, "They are good men, both of them."
She had no answer for that and was grateful when the kid's attention was caught by the Cirrus approaching.
She stood back and watched as the guys climbed out. Reaves came hurrying over, and when Alara finally let go of Zia's hand, she went running to him, shouting, "Prince Daddy, you're here!"
He swung her up to sit on his hip and then came to greet Alara with a kiss on the cheek. Alara blushed, and Callie couldn't help hoping that the future might hold good things for the two of them. The three of them.
She was a little disappointed that Ollie didn't come to greet her with as much enthusiasm, but then what did she expect? The poor guy was probably still wary.
She watched him take out the ropes and, with a quick glance at the others, decided that she should make the first move. She hurried over to him.
He froze when he saw her.
"Hi," she said with a smile.
"Hey. I didn't know..."
"I know," she said. "That's why I came over. Do you want me to help you tie this bird down?"
He smiled, and some of the tension left her shoulders. "Sure. Want me to show you how?"
"You’d better. I have no idea what kind of knot it needs, and I'd hate for it to blow away by the time you come back."
He shot her a puzzled look, and she rolled her eyes. "Shoot, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I don't mean that I want to make sure you have a way out of here."
He gave her a rueful smile. "Thanks. You had me worried for a second there."
"It's all okay. We need to talk, but—" She met his gaze and nodded. "I'm hoping it's going to be all right."
"Me too."
He tied the plane down, explaining what he was doing as he did. When he was finished, he straightened up. "Callie, I..."
But he didn't get the chance to say anything more. Zia came scampering over, calling, "You're here, Secret King! Thank you for bringing Prince Daddy." She smiled at Callie. "Lady Sunshine missed you, you know."
Callie spluttered. She hadn't said anything of the kind — even if it might be true.
Ollie tried to hide a smile but didn't manage it. "She did, huh?"
Zia nodded matter-of-factly. "She did. She was sad that you kept secrets. But she still missed you."
"Come on, Z," Alara called.
Zia stood looking up at them, her arms hanging loosely at her sides, head tilted as she looked from Ollie to Callie and back again a couple of times. "You could be the King of Sunshine, if you tried, you know." Then she turned back to Callie. "Or maybe you could be the Secret Queen."
With that, she turned and ran back to her mom.
Ollie raised his eyebrows at Callie, and she shrugged. She wasn't going to go anywhere near Zia trying to turn them into a pair — or a couple. So instead, she went with, "I guess she has a point. I've been keeping secrets, too."
He held his hand out tentatively, and she placed hers in it without hesitation.
"Want to make a deal?" he asked. "No more secrets?"
"Yeah." She smiled. "That sounds like a plan to me."
~ ~ ~
Ollie felt like he was in the way as he watched Alara supervising Reaves. Reaves had wanted to take care of the camper himself, but he had no clue what he was doing. Alara, on the other hand, had already unhooked the power and water supply.
In the end, he was relieved when Reaves gave her a rueful smile and said, "You know what? How about I just admit that I'm an extra pair of hands here to do your bidding, and you can give me orders."
It didn't surprise him that Alara shook her head. "I'm not big on giving orders."
Zia skipped between them, sprinkling glitter from a little pot as she went. "It's true," she told Reaves. "Mommy believes that we do better when we figure things out for ourselves. She'll help if we ask, and she might have to step in sometimes, but mostly she doesn't give orders."
Reaves chuckled as he met Alara's gaze. "That's good to know.
In that case, I'll go with a couple of questions.
First, do I have this thing hooked up to the Suburban okay and all the electrics connected properly?
And second, do you want me to tow it out onto the road, or would you be more comfortable doing it yourself? "
Ollie glanced sideways when Callie spoke in a low voice beside him. "Good for him. I'm impressed. Where I come from, the guys just take over. I have high hopes for these two."
"Yeah, Reaves will never trample over anyone. He gets stuff done, but he gets it done with people's cooperation. Everyone loves him. He's a good guy."
A rush of happiness buzzed in his chest when she said, "It seems to me that you're a pair together."
He was surprised that Alara told Reaves he could back the camper out, since it would get him used to maneuvering it before they hit the road. But he understood her reasoning when she came and took hold of Callie's hand.
"Thank you so much. There's no way I'll ever be able to repay you for everything you’ve done for us."
"And no way you'll ever need to," said Callie.
That made him smile, but he wandered away to see if he could help Reaves so that the two women could say their goodbyes.
Zia came running to him and caught hold of his sleeve. "Will you make me a promise, Secret King?"
He bit down on his bottom lip, not sure that he wanted to agree to the request.
She put her little hands on her hips and stared up at him for a few moments before saying, "I'm only going to ask you to promise to try, since it's not up to you really." She made a big show of looking over at Callie before looking back at him and nodding.
That made him chuckle. "Okay, I promise I'll try."
She grinned. "Thank you. Please promise you'll try to bring Lady Sunshine to visit us at Grandpa Grape's castle."
He squatted down in front of her so that he was at eye level. "I promise. And more than that, I promise that I'll be trying really hard. I want to get her to come there too."
"I know," said Zia. "I wasn't just asking for me."
He could only laugh as she ran back to where her mom and Callie were still talking. He knew he shouldn't listen, but he couldn't help it.
Alara leaned in to hug her. "Thank you again. And you have to promise that we'll keep in touch."
"You know it," said Callie. "And you really don't have to thank me. I've loved having you guys here, and you can come and visit whenever you like."
"I hope you'll come and visit us too," said Alara.
Callie gave her arm a squeeze. "I will. I'm coming to see Becca soon anyway. I'll check on you. But don't you worry — you're gonna be fine. And if ever you feel like you're not, you give me a call, okay?"
"Thanks. I'll do that. It's nice to have a friend to talk to."
Ollie's chest tightened when Callie said, "It's the same for me, you know. I told you before and I'll say it again — we have more in common than you seem to realize."
"Well then, I'm there for you too," said Alara. "And one last time, I'm really sorry about what happened with Ollie."
Ollie turned away quickly, but he didn't think he'd done it in time before Callie glanced at him.
Maybe he just felt guilty, but it seemed like she spoke a little louder for his benefit when she said, "Honestly, it wasn't your fault.
It wasn't even really his. Things just get muddled sometimes. I think in the end you did us a favor."
He hoped that her words were for his benefit. But even if they weren't, it was good to know she felt that way.
Once the camper was parked out on the road, pointed in the right direction and ready to go, Reaves came to Ollie and grabbed his hand. They pulled each other in for a one-armed hug, and Reaves slapped his back as he said, "I'll see you back at the castle."
Ollie chuckled. "I'll stop by tomorrow to check on you guys, okay?"
He turned to Alara, and she gave him a shy smile. "Thank you so much for everything."
He leaned down to give her a hug and kiss her cheek. "You're more than welcome. But do me a favor — please think of me as a friend. I'd hate for you to suddenly think of me as your employer or something."
"But that's what you..." she began, but Zia cut her off, saying, "I'm glad you're our friend, Secret King."
To Ollie's surprise, she held her arms up to him, and he picked her up. He didn't have the hang of sitting her on his hip like Reaves did, but she wrapped her little arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"We'll see you back in Grape Land."
"I'll look forward to it," he told her honestly.
When he set her down, she went to Callie, looking a lot more solemn. "I'll think of you every time I see the moon."
Callie squatted down in front of her. "And I'll think of you too. You're going to have lots of fun, and you'll make new friends. And you already have lots of friends in Grape Land."
Zia nodded and sniffed. "I wish you were coming."
Callie held her arms out, and Zia flung herself into them. Ollie's throat tightened as he watched the two of them hug.
"Forever and a day?" Zia asked in a whisper.
"Forever and a day — and an extra forever, just to be sure," Callie answered. "We'll always be friends."
Zia stood back with another sniff and rubbed her fist over her eyes. Alara held her hand out, saying, "Come on, Z. It's time to go."
Reaves grinned at them. "Thanks for everything, Callie."
"Yeah. Drive safe," she told him.
"See you later, bud. Text me when you get there, okay?" said Ollie.
"Will do."
Ollie and Callie stood side by side as they watched Reaves, Alara, and Zia get set up in the Suburban, looking for all the world like a little family about to go on vacation. Reaves put the window down, and he and Alara waved before he pulled away.
"My window, my window!" Zia called, and when it went down, she waved madly at them, calling, "Don't forget, Miss Callie Clay — forever and a day!"
The Suburban and camper rounded the bend and disappeared from sight. Callie sniffed beside him, and Ollie wanted to wrap his arm around her shoulders. He didn't know if he should. But when she leaned into him slightly, he did.