Chapter Twenty-Six #2
Miles nodded. "He's a good man."
He met Ollie's gaze, but Ollie just shook his head. Miles turned back to her.
"I'd love to see more of your work."
She took her phone out, eager to turn the conversation to something neutral while Ollie had time to gather his thoughts — and maybe to just observe his father interacting with someone. With her.
She opened up her camera roll and scrolled through her photos. "These are what I've been working on lately."
He took the phone and smiled as he swiped through photo after photo. "These are exquisite."
"Thank you."
"And these sunflowers — are they decorative pieces?"
She smiled. "They are."
"Charles bought them," said Ollie.
Miles nodded slowly. "I can understand why."
Callie would have loved to ask about the significance that sunflowers held for Charles, but this didn't seem like the time.
Miles kept swiping through the photos. She loved the way he smiled before he held the phone up again. It was a photo of the wind chime by the back door of the cottage.
"This," he said. "What's the story with this?"
"Oh, I don’t sell those. Those are just the broken pieces — it's a wind chime. I've only made a couple. For myself, really. I used the rejects and the tests gone wrong and the weird pieces that wouldn't fit anywhere else. The ones that no one would want."
"That's what makes them special," said Miles, with a glance at Ollie.
~ ~ ~
Ollie stared at his dad, surprised to hear him say that.
He would have thought the great Miles Stratton would only want the perfect, polished pieces.
It surprised him that his dad could see the beauty of the wind chime — and had even said pretty much the same thing Ollie had said himself when he first saw them.
His dad held his gaze for a moment and gave a slight nod before looking back down at Callie's phone.
"And this is at your home? At your cottage?"
"It is."
Callie glanced at Ollie, and he covered her hand on his thigh with his own. She was doing her best here to keep things going for him while he processed how he felt about his dad. He needed her to know how grateful he was.
His dad held her phone up again. "These flowers by the back door — they're lilacs. I didn't realize they grew up there on the coast."
"I was surprised myself when I moved there," said Callie. "Surprised but very pleased. They're my favorite flowers. There are a ton of lilac bushes around the farm at home in Kansas."
Ollie couldn't read his dad's expression when he said quietly, "There are lilacs here too."
"There are?" Ollie asked incredulously. "I've never seen them. Are you sure?"
His dad met his gaze and held it. "I'm sure, son. I planted them for your mother." He paused. "I'm not surprised you don't remember. You were only small. They're down there by the pond. We used to sit under them together. The three of us."
Ollie's throat tightened as he stared at his dad. The memory that he hadn't been able to grasp when he saw Callie's lilacs at the cottage came back in full force now. All he'd remembered then was a warm sunny day. Purple flowers. Laughter. A hand holding his. A big hand.
He stared at his dad and swallowed hard when it hit him.
It must have been his dad's hand.
His dad turned away to stare out at the rolling hills. "I know you don't remember. But there was a time, Ollie. It didn't last long, but there was a short time when we were happy."
He turned back to face Ollie and sat up a little straighter, taking a deep breath before he continued.
"After your mother left, I was lost. I didn't know what to do.
I didn't know how to care for you. And this place.
.." He looked around. "This place felt like it mocked me.
It was supposed to be filled with a happy future.
Instead, all that was left in every corner was a reflection of how I'd failed.
" He shrugged and stared down into his glass.
"I failed your mom. I failed you. I should have stayed.
Or I should have taken you with me. I didn't know what to do. "
He looked up at Ollie again. "I know now that I did it all wrong."
Ollie loosened his grip on Callie's hand when he realized he was crushing her fingers against his thigh. It made him feel better when she turned their hands over and gripped his just as hard.
"I know I'll never be able to make up for the past, Ollie. But I'm here to ask you—" His dad turned to Callie and added, "And you. If there's any chance that we might get to know each other again now. If there might be a place for me in your lives, I'd like to earn it."
The air seemed to still. The only sound was the insistent birds in the oaks as Ollie stared at his dad. Even Callie seemed to hold her breath as she waited for him to speak.
He didn't feel as though he could make his mouth work. He wanted to, but...
Then Butter barked twice, sharp and loud, and Ollie laughed.
"The big guy gives you his vote."
His dad laughed with him. "Thanks, Butter."
"When he barks twice, it means he's speaking for both of them."
His dad looked at Peanut. "Then thank you too."
He turned back to Ollie but didn't say anything. He just waited.
Until Ollie finally nodded and said, "I'd like that, Dad."
Callie finally eased her grip on his hand, and when he turned to her and raised an eyebrow, she nodded too.
"Thank you, Ollie." His dad's voice was rough. "I know I don't deserve another chance. But I promise you — I won't waste it."
They talked for a while longer — nothing heavy, just small things.
Callie told Miles about her cottage and her markets.
Miles asked Ollie about the flying, about Reaves, about whether he was happy with how the estate was being run.
It wasn't the kind of conversation that fixed anything. But it was a start.
When Miles finally stood, the sun was getting low over the hills.
"I should get going," he said. "I don't want to outstay my welcome."
Ollie stood too. "You're not." He was surprised to realize he meant it.
His dad smiled — a real smile, not the polished one Ollie had seen in interviews. "Thank you. For today. For giving me a chance."
Ollie nodded. He still didn't have the words for everything he was feeling, but he managed, "Maybe we could do this again. Soon."
"I'd like that." His dad glanced at Callie. "Both of you. Maybe I could come back in a couple of weeks? Or you could come down to LA, if you'd prefer."
"Here's good," said Ollie. "This is home."
Something flickered in his dad's eyes at that. He nodded slowly. "Yes. It is."
Callie stood and offered her hand, but Miles shook his head and pulled her into a gentle hug. "Thank you for being here. For him."
"There's nowhere else I'd be," she said simply.
Ollie walked his dad back down to the airstrip, the dogs trotting alongside them. At the bottom of the steps to the jet, his dad turned.
"Ollie—"
"I know, Dad." He took a breath. "I'm not saying everything's fixed. But I'm willing to try."
His dad's eyes were bright. "That's all I'm asking."
He reached out and squeezed Ollie's shoulder — and this time, Ollie didn't shake him off.
They stood there for a moment. Then his dad nodded, turned, and climbed the steps. At the top, he looked back and raised a hand. Ollie raised his in return.
He watched the jet taxi and take off, the dogs sitting on either side of him, until the sound of the engines faded and there was nothing left but the evening quiet and the birds in the oaks.
When he got back to the terrace, Callie was still there, curled up on one of the loungers, watching the sunset paint the hills gold and purple. She looked up when he approached but didn't say anything. Just shifted to make room for him.
He sank down beside her, and she curled into his side. Peanut jumped up and draped herself across their feet. Butter lay down on the warm stones beside them with a heavy sigh.
For a long time, neither of them spoke.
Finally, Callie said, "You okay?"
He thought about it. Really thought.
"Yeah," he said slowly. "I think I am."
She pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"
He shook his head. "No. It wasn't." He stared out at the hills, at the vines, at the place that had always felt more like a burden than a home. "I didn't expect him to... I don't know. See things."
"The wind chimes?"
"Yeah. And the lilacs." His voice caught a little. "I didn't know he planted them. I didn't know we used to..."
She tightened her arm around him. She didn't push. She just waited.
"I think maybe I remembered wrong," he said quietly. "I thought he was never here. But maybe he was. At least for a while."
"That doesn't change how hard it was for you."
"No." He turned to look at her. "But maybe it changes what comes next."
She smiled up at him, her green eyes catching the last of the light. "Maybe it does."
He leaned down and kissed her softly. When he pulled back, Butter woofed once.
"The big guy approves," said Callie.
Ollie laughed. "He always does."
They sat there together as the sky deepened to purple, the dogs warm against their legs.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "For being here. For making me give him a chance."
She pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "You did that yourself. I just reminded you that you could."
He pulled her a little closer. Tomorrow they'd figure out the rest. Tonight, this was enough.