Chapter 28
CALLEN HAD FACED BULLETS, backroom deals, and a bloody trail of mercenaries, but stepping through the double doors of St. Augustine Elementary felt like the most vulnerable move of all.
The faint smell of crayons and floor wax hit him instantly. Echoes of children’s laughter filtered down the tile hallway, and next to him, Meaghan walked with a lightness in her step he worried he would never see again.
Her hand brushed his. “They’re in the back, extended care room. They’ve been staying late until their parents could get things back in order.”
Callen nodded, the knot in his chest tight. “You sure this is a good idea?”
“I’m positive,” she said. “I need to see them and have them see me, and from what Mr. Kinsey says, they’ve been asking about you.”
That surprised him. He didn’t think the kids would remember anything but the chaos. The gunfire. The blood. He had thought they’d want to stay as far away from him as possible because of the memories his presence would drag up.
But when Sophie spotted them through the glass window, she shot up like a rocket. “Miss Harrington!” she cried, barreling toward them with her too-big backpack bouncing wildly against her back.
Lucas and Willie weren’t far behind, and before he could brace for it, all three kids had him surrounded.
Sophie launched her arms around Meaghan’s waist, nearly knocking her off-balance, while Lucas and Willie both stood at Callen’s side, eyes wide, hesitant, but filled with something that rocked him harder than any explosion ever had: trust.
“Hey, guys,” he said gruffly, bending down slightly as he tousled their hair. “You all doing okay?”
Willie nodded. “Meemaw said we were heroes.”
Callen chuckled, bobbing his head. “She’s right. You are definitely heroes. You were all extremely brave. I’ve never been prouder of anyone in my life.”
Lucas stared up at him, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. “You got shot. Are you doing better? Did you keep the bullet?”
Callen smirked. “No, I didn’t keep the bullet. And yeah, I got shot, and you helped Miss Harrington take care of me, and that’s something in my book. I owe you.”
Meaghan shot him a look, but the kids giggled as the tension loosened.
“Mr. Callen,” Sophie said, her voice low, hesitant. “I was terrified, but then I heard your voice in the woods and I knew we were gonna be all right.”
His throat tightened, but he managed a soft, “Me too, squirt.”
Behind them, Principal Kinsey approached, buttoned-up and clearly trying to hide a watery smile. “Miss Harrington. Mr. McHollister.” He extended a hand to Callen. “It’s a pleasure to meet the man who took such great care of my students and their teacher.”
Callen shook it, firm and steady.
“I want to thank you for what you did for them. I know the world’s a complicated place, but your part in this?” He made a slow bob of his head. “Amazing. You saved lives.” He glanced around at the others. “Lives that are very important to me.”
Callen glanced down at the kids clinging to Meaghan’s side and felt something he hadn’t expected—peace. “Thanks,” he breathed. “They’re important to me as well.”
The principal gave a curt nod, slapping Callen on the back. “Well, we appreciate all you did. And please don’t be a stranger around here.”
“I won’t,” Callen assured him.
The principal hugged Meaghan and then told her he looked forward to having her back in her classroom on Monday. The kids cheered as they wrapped their arms around her once more, and Callen could only stand there and smile, hoping no one noticed him wipe away a tear that threatened to fall.
As they stepped out into the afternoon warmth, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “So, what do you want to do now?”
She grinned as she glanced around at him. “It’s Wednesday. We do karaoke on Wednesdays.”
He sighed. “First kids, and now bad singing. This just isn’t my day. You do remember I saved your life, don’t you?”
She looped an arm around his as they headed to the SUV. “As I see it, I saved yours.”
He nodded. “That you did. That you did.”
The Rusty Pelican wasn’t much from the outside, just a faded brick building tucked into a corner off the historic square.
However, inside, it pulsed with light and laughter.
Locals crowded into booths, the bar was lined three deep, and a man Meaghan had introduced as Andy was already tuning the karaoke mic like he was about to headline Madison Square Garden.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Meaghan whispered as she leaned into Callen.
“Luckily, I called in reinforcements,” he murmured back, but the sight of her—laughing, safe, in jeans and a slouchy sweater with a little curl back in her hair—made it all worth it.
“Oh, did you now?” She cocked a brow at him as he smirked.
He nodded to the door that just opened as Elvis and the others sauntered into the place, Hawk and Grim already heading for the bar, tossing him a wave as they joined the other patrons in line.
“Never go into battle alone,” he told her.
She laughed. “It’s karaoke.”
“Exactly.”
“There you are!” Ronette hollered, arms outstretched like a hurricane in heels. “Get over here, girl! Photo time!”
Meaghan laughed as Ronette grabbed her wrist and tugged her into the corner near the neon wall. Elvis raised an eyebrow as he approached, a curious grin slipping across his lips.
“Meaghan says you get used to her energy,” Callen muttered as he approached his friend, shrugging, but smiling. “They’ve been best friends since Meaghan moved to St. Augustine.”
“Nothing wrong with a lady with enthusiasm,” Elvis said with a grin. “Anything else is just wall-flower boring.”
Ronette spotted him, and her grin sharpened like a shark’s. “Meaghan says you’re a Presley nut. We should do Pocketful of Rainbows.”
Elvis cocked a brow. “The King’s song with Juliet Prowse from G. I. Blues. Lady, you know how to get to a man’s heart.”
Gage hooted from the pool table. “Ten bucks says he cracks by the third verse.”
Sage leaned in, already arguing with Gage about whether Backstreet Boys counted as “classic.” Callen just shook his head.
Chaos. Pure Chaos.
But it was his type of chaos.
“Do I need to find a corner and cry?” Meaghan asked, slipping up beside him with a soft laugh.
“Only if I have to duet with your friend there.”
Meaghan looped her arm through his. “You’d survive. Barely.”
As Abbie and Hawk stepped onto the stage, Callen slipped outside onto the back patio with Meaghan on his arm, the hush of the ocean just faint beyond the buildings. String lights glowed overhead, and Callen leaned back against the railing, pulling Meaghan into his arms.
For a moment, the world was just quiet.
“I never thought we’d get here,” she whispered.
“I didn’t either.”
“I’m still scared,” she admitted. “Of what comes next. Of who I am now.””
He tilted her chin up gently. “You’re the bravest woman I know.”
“I was broken.”
He shook his head. “You were never broken, Meaghan. Just forced to carry more than anyone should.”
She leaned into him, forehead to his chest. “Do you think we could have this? Something resembling a normal life?”
Callen’s smile was slow, deep,
“Normal’s so overrated.”
She laughed softly, and he kissed the crown of her head. But then she lifted her face, and their eyes met, and this time, there were no walls. No ghosts.
Just them.
Their lips met—tender, open, true. It wasn’t a kiss fueled by desperation or rescue or fear. It was the kind that whispered, we made it. We’re still here.
When they parted, she murmured, “Say it.”
He cupped her face, voice rough but steady. “I love you, Meaghan Harrington. Always have.”
Her breath hitched. “Took you long enough.”
After a heavy make-out session, they slipped back inside just as Andy murdered another chorus of Sweet Caroline when Elvis finally stood and grunted, “You got a second mic or what?”
Ronette whooped so loud someone dropped a drink.
Meaghan turned toward Callen, hand still wrapped in his. “I think your friend has a fan.”
Callen watched Elvis step onstage, a crooked smile tugging at his mouth. “She had no idea what she’d be getting herself in for.”
Meaghan smirked. “Oh, I think he’d be the one in trouble.”
And for the first time in a long, long time, Callen McHollister felt like the war was over.
And maybe, just maybe, the rest of his life, a life he walked away from over a decade ago, was finally ready to begin.