16. Chapter Sixteen | Theo
Chapter sixteen
“Man, this is an awesome house,” I tell Ryan, shaking his hand to say hello.
Jack sent me a text this morning with just a time and an address, so either I was joining a poker game or helping move a body.
Pulling up to Ryan’s farmhouse has me slightly jealous of how much land he has surrounding his home.
Although I like our neighbors, there’s something appealing about the space and privacy of being in the country.
Maybe Gigi and I need to buy a rural property, somewhere to get away from everyone when life gets too hectic.
She had fun with the horses in France last summer, so maybe we could get a few horses for her to ride too.
Ryan has enough land out here he could easily have some animals.
“Thanks, man. This house was our grandparents’ and we all grew up about a mile down the road, where our dad still lives.
I bought the property from him after I decided to make Forrest Falls my permanent home.
The house had been empty for a few years after our grandparents passed away, but Finn gutted it down to the studs and updated everything. He did a great job on the renovation.”
“I personally appreciate the guest room upgrades. I think I might stay here more than Dad’s at this point.” Liam looks up at the ceiling quizzically. “I take that back; I have stayed at Ryan’s fifty-eight percent of the time in the last twelve months.”
Did he just calculate that random yet very specific number in his head? Who does that?
“Regardless, taking this property from Nana’s house to Ryan’s place was one hundred percent the most fun I’ve had on a job yet, especially with this place being so special to our entire family, you know?
” Finn chimes in as he runs his hand along a bookcase near the fireplace.
“I’m still proud of the restoration we did to the fireplace.
I know Ryan had a specific vision for it, and for the most part, I let the client get his way. ”
“We really only had that one fight when I wanted to add the greenhouse out back,” Ryan adds.
“And if you had done that, you know you would have obstructed the views from your deck. It wasn’t necessary and you would have regretted it. So really, you’re welcome.” Finn lifts his beer in cheers and Ryan shakes his head.
“Most of the time it’s just me here anyway, so what do I need a greenhouse for?
I just thought it would be cool to have after I read an article about the types of things you can grow in them year round, but I do love the sunsets and the view out the back.
” The brothers share a look; they must like sunsets in their family.
“Who owns the property west of here?” I nod out the window. I’m curious but also wondering if someone else could build and ruin his view.
“Our family does.” Jack doesn’t elaborate.
“Like your dad or a family trust?” I doubt their individual names are all on that much property, but I’ve seen stranger things as an attorney, and even stranger things as the member of a very wealthy family. Rich people can be really bizarre .
“Something like that. This property runs up next to our dad’s to the south then it extends another few miles or so beyond his house.”
“And how far west does it go?”
“Couple hundred acres, give or take.” Jack clearly doesn’t want to give me any specific answers. Hmm. Interesting.
“That’s great, no one can ruin your view with some new build,” I say to Ryan.
“That was the plan,” Ryan responds and nods to Jack, while Liam hums in agreement.
The heart of Forrest Falls is three or four minutes north of here, and with his family’s land spreading to the south and west, that just leaves one direction left. “How far is your closest neighbor to the north then?”
“Eventually, they’ll be about a mile or so up the road.
But for now, it’s just open land,” Liam comments before clapping his hands together.
“Alright. Are we knitting sweaters and gossiping or did y’all come to lose some money to me in poker?
” It’s in jest but he’s clearly changing the topic of conversation without clarifying who the neighbors will be eventually.
I tuck my curiosity away for another time.
We make our way out to his covered outdoor entertaining area that has a poker table set up to the left.
It’s early March so the air is chilly, but a fire blazes in the outdoor fireplace and patio heaters keep the space more than comfortable.
To the right, a large television screen is mounted over another stone fireplace that currently has a hockey game on it, but the volume is muted as country music streams from an outdoor speaker system.
There’s a set of cushioned patio furniture near the fireplace, and the ceiling has multiple fans evenly spaced out and I imagine they’re helpful on a summer day.
A short stone walkway leads to an inground pool and hot tub area.
“This is a sweet set up out here, Ryan.”
He smiles, clearly proud of this area. “It’s great for entertaining, but honestly, I use this space a lot when it’s just me. I might cook in the outdoor kitchen just as much as I do in my actual kitchen. ”
“One day, I'll convince you to put in a basketball court. I even said I would pay for it—I miss beating my brothers." Jack’s smug grin is answered with Ryan rolling his eyes.
“Keep your coins, money man. It’s fine without a basketball court.”
“For now,” Jack says under his breath and grins at me. Why does it feel like Ryan might wake up one random day to a basketball court added to his backyard?
“Watch out, Ryan. Jack thinks he’s stealth now that he assisted with the extremely rare occurrence of a successful prank being pulled on me. He might get ideas about gifting you one anyway.” Liam scoffs as he organizes his poker chips.
“What happened?” From the very limited information I know about Liam, I can’t see anyone being able to pull one over on him—ever.
Liam rolls his eyes as Jack grins at my question. “I was simply the distraction for the girls’ plans.”
“They used a child!” Liam interrupts.
“Lucy was more than happy to be in on it and you know it,” Ryan chimes in. “You’re making it sound way worse than it was.”
“You didn’t see the texts…” Liam says under his breath.
“What texts?” I’m obviously missing part of the story.
Liam huffs and throws a poker chip down.
“This asshole,” pointing at Jack, “cornered me at a family dinner to ask about a security breach at one of his offices. While distracted, my sweet niece Lucy came up and asked if she could borrow my phone to look something up, and I thought it was fine to give her my personal cell. I didn’t know she was a traitor. ”
“Can a six-year-old really be a traitor?” Finn inquires.
“She commandeered his phone and delivered it to her mama. Our sweet sisters changed some settings on Liam’s phone so when he texted certain words, they were automatically replaced. The girls knew Liam wouldn’t give her a work phone, so it was a harmless, yet hilarious prank.”
“What words were changed?” I ask Liam .
Liam can’t fight the grin that spreads across his face.
“I’ll admit, it was an effective tactic to send in an innocent child, but our sweet sisters’ prank confused the hell out of me later when I was trying to text.
They went into my settings and set it up so whenever I typed ‘good,’ ‘thanks,’ or ‘I need,’ the words were replaced with other words.
” The other guys are all laughing at this point.
“So, when he tried to text me ‘Thanks, I’m good’ later that night, it said ‘Hurry up, I’m terrible’ instead.” Jack’s shoulders shake as he laughs.
“And when he tried to text me ‘I need to talk to you,’ instead it said, ‘More hugs to talk to you’ and he couldn’t figure out why it was saying that.” Finn’s grin lets me know that pulling a prank on Liam is rarely successful and I want to somehow be involved in the next attempt.
“I have zero remorse.” Jack points at Liam. “Do you know how long it took to get the damn glitter out of my office from the glitter bombs you sent me last month?”
Liam preens. “The extra charge was worth it for the delayed second glitter bomb hidden in the package. Max did me a solid when he sent me the photo of you standing in the wreckage. I might need to frame that one.”
“Hello?” I hear a voice call out from inside the house.
“Out back!” Ryan hollers to who I assume is their sister Vivian’s boyfriend, Walker.
Even though we only briefly met the other day, I’ve only heard good things about the man, both personally and professionally.
But it’s a little jarring to see him walk through the door in a black T-shirt, jeans, and a backwards hat.
“Sorry I’m late, I felt bad leaving before Eloise was settled down for the night,” Walker explains as he pats Ryan’s back in a quick hug, before repeating the gesture with the other Callahan brothers. I stand and shake his hand; I don’t think we are on the hug level quite yet.
“How many bedtime stories did Eloise get out of you tonight?” Finn asks .
“Viv told me to stick to one … but Eloise may have convinced me to read three.” Walker coughs before continuing, “But I can’t say no to that little girl, so sue me.”
“We get it, we’ve been wrapped around that little girl’s finger from day one. Is she feeling better? Dad mentioned she had strep again last week,” Ryan chimes in.
“Yeah, the antibiotics kicked in quick, and she was bouncing back within twenty-four hours. I guess half her class got it this round,” Walker responds as he sits next to me at the poker table.
“Good. Keep us in the loop, and if she needs anything, you let one of us know.” Jack’s statement is just that, it’s not a question. I know I’m close to Pippa and Van, but I feel like the Callahans take it to another level.
“You call and The Cavalry shows up,” Ryan says.
Finn nods. “Without question.”
“And without hesitation,” Liam adds before they all raise their drinks in a cheers.
I follow along, not sure if I just joined a cult but hopefully there isn’t a blood oath, unless we get matching outfits.
That could be fun. I keep my face neutral, though I can’t help but imagine Liam and Jack in matching outfits, barefoot, and howling at the moon.
Walker leans over. “It’s kind of their family motto. You’ll get used to it.”
“I’m just here to hang out and play some poker, it’s all good.”
Walker studies me for a second before smiling.
“Okay, sure. We can go with that for now.” Does he know I keep imagining kissing Savannah?
Or how she’s been dominating my thoughts since I met her the other week?
I mean, no one could blame me. Savannah is not only a gorgeous woman, but she is a spitfire, and I suspect our chemistry would be off the charts.
Liam’s eyes narrow and I briefly wonder if the man can read my thoughts.
Dude is intense, and clearly protective of his family, but I also kind of get it too.
If he knew some of the thoughts I had about his sister, and especially what I would like to do with his sister, I’d probably be flat on my back with a sore jaw, but I’m almost positive that it would be worth it if it meant getting to kiss Savannah Callahan-Williams.
Yep. Sore jaw would be totally worth it, even a black eye or two.
Liam snaps me out of my thoughts. “Before Finn deals the first hand, I need to know—I think we all need to know.” Shit, he knows I want his sister.
“What happened after the hearing yesterday? I saw the video footage but couldn’t make out everything that was said beyond Shane yelling, ‘Get your hands off my fucking wife!’ for all to hear.
” Oh good, he just wants to talk about her asshole ex. That’s much safer territory.
“Actually, for the record, he yelled, ‘Harrington! Get your fucking hands off my wife!’” Walker says and I turn to look at him. How the hell does he know what Shane yelled at me?
“If you’re going to hang out with the Callahans, especially at their poker games, you have to know how they operate.
We’ve all seen the video footage. I don’t ask questions I don’t want to know the answers to, and if that’s an issue, this isn’t the poker game for you.
” Walker is saying so much more with that statement than his words at face value.
He tilts his head side to side. “Boundaries are … subjective? Especially when it comes to protecting their family.” Savannah’s brothers all nod in agreement.
Yep, I think I joined a cult. But if that means I get to spend time with Savannah and get to know her better—and maybe even kiss her someday—then shave my head, take my shoes, and point me to the field where I need to howl at the moon.
A woman like Savannah Callahan-Williams is worth it.