34. Caleb
CHAPTER 34
CALEB
T hanksgiving snuck up on me. Between Casen’s injury, my heavy caseload, and trying to carve out time with Halle, the month has flown by.
Salem and Thayer’s house is filled with a cacophony of voices, clanging dishes, and the upbeat music that goes along with a very interesting competition of Just Dance in the family room.
I love it.
As a kid, I craved a large family to spend the holidays with. Instead, each one was lonely—just me and my parents. This chaos? This is what the holidays should be about.
Thelma tries to get in on the Just Dance game with the kids while Cynthia scolds her about potentially breaking a hip. Laith nurses a beer by the back door, ignoring yet another one of Salem’s attempts to set him up. Salem is yammering on, undeterred, while she flits around the kitchen.
With Samson in one arm, Thayer mixes the mashed potatoes one-handed.
“Let me take over.” I grab the hand mixer and wave him off so he can deal with Samson.
“How are things with you and Halle?” he asks.
For a minute, I’m frozen, wondering whether he’s asking because he’s my friend or because Salem put him up to it.
Truthfully, it still blows my mind that the two of us are friends. I so badly wanted to hate him, but he made it impossible. He’s a genuinely good guy, and it’s obvious he loves Salem and his kids with everything he has.
“Good, really good,” I answer, working the beater around the edges of the bowl.
“It seems pretty serious.”
“It is.” I don’t elaborate, keeping my focus fixed on the potatoes.
“It’s only been a few months.”
The implication there rankles me. Irritation seeping into my veins, I arch a brow in his direction. “How soon after you met Salem did you fall in love with her? ”
He nods, head bowed. “Touché.”
Samson wriggles in his arms, demanding to be put down. Thayer obliges and the toddler takes off, no doubt looking for trouble.
“It’s good,” he goes on. “Seeing you happy, I mean.”
“Was I unhappy before?” I turn the mixer off and nod at the bowl, urging him to check the consistency.
“That’s not what I meant. I?—”
I hold up a hand. “I know the two of you worried that I wouldn’t move on, but that’s silly. I’ve dated in the past, but until now, I hadn’t found the right person. I wasn’t going to rush into anything just to ease your guilt.”
Thayer flinches, but he holds eye contact. “Understood.”
Yeah, we’re all good, but that doesn’t mean I want them prying into my love life.
“Pass me that bowl.” He takes the mixer out of my hand and points to the island.
I heft the large serving dish and set it on the counter so he can fill it with the potatoes.
He clearly doesn’t need my help now that both hands are free, so I go in search of Halle. When I don’t find her downstairs or on either porch, I head up to the second floor. I can’t imagine she’d venture up here on her own, but it’s possible Salem sent her to grab something, and I think she would have checked in if she was running next door.
The noise from downstairs fades as I hit the top landing. Only then can I make out the sound of voices down the hall.
Near the end, I peer through Soleil’s open bedroom door, finding Halle kneeling on the floor with the little girl, each with a Barbie in hand. Neither of them notices my presence in the doorway, so I take a moment to just watch.
Halle interacts easily with Seda’s little sister, playing along with the story she’s creating for the dolls.
“You stole my purse,” Soleil says in a high-pitched tone.
Halle mock gasps, moving her doll’s arm up in time with the sound. “I didn’t steal anything. I got this from the mall.”
“If by mall,” Soleil says, “you mean my closet.”
A laugh slips out at the sass coming from such a tiny human.
The two of them turn in unison, eyes going wide.
“Go on,” I tell them. “I want to know what happens next.”
“Caleb,” Soleil groans. “You ruined it.”
“We can play again later.” With a soft smile, Halle unfolds her legs and stands.
“Dinner’s almost ready. I hope you’re hungry.”
“Starved,” Halle groans, hand on her stomach.
“Piggyback ride?” I ask Soleil.
Giggling, she bounces to her feet. “I’ll never say no to that.”
I crouch down so she can hop on, then zoom out of the room. I’m careful on the stairs, but when we hit the first floor, I spin in a fast circle, causing Soleil to screech in my ear. Once I set her on her feet, she grins and takes off, joining the other kids in the family room.
Halle brushes my arm as she passes me at the bottom of the steps, but I snatch her hand and tug her into me.
“You’re good with her. ”
She shrugs off my praise, gaze averted. “I always wanted a little sister.”
“Dinner’s ready!” Thayer hollers from the kitchen. “Make your plates in the kitchen and sit wherever you want.”
As a stampede of kids makes its way past us, with Cynthia, Thelma, and Laith bringing up the rear, I hold tight to Halle, then guide her in behind them.
We settle into the makeshift line behind the crowd that also includes Thayer’s parents and Salem’s sister and her family. All day, everyone has commented on my goofy grin, but there’s no tempering it. This right here is what I’ve always wanted.
The kids take over the table in the kitchen, so the adults end up in the dining room.
Beside me, Halle takes a bite of macaroni and cheese and moans softly.
“Good?” My voice is heavy with humor.
“You have no idea.” She goes in for another bite.
“How have you been?” Georgia, Salem’s older sister, asks me. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
It’s the first quiet moment we adults have really had, and like every other gathering we have, it won’t last long.
“I’ve been good, G. Thanks for asking.”
Georgia leans forward, eyeing Halle. “I hear you’re the girlfriend.”
Halle’s eyes flare wide and the mac and cheese falls from her fork onto her plate. “Uh…”
“Georgia’s a bit intense, but she won’t eat you,” I promise.
“Yeah,” Halle says, voice small, looking to me for reassurance.
I wink, hoping she can sense how at ease I am with these people. If that’s the case, maybe she’ll feel the same way.
Georgia hums. “Good. He’s a keeper.”
“Thanks, G.” I shake my head, biting back a smile.
Georgia barely tolerated me when Salem and I dated in high school. She warmed to me a bit when we got back together, but that was stamped out when the two of us split and the truth came out.
“Halle,” Georgia says. “What do you do for a living?”
“Oh.” She wipes her mouth with her napkin. “I work for a medical office answering calls from home—scheduling appointments, getting insurance information, stuff like that. And then before… um… before we”—she looks to me—“started seeing each other, Caleb hired me as his assistant.”
“That’s our Caleb,” Georgia croons. “Always so charitable.”
“Georgia,” I snap. The word is harsher than I mean for it to be, but knowing Halle, G’s comment is going to hit her the wrong way.
“Oh.” Georgia pales. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I was just—” She blows out a breath. “You know what? I’m going to stop talking now. I just keep putting my foot in my mouth.”
“It’s okay,” Halle says softly, looking at me. “Caleb has been really good to me and my brothers. ”
I tilt close and press my lips to her temple. The move inspires an annoying chorus of aw s.
We’re finished with dinner and the kitchen is mostly picked up, though we haven’t had dessert yet, when the doorbell rings.
“Were we expecting someone else?” Salem asks over her shoulder, rinsing a dish.
Thayer presses a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll get it.”
He disappears, and when he returns thirty seconds later, he’s wearing a grimace. “It’s for you.”
It takes me a moment to realize he’s talking to me, but when I do, confusion swirls in my mind. “For me?” Everyone I know is already here.
“Yeah.” His lips twitch. “It’s your mother.”
Shit.