42. Caleb
CHAPTER 42
CALEB
“ T hose dance lessons paid off, huh?” I ask as we sway to the song.
As meddlesome as our friends are, I probably should have expected the surprise reception they put together.
Halle lets out a laugh that ends in a snort. Her cheeks pinken, and she peers around like she’s worried someone heard her. “Rub it in.”
Grinning, I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “You’re my wife.” I can’t stop saying it. Subconsciously, maybe I’m a little scared that if I don’t, I’ll wake up to discover this has all been a dream.
“You’re my husband.” She rests her chin on my chest, looking up at me.
The rec center is filled with people from town. I don’t think Halle knows many of them, at least not well, but she has encountered them. That’s how Hawthorne Mills is, though—one giant family.
Except for, ironically, given our ancestors were the founders of this town, my own family.
I’ve tried not to dwell on my mother’s reaction. I expected it, honestly, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. There’s no changing my parents. I learned that long ago. All I can do is keep reaching out, hoping to meet them in the middle. If they don’t want to take the step to do the same, that’s okay too. I’ll never put my relationship with them above the ones I have with my wife and kid.
Salem appears from the kitchen, holding a carrier filled with cupcakes, and a second later, Halle sees her, her eyes lighting up.
“Cupcakes!” she squeals, pulling away.
The girl I met months ago never would’ve reacted so openly to a sweet treat. I’m so fucking thankful that she let me peer past those thick walls of hers, that she eventually let me dismantle them and that she’s found a home with not just me, but with this entire town.
Before she gets far, I grab her hand.
She’s mine now, and I’m not letting her get away that easily.
I do, however, let her drag me over to the table where Salem is carefully setting out an array of cupcakes .
“Do you have red velvet?” Halle asks with a little bounce.
Salem swishes her hair over her shoulder. “Duh. It’s your favorite.” She plucks one and hands it to Halle. “You want one too?” she asks me.
I hold out an eager hand.
With a playful eye roll, she passes me a cupcake of my own.
I swipe a plate, napkins, and a bottle of water before dragging my wife over to the table set up at the head of the room.
There’s a good chance Halle will be annoyed by how often she’s going to be hearing the word wife . It settled in my brain with ease, like that label was always meant to belong to her and only her.
Once we’re seated, Halle peels the wrapper from the cupcake, careful not to get any red velvet crumbs on her dress.
“Today’s a good day, isn’t it?” she asks with a smile.
“The best day.” I grin at her as she takes a bite and hums when the flavor hits.
It’ll be a long time before a day comes along that can top this one.
I’m finishing my cupcake when Seda darts over to us. “Dance with me, Daddy?”
I smile at my girl. “Always.” I wipe my hands, then stand and follow her onto the dance floor, looking back at my wife, who’s watching us with a smile.
This kind of pure happiness should be illegal.
“I love this song,” Seda says, smiling up at me .
“I know you do.” It’s from one of her favorite boy bands, a song I’ve had to listen to over and over again. Which is probably why Salem added it to the playlist.
“When I get married, I want to wear a big white princess dress.”
The idea of Seda getting married one day momentarily crushes me. It’s inevitable, but I want her to stay my little girl forever.
“You can wear whatever dress you want.” I pull her closer.
“Will you and Dad walk me down the aisle like Casen and Quinn did with Halle?”
I give her hand a soft squeeze, my heart thumping in my chest. “I’m sure we could do that.”
Her responding smile is blinding. “You’re both my dads, so it only makes sense.”
“That’s right.”
“And I want lots of flowers,” she goes on. “And pizza for the reception. You can’t go wrong with pizza.”
I have to bite back a grin as she prattles on.
“I’m not wearing heels. Mommy always says heels suck.”
With a chuckle, I kiss the top of her head. “You don’t have to wear heels, sweetheart.”
She continues on like I haven’t said anything. “I think I’d like to get married outside too. Not in the summer. Too hot. But maybe in the spring or fall.”
“Whenever you want.”
“And”—she looks up at me, lashes fanning her cheeks—“I want to dance with you just like this. ”
Fuck, talk about a stab to my heart. I can picture it. “I’ll always dance with you.”
“I know you will, Daddy, because you love me.”
When the song comes to an end, I scoop her up and hold her tight. I didn’t know until this little girl came into my life just how much love a person can be capable of.
I hug her until she’s wiggling in my arms.
“Daddy,” she giggles. “You have to let me go.”
The deeper truth in those words guts me.
I release her, and she runs toward Casen and Quinn, who are raiding the cupcakes. Though I’m still apprehensive about her crush on the boys, I turn and head to the table, where Halle is still sitting, elbow propped on the table, chin in her hand, smiling at me.
“Caleb.” A small but firm hand grips my elbow, then Thelma is at my side. “Cynthia and I will take the boys tonight. And Lou at the inn said she’s got a room set aside for the two of you. Free of charge.”
Warmth blooms in my chest. “That’s very kind of her, but I have a feeling Halle will want to go home.”
Thelma shrugs, releasing my arm. “Once you talk to Halle, let me know your decision, and I’ll pass it along to Lou.”
I start toward my wife again—my wife —but just as I approach her, her eyes go wide, and she stands.
“Mom?” she blurts out.
I turn, following her gaze, and when I catch sight of her mother, I’m hit with a bolt of surprise.
The woman’s posture is rigid, and she’ s heading our way.
“Mom?” Casen and Quinn echo, their tones full of shock. “What are you doing here?”
She ignores her sons, her eyes zeroed in on Halle. The room grows quiet, every eye in the place locked on her.
The air goes strangely still, like even the environment knows something isn’t right. We’re all frozen, except Freya, who’s still making a beeline for Halle.
I shake my head free of the cobwebs and move, quickly putting myself between Halle and her mother.
“Move!” Freya demands. Her eyes are bloodshot, her skin waxy as her gaze jerks around the room.
“No.” I put a hand behind my back and give Halle a nudge so she’ll stay where she is.
She grips my arms, peeking around me, but her view is cut off when Laith and Thayer flank me, coming without hesitation to help me protect my girl.
“I need to talk to my bitch of a daughter.”
“Why are you here? How are you here?”
Freya leans to one side, then the other, trying to see around us, but she can’t see much of Halle. We’ve made sure of that.
“I told you I’d been on my best behavior.” Her lips curl in a cruel smirk. Her smile has the slightly unhinged quality of a person who has nothing left to lose. “I asked around while I was on the inside,” she goes on. “Talked to some people. Got me a lawyer. Cheap one, but he’s decent. He told me it wasn’t random that I got caught. Someone snitched on me, and who else would want to more than you, Halle girl?”
“What?” Halle wraps a hand around my bicep and gives me a shove. I move a few inches, but only because she’s freakishly strong.
Her grip on me tightens. “I didn’t turn you in.”
“Don’t lie!” Freya’s shout echoes through the event space.
“Hey, now. We don’t need any of this fuss,” Thelma says, stepping forward from where she and Cynthia have been standing on the side of the room. “This is getting out of hand.”
Freya turns her way, reaching into her bag. “I’ll show you out of hand.”
In what feels like slow motion, she pulls her hand out and brandishes a gun. It takes a moment to register in my brain, but Thelma is already stepping back, hands in the air.
Thayer inhales sharply beside me. “Fuck.” The fear in his tone has me zeroing in on Salem and the kids over Freya’s shoulder.
“Hey.” I raise my hands. “There’s no need for that. Put the gun away, and we can find somewhere to talk. How does that sound?”
Eyes narrowed, she opens her mouth to respond, but snaps it shut again when Quinn shouts from behind her.
“Mom,” he pleads. “It wasn’t Halle. We did it.”
I wince, silently cursing him for speaking out. She whips around, gun wobbling in her hand, making me think she doesn’t even know how to use the thing. That only makes her more dangerous.
“I don’t believe you,” she snaps.
Dread washes over me. In the space of a heartbeat, the best day of my life has devolved into this .
Casen and Quinn slowly make their way toward us, hands raised. I do everything I can with my eyes to tell them to stop, to stay where they are, but they’re too focused on their mother to notice.
Fuck. Why didn’t I look into Freya more after she threatened Halle? I know better. But naively, I believed she’d be locked up for quite a while longer, and I never could have imagined she’d show up with a gun.
“Mom,” Casen says softly. “I swear it was us. Halle didn’t tip off the cops. We did. Someone had to do something, and Halle always protects you, so we did it.”
“Boys,” Halle gasps behind me. “I can’t believe you’d do that.”
“You cared too much to do what needed to be done,” Quinn says, eyes full of silent apology as he focuses on his sister.
Halle sniffles behind me, her fingers flexing against my arm.
Freya sways, the gun wobbling in her hand.
“Let’s put the gun down,” Thayer says gently. “All of this was a mistake.”
Freya cries, her face wet with tears. “I thought… I thought…”
“Come on,” Thayer says, taking a slow step in her direction. “Just give me the gun and?—”
A sharp crack echoes off the walls, so loud my ears ring.
It’s followed by screams.
“Oh my God.” Freya drops the gun, looking at… looking at me in horror.
“Caleb!” Halle screams, shoving in front of me .
As she looks down at my abdomen, I follow, only now noticing the blood staining my abdomen.
“Halle,” I whisper. I touch the wound, my fingers coming away bright red.
My vision gets blurry, and then Thayer and Laith are grabbing my arms and laying me down.
“Caleb,” Halle sobs, her hands cupping her mouth. “Oh my God. Caleb, please.”
I reach for her, my movements sluggish. “I-I’m okay.” My teeth start to chatter.
Halle kneels at my side.
“Y-Your dress. Don’t g-get blood on i-it.”
She brings a hand to my cheek.
Why does it feel so cold?
I try to put my hand over hers, but I can’t seem to get my limbs to cooperate.
In the background, there’s a muffled “someone call 911.”
“They’re already on the way” is the response.
“Caleb,” Halle begs, her eyes full of tears. “Stay with me.”
“I love you,” I tell her.
I want her to know that.
I love her, and that makes everything worth it.
It’s the last thought I have as my vision goes dark.