26. Chapter 26 - Callum
Saturday. The final day of the month-long family reunion.
After sending my boss a text late on Friday saying I accepted the Fermentation Trail assignment, I woke up to the sounds of my mom cooking, bustling around the kitchen and blasting music, my dad by her side.
I sleepily made my way from my bedroom, wearing a soft V-neck and pajama pants, and stood at the breakfast bar, watching my parents for a few moments before they noticed me.
They were so happy together. They made it look so easy.
Of course, they’d been together for a long, long time.
Maybe that was the secret to the ease of their relationship.
I wasn’t sure, but I knew I wanted it, too. Someday, with someone. Maybe with Pax.
“Morning,” I said loud enough to be heard over the music.
They turned to me at the same time. “Callum!” Mom said cheerfully.
Dad smiled and waved a spatula at me. “Good morning."
“What’s going on in here?”
Dad nudged Mom with his hip and smiled at her, his expression all heart eyes and love. “We’re just getting ready for the cookout.”
“Already?” I glanced at the clock on the stove. “It’s only nine.”
Mom shrugged. “Ribs have to be started early.”
“Who’s coming today?” I hoped the answer would include Charlie and not Angie or Jacob.
“Everyone,” Dad said. “This cookout is looking like it’ll be the biggest turnout we’ve had this year.”
I whistled quietly. Lucky me. “Do you mind if I invite Paxton again?”
Mom laughed and shook her head. “Honey, we’d be disappointed if you didn’t invite him again.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Dad echoed. “We like him. He’s good for you.”
My cheeks heated. “How so?”
Dad put his spatula on a spoon rest. “He just is. He takes good care of you. Look at how he treated you when you hurt your ankle. And he looks at you like you hung the moon. He’s great with kids and he’s charming and funny. Everyone loves him. Including us.”
I looked away, studying the countertop intensely for a moment. When I looked up again, Mom and Dad were both smiling at me in their gentle, parental kind of way. “I’m glad. I really like him, too.”
“Well, that’s settled.” Mom pressed a quick kiss to Dad’s shoulder before turning to stir something on the stove with a big silicone spoon.
“You haven’t told us what your plan is for after this week,” Dad said carefully. I could tell he was trying to fish for information without pushing too hard.
“Oh,” I said. “I can’t believe I didn’t tell you.” I filled them in on the Fermentation Trail project, both of them listening carefully and nodding along.
When I finished, Mom hummed and tapped her spoon on the pot she was stirring. “That’s interesting.”
I nodded in agreement. “It is. It’s a huge opportunity.” Mom never called things interesting without having something further to say. I waited for her to continue.
“You certainly would be leaving Paxton behind, though, wouldn't you?” she said.
Just the thought made my heart feel like it was filled with lead. “I know. But what choice do I have?”
Mom looked at Dad, who eventually spoke. “You could stay here.”
“Stay?” My eyebrows shot up. “And turn down the assignment of a lifetime?”
“Other assignments will come your way,” he said in a reassuring tone.
His unspoken words hung in the air. Other assignments will come, but there’s only one Paxton.
My stomach began to ache and I swallowed hard. “I think I’m going to go lie down again. Not feeling well.”
“Do you need to take some ibuprofen?” Mom reached for the medicine cabinet immediately.
I waved her offer away. “I’m good. Thanks, Mom. Thank you both for the talk. I have a lot to think about.”
The cookout was scheduled to start by one, so around noon, Charlie showed up, wearing all black as usual, with his casual grin and his easy laugh working overtime. I was sitting on the couch in the living room, near the front door, when he came in.
“Hey,” he said.
I nodded and waved from my laptop.
“What’s up?”
It took me a few seconds to tap the last few words into my grant application and hit send before I looked back to Charlie. “Sorry. Finishing up some projects for Pax.”
“Nice,” he said, flopping on the couch near me. “How is that boyfriend of yours?”
I rolled my eyes. “Good. He turned down the investor’s money the other day.”
“Oh?” His eyes widened. “Tell me more.” I recapped the story for him, Charlie nodding along in approval. “That’s great. Honestly. I’m glad he stood up for himself.”
“Me too.”
“And I guess you told your boss no on the travel assignment, right?”
I frowned and looked sharply at Charlie. “No. Why would I do that?”
“Sorry, I just assumed you’d want to stick around and see where things go with Paxton. Are you two…”
“We’re trying long-distance,” I said, my stomach clenching. I really didn’t want to be away from him for three months, but what choice did I have?
Charlie furrowed his brow. “That sounds rough, especially at this point in your relationship.”
“It will be.”
“Have you considered your options?”
I scowled at him. “What options?”
He rolled his eyes as if it were obvious. “Maybe he can hire you to work at the meadery. Or you could apply for a job locally, at the newspaper, maybe. We’re not far from Sacramento. I’m sure there are publications there.”
“I’m not quitting my job to stick around for a boy,” I protested. As I said it, though, lightness filled me. It sounded like the solution I’d wanted to give voice to. “Besides, you know my history with this place.”
Charlie rolled his eyes again. “Do not tell me you can’t stay because of Jacob. We both know that you’ve moved on. Way on. Onward and upward and all that. Paxton is leagues better than Jacob in every way, and he’s obsessed with you. In a healthy way, not in the boiling bunnies way.”
He wasn’t wrong. I had hated living in Foggy Basin for so long because of Jacob, but I had barely thought of him since the field day incident. In fact, I hadn't thought of him once until this morning.
I nodded slowly. “Maybe.”
“Just think about it.”
I shoved his shoulder playfully. “Fine. Now will you stop pestering me?”
He flipped me off casually as he stood up. “See you at the cookout.”
Paxton arrived at one on the dot, my heart skipping a beat as I answered the door to find him on the other side. In his hands was a big, plastic crate filled with individual serving-sized bottles of mead. He beamed when I opened the door.
“I have gifts,” he said, stepping inside.
I stepped close and gave him a quick kiss. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
His smile brightened even further. “Me too.”
It didn’t take us long to get settled in the backyard, each of us with a drink in hand, watching the kids run around screaming and having fun with water guns and carrying on easy conversation as the day passed.
It really did seem like everyone was there.
I even spotted Angie and Jacob off to the side, chatting with some of my other adult cousins.
Paxton stood after a while. “I’m going to run to the restroom.”
“Sure thing. Need a hand?” I winked at him.
He snorted and shook his head. “Maybe later.”
“I’m counting on it.”
As soon as he disappeared into the house, I looked back at the yard to notice Jacob approaching. My stomach soured, but I braced myself for impact.
Once he got close enough to talk, he stopped in front of me. “Callum,” he said with his typical air of superiority.
I sighed softly. Keep it polite, I told myself. “Hi, Jacob. How’s Angie?”
He flinched but smoothed out his features quickly. “I’d rather talk about you.” He took a seat next to me, where Paxton had been. “How are you?”
“Fine. Paxton is good, too.”
“Yeah, well. That’s what happens when you settle. Everything is just fine.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure. What did you want?”
“I just wanted to let you know, if you ever wanted to…” His voice was soft, quiet but not tender. “I’d take you back, you know. If you apologized.”
My eyes widened. “You want me to apologize? For what?”
“You know. Don’t act like you don’t know. This is all your fault. You’re the one who set me off. If you could just…” He waved his hands vaguely in the air. “None of this would’ve ever happened.”
“That’s not how it happened. And I’m with Pax now. I’m not interested in rekindling our relationship. Ever.”
“You could do better, you know. Better than Paxton.”
“Do you mean with you? That you’re better than Paxton?”
He shrugged casually. “I mean…”
“You know what? I’m over it. You cheated on me constantly. Every other sentence was a lie. You treated me like I was disposable to you.”
“I—”
I held up a hand to stop him. “No. I’m not interested, Jacob. Go back to Angie. Go back to whoever you want. Just don’t bother me anymore. Ever again.”
“You’ll regret this,” he said menacingly.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Go.”
A second later, someone behind us cleared their throat. Jacob and I both spun to see Paxton standing there, his face stock still. “You heard him.”
Jacob huffed and stormed away and that was that.
I glanced up at Paxton. “Thanks.”
His smile was gentle and knowing. “Anytime.” He paused for a moment before sitting, and when he spoke, his voice was low and sultry, sending a shiver through me. “How much longer until we can get out of here?”
My body flushed with heat and I swallowed hard. “Soon.”