11. CALLUM – ROAD TRIP
CALLUM – ROAD TRIP
We’re ten hours into a thirteen-hour drive to Everlee’s parent's house. The first several hours started out fun, with chatting and singing. Knox brought a baby name book, so that killed another two hours as we discussed names we liked and didn’t like. Unfortunately for Knox, Knox Jr. was overruled, as were Abel, Axel, Lattimer and Wolf.
“How much longer until the next stop?” Everlee asks peaking over the back seat. “Pups are getting a little eager to run around.”
We got one large cage they could all stay in because trying to get them individual cages would have taken up too much space. As it is, they have the entire back of the suburban and all of our luggage is in one of those contraptions on top of the car.
“I’m trying to get through Charlotte, then figured we could stop for a quick bite to eat and let them run around.”
“Oh, we should stop and see if Michael’s in. Pop in and say hello,” Knox says, leaning between the front seats.
“Already messaged him. He’s somewhere in South America on a job,” Jax says.
“So why couldn’t we use his plane then?” Knox huffs, sitting back down. He looks at me on his left, then Ev on his right. “Don’t get me wrong. I love the bonding we’re doing… but a plane would have been a lot better.”
“He needed it to get down there. We could try to get it on the way home and just leave the rental down there,” Jax’s fingers thrum lightly on the steering wheel at the background music.
“I will call him now,” Knox chimes.
“Already got a voicemail in to him.”
“Well, look at you… Mr. Get-Shit-Done.”
“I was in a car with you singing Mariah Carey and Celine Dion for three hours straight. I’ve also put in several offers to just buy a plane,” Jax says in all seriousness.
“You tease.” Knox bats his hand, then grips Ev’s leg and lays his head on her shoulder.
Jax’s eyes meet mine in the rearview, and I can’t help but chuckle.
“I wish we lived closer,” Ev mumbles, more to herself than anyone in particular.
Part of me wonders if these feelings will get stronger once she’s pregnant, or after we have kids. I know her family is really important to her and every time her parents or brother visit, she lights up. I don’t think her brother wants to move because he has a good thing at the firehouse and her parents have a great community with their church, plus no one ever retires and moves north. They always move south, so…
Part of me has always wanted to live on the beach and after our trip last summer, that feeling only grew, but we have the clubs and the restaurant. The clubs we could manage from afar, but I don’t know if Emmett would leave Bo’s. That is his love, even though he has talked about stepping away from it some so he could focus on our family.
Who knows?
“What time do you think we’ll be there? I’m going to check-in online to get the code. Lizzy volunteered to swing by the grocery store for us and load up the house,” Emmett says, swiping up on his phone.
“So, does it matter what time we get there if she’s getting there first?” I ask, cutting my eyes to Ev, who clearly thought the same thing I did.
Emmett laughs. “I guess that did sound weird. Lots of things going through my head, plus I wasn’t paying attention. I’m checking in now to get the code for Lizzy. She just wants to know when we’re going to be there.”
“Tell her midnight,” Jax chimes, laughing and switching lanes.
“You stop,” Everlee chuckles, resting her head on the side of the window.
“She’s just asking because it’s been two days since she’s seen Lulu,” Jax retorts.
“You made us rent a suburban so we could bring six puppies and a dog with us,” Knox says, sitting up.
“I wasn’t going to leave them there with a sitter, I, nor the pups, have ever met.”
“Can’t wait until you’re a daddy,” Knox adds, “To kids. Since you’re already my daddy.”
Everlee laughs and I toss a glance at Knox, who pumps his eyebrows so happy with himself.
“Lizzy said she’ll have pizzas in the oven for us for dinner,” Emmett continues.
“Didn’t know you and Lizzy were besties,” Ev says.
“Jealous?” Emmett taunts, looking over his shoulder at her.
“Not at all. I’m good at sharing.”
“Touché.”
Four hours later, we’re parking beside a small beige car at our rental. It’s a gray two-story house tucked back on the property with a long driveway surrounded by fields and woods. There’s a large wraparound front porch on the house and two tall oak trees that stand on either side of the house with a rope swing attached to one. It’s a cute house, about ten minutes from Ev’s parent's house. We tried to get the same place we had last year, but it wasn’t big enough for all of us and the pups, plus Jax insisted we have a fenced-in yard so they could run. The pictures for this one also showed a creek nearby that would be fun to play in during the summer.
As soon as Jax cuts the engine off, we all fall out of the car and reach towards the sky, stretching. After the last stop, the time seemed to drag on forever. Even Knox was quiet, which is saying a lot.
The front door bursts open and Lizzy runs outside with her arms waving in the air, screaming in celebration. On-lookers would assume she is a crazy woman, but we just know this to be normal Lizzy.
Everlee laughs and holds her arms out only for Lizzy to run right by her to the trunk of the car.
“Never would I have thought this day would come,” Everlee teases, jogging to the back and wrapping her arms around Lizzy from behind.
“Hey love!” Lizzy tilts her head into Everlee. “Where’s my little boogie boo?”
As soon as the trunk opens and Lulu sees Lizzy, she starts with this little yelp whine.
Luna hops out of the trunk and walks a few steps, then stretches her paws out. “Careful,” Jax warns. “Let’s get the cage on the ground first. Last thing I need is for them to run out of the cage and topple out of the car.”
Lizzy claps, but doesn’t say anything, just backing out of the way as Knox and Jax lift the cage out of the trunk and place it on the ground.
Jax opens the door and all the puppies work their way out, squeezing through the door two at a time and hop through the tall grass. At first they don’t know what to do because it’s so tall and they’ve never felt it before. A few of them just freeze and pee, turning their little heads towards the sun while blue says screw it all and just hops all over the place attacking the tall grass like the blades have attacked him.
Lizzy picks up Lulu and gives her kisses all over her head and tucks her against her chest. “Pizzas are in the oven staying warm. Your mom said to call when you get in, and your brother said he’ll be by in a little while. They’re finishing up a call and will probably be by around nine to give you enough time to settle in.”
“That angel,” Knox says, running around with his arms open wide while the puppies chase him.
When he was talking to Ev on the phone earlier, he promised he wouldn’t stay for long. He just wanted to see the pups for a second and introduce his firehouse to the guys.
“Does Becks know which ones he’s going to keep?” Lizzy asks, putting Lulu down so she can go run in the field.
“I think blue and yellow,” Ev answers, then laughs when she looks back out at the field.
Knox has now fallen on the grass and all the puppies are climbing all over him, licking and nibbling him.
“Should we go inside and let the pups in the backyard?” I ask, watching Jax and Emmett get the hardshell carrier down.
“Yea, probably a good idea. There was a note on the counter that said not to leave animals out overnight because of coyotes in the area,” Lizzy calls over her shoulder as she picks up Lulu.
“Leave these little angels out?” Knox holds up green and sings the song from that kid’s lion movie.
“Can we leave Knox out? He’d probably scare them away?” Jax chuckles, walking the luggage inside with Emmett.
“Har har.” Knox pushes to stand. “Come on puppies.”
None of them listen.
“It’s their first taste of freedom, not on a leash.” I laugh, watching Knox, trying to get them to follow him. He’s crawling across the ground, barking like a dog. It’s good to see him like this. He’s been more at ease over the last several months. Things are in a good spot with his dad. They talk regularly and he’s been over for dinner twice. Almost like everything that was darkening his doorstep is slowly being put behind him.
Jax and Emmett walk back outside and pause on the front porch, watching Knox act like a fool. Jax hops down the three stairs and pats his leg, and Luna trots over to stand beside him. He rubs her head, then whistles out. All the puppy’s heads stick up, including Knox’s, and they all race towards Jax.
“That is just wrong!” Knox whines, standing up and brushing his hands over his pants.
“Not you. You’ve been a bad boy!” Jax points at Knox.
“Kinky, daddy.” Knox runs his finger down his chest, laughing, and the rest of us walk towards Jax and pick up a puppy or two to get them inside.
“Thanks for doing all this,” I say to Lizzy, following her in.
“Please. It wasn’t much. Anything for my family. Plus, I plan on being repaid with Emmett’s superb cooking sometime soon. Maybe this week when I pick up my Lulu girl.”
“Yea. I think that works. Maybe Thursday. I think we’re going back Tuesday and this drive was a little longer than we expected with all the stops for the pups. Although they are trying to get Michael’s plane again.”
Lizzy pumps her eyebrows and nudges my arm with her elbow.
“Stop,” Everlee laughs.
“I’d ask for a ride back, too, but I know how you kinky fuckers are.” She gives Ev a hug. “Well, I must be going. Just wanted to see my girl and make sure you all got in ok. Tony and I are having dinner with my dad tonight, so wish us luck.”
“Luck,” Everlee says, walking her out.
Jax and Knox are setting up the dog pen in the living room, so I pull the pizzas out of the oven and grab some plates out of the cabinets. It only takes two tries before I find them.
It’s a beautiful house. You can tell it’s been around for a while, even though they’ve remodeled at some point. Inside is open and spacious, with light gray walls carried throughout the entire house. It’s a little odd setup, because once you walk in, the stairs are right in front of you with a sitting room on a raised platform to the left and to the right is the kitchen and behind that, one level below, is an oversized living room that leads to the backyard. It feels like when they remodeled, they also added onto the house and shifted the rooms around a bit, but didn’t level it out. Lots of single steps up and down.
Even though someone painted the ceiling white, remnants of old cabinet outlines are etched into the house like it's saying "don't forget about me." It’s a small C-shaped kitchen with a low countertop that curves around with enough seating for eight.
“Oh, good.” Everlee sighs, walking into the kitchen and wrapping her arms around me. “I’m starving.”
“I’ve got something that can fill you up.”
She gasps and tries to pull out of our hug, but I clamp my arms tighter around her.
“I expect that from Knox, not you.”
“I heard my name,” he says, walking into the kitchen.
I give her a quick kiss on the head and open my arms, but she gives me a quick squeeze first.
“Are the pups all set up?” Emmett asks, hopping down the stairs.
“Yep. Daddy Jax is being super protective and moving everything away from the cage.”
Jax must have heard him from the living room because he yells a threat to Knox about calling him daddy Jax.
“Do you want to eat outside? I saw there’s a screened-in porch,” Everlee asks, opening all the lids of pizza until she finds the pepperoni.
She’s so basic and I love it. Pepperoni for our girl and that’s it. Knox is ham and pineapple. Jax, Emmett, and I are pretty much anything. Put all the meats and veggies on it. The more the better.
“Do you want to eat outside?” I ask, grabbing a few slices of my own.
She nods and starts walking that way.
The screened-in porch is large, with several couches and coffee tables. Beyond it is a backyard with a slight slope that feeds into the woods on the other side of the fence. Off in the distance, beyond the insect's nightly serenade, is the hushed trickles of the nearby creek.
The back of the fence has a little gate and there is a path that has been carved out in the woods over time that weaves through the trees. Maybe tomorrow we can go exploring a little before we head over to Ev’s parent's house.
The weight of the evening slowly creeps over us, blanketing us when Ev’s phone rings from inside.
She looks over her shoulder, but doesn’t move. I can see the sleep weighing on her eyelids.
“It’s probably my mom. I will call her when we go inside.”
A second later, Knox’s phone dings. He looks at it, then smiles. “Beckett can’t come over tonight. They got another call.”
“Oh thank the Gods,” Jax moans. “I wanted to see him, but it’s so peaceful out here that it made me exhausted.”
“Same,” everyone else agrees at the same time.