Chapter 10
Callie
After my talk with Angel, I head to the winter market. Mary and Christopher have a stand there, and I promised to help sell the ornaments we made last night. The proceeds from the stand go to a local children’s charity.
My phone rings twice with calls from Corey. I silence them, but when he calls a third time, I finally accept it.
“What do you want?” I demand in a harsh tone. This man walked out on my son. After seeing the way Nate accepts my boy so completely, I’m more furious than ever. That should have been Corey’s job. Corey should shower my son with all the acceptance, encouragement, and love he needs.
“My rings, bitch,” he answers in that snarky tone that I remember so well from our marriage. Things didn’t start out that way. We had a whirlwind romance where he seemed to adore me. He loved everything about me—or so it seemed.
But the whirlwind romance was intentional.
A narcissist can’t hide their true self forever, so they have to move quickly.
They have to get you ensnared before you see them.
It’s the only way to ensure you believe you’re the monster.
If you only tried harder, you could have a happy marriage.
It’s not until you’re out of their control that you can start to see the truth.
“What?” I mutter as I thread through the crowds, pausing to wave at Grady and Dallas. They nod at me, but I don’t stop to talk with them.
“I want my rings back,” he hisses.
“You’re not getting them back,” I tell him rather than explain that I sold them to cover Danny’s hospital bills. He won’t care anyway. “It’s not like they were your family heirlooms. Go find something else to gamble on.”
With that, I end the call and shake my head. I can’t believe the nerve of Corey. He’s always been like this. Always more interested in a dollar than anything else.
I wonder if his parents have finally cut him off but dismiss the idea.
He’s their golden boy who can do nothing wrong.
Well, let the three of them figure it out.
It’s not as if they ever listened to me when I said that he needed therapy, not their money.
I was the bad guy that didn’t understand their precious son.
“Everything OK?” Christopher asks when I arrive at the vendor stall.
I realize my cheeks are flushed, and my jaw is tight. I force myself to loosen the tension in my body before Danny picks up on it. “Just heard from someone I used to know.”
“Not a good conversation I take it?” he asks as he pretends not to notice a kid sneaking three candy pieces from the dish that’s been set out.
“Definitely not.” I shake my head. At least, Corey doesn’t know I’m in Montana.
The rest of the day passes by in a blur of busy customers. Christopher is easy to work beside. He’s quiet, not someone that needs to keep up a steady conversation, and I find myself appreciating that about him.
When Nate shows up at the vendor stall, Mary pleads with me for the chance to spend time with Danny.
“Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?” I ask despite the fact that he’s happy in her arms. He’s blowing spit bubbles and occasionally interspersing them with grunts. He clearly wants her full attention.
She coos down at him, her face wreathed with delight. “Aren’t you just the sweetest thing? Grandma is going to eat you right up. Yes, she is.” She buries her head into his abdomen and makes munching noises.
Christopher catches my eye and nods. “Have fun tonight, kids. Don’t worry about Danny or Rudy. We’ve got them.”
Nate takes my mittened hand in his and leads me through the crowd. The market will continue for several more hours, but I’m going on a date.
“I know things get crazy at the stalls. Have you eaten today?” He asks as soon as we’re out of the market and back on the snow-covered streets. Everything is quieter here away from the hustle and bustle of shoppers and vendors.
I chuckle and pat my stomach. “Every time I turned around, Christopher was insisting I try a different dish. I think I sampled every food vendor.” It actually warmed my heart, the way he kept clucking over me.
Christopher is a man of few words. When he cares about someone, he prefers to show it in his actions.
“Where are we going for our date?” I ask after we’ve walked together for a few minutes. I told him about my day, about meeting Angel for lattes and how much I enjoyed Christopher’s quiet, steady presence.
I didn’t mention Corey’s phone call. I think it would just make him angry on my behalf. Besides, Corey is thousands of miles away. There’s nothing to be done about him. Well, other than blocking his number which I did when we had a quiet moment at the stall.
“We’re here,” he says. “Just across the street.”
I look up to see a sign announcing the Silver Bell Hollow Ice Skating Rink. I gasp as soon as I see it. “You remembered!”
“Of course, I remembered,” he says. “It’s one of your favorite traditions.”
“I can’t believe this,” I murmur as he pays for two tickets to the outdoor rink.
There are already families and kids on the ice, all at various skill levels. Delighted laughter and soft squeals ring through the night air. Nearby, a crackling speaker plays Christmas music that skips every few seconds as if the CD has been scratched, but the rink owner hasn’t realized it yet.
“Now, I’ve never done this before,” he warns as the cashier passes us two pairs of skates.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you,” I promise. We take our seats on a nearby bench, so we can lace up. When we’re done, I get to my feet, surprised to find I’m upright.
I laugh, joy coming in waves after the stress of the past few weeks. “I haven’t done this in years.”
He stills, staring up at me.
“What is it?” I ask, my confidence growing. I missed being out here in the cold with skates on my feet. It feels good.
“I like your laugh,” he says softly. “I want to hear it for the rest of my life.”
I think again of Corey and how quickly I fell for him.
But that was different because I was still grieving my parents, still looking for the place I belonged in the world.
I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted.
That made me easy to mold. Now, I’m confident in my skin.
I know who I am and what I want is this cowboy with his red Stetson and easy smile.
“Now, are you ready to watch me bust my ass on the ice?” He teases.
True to his word, Nate does bust his ass on the ice repeatedly. He falls down more often than he does anything else. Each time, he laughs it off and gets back onto his feet. I like that he can laugh at himself, and he isn’t taking this too seriously.
After over an hour on the ice, I finally take pity on him. “Are you ready to go back to the ranch?”
“Only if you carry me,” he gasps out from where he’s fallen yet again.
I chuckle and help him to his feet. “You were impressive.”
He scoffs. “Don’t patronize me. My butt is numb from all those falls, and I have a date with a heating pad tonight.”
I giggle. “It’s a nice butt if it helps.”
“Right back at you.” His gaze rakes over my figure. “Christopher said he and Mary would be late at the market. I figure we’ll pick up our boys and maybe catch a movie in the living room. See where the night goes.”
I’d like for the night to go straight to my bedroom, but I nod like his idea is a great plan, even if it does involve more clothes than I had hoped.
“Messed up another one. Oh, well,” Nate says as he pops a piece of unbuttered popcorn into his mouth.
I chuckle. “You have to be gentle when stringing them.”
When we arrived back at the ranch, I set up a Christmas movie to stream on the TV. Nate disappeared for a few minutes only to return with string, fresh popcorn, and cranberries.
“I am,” he protests as Danny squeals as if agreeing with his new buddy. He’s between us in his seat. We’re carefully keeping the popcorn and cranberries away from both Danny and Rudy.
Nate has half his attention on his dog. Technically, he could eat the plain, whole grain popcorn because it has no seasoning or butter. But Nate is worried he’ll get into the kernels which would hurt his tummy.
He gets the next pieces on without too much struggle then smuggles him half a treat from his pocket. As careful as he is with Rudy’s diet, he clearly loves spoiling his boy.
I can’t help wondering what he would be doing if he were at home in Courage County right now. “You mentioned you haven’t been back to the Naughty List in a couple of years. How do you celebrate Christmas when you’re not here?”
“Well, lately, I’ve been ducking everyone and celebrating alone,” he admits in a quiet tone.
I don’t ask any questions, sensing there’s a story. I don’t want to push him to share anything he’s not ready to tell me.
He blows out a breath. “It’s kind of embarrassing. But I wanted the whole wife and kids thing. You know, the picket fence and the farm that gets passed from generation to generation.”
“That’s not anything to be embarrassed about.” I don’t tell him that since I’ve met him, I think more and more about what I want my life to look like. I’ve been in survival mode for a long time, and Nate makes me want to dream again.
“No, that’s not the embarrassing thing. I met a woman online. I was head over heels. Just crazy about her. We often chatted at odd times and never on weekends. She was a doctor. Whenever she couldn’t contact me, she’d just tell me she was on shift, and I was dumb enough to believe it.”
“We trust the ones we love,” I remind him even as my heart clenches. I have a feeling I know where this is going.
“Yeah, well, Christmas Eve, she comes to my place with no advance warning. Just shows up at my door. Told me she managed to get the holidays off even though she thought she’d have to work through them at the hospital.
I thought it was perfect. I thought she was perfect, so I proposed. Right there on the spot.”
He sighs. “The next morning, my family is at my ranch. Everyone is welcoming her, and Emma May wants to help plan the wedding. Gifts are being opened. Music is playing. It was everything I’d dreamed of since I was a kid.”
He’s quiet for a long time, his hands still on the string he’s threading.
It’s obvious that his mind is back there on that morning.
Finally, he starts again, “There was a knock at the door. Her husband came to pick her up. He was angry with her for walking out on him. But especially because she’d walked out on their five kids at Christmas. ”
I reach for his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “You didn’t know.”
“Guess I’ve been hiding out ever since then. Well, until I met you and the little elf.” One side of his mouth tips up in a grin.
Danny squeals in delight, and we both focus on him for a moment. He’s giggling because Rudy is licking his feet and tickling him with his tongue.
“I think they’re going to be good friends,” I tell him in a soft tone.
“Me, too,” he answers before we go back to threading our popcorn and cranberries.
Outside, snowflakes swirl in the night air, illuminated underneath the full moon.
Inside, the movie continues to play and every so often, Nate pauses to stoke the fire.
Danny happily babbles at Rudy who loves finding new ways to make his tiny friend laugh.
This is not the life I pictured when I accepted the job in Silver Bell Hollow. It’s better than anything I could have imagined.
It’s late when Mary and Christopher come stumbling back into the ranch. Her cheeks are flushed like she’s been drinking the spiked apple cider around here that I’ve heard rumor Christopher makes. Or maybe it’s the way he has his hands all over her.
They stop and straighten when they see us.
“We thought you kids had gone to bed,” Christopher says as Mary pats her wild hair into place. She leans over to pluck a twig from his beard. It’s sweet the way they can’t keep their hands off of each other, like they’re a couple of teenagers madly in love.
“Actually, we’re headed that way now,” I tell them and quickly scoop up Danny. I don’t want to be underfoot. This is their house after all. “Night, Nate.”
He calls out goodnight to me as I hurry down the hall. I listen to the sounds of the house once I’ve put a very sleepy Danny into his crib. The soft click of Nate’s doorknob lets me know he’s gone to bed too.
I stare at my doorknob without blinking for several long moments, willing it to turn. But it never does, so I shake my head.
“Get that idea out of your head,” I mutter. I change into my favorite, worn flannel pajamas. They were a gift I gave myself about a year ago when I was pregnant. I grabbed them from the men’s section, desperate to find something that was comfortable against my swollen belly.
Since having Danny, I’m no longer swollen but I’m not about to give up the most comfortable pair of pjs I own, even if they do hang a little loosely on my frame. I let down my hair, allowing it to flow in soft waves and brush my teeth.
I’ve just settled into bed with the covers pulled up when there’s a quiet knock on my door. My heart pounds wildly in my chest. With a glance toward the crib, I creep out of bed.
Nate is standing in the doorway. “I didn’t want this night to end.”