Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning was brisk and chilly, and Caleb woke with Evie snuggled up behind him.
She had her arm wrapped around his body and her face smushed into his back.
She was still snoring a bit. While she slept, Caleb rolled it over in his mind about what he saw.
There was no choice in the matter about telling her, because he knew damn well not to.
Evie was anxious enough and telling her that would only build her fears of being alone.
Rather, he thought about who it was. He picked up his cell phone and played it multiple times, trying to see the make and model of the car.
He was good with cars, having grown up fixing them.
Ashley’s sister, Breanne.
It infuriated him. He was straight up fucking pissed off.
Caleb gently lifted Evie’s hand, got dressed, and went outside to get in his truck to make a phone call.
While he sat, a nearby family came out of their room and made their way to their car. Family trip of some sort.
Breanne answered, “What do you want?”
Caleb said calmly, “Hey, there was an accident last night that involved a black Nissan Sentra. I wanted to call and see if you were okay, but I didn’t know if that would be appropriate.”
“Wasn’t me.”
“Okay, that’s good. I got worried because I know you usually go out to the bar on Saturday nights and drink.”
“I was out last night but wasn’t drinking.”
“Oh, where did you go? Anything fun?”
“Why the fuck are you calling me?”
He smiled and looked out the window. “I wanna know why you’re stalking Evelyn Morgan.”
“Who?” she snapped back.
“Don’t be a bitch, Breanne. I saw your car come by her house twice. You stopped down at her driveway once last night and once this morning. I saw you on the Ring camera.”
Breanne sighed loudly. “God, you are a fucking psychopath! You installed a Ring camera on that poor girl’s door? Does she even know? You see, this is exactly why you became a fucking creep with Ashley!”
He stayed calm. “You’re not denying it.”
“Listen, fuckwit, you can’t prove it was me.”
“I can by your dashcam. And it’s not gonna look good in court if you’re stalking her. You’re Ashley’s sister, you know.”
“I ain’t givin’ you my dashcam. You can go fucking rot and die overseas.”
“Is that supposed to make me cry? ‘Cause it won’t.”
“I’m hanging up on you.”
“Listen,” Caleb interjected, “If you won’t give me your dashcam, I’m going to report you to the police as a stalking suspect.
Evie’s protected under anti-stalking laws, and you were probably the one who followed her and I at O’Malley’s.
She’s deactivated her Facebook page because it turned into harassment.
That’s some serious shit, Breanne. You’re gambling with someone’s mental and emotional well-being.
Because her mailbox is so far from the house and it’s just a side view, I can’t get the license plate.
So, you better fess up and make it easier on yourself or give me your dash cam footage. ”
“It won’t show nothing.”
“Well, good.” He smirked. “Because if you delete a sequence of footage that happened around that time, Hunt will be able to detect possible tampering with evidence. And that’s a no-no.”
She went quiet.
“Be honest with me, Breanne. My life is already fucked up enough. Do you understand that? You are screwing with the one good goddam good thing I have now. Do you understand? Do you? Because of this shit that you probably caused, I’m at risk of losing my kids even more than I already have.
My case is going to be even harder now because of you and I could lose my kids completely! ”
“They shouldn’t be with you anyway.”
Caleb stopped talking. His body tightened.
“You’re a fucking emotional, unstable abusive fuckhead who messed up my sister badly.
No one cares about you. This isn’t about what happened with the chair or you breaking my dad’s fucking arm.
You got thrown out of the bar because you couldn’t handle your alcohol, like you can’t handle your emotions. ”
“What?” he hollered back. “I didn’t get thrown out. I left willingly when Hunt showed up!”
“It doesn’t matter!” she retaliated. “You did nothing but drink when you got home from your last deployment. You did nothing to help her take care of the kids!”
That was a lie.
“You don’t deserve your kids, Caleb. I hope the courts take them away, before Olivia ends up dead in a fucking ditch somewhere and Zack is found choked to death because of your so-called PTSD episodes!”
He went to hang up. He held the phone away and his thumb hovered over that red, circle button. His heart rate was through his head, and his lips were stiff and dry. The anger came in throttles, and he curled his toes inside his shoes.
Evie.
Don’t hang up.
Before he acted, he remembered all those beautiful things she had said to him, all those times she faced Sandy and Sarah head on with her concerns and still was a kind soul.
He took a breath and sighed. His hand relaxed on the steering wheel and then rested on his lap.
He slowly brought the phone to his ear. He said softly but strongly, “All this shit you’re telling me?
It doesn’t matter. You can tell me all these horrible things, but I can’t change your mind.
I don’t need to change your mind, and I don’t care to.
You’re stuck in your way with your sister, and that’s fine.
But I’m calling the police and you’re going to be investigated for stalking. ”
He hung up. Caleb leaned over and rubbed his fingers through his hair.
He felt utterly alone. Alcohol was his only friend when he had come home that time, other than his children and occasionally his dog and horses.
During those times, Ashley had become an absolute nightmare.
All of her needs that he could never meet, all of her wants he could never reach, and all the times he overslept but never felt rested at all.
One time, she had slammed the door in his face during an argument because he had a moment and blanked out, forgetting where he was.
He had stayed there for an hour staring at the door without knowing it.
When she opened it, he greeted her with a smile and went to hug her, except she had her bags packed and told him she was staying with her parents for the night.
She never explained to him why, only that he was a negligent maniac who needed therapy, and it wasn’t her responsibility to explain it to him.
Evie.
“Caleb?”
He jerked upright and looked out the window, and there was her sweet face all bundled up in his hoodie. He rolled down the window. She asked, “Hey. Are you… are you…okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you?”
“I’m great, but you’re not fine. I saw you leaning over with your hands on your head when I came out.” He opened the door, and she looked at him seriously. She backed away so he could walk to the room, and she followed.
“Did something happen?” she asked as she closed the door once they were inside.
“I just needed a minute.”
Evie quietly folded her arms and her eyes glimmered, and brows raised in worry. “Another episode?”
“Yeah,” he stammered. “Yeah, something like that.” Then he erected his head and looked at her. “Let’s get breakfast.”
For once, Evie didn’t pry. Although she battled within her heart to ask him about it, she refrained. All she did was approach him and hug him hard. Her body pressed against him, and she nuzzled her face in his strong chest.
Wait.
Her eyes opened wide.
She listened.
His heartbeat was fast and strong.
Evie pulled away and rubbed his arms, looking lovingly into his eyes. He wasn’t looking back at her. She smiled with her lips closed. “Come here to the bed with me. I’ll order delivery, room service, or something!” she said in a chipper tone.
“Nah, let’s go out,” he replied.
“Caleb? I want to stay in bed with you.”
“But we were supposed to go hiking around the lake today.” He pulled away from her and got his wallet. “Get dressed so we can make the breakfast hour at the diner.”
“No,” she said sternly.
He lifted his body from leaning over the table and turned to her, simply staring in disbelief.
She shook her head. “I’m not leaving.”
“Okay, then I’ll go and bring you something back.”
Evie approached him and he stepped away. She tried to grab his arm. “Caleb, please.”
He yanked his arm away, trying to be calm. “Please,” he shuddered hotly while holding his head. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
“Your heart is racing out of your chest. It’s okay. We can stay here and be quiet.”
“Nope,” he said stubbornly.
She watched him try to grab his cell phone, and she had had enough. Evie reached out and grabbed him hard, pulled him around, and forced him to sit on the bed. He tried to stand up but she straddled his lap and hugged him hard. Very hard. “I’m here. Rest.”
“I’ve got work to do later. I can’t have my neighbor do my work today. You can’t call Instacart and have them water your horses.”
His body shook. But hers was calm.
She assured sweetly, snuggling into his neck, “But you can rest for five minutes.”
He stayed.
Evie felt his arms wrap around her. She smiled in adoration. “You’re okay. You don’t need to talk. You don’t need to explain anything. I can be here and hold you. This is your moment, not mine.”
He nearly cried. He nearly broke.
Nearly.
A few minutes later, Caleb was lying on his side with a pillow under his arm, staring at the minutes clicking on by on the clock.
Evie turned it around. He tried to pick up his phone, and she took it and hid it under her pillow.
Doing things like that was how she coped with her own mania.
She stroked his hair and allowed her hand to cherish the beauty of his strong neck, the prickles of the shorter hair at the base of his scalp, and the strong curves of his muscled shoulder.