34. Caleb
CHAPTER 34
Caleb
I ’m awoken by the sudden need to sneeze and something tickling my nose. Slowly opening my eyes, I smile to myself as blonde hair fills my vision and I realize I have Bailey draped across me. I inhale deeply, taking in the smell of her, it’s always hints of vanilla and jasmine. Reaching up, I brush her hair away from my nose and tuck stray pieces behind her ear. She nuzzles her face into my neck, and I chuckle. She’s so freaking adorable.
I watch as her eyes open and she stretches before looking at me.
“Good morning,” she says with a sleepy smile.
“Good morning.”
We stare at each other for what feels like minutes. Last night was full of heavy and important conversations, and being able to just hold her as we lie in bed means everything to me. I can see all the thoughts swirling around her mind as she looks at me. Her smile grows even bigger, her eyes crinkling at the corners with the magnitude of it.
“I want to sell,” she says.
It takes me a second to wrap my head around the comment, but when I do, my smile matches hers .
“You want to sell?”
She worries her lip as she nods, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic. Her choosing to sell means she's not looking for some backup plan to get out of this relationship. She’s all in.
I roll us so that I hover over her. “I love you,” I whisper before I lean down and kiss her cheeks, then her forehead, nose, and neck, before landing on her lips. It’s an intimate kiss that conveys more for me than words could. She completely relinquishes herself to it, following my lead and allowing me to take control. I savour every second of it before I break the kiss, resting my forehead against hers.
“Why don’t we go get our girl?”
Bailey nods against my head, and I climb out of bed and make my way to the closet. Joining me, Bailey gasps as she takes in the mess I left the closet in yesterday. I rub the back of my neck as I turn and look at her.
“I kinda tore it apart looking for Mom’s ring last night. I’ll put it all back tonight. Don’t worry about it.”
She walks up to me and wraps her arms around my neck as she smiles up at me. “I’m not worried about it. I’m sorry I scared you yesterday.” She rises onto her tiptoes, and her lips brush against my cheek so softly that if I hadn’t watched her do it, I would have guessed I dreamed it.
We get dressed and head downstairs. Bailey lets Finn out while I make us coffee. When she comes back in, we grab our to-go cups and head to the entryway. As we are putting our shoes on, Bailey asks, “Do you mind if we stop by a realtor’s office? I’d like to get some information for listing the house.”
“Yeah, I can text the guy that helped me buy this one. I’m sure he can help you out.”
I pull out my phone and text him. He says to stop by his office and he’ll get us started. Our meeting there is quick and then we are on our way to Lily’s to pick up Charlie.
When we arrive, Bailey lets hersel f in, and I follow behind her.
“We’re here,” she calls, and I smile at the sound of Charlie’s running.
“Mommy! Daddy!” she calls just before she barrels into my legs.
I reach down and hook my hands under her arms, lifting her up. I hold her close to my chest, closing my eyes and appreciating the feel of her in my arms. Her arms wrap around my neck, and I start to sway a little as I just hold her. This little girl helped save me, and I’m not sure she knows it.
“Daddy, you can put me down now.”
I chuckle as I kiss her cheek and put her down so Bailey can hug her. Down the hallway, Lily is leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest and a smile.
“Hey, Lily,” I say with a head nod.
“Hey, Daddy,” she says.
My neck and cheeks heat.
“I was a little worried when I heard Charlie call that when you guys came in.” She walks towards us and runs her hand over Charlie’s head as she takes the three of us in. Her smile only gets bigger. “I have to say, I like this development.”
“Me too,” I say.
“Thank you for hanging out with Charlie,” Bailey says.
“Oh, you don’t need to thank me for hanging out with my girl here.”
“Well, next time you should come over to our place. I can make myself scarce at Josh and Liv’s for a few hours for you guys to have a girls’ night,” I say.
Lily’s eyes bounce between Bailey and me before landing on me. “You’re a good one.”
I rub the back of my neck as I say, “Thanks.”
“So, um, Lil. If there’s anything at my place you might want, just let me know. I’m listing it, so you’re welcome to whatever you want before I sell it. I’m only keeping the sentimental photos and stuff, so all the furniture and pretty much the entire kitchen is up for grabs.”
Lily stares at Bailey, wide-eyed. “You’re selling your parents’ place?”
“Yeah. I think the negative memories have made too much of an imprint on the place, and we don’t need it anymore.”
Lily doesn’t say anything, she just nods. Bailey leaves us as she takes Charlie to go gather their things so we can leave. Once they’ve walked away, Lily pulls me into a hug.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “Thank you for loving them the way they deserve to be loved. You’re a good man, Caleb Sutton.”
She releases me, and I make sure to hold her eyes to ensure she knows just how serious I am about what I’m going to say.
“I will love those girls until my last dying breath. They are the best thing to ever come into my life. I will spend the rest of it knowing just how amazing they are, and how lucky I am that they chose me.”
Lily tips her head back as she wipes at a tear that falls down her cheek. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted for them,” she whispers.
Bailey notices Lily wipe away her tear as she comes down the hallway with Charlie’s bag thrown over her shoulder. Her eyes are filled with worry as she looks at me and then back to Lily.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
Shaking her head with a chuckle, Lily says, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I’m just so happy for you.”
Bailey pulls her into a hug before we make our way to the truck.
On our way home, I allow myself to sit in my thoughts as the girls sing to the music playing through the stereo.
When we get home, Finn doesn’t greet us at the door like usual. I make my way through the house, calling out for him. When I walk into the kitchen, the breeze that sweeps through alert s me to the open sliding glass door.
Bailey’s gasp travels through the kitchen. My head swings to her, and I see the tears forming in her eyes. I make my way to her, but she moves past me and heads straight outside. She frantically calls Finn’s name as she moves through the yard. When he doesn’t turn up, she runs up the side of the house and Charlie and I follow. Bailey’s frantic.
None of us find him. When Charlie and I catch up to Bailey, she turns towards us, completely distraught as she works to catch her breath. With her hands on her hips, she tips her head back and takes deep breaths.
Charlie walks up to her and wraps her arms around her legs.
“Mommy, are you okay?”
Plastering on a smile, Bailey looks down at her. “Yeah, Baby Girl, I’m okay. I’m just worried because we can’t find Finn.”
“Mommy, it’s okay. Finn’s a good doggy. He’ll come home.”
Bailey’s eyes leave the little girl wrapped around her leg and meet mine. She’s fighting to hold back tears. I slowly approach her like a scared animal, worried that going too fast will have her breaking before my eyes.
“Bails, it’s okay. We’ll find him. Charlie’s right, he’ll come home.”
Her tears slowly fall as she gives up the fight.
“How are you so calm? I lost your dog. I swore I closed the door all the way before we left, but I guess I left it cracked and Finn pushed it open more and ran out. We don’t know how long he’s been gone and how far he’s gotten.”
She’s out of breath as she rambles, and I wrap my arms around her and hold her, kissing the top of her head.
“Bailey, breath for me. It’s all going to be okay. Finn knows the neighbourhood from our walks. We are going to go inside, and I’m going to grab his leash and walk around the neighbourhood looking for him. You two can stay here, and I’ll let you know when I find him.”
Her hands fist my T-shirt as she cries into my chest as I continue to hold her. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbles against me.
“Bails, this stuff happens. Everything is going to be okay.”
She nods and pulls back, her head leaning back as she looks up at me. “Okay, but we’re going with you. I created this mess and I’m going to help fix it.”
Determination fills her eyes, and I know there’s no way I’m talking her out of this, so I nod before kissing her forehead and stepping back. The three of us make our way into the house, and I grab Finn’s leash, along with a bag of treats, and stuff them into my pocket. I watch as Bailey makes sure the sliding glass door is closed and locked before we head out the front door.
We head down the road in the same direction that I usually take Finn on his walks. Every few minutes, one of us calls Finn’s name. We make it to the park that marks the halfway point of our walk, and there’s still no sight of him. I stop by the dog park, but he’s not there either. We ask if anyone has seen him and no luck. It’s starting to wear on Bailey. Her shoulders are starting to hunch as she walks with her arms wrapped around her middle. Charlie doesn’t seem phased the way her mother is. She is positive Finn will come back.
We are almost home when one of our neighbours walks out and greets us on the sidewalk. Mr. Price is an older man in his late sixties. His hair is completely grey now, but he keeps it styled in such a way you’d never guess he’s as old as he is. I’ve seen him on his daily runs around the neighbourhood. He’s kept himself in shape since he retired from the fire department about ten years ago. I give him a nod as he approaches us.
“Hey, Caleb,” he says, reachin g a hand out and shaking mine. “Your boy Finn was having a blast running up the street a little bit ago. I tried calling him, but he just kept going.”
Bailey perks up. “How long ago?”
Mr. Price smiles at her. “Probably about twenty minutes ago. He was running towards your place.”
Bailey reaches out and squeezes his arm as she says, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Turning to me, she says, “Let’s go. Maybe he’s at the house.”
Hope fills her eyes, and I smile at her.
“Thank you, Mr. Price. My girl here was very worried about him,” I say.
He looks at her with a soft smile. “I can tell. You go find your dog.”
Bailey immediately starts speed walking towards the house. I follow behind her, making sure I keep pace with Charlie, who jogs beside me. Bailey frantically calls Finn’s name as she makes her way closer to the house. When the house is within view and Bailey calls his name, Finn comes running at full speed towards us. Bailey drops to her knees in the grass as he barrels up to her, licking her face. Charlie joins her and giggles as Finn moves on to giving her kisses.
I join them, kneeling beside Bailey. She has the largest smile as she looks at me, and it sucks the breath out of my lungs. She throws herself at me as she wraps her arms around my neck.
“I’m so sorry, Caleb,” she says again.
I pull away from her and grip her face between my hands. “Bailey, please listen to me. You don’t have to apologize anymore. It was an accident. I know you wouldn’t do it on purpose. Bailey. Everyone is alive and safe. That’s all that matters.”
As I stare into her eyes, I realize just how much damage Derek did to her. She’s always so worried that something small is going to cause a huge blow up. I know I will spend the re st of my life showing her and Charlie the love they should have had this whole time.
Kissing her softly, I stand and hook Finn’s leash to his collar. Charlie asks to hold it. Finn is good and walks right beside her as we all make our way home. When we get inside, Charlie feeds Finn, and I hold Bailey on the couch. I know just how much she needs the affectionate physical touch after being starved of it for so long. Charlie comes and joins us, cuddling into her mom’s side, and I put on a Disney movie.
The sound of a stomach rumbling has me looking over to the girls. They’re both completely passed out. Not wanting to disturb them yet, I order us takeout. Finn comes up to me and rests his head on my knee as he stares at me.
Scratching his head, I say, “You caused quite the scare there, boy.”
He tilts his head as I find that spot behind his ear he likes so much.
“You can’t be running out like that. You nearly scared Bailey off, and we can’t have that. We have to make sure both these girls stay forever.” His head moves in their direction before he leaves me and jumps on the couch beside Charlie and curls up, his head resting on her hip as he stares at me. I guess that means he agrees.
I can’t help my grin as I take in the sight of the two girls and Finn all cuddled on the couch. Four months ago, it was just Finn and me with a hockey game on, a bottle of beer, and a pizza. I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.
The doorbell rings, signalling our food is here. I slide out from beside Bailey to grab the food before waking the girls so we can eat our lunch. We spend the rest of the day on the couch watching movies, doing a charcuterie board–style dinner.