“About time you realized that, too.” Her smile drops.
“What?” I ask.
She nods toward the deck. “Brad is back.”
I take another sip of my coffee. “I figured he would be. He loves to hang out here for some reason.”
“The reason is because he wants you back, which makes it strange that he’s here with someone.”
“Someone?” I ask, my pulse jumping a notch.
She drops down beside me. “Yeah, a fellow officer, I believe. I’m not sure what that’s all about. But right now, the two of them are giving the kids rides in the cop car.” Just then a siren sounds from outside.
“I guess it’s about making me jealous so I come to my senses and run back to him.” I glance at Callan and find him watching me carefully. “I really wish he would find someone and move on.” I honestly don’t think he’s fighting for me back because he loves me. I think it’s more that he hates that I left, that he’s threatened by his ultimate lack of control—being left by someone. I’ve read enough articles about the behavior, and some say the threats could increase after leaving. Other than constantly messaging me, though, nothing has really frightened me, and with Callan here, I feel completely safe.
I grab a muffin from the platter in the center of the table and hand it to Callan. “Let’s hope he gets it today,” Callan states before he bites into the fruit-filled muffin.
“You good, Gemma?” Amanda asks.
“Of course.” I reach out and put my hand on Callan’s. “How could I not be good when I have Callan here with me?”
“You know, I have a confession,” Amanda says, a sheepish grin on her face.
We both look at her. “What?” I ask.
“When I first saw you and Callan together, I had this weird feeling he was here, I don’t know, like a pretend boyfriend or something.” She rolls her eyes. “I clearly watch too many rom coms. But I thought this set up was a way to get Brad off your case and let him know once and for all that you were done with him.” She smiles. “But now…seeing you two together. I can see I was wrong.”
“You were?”
“You two really care about each other. It’s easy to tell.”
I swallow. I hate lying to my sister and family, and honestly, am I really lying at all? I care about Callan and if he didn’t care about me, he wouldn’t be here helping.
She presses her hands on the table and stands. “Of course, I didn’t need to see it with my own eyes to know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She gives me a sly grin. “Oh, just that my room is next to yours, in case you forgot, and my ears told me how crazy you two are about each other.”
I groan at her crassness, my gaze going to Callan. We might be fibbing about our relationship, but my sister is right about one thing.
I am crazy about him.
11
Gemma
By the time I step outside with my sister, Brad is back from giving the kids a ride. I instantly feel his eyes drilling into my back. I glance over my shoulder, but Callan’s phone was ringing, so he stayed behind to answer it. Without him by my side, Brad steps away from the pretty brunette who’s shooting daggers my way, and cups my elbow.
“Can we talk?” he asks, his dark eyes narrow, his body tight.
I pull away from him. “I really have nothing to say, Brad, and your girlfriend doesn’t seem very happy that you’re talking to me.”
His teeth clench, the muscles in his jaw rippling as I provoke his temper. Not that it takes much. He was always angry about one thing or another, always putting me down for not doing this or that right.
“Yeah, well, I have something to say to you.” He reaches out and touches my arm, and all my nerve endings jump, and not in a good way. “I want you back, Gemma. We were good together.”
“It’s over, Brad.” I step back, putting a measure of physical and emotional distance between us. “I’m with Callan now.”
“Since when?” he asks, a smirk playing on his lips like he has a secret.
I glance at the door again, waiting for Callan to come outside. Truthfully, it’s not even because I need his help with Brad, it’s because I actually miss him. Cripes, I’ve only been away from him for a few seconds and I miss him. “Long enough to know he’s the guy for me,” I say with a lift of my chin.
He scoffs. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Have you been watching me?” Unease creeps down my spine, and I wrap my arms around myself. My God, I think he’s been keeping tabs, and that’s just messed up. My first thought is to go to the police, until I remember he’s a cop, and I don’t think any good could come from that.
“Let’s just say, you guys are up to something and I plan to get to the bottom of it.”
“Dig all you want. We’re happy together. Anyone can see that.”
He opens his mouth, no doubt to refute that, but from the lawn below the deck, Mom and Dad wave and call out, “Are you guys ready to play?”
Brad plasters on a big smile. “You bet we are,” he says, and I just shake my head.
What did I ever see in him? Then again, he was always kind and charming, and my parents really encouraged me to give him a chance. It was behind closed doors where his true controlling nature came out.
Callan comes outside and slides his arm around me. I turn to him and smile.
“Everything okay?” I ask, as Brad walks away and makes his way to the lawn with his new girl, where family and friends are gathered, waiting on instructions for the race.
“Yeah, just about a change in meeting times for the support group.” He gestures with a nod toward Brad as he heads down the stairs to join the others on the lawn. “What did he want?” he asks when we’re alone.
I lean into him, comforted by his warmth and strength. “He said he wanted to talk.”
“I won’t leave you alone again.”
“It’s okay, I told him I have nothing to say.”
“I’m still not leaving you alone.” He slides his arm around my waist. “Let’s go have some fun.”
We make our way to the lawn, and all my aunts, uncles, sisters and husbands and their kids are paired up—the littlest ones are in strollers or their parents’ arms, of course. My mom hands out the homemade cards with her written instructions for the games, and smiles at us all. She loves having everyone home and I’m really glad I came.
“We have a series of tests,” she explains, and I glance around to see obstacle courses set up. They do it differently every year. This time it looks like we have to climb through a tube, swing across bars, and build something, although I can’t figure out what it is until I glance at the card.
“A marshmallow launcher,” Callan says with a laugh. “What is that?”
“I guess we’ll figure out when we reach it.”
“Oh, look a hacky sack juggle,” Nicole says to her husband Adam. “Your soccer days are going to help with that one.”
“You’ll have to take that one, too. I can’t juggle anything,” I say to Callan. “Looks like we finish off with a scavenger hunt. Some fun search clues here.”