On the outside, Calli was the epitome of cool, calm and collected. She was wearing an entirely borrowed outfit. Bright red leggings, white socks that came up over the bottom of her leggings. Red Crocs with white fur lining the inside and a black strap that made it look like Santa’s belt. She had her Rudolph sweatshirt on, and her hair was down around her neck.
Literally, she looked so fuckin’ cute that it hurt.
But we’d miscalculated.
The hickey on the side of her neck was so prominent against her pale skin that there was no way you couldn’t see it—hence Calli wearing her hair down.
Searcy looked from that hickey to her sister to me.
“Something you’d like to tell us?” Searcy asked.
“Yeah, my house burned down,” Calli said. “But I was able to save some of the cookies.”
“That’s not exactly what I was thinking you’d be addressing,” Doc grumbled, his glare focused entirely on me.
“Well, then that’s the only thing we’re going to discuss right now until you get that weird look off your face.” Calli looked down the hall. “Where are the kids?”
“There was a surprise visitor,” Searcy said. “He’s right…”
“Koda!” Calli cried out.
I watched, a small smile taking over my face as Calli hit her brother like a battering ram.
Koda, the badass elite fighting machine that he was, went back onto a foot when his little sister hit him.
He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight, a look of relief flooding his face.
“Never had my guts feel so messed up as they did when I heard your house burned down.” His eyes came up to meet mine. “Guess I have the ‘guy that hates you’ to thank for bringing you into his place.”
Calli choked and stepped back, her eyes alight with laughter. “He didn’t save me, really. We were already at his place.”
“I figured as much based on what I heard from Searcy,” he said as his gaze met mine. “Why don’t you introduce me to him?”
We’d met before, of course.
Though we hadn’t spent anywhere near as much time together as I did with the rest of the Hodges siblings.
“Whatever.” Calli rolled her eyes. “I’m going to help Searcy. Boys! How could you not give me a hug?”
The youngest, Dalton, squealed when his aunt came into view.
Calli bent down and snagged the wide-awake little boy from the floor where he’d been doing tummy time in front of the Christmas tree.
My heart stuttered in my chest as I got a good look at Calli with a baby.
I’d always loved babies.
As long as they weren’t mine, anyway.
But the idea of seeing Calli holding a child that we’d made with each other…
“Get that look off your face,” Doc grumbled. “She’s too young yet.”
I snorted. “I think their mom might’ve scared her off of ever having kids. But doesn’t mean that I can’t dream.”
Because that was the dream, wasn’t it?
Having a child with the woman that you loved?
