Something slower. Something that tasted like home.
Laney and Claire were still tucked in when I left the bedroom, Claire clutched her mother’s hand and both of them were half-buried in sheets and sunlight. I paused in the doorway for a moment, just long enough to burn the picture into my mind. Then I headed downstairs as the first car pulled up the drive. The whole family was coming out this weekend for the official launch.
Callum was out before the engine stopped, looking uncharacteristically ruffled. Immediately, I knew something was off. His usual easy grin was replaced by one that looked too forced, a wild panic in his eyes the likes of which I hadn’t seen since he and Maisie had made up before tying the knot.
“It’s good to see you, man,” he said as he shook my hand.
“You too.” I waved toward the house. “Laney’s upstairs with Claire, but you remember where the bedrooms are, right? Choose whichever one you want. Are you okay?”
Callum winced, scratching the back of his neck. “Ah… about that. No, I…”
He trailed off as Brody launched himself out of the car and toward the house. Brody called out a greeting to me and disappeared.
Callum lowered his voice. “I’m not okay. Maisie is pregnant.”
My eyebrows lifted, but it wasn’t that much of a surprise. I’d figured it was only a matter of time, and frankly, so had everyone else. “Congratulations?”
“Thanks,” he said, exhaling harshly. “It’s still early. The baby’s only due around Thanksgiving, but she’s been so sick. It’s brutal. She can barely keep water down some mornings, and I’m just useless, you know? I can’t fix it.”
For a moment, the professional fixer in me wanted to offer logistical solutions—a nutritionist, medication, but the brother I’d learned to become overrode the instinct. At least this explained the panic and why he seemed more worried than happy.
I clapped his shoulder. “You’re not useless. You’re there for her. That’s what matters, Cal. Nobody can really fix it for her in this particular phase of pregnancy, but you can keep her comfortable and make sure she has whatever she needs. Saltines. Tums. Ice cream and pickles.”
He nodded, his eyes tired but grateful. “Yeah, not a bad idea. It just feels like she’s doing all the work.”
“She is,” I admitted, letting a small smile slip through. “She’s got you with her this time though. She went through it all alone before, so just be there. Letthatbe the difference.”
Callum let out a bark of quiet laughter. “You’ve gone soft, Ice King. That’s for fucking sure.”
“Maybe,” I said, glancing back toward the house. “But it’s working for me.”
Maisie finally climbed out of the car, pale as hell and positively green around the gills. With one hand over her stomach, she stumbled toward the house, her usual warmth dimmed to a faint smile. Laney had come downstairs, waiting for them at the door.
She must’ve already passed Brody inside. As soon as her gaze met Maisie’s, she hurried over, ushering her gently inside with the kind of instinct I’d never quite mastered. Hell, I hadn’t even said hello to her yet and Laney was already taking care of her.
Laney mentioned a nap. Maisie didn’t protest, just nodding gratefully. They disappeared upstairs while Callum exhaled a heavy breath. “Shit, this sucks. How the hell has humanity survived this long, man?”
“Hormones,” I said simply. “In a few months, a cute little baby will be in your arms. She’ll forget just how intensely all this sucked and so will you, because it will all be worth it. Let’s give them some space. Do you want to give Brody a tour of the grounds?”
He nodded, looking a little green around the gills himself. I figured it was either a walk or a whiskey and it was barely ten a.m. He was going to have to make do with some fresh air. I went inside and called to Brody, figuring Callum could probably use the walk too.
Brody came barreling down the stairs toward me. We took him down the gravel path that cut through the vineyard. The boy darted ahead between rows of vines heavy with ripening fruit.
“How’re you doing?” Callum asked after a few quiet minutes. “You’ve finally risen to the throne and it’s been a few months. I feel like we’ve barely spoken, but you’re filling big shoes. You okay?”
I smiled faintly. “They were always mine to fill. He just finally stepped aside far enough to really let me do it. I’m okay.”
He chuckled. “It’s still strange to even think the words ‘retired’ and ‘Harlan Westwood’ in the same sentence.”
“It is, but he’s happier than I’ve ever seen him. You’ve seen all those pictures they’ve been sending us of sunsets and wine lists. He and Mom are living the dream.”
Callum laughed, and for a moment, it felt like we were kids again. The ease of just talking to him, just being with my brother and not having anything urgent or pressing made me feel lighter.
Words I’d been needing to say to someone, but hadn’t known who to choose, pressed up against my throat, rising from mychest with startling insistence. “Honestly, I always thought I’d step into this job alone. That I’d have a wife who would stay in the shadows, maybe. No time for anything else. That was the plan. Efficient, contained.”
He shot me a disbelieving look, one eyebrow raised. “And now?”
I watched Brody pop a fallen grape into his mouth. Beyond him, the house stood gleaming in the distance.Ourhouse, atourvineyard, where Laney, Claire, and I were living the life I never thought I’d choose.
