His dark brow lifted. “You okay?”
“I’m fine, just trying to figure out where you’re taking us,” I replied, and it was true—in part.
“Guessing is half the fun,” he said, winking at Asher. He set the crayon down and leaned back against the booth, studying us with a reflective look in his eyes.
Before I could ask him what he was thinking, Adella returned carrying two plates, her sister Ariel drudging behind her with the third. Adella set her two plates down with flourish—one for Cal and one for Asher, whose lips puckered a little at the sight of the fish. Ariel was less graceful, her hands trembling slightly as she set my soup and bun down in front of me.
“Looks great, thanks, ladies,” He said, addressing them with a smile.
“Enjoy!” Adella glanced pointedly at Ariel. The poor girl had completely lost her voice, and her ability to make eye contact for longer than a millisecond. She looked desperate to get away, but frozen in place.
Sensing her sister’s discomfort, Adella steered her away with a small wave.
“Everything okay?” Cal asked, catching the pensive frown Asher had sported.
“Yup!” Asher said, taking a tentative bite. His nose wrinkled a little like he wasn’t sure if he liked it.
“Do you want chicken tenders instead?” Cal smiled patiently.
“No, it’s surprisingly kind of good,” Asher replied with mild shock.
Calum laughed, the sound of it easily tugging an illicit smile from my lips.
I thought he’d take us to a beach, or a trail. But Calum drove to Brockhouse, pulling in front of a large house with a for sale sign out front, proclaiming it sold. “I get the keys on Friday,” he said, nodding up to the house.
“You’re movinghere?!” Asher exclaimed; eyes wide with excitement.
“I am,” Calum replied, glancing at me for my reaction.
“That’s…great,” I managed. He’d told me he was looking, of course. But I hadn’t realized it was all happening so suddenly. The abruptness of it left me disoriented.
“You’ve got questions.” His lips twitched with amusement.
“What about work?”
“Still doing it, just here. Next Monday, the renovations will start. I’m putting a home studio in the guest house. Sound proofing. We’ll still have to go on tours sometimes, but the next one wouldn’t be for six monthsafterwe complete our next album, which is in the early stages—as in, we haven’t even written it yet.”
“Wow,” I breathed, unable to tear my gaze away from him.
“What do you think?” Cal asked Asher.
“I think it’s awesome!” he declared with a jubilant grin on his face.
“Harper?”
“Yeah, it’s great. It is,” I insisted, challenging his disbelieving look. He could sense something was off—and it was. “Can we walk around?”
“Yeah, the current owners are out of province. We just can’t go inside yet—have to wait until Friday for that.” He winked, unbuckling his seat belt, and opened the door. Asher hastily climbed out after him, and I took a moment to breathe; to digest how I was feeling.
The newly blooming hope was growing rapidly, fed with each soul-searing gaze. Each thoughtful small action he took breathed life into me, an awakening.
With my whole battered and bruised heart, I believed him. I believed that he had thought he was doing the right thing by leaving, that he thought letting me go was in my best interest as much as his. I knew without a doubt that he would never have done that, had he known, just as I knew he would have come back the second he heard of Asher’s existence.
Our connection was timeless. It transcended pain and abandonment, and flared with each encounter. Did fighting the inevitable even make sense?
I held the answers in my palms. Stepping out of the Jeep—it’s ironic meaning not lost on me—I joined them as they stood in the driveway and looked around the property.
“Go check it out,” Calum urged, gesturing with a tilt of his chin, giving Asher free range of the property. He raced around the side of the house, catching sight of the shoreline.
