Clearing his throat, his smile transformed into a devilish one. “I brought you on this little venture so we could talk, not get arrested for public indecency.”
“You started it.” I teased, arching a brow at him. I let my arms drop to my sides, and his hand slipped through mine. We walked in silence for a few moments, until it got to be too much for me. “What did you want to talk about?” I couldn’t hide the vulnerability from my voice, and he detected it. His eyes moved from the horizon to me. His sculpted lips pulled into a reassuring smile. The calm serenity in his gaze eased the wave of unsettling worry I’d felt moments before.
“Nothing bad, love. Just…don’t be surprised if you get a few heavy cheques in the mail from my lawyer.”
“Uh, excuse me?” I stopped suddenly, and Calum turned with me—still clasping my hand.
“Well—I owe you eight years of child support, for one. My lawyer figured out what it would be based on my income over the last several years. And…it turns out Gramps left Asher money and his Steinway piano.”
The first part made sense to me, although I didn’t want a penny of his. I’d survived without it and didn’t need it now. I was more hung up on that second part, about his grandfather.
“What? How did he know?”
“I don’t know,” Calum admitted, his shoulder rising in an unconcerned shrug. He didn’t seem bothered by it. “He probably figured it out on his own. He knew Asher’s piano teacher, and the Watsons. He spent years telling me to come home, but he never said anything about Asher directly.” Cal’s expression darkened for a moment, and I knew he was internally berating himself for not listening.
I looked past him and shook my head, still processing this new information, still processing my guilt. Calum’s eyes softened. He released my hand, moving a little closer to me, and cupped the sides of my face in his hands, his eyes boring into mine.
“Hey—it’s all right. It’s just Gramps’s way of looking out for everyone. He left his house to Connor, his Steinway piano to Asher, and split his life savings three ways. It all goes to my mom, Connor, and Asher, and I’ve scheduled movers to bring the piano to the new house next week.”
“Holy crap. That’s a lot, Cal. All of it.” Now that I’d somewhat accepted the news of Cal’s grandfather knowing about Asher, I’d circled back to what he’d said about the child support.
“Raising a child on your own for eight years is a lot, too. I know your parents helped, Harp—and I know I’ll never be able to make up for the years I wasn’t here, but I can make it easiernow. You can put it all in an education fund for Asher, or you can use some of it for your store—whatever you want, whatever you need. It’s yours. You’re entitled to every penny of it. Okay?”
I nodded my acquiescence, and the lines of worry around his eyes eased. He smiled and kissed my cold nose.
Calum
It was just after one when Christy finally called me, letting me know that she had my house keys and could meet me at the house. I quickly vetoed that, telling the eager real estate agent I’d stop by the office to pick them up.
After killing time shopping for paint and supplies at the hardware store, Dare, Evan and I met Harper for lunch at the diner. Raina had served us, giving me another opportunity to tip generously. Christy’s call had come just as I said my goodbyes to Harper against the back door of her shop, shrouded in the privacy of the alley.
Now I was standing on the front porch, jiggling the keys in my hand. I drew in a deep breath before shoving the proper one—the front door key—into the lock and twisting my wrist. The mechanism released with an audible click, and I pushed the door open, stepping through the threshold into the foyer.
To the left was the living room, light spilling in through the bright bay windows that overlooked the front porch. The open concept main floor had the living room, dining room, and kitchen all opening up and flowing into one another harmoniously, laminate flooring throughout. At the rear of the house, past the powder room was the additional room—the family room. Its large windows and French doors overlooked the backyard and the water from the south shore. I knew Harper was going to love having her coffee on that wrap-around porch.
A sense of peace washed through me, and I drew in a deep breath, just taking it in.
Dare and Evan piled in behind me, each of them loaded down with the cans of paint and supplies. Dare set the two large cans of paint he’d carried in on the floor, and let out a low, impressed whistle while he surveyed the rooms. “Lots of space and light.”
I only really had today and tomorrow morning to paint over the burnt-orange colour the previous owners had throughout the entire main level. When it was the rusty orange colour, it was unflattering brown hues—like in the bathroom. I’d picked a neutral gray for the living room, dining room, kitchen, and halls to cover the nauseating colours.
“Sounds good,” Dare nodded, grabbing a drop sheet and heading into the living room with it. Evan picked the painters tape and started edging while Dare got the paint ready. I carried two cans of paint upstairs, setting them in the second-largest bedroom—the one that was to be Asher’s.
For his bedroom, I’d selected the same colour he had at home. The rest of the bedrooms—including the master—were already an off white colour, and they could wait until I got Harper in here for good to personalize it with me.
“Well, doesn’t this bring back memories?” Evan remarked when I rejoined them downstairs. He had the step ladder underneath the living room window and was edging the trim with painters tape.
“I don’t think we’ve done manual work in a while. Kind of sad when you think about it.” Dare shook his head, popping the lid off the can between his knees with a knife.
“Yeah,” I admitted. We’d put our condo’s private gym to good use, but the last time we exerted ourselves like this? Must have been close to a decade now.
“I think this restart was needed on all fronts.” Evan continued, filling the silence—it’s what he did. He hated quiet moments; he had to fill them all with some kind of noise, a joke, a story. But for once, I welcomed the talk.
I’d had my hands covering my eyes for the last several years and aside from creating and playing music, I hadn’tbeenpresent. I’d kind of checked out on them, too. I pushed them away, determined to hide the truth, locked behind a façade of my own making.
“I agree,” Dare said, stirring the grey with the wooden stick. “Being back home has given me more inspiration to write.”
I nodded in agreement—not that I’d had time to sit down lately and write. I had been too occupied with Harper and Asher, but Iwasfeeling inspired. The itch was back in the tips of my fingers, the drive back in my soul. “Anything good?”
