A few hours later,I found myself sitting across from Calum at one of Gramps’s favourite fish and chips restaurant in Lunenburg. I’d ordered lobster, but my appetite vanished before I could enjoy it, and I found myself picking at it instead of eating it.
Since it crossed my mind, I couldn’t stop thinking about the proverbial grenade in my hand.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” I asked Calum, the question flying from my mouth before I could call it back.
“Yeah, sure. Fire away,” Cal replied easily. He leaned back in his chair and waited for me to continue. I drew a breath.
“What did your letter from Gramps say?”
Calum looked at me, considering my question. “He wants me to talk to Harper.”
My lips curved into a small smile. Moisture gathered in my eyes, the ache of missing him slicing through. It was so like Gramps to dole out love advice, even my letter had instructed me to stop hiding Dare. Gramps just couldn’t miss an opportunity to play matchmaker. “Are you going to do it? Talk to Harper, I mean?”
He hesitated, his brow furrowing, his gaze going to the window across from us. For a moment, he said nothing—he just watched the harbour. “I don’t know,” he finally replied, his gaze still on the water. “Gramps has been telling me to talk to her for years.”
Calum hadn’t left on the greatest of terms. When he’d all but ghosted his high school girlfriend, Gramps had been very vocal about what a bad call that was. He’d adored Harper the few times she’d joined us on luncheons.
I nodded, watching my brother. “I think you should.”
“Do you now?” The corner of Calum’s lip twitched into a bemused half-smile as he glanced at me.
“I do,” I repeated, holding his gaze. “You were different with her. Not so…aimless.”
Aimless was the best way to describe Cal now. Outside of music, he lacked purpose and direction. Without music, he floundered…he forgot how to connect. Harper was the first thing thatwasn’tmusic to give him that direction, that buoyance. She had anchored him to the now.
Maybe seeing her again would make him realize he couldn’t live a life just for music; he needed more than that to sustain him.
“I know,” Cal sighed. “What did yours say?”
“He had no complaints of me,” I teased, smiling lightly, making him chuckle. But that wasn’t necessarily true, and the lie tasted bitter in my mouth. I looked down at my untouched plate, fearing he could sense the lie.
Gramps wanted me to be bold. He wanted me to own my truth and tell my father what my goals and dreams were. He believed in the music I was making with Dare. He believed in me.
I thought about it, about coming clean to Calum. To admitting at least to the part about Dare, or hell…even the part about music. But the truth was a heavy weight on my tongue, and it made speech impossible. To come forward about one thing meant I’d have to come forward aboutall the things.
“Doesn’t surprise me, Miss Perfect,” Cal teased, picking up his beer and tossing it back like it was water.
“Guess I’m driving home?” I said pointedly.
“Guess you are.” Calum grabbed his wallet and tossed down a wad of cash to cover our bill. In the next instant, he was standing.
“Seriously?” I asked, catching the keys he tossed at me, looking out the front windows to the ridiculously expensive rental parked out front. It’d gathereda lotof attention when we pulled up. If the townsfolk didn’t know Calum was back for the funeral, they did now.
The attention had followed us into the restaurant. Several patrons had been watching us while we ate our meal, although none had disturbed us.
“You’ve got your license, right?” he asked. I nodded, beginning to get excited. “Go for it, then.”
Excitement thrummed through me as we approached the sleek vehicle. The only car I’d ever driven was our parents SUV. “You’re sure about this?” I asked again as Cal opened the passenger door.
“It’s a rental, Con.”
“So? You still have to pay for any damages.” Shifting from foot to foot, I eyed the car gloomily. The vehicle probably cost more than a down payment for a house.
“Don’t hit anything then.” Cal shrugged as he slid into the passenger seat and closed the door.
I climbed in, running my hands along the leather steering wheel. It felt like butter beneath my hands. The whole car exuded just badass vibes, it was all I could do to not squeal about how awesome it was to evensitbehind the wheel. I couldn’t believe he was letting me drive it too.
“Buckle up!” I grinned, giving him little time to do so before lurching out of the spot. I might have driven a little too fast, letting the wind blow through my hair as I laughed at how good it felt.
