Olivia sighs. “Cass…”
“I know, I know. It’s not smart. And it’s reckless as hell. But I don’t know, I just…clicked with him. And they did, too.”
My sister hums under her breath softly, so as not to wake her own baby, I suspect. I miss the baby stage. Living with her when Christopher was born had been both stressful and yet so fulfilling. It’d been hard, but watching my sister blossom as a mom had given me so much hope for the future.
“Will I be seeing you at Lennon’s bachelorette party at least?” Olivia asks. “I do miss my sister.”
Tears burn my eyes, emotion a heavy lump in my throat. But before I can find my voice to respond, my phone beeps with an incoming call.
“Hold on,” I say, clearing my throat. “Someone is trying to call me.”
My heart leaps into my throat as I look at the screen. But instead of Caleb’s number—which I realise I don’t actually have—I find Winnie’s name popping up.
“You should go get some sleep while Chris is down,” I say, heart pounding. “Okay? I love you. And yes, I’ll see you in Vegas. Two months and we’ll be together again.”
“Okay. Good night. Call me tomorrow. We’ll figure this out. I love you.” With that, she hangs up, and I quickly call Winnie back.
It’s almost ten. I highly doubt she’d be calling me if it weren’t an emergency. I’d taken a risk calling Liv, but Winnie would have texted first.
“Hey,” I say when she answers. “What’s wrong?”
“Have you talked to Caleb since you left?” she asks, concern bleeding into her tone.
“No,” I admit. I’d already called her and told her everything. Except for the part where I slept with her brother. Just the bitsabout him bonding with the kids, then blowing up my chance at getting a job in town. “Why, what’s wrong?”
“He, uh, I thought I saw someone sneaking over to your cottage and told him about it. Caleb came over to check it out, but now he’s passed out in his truck,” she says in a rush. “I thought he’d tell you he was stopping by to check on it, but then he walked around and just…I don’t know.”
My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach, my chest constricting. For a moment, every bad thing that happened today disappears, leaving me desperate to get to him.
“Is he okay?” I ask, voice quaking.
Winnie makes a sound in the back of her throat. “Mom and I are going to pull him in. I think he’ll be fine. But I figured you should know about the potential break-in.”
That’s not at all what I care about. I jump off the sofa I’d been curled up on and grab my coat after hanging up. Creaking wood makes me pause, and I turn around to find my children crawling down the ladder leading to the loft. They’re both sleep rumpled but wide-eyed and worried, holding hands in a way that tells me they’re worried.
“Is something wrong with Mr. Caleb?” Cleo asks softly, voice trembling.
I move towards the pair and capture both their cheeks between my hands. “Winnie is just worried about him. Said he’s not feeling well.”
“Mom, you don’t have to lie to us,” Arlo says, more confident than his sister. “There’s something wrong.”
I press my lips together and look towards the ceiling to stop myself from breaking down. All day, I’ve only barely kept them at bay, holding them back with the little strength I have left.
But right now, they threaten to overwhelm me, to pull me down and drown me.
“You’re right,” I murmur, sucking in a breath to calm my racing heart. “There is something wrong. And I’m a little worried about him, honestly.”
“Why did we have to leave?” Cleo asks quietly.
“Because I was scared,” I murmur, finally looking at them.
“Of him?” Arlo asks, leaning into my touch, eyes sparking with tears.
I shake my head slowly. “Of how he makes me feel. And I was scared he might break your hearts.”
Arlo and Cleo are quiet for a long moment, the silence stretching between us. I can’t make myself break it or ask them what they want. Can’t bring myself to have my own heart broken.
My priority is them. It always has been and always will be. A man will never come between that again.
