Toughlove.“I’m sorry, I—”
“Do you have any idea how scared I was?”
Her brother didn’t get scared.“I—”
“No.You don’t.Dad and Mari hadn’t heard from you.They’re a wreck.”
“I’m sorry, Hayden.I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“Freaking out?You fucking scared the shit out of me.Do you not get that?Do you not get that you’ve had a huge-ass problem, and you didn’t loop me in?”
Her chin dipped, and once again her eyes burned—but these tears were the guilty kind, very different from the ones brought on by her frustration with Dominic.“I didn’t know how to explain.I still don’t know how to, to be honest.Did Callum tell you what’s been going on with my phone?I didn’t know about your missed calls and voicemails.I wasn’t ignoring you.”
He let out a heavy sigh.“Yeah.Yeah, he did.Which is why I’m not yelling.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Gracie.”
“Okay, okay, I get it.I screwed up.I scared you.I didn’t check in and explain when I should have.”She twisted the black beads on her bracelet.“I didn’t give you details because I was more worried about distracting you.”
“Forget my job.”Static crackled.“You’re my family.My priority, and since I can’t be there, Callum is.You get that?”
“I get that.”She let out an unsteady breath and wiped at the corners of her eyes.She peeked out the living room window.Callum and Alicia walked down the street with both dogs sniffing from spot to spot.“Why is Cal here?Not why is he helping me—but why isn’t he with you?”
“That’s complicated.It’s a conversation you have to have with him.”
Callum mentioned betrayal.Now Hayden was punting the answer.For two guys who always called situations for what they were, they were more avoidant than she’d ever seen them.“Prying answers out of him doesn’t seem to be that easy.”
“The important thing is that he’s with you.Do what he says.”
“Obviously.”
“Obviously.Since I can’t be there, I’m relying on Callum.Can you promise me to do what he says?”
“I’m not going to promise unquestioning allegiance.”
“Grace.”
“Fine, yes, I will listen to Callum.”If Hayden had known what she’d already done with Callum, this would have been an entirely different conversation.“I’ve told him the same thing.”
“Good.All right, I have to go.”
The call disconnected.The connection had sucked, and when the line died, she suddenly missed her family more than usual.Grace sucked in a fortifying breath and used Callum’s phone to call her parents.
Dad picked up on the first ring.“Callum—”
The worry in her father’s voice cut deep.“Hey, Dad.It’s me on Cal’s phone.”
“Oh, God.Gracie—Hey, Mari, Grace is on the phone.Hold on a second.”A moment later, Dad announced, “We’re both here.Wait—is Callum with you?How do you have his phone?”
“He stepped out.”She swallowed hard.“But, yeah.He’s here.Hayden sent him to help me, and, well, he knows everything.”
“Everything?”Mari whispered.
“Yeah.”
“How’d he take it?Is he okay?”
