He nods. “Is Mommy here?”
“No, Conner. I don’t live with Mommy anymore, remember?” I say. He hesitates, then nods. I pause and make a split-second decision. “I live with Callie now.”
“Callie!” He sings her name and claps his hands. “Is Callie here?”
“Yep. She’s getting ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house with us,” I say cheerfully.
“I love Callie,” he tells me as he untangles himself from his sheets and starts to climb from his toddler bed.
“I love Callie too,” I tell him and grab his hand so he can’t run to his toys and get distracted. “I love Callie so much she’s going to live with me for a long time.”
“For how long?” he wants to know, blinking curiously. “For a billion years?”
I chuckle. “I hope she lives with me forever. Is that okay? How would you feel if Mommy lives somewhere else and Callie lives with Daddy forever?”
He thinks about that, scrunching up his tiny little perfect face. “I wish we could all live together forever.”
“Unfortunately, that can’t happen, son,” I say calmly and give him a small smile. “But you’ll always get to live with me and Mommy, just on different days.”
“When I live with you, I get to live with Callie too?” he asks hopefully.
“Yes. You definitely do.”
“Yay!” He claps his hands and jumps.
I laugh and feel relieved. Callie has been so good to him—so loving and so thoughtful—of course he’s okay with her being with me. That’s all I can ask right now.
Now that Conner knows, I have no choice but to tell Ashleigh the next chance I get. That will put delusional reconciliation thoughts out of her head and hopefully change Callie back from the robot she just morphed into downstairs.
Chapter 50
Callie
The ride to Donna and Wyatt’s place for Christmas Eve dinner is blissfully taken over by Conner, who is chattering excitedly about Santa and Christmas and Rudolph. I keep silent in the passenger seat and listen as he begins his own rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” It hits me like a ton of bricks how much I am going to miss hearing his little voice on a regular basis. The snow is falling slowly in big, fat flakes outside. Not a storm, just a picturesque sprinkle to make it even more festive. I wish my heart wasn’t breaking and I could enjoy this.
We open the front door to the Garrison house without knocking.
“We’re here!” Devin calls out, and bends to help me get Conner out of his snow gear. I unzip the tot’s jacket while Devin tugs off his boots. When we stand up and Conner is left in just his jeans, socks and flannel shirt, Donna is standing in the entrance to the kitchen beaming at us.
“Come on up here and let me hug you all!” she demands, and we climb the three stairs up from the entrance landing to her. She hugs Devin and then me, squeezing me tightly. For a second I wonder if it’s wrong to think she’s on Ashleigh’s side. Conner hugs her tightly and then runs into the adjacent living room, where all the Garrison men are hanging out with beers in their hands and glued to the television as Wyatt shows them all the highlights he’s kept on the DVR from the season so far. They’re all joking and insulting each other’s clips. Wyatt looks overjoyed. All the boys are having great seasons, even Luc since he was traded, and Wyatt is beaming with pride.
For the first time in my life, I feel like an intruder being a part of this. I’m not their friend anymore. I moved past that when I started dating Devin. And I’m not his wife. He has one of those and she wants him back. So now…I’m nothing. At least that’s how it feels.
Wyatt jumps up as we enter the room. Conner runs to him and hugs him before running over to the couch and climbing all over Cole and Jordan, who are sitting side by side.
Wyatt grins at Devin. “Get yourself a beer and join us.”
Devin nods and heads for the beer fridge in the garage. I turn to wander into the kitchen but Wyatt grabs me into a big hug first. “I’m always glad to have you here, Callie. And it’s even more special this year.”
I pull back and catch his eye. He looks so…happy. He clearly has no idea Ashleigh and Devin are getting back together. I feel an overwhelming need to cry but I fight it off. I just give him a tight smile and nod and head for the kitchen. Leah is hovering over a serving tray she’s filling with steaming hot green beans. Rose is at the stove making gravy. Donna is peering into the slightly ajar oven door.
“Roast is almost done,” she announces happily.
I glance through the opening off the left side of the kitchen and see Jessie setting the table in the dining room. I wander over to her. She smiles happily as I walk up beside her and take the pile of forks from her hand and begin to lay them out. She kisses my cheek and grabs a pile of napkins and begins folding them, placing them next to the plates. I notice we’re using Donna and Wyatt’s good wedding china.
“Are you and Jordan going to get wedding china?” I ask absently.
“Are you kidding?” Jessie asks back, laughing lightly. “He breaks at least one dish a week. He’s a klutz. Besides, all our big family dinners will likely be here anyway.”
