He crossed the room, stopped at the edge of our table, and looked at the remaining brownie.
“Am I late?”
“The mare?” I asked.
“Both fine. Foal's up already.” He glanced around the table. “What did I miss?”
“Saddest story competition,” Nate said. “One brownie left. Rosie was about to win.”
Cal looked at me.
“She had a pretty good one,” Abby offered.
“I had thebestone,” I corrected.
His eyes stayed on mine a beat longer than necessary.
“Sit down, Cal,” Emily said, already sliding to make room. “It's your turn.”
ChapterFourteen
Callum
What exactly didI walk into?
Five faces were turned toward me, and for a moment, I considered walking straight back out the door. It would be easy enough. Turn around, get into my truck, and I'd be gone—back to the clinic, back to the familiar weight of work, back to being alone.
I forced myself to take a breath. Held it. Let it out slowly.
No.
I'd driven here because Rosie had invited me. Because somewhere between fixing her irrigation system and rebatching soap at late at night, I'd started wanting things I'd convinced myself I didn't need. Connection. Belonging.Her.
I sat down in the space Emily had made for me, across from Rosie. Rosie, who was grinning like I'd just done something funny by showing up.
The brownie sat in the middle of the table on a small plate, chocolate still glossy.
One brownie. Six people. Apparently, I needed a sad story to earn it.
This is absurd.
“What are the rules?” I asked.
“Whoever makes the table feel the most tragic wins the last brownie,” Rosie said.
“Can't I have the last brownie just because I showed up?”
“No.” Rosie's smile widened, the kind that pulled at the corners of her eyes.
All right. Fine.
I looked at the brownie. Then at the five faces watching me with varying degrees of amusement.
A sad story. I had plenty of those.
Last week, I drove forty minutes to a farm outside of town. The owner's dog was so overweight he could barely stand. Spent the whole appointment explaining how the joint damage and the organ strain could lead to a shortened life expectancy. His owner nodded the whole time, then offered the dog a piece of his sandwich as I left.
I had material.
