Page 127 of Goode Tidings

And one very special man in my corner.

CHAPTER 58

Eden

Eugenio and Marco crowd around Oliver's bed two days later.

"...we worked through cutting, combustion, cover, containers, and cordage. Mr. Pettit said you could spend an afternoon in the woods with him showing him everything, and it would count as the same toward your final grade."

Oliver rolls his eyes. "I still can't believe my appendix decided my first time camping was the right time to get angry."

Marco's mouth opens wide. "That was your first time camping? We go a lot starting in the spring. You should come with us."

"My dad said he's going to start taking me."

"Has he ever been?"

"No. He said it's a life skill he should probably know, too."

Eugenio and Marco share a doubtful glance. "We'll tell you everything you need to know before you go."

I back away from the door where I've been eavesdropping, and bump into a solid form. "Hear anything good?" Callum's quiet question warms the shell of my ear. His arms slip around my waist.

"Nothing I didn't already know." Justin headed back down to Phoenix this morning, and before he left, he laid out a plan handwritten on paper.

Get a house or apartment big enough for Oliver to have his own room.

Drive to Snowflake every other weekend to spend time with Oliver.

Go to therapy.

Long-term thoughts: should we start thinking about college?

Callum waited until Justin had departed before returning to the cabin. The note had been left on the kitchen table, right where Callum's double screens dominate a majority of the space. I think Justin left it out on purpose, a silent declaration. The more people who know about his intentions, the harder it will be for him to hesitate and let his negative inner voice into the driver's seat.

Callum read the note, nodded his head in approval, and pushed it to the side. We've been working next to each other ever since. He shuffled through Goode Tidings submissions, refused to show me one I heard him sigh over, and then he switched over to building out my website.

I've been drawing on my tablet, using my favorite program. I'd stopped only to let in Oliver's friends.

Callum holds my hand as we walk down the hall, away from Oliver's room and my eavesdropping. We're in the kitchen making our afternoon coffee when Marco saunters in.

"Hey, dude." I clock his curious gaze sweeping the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah," he nods. "Oliver said you make the best after-school snacks."

I preen just a little. Callum grins at me. "I might have won an award for my famous after-school snack plate."

Marco frowns. "They give out awards for that?"

I'm already moving around the kitchen, taking out the hazelnut spread and reaching for a carton of strawberries. "Yes. Oliver awarded it to me. He was the only judge."

It takes Marco a moment to understand my joke. "That's like when there's a commercial that says milk is the best thing you can drink and my dad says in a goofy voice 'paid for by the dairy farmer's association'."

Callum laughs. "Exactly."

Marco turns a bewildered look on Callum. "I still don't understand what you're doing here. You're supposed to be Sad Man Hermit. But you smile a lot now."

"Do you want me to go back to my old ways?"