Page 44 of Goode Tidings

"Pregnant," I finish, nodding. "I approve of this low-key act of tomfoolery."

"It was petty, but it was better than what I really wanted to do, which was⁠—"

"Super illegal?"

Callum clears his throat. "Yeah."

"Thought so," I singsong. "I like Petty Callum."

"Thanks, but the pettiest version of me also has a conscience. I dumped out the coffee before he could drink it." A brush of pink appears at the top of his scruff. "Want to hear something else?"

I nod eagerly.

"My best man has a vanity plate that says TODDFTHR."

"Toddfather?" I gasp, palm to my chest. "She cheated on you with a nerd bomber?"

He nods solemnly.

"Whoa. Ok, so you make your way to Snowflake following a terrible experience, come upon the dilapidated cabin, and decide to take it over? Give it all the love you thought you'd be giving your wife?"

Callum flinches, the pleased look on his face faltering. Guilt pricks at me. I didn't mean to sound so blunt.

"I'm sorry." I swallow around the discomfort in my throat. That tight feeling of having done something wrong. Callum may be a big, burly man, but he's injured. A bird with a broken wing, or maybe a large animal with a thorn in its paw. "I didn't mean to⁠—"

"You're not wrong," he says slowly, like he's turning it over in his mind. "I've never thought about it like that, but I suppose that's what I did. Took what I planned to give to a real person and used it all on fixing up the cabin."

I grab my beer. Finish it off. "If it's any consolation, it's beautiful."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I appreciate you giving it up for me and Oliver."

He swipes his beer from the table. Brings it to his lips and says, "It was the right thing to do."

My eyes track the way his throat bobs with a swallow. How his shirt pulls tight across his chest. Don't get me started on the way he's sitting in that small chair. Leaned back, long legs splayed, one elbow propped on the arm of the chair. All the single women in this place must be shooting daggers at the back of my head.

Time to ask him another question before I say something foolish, like wanna go be naked together in that hot tub? "Do you ever think about going back to the valley? Returning to your old life, but with a fresh start?"

Callum's eyes leave me, focusing on something over my shoulder.

"Here's your dinner, friends." The server slides identical plates across the table. "Can I get you another round?"

Callum nods and thanks her. He picks up the burger, motioning at me with the food, and says, "To answer your question, yes. But I'm not saying anything more because it's your turn to reveal something."

I open up my burger and create a layer of fries inside. "There's nothing else exciting to know about me."

"I'm certain that's untrue."

"Hmm," I say, taking a bite and chewing. I swallow and say, "I knit preemie hats for a NICU in Phoenix, I like to crochet and draw and make wax seals. I love anything toffee-flavored, and manicures, and"—I hold my burger aloft—"burgers at a bar."

He points at me with a fry. "Your litany of grandma hobbies is impressive, but I'm after something specific."

I gasp dramatically. "Grandma hobbies?"

He raises his eyebrows. "Do you deny it?"

"Fine, yeah. But grandmas are onto something. Those hobbies are soothing, and we could all use a little something to take the edge off."