Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 100202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
He’d covered for her.
He’d still made the absolutely wrong decision, but he’d covered for her.
I crossed through the living room and opened the door.
Then I stopped breathing.
Weston stood on the front steps.
22
Weston
* * *
Callie answered the door, and I took my first full breath in almost a month. Her hair was up off her neck in a messy bun that told me she’d only been awake for an hour or two, and she was wearing her Madigan hoodie, the one with the frayed cuffs, and pajama bottoms.
She’d never looked better to me.
Heartbeats passed as we stood there, our eyes locked, neither of us saying a word. I drank in the sight of her, and my heart started to pound.
I’d flown all this way, rented a car, and driven to this remote little village, and now that I was standing here, everything I’d planned out on the flight seemed…lame. I shoved my hands into the front pockets of my shorts and opened my mouth. You have to say something.
“Weston!” Sutton slipped under Callie’s arm and flung herself at me.
“Hey, kid.” I caught her easily and hugged her tight, lifting her feet off the ground. The scent of cherry shampoo filled my lungs, and I breathed in deep, rocking her slightly. “I’ve missed you too.” That was the understatement of the year.
“You found us!” She pulled back, and I set her down on her feet, grinning at her shirt. Guess you could take the girls out of Colorado, but they’d still sleep in the merch.
“I had a little help.” I took the worn envelope out of my back pocket and pointed to the return address she’d penned.
“Sutton, why don’t you give us a minute?” Callie said.
Sutton turned toward her mother, and whatever face she made had Callie raising her eyebrows.
“Now.” Callie motioned into the house.
Sutton sighed but marched inside, muttering something I couldn’t hear but had Callie shaking her head as she passed by.
Then it was just us on the doorstep.
“Weston,” she whispered, and there were so many emotions skipping across her face that I couldn’t catch them all.
“Calliope.” I cleared my throat. Somehow getting on the plane had been easier than getting words out of my mouth.
“Do you want to come in?” She stepped back and held the door open.
“Sure.” I walked in behind her, noting the serviceable furniture and photography equipment on a nearby table.
“No one else is up yet, which is saying something since we usually sleep so late.” She laughed awkwardly as she shut the door, and I turned as she leaned back against it.
I wanted to close the distance between us, press my body against hers, and kiss her until she remembered why we were right for each other. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder caveman-style and carry her back to Colorado where she belonged. But what I wanted didn’t matter if she didn’t want the same.
I took a fortifying breath. “You’re probably wondering why I’m here.”
“Yes, but why did you cover for Sutton?” She slipped her hands into the pocket of her hoodie, a gesture so familiar I almost forgot where we were, and what we weren’t at the moment. “I have to know.”
“What do you mean?” I shoved the envelope back in my pocket.
“Other than the fact that she’s apparently been writing you letters, she signed the competition release. I saw it.” Her eyebrows rose slightly. “You know, the one I yelled at you about in Steamboat.”
“Ah. That waiver.” I sighed and icy fear slid down my spine. Maybe the way I’d submitted her picture was too big of an issue for her to forgive, for us to get past.
“She said she told you she was going to enter it in the competition if you didn’t.” She huffed a laugh. “We were actually talking about it when you knocked.”
“You were talking about me?” I cracked a smile.
“Weston.” She lifted a brow.
“Right. The release. Sutton was pretty determined, but I’m the one who uploaded and hit enter. If you’re looking for someone to blame, it’s me.” I squared my shoulders, ready for her to toss me out.
“Why didn’t you tell me she’d already signed it? Why didn’t you tell me she was going to submit it?” Two lines crinkled between her brows.
“Would it have made a difference?” I shrugged. “In that moment, under those circumstances, would it really have changed anything?”
“Maybe!” Her shoulders rose. “I don’t know.”
“There was no point causing drama between you and Sutton. I was the one who submitted it. I’m the adult. I’m not about to blame a kid, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to do anything that came between you two.”
“You are so incredibly frustrating.” She sagged against the door and glared at me.
“Not the first person to tell me that.” I ripped my hand over my hair. “And I didn’t come here to fight with you.”