Above and Beyond (Twist of Fate 4)

Jake ruffled my hair. “How you doing, kid?”

I shot a glance behind him in the hopes that maybe Zach had come with him. He hadn’t. The knot that had been in my chest from the moment I’d walked out of Zach’s shitty motel room tightened even more. I wondered how that was even possible.

“Oh, uh, fine.” I was enjoying the day. This was me, enjoying the damned day. “Did you bring your bathing suits?”

We always spent a good portion of the day floating on silly cartoon rafts in the lake behind the house before it was time to light up the grill for burgers and hot dogs.

Oz’s forehead crinkled with a frown. “Aunt Lolly said we skinny dip on odd years.”

“For real?” Cal asked from behind me. He entered the kitchen still looking half-asleep.

“Not for real,” Bennett said. “Want some coffee?” Despite the fact that my fathers weren’t Calvin’s biggest fans, considering the way he’d treated me when we’d both been kids, they’d welcomed him into our home when it’d been clear that he had no place to go. The Calvin who’d shown up unexpectedly in Haven a week earlier was a far cry from the bully I’d thought myself in love with so long ago.

“Yeah, thanks. That’d be great.” Cal glanced at me with a soft smile. “You sleep okay on that couch again? I told you I can share or I can take the couch. I feel bad kicking you out of your own room. Don’t wanna overstay my welcome either.”

Xander glanced at me with an encouraging smile. Cal had been nothing but polite and sweet the entire week, helping with the babies and cleaning up in the kitchen while Xander recuperated. I had to admit, he’d been a godsend.

It was clear he was no longer the insensitive kid I’d known in New York. He’d been the last person I’d expected to see at the hospital the night Xander had gotten hurt. I’d been impatiently waiting for Zach to arrive, so I hadn’t had any kind of defenses up when the boy who’d been my first kiss had appeared in the hallway. It’d been something in the way he’d held himself that had told me something was seriously wrong and while he had yet to confirm that or explain what he was doing in Haven, when I’d hugged him that night, he’d sobbed uncontrollably in my arms while whispering the same word over and over into my ear.

Sorry.

“You’re fine,” I said with a smile. “I’ve enjoyed the company. It’s been kinda fun showing you around Haven. You gave me a good excuse to get out and see everyone and remind them about the party.”

And it was true. Entertaining Calvin had at least given me something to distract myself from pining over Zach. And Cal really had been good company. This new version of him was, quite frankly, everything I should want in a boyfriend. He was even more handsome than he’d been in high school. He listened when I spoke and always made sure I was comfortable wherever we went. He was the first person to jump up to do a chore when one needed doing. And most of all, he wasn’t shy about wanting me, though he’d been careful about expressing his interest in me when we were around people he didn’t know.

The corners of his lips turned up in a shy smile as he reached over to squeeze my arm. “I’ve enjoyed the company too. You know that.”

Xander noticed the interaction and winked at me. It was such a corny dad move, I almost rolled my eyes at him. Instead, I cleared my throat and stepped closer to Bennett. “Can I get you some, um, breakfast or something?” I asked Cal.

“I can get it,” he said, moving up behind me and brushing against my back as he reached for the fridge door. There was a tiny part of me that kind of wished the spark that should have been there was. Or that my breath quickened anytime he came into a room. I even lingered a moment by the fridge to see if maybe those little offshoots of electricity just needed time to catch up.

Until I caught my dads exchanging amused glances.

Great. All I needed was the two of them matchmaking me right now.

I waited until Cal was halfway through doctoring his coffee before I grabbed the keys to Xander’s SUV off the hook by the door. “I’m going to pick up Lolly and those guys. Be back in a bit.”

Cal turned around. “Oh. Let me come with you. I can keep you company.”

I smiled at him and waved my hand. As much as I enjoyed meeting the new and improved Cal, I needed some time to myself. I supposed it was for grieving or something. Bottom line was that keeping the fake smile plastered to my lips was no easy task. “No need. Be back before you’re done with breakfast.”