Yours Completely (Reign 2)

I shook my head. “I was talking about my dad.”

Cal sent me a sidelong glance, then focused back at the road. It was like he was asking me to go on without actually saying it. He already knew the worst, may as well spill the rest.

“I’d held on to this idea that my dad and I would be close again. I know now it won’t happen. He’s a different man. Even I’m different. But when everything hit, it hit at once. I really thought, one day, I’d work for him, we’d be a family and, yeah…Jack was in my future thoughts too.” I shook my head and moved past that quickly. “But all of that was gone in the matter of one afternoon.”

Cal nodded. “And you were left having to readjust and re-plan a life you never thought you’d have to.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly it.” I’d never thought outside the box I was living in. Crippled by fear and desperate to be a staple in my father’s world had been my path. Then Jack came along and things changed. I became stronger, held more self-worth. Then my father showed his true colors, and I ended up losing Jack and everything I’d ever thought I could have.

Everything I once wanted.

Cal turned down one more street and came up on a charming little blue house with white shutters. He put the truck in park and faced me.

“Shit happens that you can’t control,” Cal said, and my eyes shot wide. No sugarcoating, no tiptoeing, he just came right out with what was on his mind. “But the only thing you can do is hold on to what you have left and do whatever you have to do to make your life bearable. If you’re lucky, you’ll find something that even makes it enjoyable.” His gaze seared mine and I forgot how to breathe. He spoke as if he knew what loss felt like.

“Like school,” he finished quickly.

“What?”

“School is important to you. Something that you worked hard for. Hold on to that, if nothing else.”

He got out of his truck, leaving me with my mouth parted and my brows drawn. He came around to open my door and help me out, and walked me up to the little house not saying another word.

He knocked once, then opened the door.

“Aunt Bea?” Cal called.

A cheery voice sounded from inside, followed by the scuttle of feet coming toward us as Cal led me into the kitchen.

“There’s my sweet boy.” A short, round woman with cropped graying hair and bright eyes entered the open kitchen from another room. Her arms were wide as she closed in on Cal. He hugged her tight, gave a bear growl, and she laughed. Cupping his elbows, she looked at him. “You staying safe? Eating alright? You look scrawny.”

Cal looked scrawny? Holy crap, I didn’t want to know what beefy looked like then.

“I’m good,” Cal said, and put his arm around her and faced me. “Aunt Bea, this is Lana Case, a friend of mine. Lana this is my amazingly wonderful Aunt Beatrice.”

She laughed and swatted him on the chest, then turned her attention to me.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Lana.” She came at me with those wide arms open again and hugged me. The action was so surprising that it almost toppled me over. But she smelled like sugar cookies, and I realized that it had been a long time since any kind of mother figure had hugged me.

“Come, sit at the table. Cal said you have some questions for a project?”

“Yes, thank you,” I said.

Cal sat across the little circular table from me, while Bea grabbed a tray from the kitchen counter. The white and blue checkered linoleum squeaked beneath her orthopedic shoes as she came back with cookies. That explained the smell. But I was pretty sure she likely smelled like sugar and happiness all the time. It just radiated from her.

She set the treats in the middle of the table and urged us both to take one. I did. “Thank you, this is really nice.”

“Of course,” she said, and sat next to me. “When Callum said he was bringing a girl over, I was so excited.” She leaned in and with a loud whisper said, “He’s never brought one home before.”

I looked at Cal, and the big man was blushing. “This is for her school project,” Cal clarified. Suddenly, I felt like we were a couple of high schoolers and Bea’s sweet demeanor had us both a little red in the face.

“Yes, yes,” she said, waving a hand.

I pulled out my laptop and opened a blank page to take notes. I explained the basics of what I was doing, outlining what I needed for my proposal. She nodded, and it was no hard feat to get her chatting.

“Well, I started my cleaning business right after I got Callum, about twenty-five years ago. I must say that, even during the recession, we’ve still kept our head above water, and I credit that to stellar customer service and having a personal touch that a lot of big cities can’t match.”

I nodded and typed. She answered my questions, giving me good information. Then she turned the questions back on me.