Yours Completely (Reign 2)

“That’s not the same thing at all.” But instead of arguing further, he stood, and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll let you two finish up here. I’m going to turn on the game in the living room.” With a glance at me, Cal walked into the other room and out of sight.

Bea sighed. “He’s such a good boy. Stubborn. I worry, and I know it bothers him.”

“I don’t think it bothers him,” I said. “I can tell why Cal is so protective of the people he cares about. He gets that from you.”

She smiled, and I felt like maybe I’d helped. It was a nice feeling. Probably even nicer to have someone support and care about you so much that they worried for your wellbeing. Cal was lucky to have this woman in his life. Which made me think of something she’d mentioned earlier.

“You’d said that you got Cal twenty-five years ago?”

She glanced down, and something very painful lit her face. “Yes. When his mother died, my sister, I got custody.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you, honey. It was hard. I know I fuss over him more than I should, but I just…” she glanced at where Cal had just been. “There’s a part of him that’s shut down, even as a child, and I’ve never been able to reach it.”

My heart ached for them both. I wanted to tell her not to worry so much. That Cal was wonderful. Casual and funny and didn’t seem like anything really affected him.

Maybe that was what she was talking about, though. Not much seemed to rock Cal’s casual demeanor. Yet, this morning was the most tense I’d ever seen him.

“Came in for a cookie,” Cal said, walking back into the kitchen. He stopped to look at me, then Bea, obviously sensing the conversation had changed. “You done?”

I nodded. “I think I have everything I need.” I powered down and packed up. Bea stood and hugged me tight. Though we’d just met, her hugs were like candy. I wanted just a few more because they left a sense of happiness behind. “Thank you so much.”

“Anytime, honey,” she said. “Wait!” Her voice screeched with so much power it made me physically halt. “You never said if you like cranberry sauce?”

“Oh.” Right, that question. I had avoided it because, in all honesty, the one time I remember even being near cranberry sauce was back when my parents were together. My mother had opened the can and laid it on the plate and started cutting slices. But I never tried it. I must have been really young, because it was the only memory I could pull up of both my parents in the same room.

“I can’t remember ever having it,” I finally admitted.

Bea looked like I’d just uttered an unholy prayer to the devil himself.

“Well, that is going to have to change,” she said with determination.

“My aunt’s cranberry sauce is the best in the state,” Cal whispered.

“Best in a couple states,” she mumbled. “But please come back. Whether he brings you or not. You’re always welcome.”

“Thank you, that’s really nice.” And something I wish I could take her up on, because based on my earlier plan of attempting to keep it casual with Cal, the warmth I felt from him, and now his aunt, were filling my chest with an emotion I hadn’t felt for a while.

Longing.

To be a part of a family. A real family that loved and supported one another.

They aren’t my family, I reminded myself quickly. I was coveting something that wasn’t mine to covet. But, if I were honest, I wanted this moment to last just a bit longer. To feel like these walls somehow shielded me from the outside and all the mess that came with it.

“Love you,” Cal said to his aunt and hugged her goodbye.

A muffled, “Love you too, kiddo,” came from her, and it made my eyes water a little. What it must be like to have someone care so deeply for you. A parent. She may not have given birth to Cal, but she loved him unconditionally, that much was so obvious it was almost a foreign concept. Because the only experiences I’d had seemed to always come with conditions.

Cal picked up my bag, carrying it for me, and with a hand on the small of my back, led me out the front door and to his truck. Every move had thought and grace in it. Like a protector. As if this was the way he was meant to move.

Once we were on the road, heading back toward my place, I turned in my seat and faced him.

“Thank you so much. Your aunt is really wonderful.”

“Yeah, she is.”

“So, she really wanted you to be on parking patrol, huh?”