I answered the ringing phone in my pocket. "Don?" I asked, and the man chuckled. Undoubtedly at the way my voice came out as a whisper. If he ever spoke a word of my nerves to the others, he’d doom me to a life of torment.
"I've made contact. She's driving herself as expected, but we're on our way."
"Good," I grunted before hanging up the phone and shoving it back in my pocket with a swallow.
I was going to come out of my skin.
It had been a long time since I'd felt so anxious, since I'd let someone else have enough power over me that they could riddle me with anxiety. But the knowledge that Calla was in her car, on her way to her new home, threatened to push me over the edge into a fit. They were the only people who would ever see the other side of me. The part of me I’d saved just for them.
I wanted to go to the gym on the other side of the warehouse I'd converted into a home for the four of us. Wanted to push myself until my body threatened to cave beneath the pressure.
I paced around on the rustic looking hardwood floors that I'd had refinished, my shoes tapping against the floor with every step. I hadn't wanted to wear a suit for Calla's first visit to her new home and her first impression of me in years, but we'd be picking Axel up from school shortly and that required a bit of clout. Calla's days of being the outcast in that school were done.
I'd invested enough money in the last few months that I practically owned it.
As I paced, I thought of Calla’s journey to her new home. I could only imagine what would go through her mind when she traveled farther and farther outside the city limits. Would she consider turning around?
Would she register the danger she willingly drove herself into?
It wouldn't matter in the end. Calla was far too curious not to meet me now that the opportunity presented itself. She'd want to meet the man who had managed her finances so efficiently for her. She'd want to meet the man who knew her husband better than she did.
Even if she didn't know that.
So even when her instinct was to turn back, my Sunshine would keep going. I knew that, even though she would fight it, she was as drawn to me as I was to her.
Like a thread tethered us together, she felt me when I was nearby. Like my very presence was ingrained in her soul, and she couldn't seem to rid herself of me. All it took was a few minutes together four years ago, but the bond between us pulled taut, anyway.
When the sound of cars came down the dirt driveway, I chanced a glance out the smaller windows at the front of the building. Sure enough, Calla's practical sedan made its way down the road as slowly as could be. Hesitation had no doubt set in as soon as her eyes landed on the building.
From the front, it did kind of look like a convenient place to murder someone.
I supposed that's why I liked it.
It was private, with nothing nearby. The front of the house was visible from the road that nobody ever traveled down, but trees came in from the woods surrounding it to disguise most of the property. From the front, no one would ever guess just how large the building was, or that there was a beautiful yard in the back.
It hadn't always been that way, of course. What the fuck did I need a yard for?
But my boy liked sports as much as he liked numbers, and it was about time my little Princess learned to swim.
Calla's car stopped out front, but she didn't move to get out until Don parked beside her and climbed out of the car. He smiled at her broadly, trying to reassure her. She returned it with a crooked smile that showed her nerves matched my own.
Stepping away from the window, I forced myself to move into the kitchen. Then I glanced around, wondering where I should be in the house when she walked in.
Did I sit down and try to make myself not look so big?
Did I stand and just own it?
Why the fuck hadn't I given it any thought?
Shit.
I was not ready for this. But fuck it.
It was time for my Sunshine to meet me again.
Ten
Calla