Into the Future: A Callahan Novel

by Celya Bowers

  “This is delicious, Tristan. I missed your cooking.” She continued eating.

  “Honey, it’s only been a week. But thanks for the compliment. I missed watching you eat. I missed watching you dress and undress,” he said. “I just missed you.”

  She smiled between bites of food, and sips of coffee. “So why did you break up with me?”

  He knew this was coming, but still the admission was going to hurt. “I felt like a third wheel. Every time we went somewhere, there was Paul. He was at the office, at your house, at the soccer games, I just couldn’t take it anymore.” He waited for her to defend her ex as she always had in the past, but she merely nodded.

  “I know and that’s my fault. I was trying to please everyone involved. I didn’t want him saying I was trying to keep him from his kids.”

  He nodded. “It’s a tightrope act, trying to please everyone. Someone always gets the short end. I’m sorry, I over reacted. I did exactly what Paul wanted. I ran at the first sight of trouble. I should have known better. I’m Irish, we don’t run.”

  She laughed. “It’s a lot for a man to take in. I get it.”

  “No, you don’t get it. I should have stayed by your side and not let a man with too much time on his hands run me away from you.”

  The look of surprise on her beautiful face was priceless. “So you’re taking responsibility for this?” She reloaded her plate, then stared at him waiting for his answer.

  “Absolutely. In my marriage, there was always drama and it drove me bananas. I just didn’t want that this time around, but I realize today you can’t control another adult. Paul is being a jerk because you initiated the divorce.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Mom says too. And the fact that I really didn’t need him in the marriage for financial stability ate at him as well. I think that was the reason for his irresponsible behavior.” She rose and grabbed her plate. “I’m going to heat up my food. You ready for round two?”

  Tristan looked down at his almost full plate. He’d been so busy staring at Lizzy, he hadn’t ate much, but his food had also gotten cold. “I need to reheat too.”

  She shook her head. “I got it. You sit.”

  Before he could react, she’d picked up his plate and headed for the kitchen. Tristan shook his head. Now what? Where would they go from here? Could they go from here?

  “Here you go.” She placed the dish in front of him. “You need to eat faster.” She smiled at him, as she sat down with her plate. “I’m on my second helping and you haven’t even finished one. Lightweight.” She dug into her meal.

  He decided a little prodding was in order. “I was preoccupied. I was thinking where would we go from now.”

  “Who said I wanted to start?” She continued eating as if she hadn’t just crushed his world. “Maybe after that little episode and psychotic ex-husband, I’m just done. I want normal too.”

  “I think we’re worth another try.” He reached across the table. “Why don’t we start over? You know like our first date.”

  “So this is our first date?”

  “Yes.” He waited a beat for her to object to his reasoning, but she only smiled and continued eating. Surely, that had to be a good sign. An Irish man could only hope.

  ***

  Paul Hall sat at his desk, plotting his next step. He wanted his wife back, but he’d went about things the wrong way. All his intel had reported that Tristan had broken it off with her days ago, or at least that was the last time his ride hadn’t been parked at the her house. Now his contact at CPS just told him his claim had gotten thrown out. Nothing was going his way, but that would change soon. It had to.

  ***

  After they finished breakfast, Tristan and Lizzy cleaned the dining room table and then loaded the dishwasher. Hand in hand, they walked to the living room and took a seat on the couch. He wanted to talk.

  Since she was the injured party, she waited for him to begin. When he hadn’t, she cleared her throat. “You were saying you wanted to talk.”

  “Yes, I did, I mean do,” Tristan stumbled. “I wanted to explain why I did what I did.”

  “We’ve already done that. I get it. You were scared. Drama makes you nervous,” she said quietly. “I hadn’t realized what a hold Paul had on me until lately.”

  “I realize that, now. But this isn’t about Paul, is about us and how we can move forward.”

  “You mean you want to jump back into the lion’s den?”

  He chuckled. “Yes. I happen to think you’re worth it.”

  “What about all the Paul mess?” She wanted him back no question, but she didn’t want him back under false pretenses. After all, he was her boss too.

  “We’ll take it one disaster at a time. First of all, he’s off limits at work. He can’t just roam the halls anymore. I’ll inform security tomorrow.” He took her hand in his and looked deeply into her eyes. “I know there has to be a certain amount of contact between the two of you.”

  “With him picking up the kids at Mom’s, I’m sure the contact will be even less. I just wish I knew why he was trying to cause so much trouble in my life now.”

  Tristan coughed. “There is a rumor floating around that the marketing company he works for is under investigation. Illegal practices and such,” he said. “I don’t know how true it is and if his division is involved, but his job could be on the line.”

  So much made sense now. “So all those meetings in DC were probably not with clients,” she reasoned.

  He shrugged. “Probably not. I don’t know when the investigation started, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”

  She held his hand tighter. “And you’re willing to do that with me?”

  “You betcha.” He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “Since we’re both off for the entire day, how about we do something fun?”

  FIVE

  “I think I know all about your idea of fun,” Izzy said, against Tristan’s lips. That man had lips of gold with diamonds embedded in his tongue. She wiggled against him, attempting to put some kind of space between them, but as usual, it didn’t work.

  He pulled her on his lap. “Okay, after this fun, how about some fun with our clothes on?” He unbuttoned her blouse slowly, letting his hands feel every inch of freed skin. “Maybe we could do something with the kids later?”

  “Uh-huh,” she mumbled against his lips. “I thought we were talking,” she teased him.

  “We’re done talking. At least vocally.”

  “Really?” She’d hoped so.

  He motioned for her to rise and when she had, she laughed. “Wow!” She stared at his erection. “Is that for me?”

  He stood and pulled her in his arms. “Who else?” He took her by the hand and they headed upstairs to his bedroom. “It’s nobody but you.”

  Lizzy smiled and took a deep breath. “I hope you know what you’re getting into.”

  They stopped at his bedroom door. “Right back at you, honey.” He led her inside. Lizzy walked to the bed and sat down.

  “Tristan, come sit down,” she said quietly.

  “What is it, baby?” He sat beside her, and kissed her on the neck, lighting a fire that would soon be an inferno.

  She moved her neck, giving him unhindered access. “I know you dislike drama. I do too. But this thing with Paul might morph into something so big I won’t be able to control it.”

  He eased her blouse off her shoulders. “Why are you talking?” He unsnapped her bra.

  Lizzy looked down at her semi-nude body. Tristan. The man had a one-tracked man. Good thing. He eased her down on the bed and proceeded to undress her. Before she knew what was what, she was nude and so was he. “Anxious?” She laughed as he wrapped her in a tight embrace and kissed her.

  “Honey, you don’t know the half of it.” He rolled over on his back and pulled her with him. He bestowed hot, sloppy, kisses all over her face and neck.

  She moaned as she felt him near her breasts. Anticipating his next move, she gasped as he
took a nipple in his mouth and sucked like his life depended on it. Lizzy finally let go and let the sensations take over her body as Tristan worked his magic.

  Tristan willed himself to slow down, but when had his penis ever listened to him? He wanted to spend more time on her luscious breasts, but someone was begging to be satisfied. Was that really Lizzy begging for it?

  “Please, Tristan,” she moaned. Her body wriggling under his, extinguishing all of his reserve. His body pleaded for penetration. There would time for a nice long lovemaking session later. He had to give in this time.

  Not knowing exactly what had come over him, Tristan felt a surge in his soul. He eased her thighs apart and entered her ready body. They both sighed in relief as though they had been apart years instead of just a few weeks. “Oh, I missed you, Lizzy.”

  “Me too.” Her body was flushed against his, kissing him, and massaging his scalp. He rolled her over on her back and surged deep inside her, wrapping her in a tight embrace and returning her kisses with enthusiasm.

  When she wrapped her legs around his waist, forcing him deeper inside her, Tristan thought he was going to lose his mind. He just reached for that orgasm careening through his body. “Baby!” He tried to warn her, but it was useless. He climax seconds later. Lizzy soon joined him.

  She relaxed against him, bedclothes a hot mess, and panting, trying to catch her breath as she stared at the ceiling. “You always give me a workout,” she whispered against his chest.

  He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “Same here. Give me twenty minutes and I’ll love you right.”

  She kissed his chest, then sat up smiling. Definitely up to something. “Don’t need twenty minutes.” Her kisses slowly descending south passed his ribcage, his stomach and lower. Tristan held his breath as took him in her mouth.

  The heat of her mouth was doing crazy things to his manhood. She let him fall out of her mouth and let her hands massage him. Gently at first, until the pressure was too much for him to bear. Reasoning became a thing of the past, need was running this show. He sat up and letting her straddle his body. When she seated on his erection, she leaned closer to him, her body settling on top of his. “Ready?” She teased.

  “More than ready.” And he wasn’t just talking about making love for the second time that morning.

  ***

  “So I guess everything is back to normal?” Izzy asked as she took a place on her sister’s sofa. In one of those rare days, Cam actually let her out of his sight. He had an evening meeting with the mayor.

  Lizzy walked toward her sister with an oversized pillow in her hand. She placed it behind Izzy to ease the pressure off her back. At twenty-one weeks along in her pregnancy, Izzy was having severe back pain and since medicine was not an option, Lizzy had to do the next best thing to keep her sister comfortable. Her visits now required pillows, and lots of snack food.

  “Yes, after the meeting we had breakfast at his place, then you know he started using that Irish charm, I was down for the count.” She placed another pillow under her sister’s puffy feet. “You want something to eat?”

  Izzy stared at Lizzy before readjusting her body on the couch. “I thought we were going out to eat. Mom has the kids. I want to go to a restaurant.”

  “You eat out all the time. Cam told me at least once a week, you guys are going out to eat.”

  “Yeah, with the media trailing right behind us. He’s got another big trial coming up in a few months, so the press follows us everywhere. I looked so fat on TV the last time.”

  Okay, Izzy was still adjusting to life in the limelight of Turners Point. Every time Cam’s office had a big trial coming up, the press followed them everywhere. “I want to eat in peace,” she complained.

  “Well that’s the life of being married to the district attorney. Yes, we can go out to eat. Since the drama of the day is over, I think we both deserve a big, fattening dinner.”

  Izzy smiled. “Hallelujah! Oh, how is Tristan dealing with the Paul factor?”

  “About the same as me. One day at a time. Did you know Paul’s company is under investigation?”

  “No, I didn’t. You’ll have to fill me in at dinner.”

  “Sure,” Lizzy said. “I’m just going to check on the kids. Then we can go eat.”

  “They’re fine.”

  Lizzy watched her sister. Izzy’s emotional makeup changed each month. This month it seemed she was always hungry. Unusual, because Izzy had turned to junk food, instead of the healthier choices, she normally made. Cam was getting worried. “When is your next doctor’s appointment?”

  “Wednesday. That’s why he had to have this meeting tonight. He was taking the rest of the week off.”

  “Oh,” Lizzy said. Definitely a private conversation with her brother-in-law was due. There was something going on. “Izzy, are you sure you feel all right?”

  “Just the normal. Cam is just a worry-wort. You’re beginning to sound just like him. I want to hear about you and Tristan.”

  “What’s there to tell? We talked about how to deal with Paul, made out like crazy, then I came back home about two. I had already asked Mom to get the kids. I really didn’t want to look at that principal again so soon.”

  “I don’t blame you. That Paul should be ashamed for causing you so much grief. Why on earth would CPS take his claim seriously?”

  Lizzy shrugged. “You got me, sis. Seems strange. They had no evidence. Other than the times that he failed to pick up the kids. Once I could produce the text messages from him; that was the end of that.”

  “What?” Izzy slowly rose from the couch.

  “Yes, that was the only evidence they had. Other than Paul’s claims.”

  “That should have never been a case.” She rubbed her belly. “Are we eating or what? I’m starving. I’ve been hinting, but you’ve been ignoring me.”

  “Oh, sorry.” Lizzy jumped to her feet. She grabbed her purse and keys, heading for the garage with Izzy followed close behind her. Once she had her sister comfortably seated in the SUV, Lizzy slid behind the driver’s wheel. “Where would you like to go?”

  “I just want a steak, with a huge bake potato,” she said, reclining back in the seat. “Doesn’t matter where.”

  Lizzy nodded, and they took off. She decided on La Carna de Brazil, the newest, trendiest, steak place in Turners Point. Since it was a Monday evening, Lizzy hoped it wouldn’t be too busy.

  Izzy’s cell phone went off just Lizzy parked the SUV. Lizzy knew it was Cam checking up on her.

  “Yes, baby. I’m fine. I’ll bring you a doggie bag.” She ended the call. “Meeting is running long. Hope you don’t mind company for a little longer.”

  “Of course not. The kids will be happy to see you. So will Mom and Dad.”

  “Thanks, Lizzy. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Izzy said and unbuckled her seat belt.

  “What’s wrong, Izzy?”

  “Nothing, I guess.” Her younger sister looked at her with serious eyes. “Is there such a thing as being too happy?”

  “God, I hope not.” She slid out of her seat and then helped Izzy out of the SUV. “I know how you feel. Everything is going great, you’re waiting for the shoe to drop.” They headed inside the large restaurant. Luckily, it wasn’t too busy, they were able to get a nice table in the center of the restaurant.

  Izzy nodded. “I keep expecting to wake up and realize none of this has happen. I have a husband who loves me to pieces. I love my in-laws, my family is wonderful and we’re all speaking to each other, our parents are in good health. It’s scary for a pessimist like me.”

  Lizzy chuckled. “Right. We just have to enjoy the moment for what it is. Izzy, everybody deserves happiness at some point. I’m just glad we found ours.”

  ***

  “Could the mayor talk any longer?” Campbell asked his best friend as they walked to their respective cars. The ninety minute evening meeting had run into three hours. “I mean, some of that stuff could have been ta
bled until next week,” Campbell complained.

  Tristan chuckled, knowing exactly why his friend was so grouchy. He missed his wife. “Man, you’re pathetic. Izzy is fine. She’s with Lizzy and they went out to eat. It’s not like you don’t have the chief of police following their every move.”

  Campbell smiled. “Perks of the office. I just worry about her and the way she’s been shoveling down food, just has me on the proactive track, that’s all.” They reached their cars. Campbell disarmed his, opened the door and threw in his briefcase. “You’re wearing a goofy smile, so I’m guessing attending the meeting with Lizzy paid off.”

  “Like you wouldn’t believe. Gives me better insight to that idiot she was married to. I think he has someone working for him in the office. Those were the most trumped up charges I’d seen.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking that too. But that’s a state matter, not a county matter, so there’s little I can do,” Campbell said.

  “I was thinking of running this by Brad. He’s a fed, so he could ferret out the mole in no time,” Tristan said.

  “Good idea, but way too late. Maybe we should have lunch tomorrow and butter him up?” Campbell suggested, then snapped his fingers. “How about dinner or something. Liquor works faster.”

  “On an Irishman? Not possible, but could put him in a more agreeable mood,” Tristan reasoned. He’s planned on spending the evening with Lizzy and the kids, but this was for a good cause. “Okay, I’ll call him in the morning.”

  “Good deal.” He looked down at his smartphone as it buzzed constantly. Campbell unhooked from his belt and laughed at the display. “Looks like you’re going to have your hands full. My contact informs me that Paul is also following the ladies.”

  “Damn it!” Tristan looked around the parking lot, hoping no one witness his outburst. “Why can’t that idiot just leave her alone?”

  “Who knows? But he hasn’t approached them, just following at a discreet distance. I can bring him in on stalking charges, but he’s not posing a threat. Your call.”

  “Nah man, at least not yet. I want to find out what his game is. Lizzy had told me that when they divorced, she sold their house and move into the one she’s in now. So it’s not like he left something when they split. In fact, she says, she doesn’t let him in the house at all. Something about bad vibes and not wanting all that negativity in her house.”