DAY 31

by Kane Caldwell

  But I couldn’t let Callen know I knew. Not yet.

  “Oh,” I muttered, doing my best to act surprised. My body began to relax and went along with me acting flabbergasted. “How come?”

  “Don’t know.” He looked to the sliding glass doors. “When Olivia and I couldn’t get pregnant, I got tested.” He shrugged. “Been shooting blanks.”

  His eyes came to mine, and they were looking for an answer.

  “It’s okay, Callen,” I informed him in a soft voice.

  “You do understand what I’m saying, Noelle?” His tone was firm and serious.

  “Yes.” I gave him a small smile. “It’s okay. Plus, there’s always adoption.”

  His eyes went gentle, his shoulders relaxed, and he muttered, “Abso-fucking-lutely perfect.”

  I smiled at him. He grinned at me. Then he stole a fry before asking, “What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”

  I looked deep into his eyes and lied, “I have a lot of work tomorrow. So I’m not sure if I’m going to make it to see you.”

  “Well, that sucks.” He stood and went to the mini fridge and grabbed a candy bar. “When are you going to talk to your dad?”

  “Tomorrow,” I blurted quickly.

  He regarded me with curious eyes but didn’t question, just nodded as he took a bite of the chocolate.

  *~*~*

  I inhaled deeply, trying to memorize his scent that lingered in the car as I drove down the freeway. Tears pricked my eyes. There was no doubt that I was in love with Callen, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him the secret. So with each mile that I drove, every scenario raced through my head. I could not tell him and we could go on living happily ever after, hoping he never found out. I could tell him, and he could take the news with a grain of salt. I could tell him and never see him again. The latter was what stuck in my mind, causing me not to voice what I knew should’ve today.

  But I chickened out and lied, telling him I had to work. I needed more time and a plan to tell him, and that’s exactly what I planned on doing tomorrow.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Callen

  *~*DAY 53*~*

  I sat by the pond with the brown paper bag setting between my bent legs. Elbows on my knees, hands holding the cell, I looked at the screen reading her last fucking text message.

  Noelle: I’m sorry, I’m not going to make it again today.

  Letting out a heavy sigh, I looked out onto the water, wondering where it all went wrong.

  Since the last time I saw her, the texts had been short, no phone conversations, and she hadn’t been fucking back to see me. Two days ago, I’d thought she had been pulling a prank on me, that she was going to pop into my room yelling surprise. But as I lay on my bed watching the time slip away, I knew I had only been fooling myself. I’d asked her yesterday if me confessing I couldn’t have kids changed things between us, but she swore it hadn’t. I didn’t believe her, because things between us hadn’t been the fucking same since that day. I’d asked if she’d spoken to her father yet; she had informed me she had, and that’d been what was taking up her time, getting him familiar with the paperwork. For some reason, I didn’t believe her. She seemed different… distant.

  “Callen?” Sylvia called from behind me.

  I nodded, not turning around.

  “There’s someone here to see you,” she said, and I heard her walk away.

  For an instant my heart began to race and my body filled with warmth. I shook my head at what a fucking pussy I was being. Expecting to see Noelle, I rose and turned around. What I was faced with had my blood instantly burning with rage.

  “Mr. Westbrook.” He had the fucking nerve to extend his hand.

  I looked at it, then back to him as my breathing picked up and my nostrils flared with anger. I wanted to pound the fucker’s face in. Let him feel the pain he caused me. But I knew if I so much as laid a finger on him, I wouldn’t be released. I bent, grabbed the brown paper bag with my turkey sandwich and my beanie. As I took two steps, he spoke again.

  “Please, Callen,” he said pleadingly.

  I took a long step, closing the distance between us, and got in his face. “Do not utter my fucking name.”

  As I moved my head an inch back, his blue eyes stared into me. They reminded me of Noelle, and in that moment as she skated across my mind, my heart clenched.

  “This should have happened months ago,” he whispered.

  “This shouldn’t fucking happen at all,” I grated, and started to walk away.

  “Callen,” he called. “I need to talk to you about my daughter, Noelle.”

  My feet stopped moving. My heart stopped beating. All the air was sucked from my lungs. In an instant, my world crumbled around me, and I felt the demons creeping back into my veins. But somehow, I found my numb body turning.

  “What?” I whispered in pure and utter shock.

  My daughter.” He paused, tilted his head, and added, “Noelle.”

  I glared at him. Every minute I’d spent with her crossed my mind in a flash. Her sweet smile and innocent demeanor. It was all a fucking lie.

  A goddamn fucking lie.

  “You didn’t know.” He sighed heavily.

  I took the few steps that distanced us and roared, “Fucking talk, now!”

  Sylvia came running over. “Is everything okay here?”

  “No!” I shouted, and got back in the man’s face. “Talk!”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her signal to someone, then she said, “How about we go sit.”

  The man nodded and began to walk toward an empty table. I didn’t move. I watched him, and with every step he took my nerves thumped with fury.

  “Callen.” She put her hand on my arm. I pulled it away and looked down at her. “Let’s go sit.”

  Dr. Meyers came walking fast in my direction. He exchanged a few quiet words with Sylvia, and she took off.

  He gestured to the table the man was now sitting at with his eyes focused on us. “Come on.”

  I went then, but it felt as though I was walking through a tunnel to my death. I knew my body was moving, but didn’t feel a thing.

  “Hello.” Dr. Meyers put his hand out. “Sylvia tells me your name is Marshall Anderson?”

  “Yes.” They shook hands.

  Dr. Meyers looked to me. “Let’s sit.”

  Breathing heavily, glaring at Noelle’s father, I sat.

  “Can you tell me why you’re here to see Callen?” Dr. Meyers asked.

  Marshall folded his hands in front of him and said quietly, “It’s about my daughter, Noelle. Noelle Anderson.”

  “Oh,” Dr. Meyers drawled. “You’re—”

  “The man who was fucking my wife and got her pregnant,” I blurted in rage.

  Marshall sighed and looked to the table. Dr. Meyers’s head swung from Marshall to me, then back again.

  “Umm.” He rubbed his face and looked at Marshall and me again. “Okay. Well, I guess there’s a lot that needs to be discussed here.”

  He waved, and Sylvia came over. “Yes?”

  “Can you please have everyone go inside until further notice?” Dr. Meyers asked.

  “Sure,” she said, and began ushering everyone inside.

  “Okay,” Dr. Meyers said. “I’ll start—”

  “I’d like to.” Marshall cut him off. “If you don’t mind?”

  “Please.” He waved a hand.

  “Mr. Westbrook, I don’t expect your forgiveness, but from one husband to another, I’m very sorry for the loss of your wife and—”

  “You were fucking my wife for almost a goddamn year,” I grated out, eyes hard on him.

  He lowered his head.

  “You got her fucking pregnant,” I rumbled and started to rise.

  “Callen,” Dr. Meyers said calmly, and put a hand on my arm. “Sit.”

  “I’m truly sorry—” Marshall began.

  I slammed my hands on the table and ground out, “The fucking day she drowned herself in th
e pool, the day you wrote her a goddamn fucking Dear John letter, I planned on leaving her.” My breathing was heavy with rage. “Was gonna walk the fuck away, let you have her. Give her what the fuck she wanted. But I came home to a house surrounded by fucking cops and an ambulance to find my wife had taken her own damn life.”

  All the emotions I’d felt that day came rushing back. The unexplainable pain. The anger. The hurt.

  “Mr. Wes—” Marshall started.

  I yelled, “I felt fucking responsible for her death! Put that goddamn weight on my shoulders!”

  “Callen,” Dr. Meyers called, but I ignored him.

  “Mr. Westbrook, what I did is inexplicable. I could sit here and try to defend myself, but—”

  “You fucking asshole!” I began to walk away.

  “Noelle,” Marshall called. “She’s in the hospital.”

  *~*~*

  I tapped my foot on the floorboard of Dr. Meyers’s sedan, violently gripping my beanie.

  “Callen, please, calm down before you’re in the bed next to her. What good is that going to do?” Dr. Meyers asked from the driver seat.

  “Can’t you go any fucking faster?”

  Ten minutes later, Dr. Meyers pulled into a spot in the hospital parking lot. I flew from the car, not even shutting the door, and ran into the lobby. I stopped when I had no fucking idea where I was going. I turned to see Marshall and Dr. Meyers walking through the automatic doors.

  “Where the fuck is she?” I rumbled.

  “Third floor, room three forty-two.”

  I barely heard the last number as I ran down the hall looking for a door with the stairway symbol. Once I spotted it, I barged through took the steps two at a time, adrenaline taking over. Panting, nerves on edge, I reached the third floor and flew through the door. People stopped as they saw me appear, and my head swung side to side.

  “Room three forty-two?” I called out.

  A woman in pink scrubs pointed to the right and I took off, sprinting down the hall, watching every number on the side of the wooden doors as I passed.

  I rushed in, and when I saw her eyes closed, I stopped moving. My feet planted to the floor, I stared at her small frame in the big bed. Her pale blond hair fanned across the white linens. Her bottom lip was cut and swollen, her left eye bruised black and red. A large bandage lined her right cheekbone.

  I willed my feet to move, and when they did I sat in the chair beside her bed. I took a deep breath and felt my body sink. Placing my hand on the bed, I lifted her small one and laid it in mine. Another deep breath, and my throat clogged.

  “Cal….” Her voice was hoarse.

  My eyes quickly rose to hers. I stood and whispered, “Shhh, princess, I’m here.”

  Both of our gazes swung to the door when Dr. Meyers and her father walked through. Her hand squeezed mine, and my attention went back to her. She sucked in an unsteady breath.

  “I’m….” Her lips trembled. “Oh God, Callen.” A tear fell from her unbruised eye. “I’m so sorry.”

  I laid my forehead against hers. “Shhh….”

  “I was going to tell—”

  “Baby, please.” I lifted my head an inch from hers, and as I watched the tears fall from her eyes, my chest tightened, and one fell from mine.

  I laid my lips to hers, and she muttered, “I love you.”

  “I love you too, princess.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Callen

  *~* Five Weeks Later *~*

  “Yes,” Noelle moaned on a heavy breath.

  I had one hand gripping her hair, the other arm curled around her waist, hand working her clit. She arched her back and pushed her ass toward me. I looked down, her ass in my view, and watched my cock slip in and out of her pussy. I released her hair, glided a hand down the curve of her back, and as I landed on her ass cheek, I spread it, getting a better view of my dick ramming into her soaking cunt.

  “Fuck,” I ground out when I felt her pussy tighten around my cock.

  Her hands clutched the sheets, her legs began to tremble, and just as her pussy clenched down on my cock, her arms gave out and she fell to the mattress. That only made her ass look more delectable, as it raised it in the air. A few more rough plunges into her, and I slid from her pussy and began jerking my cock over her ass. The first jet hit her lower back.

  “Jesus,” I grated through clenched teeth as the next shot out and landed between her spread ass cheeks.

  Still tugging on my cock, I watched the come slide down the valley, over her puckered hole, through her pink wet folds, and onto the sheets.

  “We gotta change the sheets again, don’t we?” she asked, with a smile lacing every word.

  “Yep.” I chuckled and smacked her ass, getting a yelp from her.

  I grabbed the rumpled top sheet lying beside us and wiped the traces of come off her. Another smack on her ass, and I told her, “Go shower, or we are gonna be late.”

  She looked over her shoulder. “You expect me to walk after that?”

  I grinned at her; she smiled at me.

  There was still some yellow visible around her eye, and every time I looked at her my heart tightened. The fucker who marred the love of my life’s face is lucky he’s sitting in a fucking jail cell, or I would be.

  After the last day we’d spent in the hotel room, that night, she’d gone to see her brother, Noah, to explain to him that things were going to change. When she left there that night and stopped for gas, she bumped into a guy who attended her father’s church, someone with whom her father had every intention of setting her up with. He coaxed her into having coffee with him. Being who she was, she agreed to one cup, and that ended with her fighting for her life in the parking lot as he tried to rape her. Thank fuck the owner of the coffee shop had taken out the garbage when he did, because it could have gone so much fucking worse than a few marks on her body.

  I spent that night and every other night at the hospital with her. And every day Dr. Meyers came to visit for a therapy session. Noelle confessed that she had known everything. It fucking hurt, hearing what she had to say, but her reason for coming to see me had been to find out more about me, how my wife’s infidelity and suicide affected me. She had in some way felt a need to right her father’s wrong. But after spending days with me, getting to know me, all had changed. Feelings came into play, and she’d felt this need deep down inside to take my pain away. Which she had.

  I saw Dr. Meyers twice a week now, once by myself and once with Noelle. And I’d learned that the past needed to stay exactly there, in the past. That if I kept it hidden inside, carried that luggage around with me, it’d never go away.

  So, when I walked out the doors of Mountains Bay for the last time, I’d left the past there.

  *~* Noelle *~*

  “It’s getting close, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, we start renovations on his grandparents’ house next week. Well, I guess our house now.” I chuckled. “I can’t wait,” I told Samantha as we grabbed a glass of ice tea and sat at a table.

  Even though it was going to take some time, I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to make the house our own and move in. When Callen had first brought me to his grandparents’ house, even with how rundown it had been, I’d immediately seen the potential. Then when he asked how I’d feel about moving there, I jumped into his arms. He took that as a yes.

  I looked around at the turnout for the one-month gathering at Mountains Bay. Even in such a short time, everyone had changed, and for the better. Glancing over to where Callen was standing with Aaron and Steven, I saw Steven take a bag from Callen’s outstretched hand. Steven opened the gift bag and pulled out a huge pack of chocolate pudding. They all busted out laughing. Callen looked my way and winked at me; I smiled back.

  I could tell you we rode off into the sunset together after multiple therapy sessions with Dr. Meyers, but I’d be lying to you. It’s pretty damn close, though. We’ve had some ups and downs, but we work through it. Communication is key, an
d very important between Callen and me. Every night as we snuggle in bed, we talk, whether it be about something we did or saw that day, or something we’ve been feeling. And that’s what has caused us to grow close so quickly, and it keeps our relationship growing every day.

  I haven’t spoken to my father since I left the hospital. He’d come and seen me every day for the week I was in there, but I didn’t communicate with him. I let him speak, which most times was groveling and apologizing, but I’d tune him out, and then he’d leave. I’ve only seen him when Callen and I go to pick up Noah. The last time I did say hi to him, which, when I told Dr. Meyers I had, he’d called progress, and smiled.

  The world worked in mysterious ways, brought us in contact with people that may stay there forever or just coast on by. But if they stay, they’re there for a reason. At first, we may be in the dark as to why, but eventually we’ll see the light.

  *~* THE END *~*

  -About the Author-

  I’m Kane Caldwell, a romance author. Writing started years ago as a hobby but quickly turned into a passion. I am the epitome of a country boy with my jeans, t-shirt, hat (No, not a cowboy hat. Lol), scruffy face, and work boots on, driving my truck and definitely not a guy you'd picture writing erotic romance. I’ve worked in the construction business for too many fucking years and now run my own crew. I’m in my mid-forties but my mind tells me differently along with keeping up with my two awesome teenage boys. I have an amazing woman in my life that keeps me on the edge. I live in the south where the weather is warm but most times sweltering hot. When I have down time, I love to be surrounded by family, friends, great food, or engrossed in a good book. And of course, putting my erotic imagination to work, bringing you stories of love, lust and everything in between.