The Way Forward

by Eliana West

  She blinked at him, speechless. It was the most romantic thing a man had ever said to her, and yet if any other man had spoken those words, it wouldn’t have been the same. They were special because it was Dax.

  He climbed in and pointed toward the pillows. “Get yourself comfortable and I’ll get dinner ready.”

  Callie scrambled toward the back and settled against the pillows and watched while Dax started pulling food and two place settings out of the large basket, then he draped the top with a tablecloth and set the makeshift table.

  He turned to her with a sheepish expression and held out a bottle of wine. “I hope I got the right one.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “Brothers in Arms Syrah. How in the world did you get this?”

  “I called the winery, told them I needed a bottle of your favorite wine, and they shipped two bottles overnight.”

  “I can’t believe you did this.”

  “Is this the one you like?”

  “Yes.” She brushed her fingers over the label. “It’s perfect.”

  He took the bottle and pulled out two glasses and an opener, holding it out to her. “You’re probably better at this than I am, so how about you open and I’ll finish getting dinner ready.”

  Dax kept sneaking glances while she inserted the opener and pulled the cork. After pouring the deep garnet liquid into the glass she swirled and sniffed before taking a sip. “The owner of the winery mentioned that you have an excellent palate. She said you would have made a terrific sommelier. I had no idea my girlfriend was so talented.” He winked.

  Callie paused, the glass at her lips, and then slowly set the glass down, blinking at him. He just called her his girlfriend…and she liked it.

  He’d taken the time to find her favorite wine. He was incredibly considerate. He’d spent a lot of time planning this date—it left her feeling open, and exposed, but in a different way. A good way. Dax saw her for who she really was, and she liked it.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that,” Dax said.

  She rose up on her knees, moved toward him, and clasped his handsome face in her hands. “I might as well tell you my last secret since you know all my other ones. Do you want to know what my last secret is?” He nodded and she leaned forward until her lips were almost touching his. “I like the idea of being your girlfriend.”

  His warm gaze met hers and for a moment the air felt electric. And then he sucked her bottom lip between his teeth before devouring her mouth. By the time they broke apart the lightning bugs had appeared, dancing around them. “You have to stop distracting me,” he growled, “or I’ll never get you fed.”

  She grinned and leaned against the pillows, watching Dax as he went to work piling their plates with cold ham with potato, and black-eyed pea salad.

  Dax told her more about his visit with Reid while they ate.

  “Do you think he’ll come back soon?” Callie asked.

  “I hope so, and if he doesn’t I’ll make the time to go to Chicago and see him. I’m not going to waste any more time; we lost too many years already.”

  “We lost a lot of years too.”

  “I think in our case we both needed the time.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “You’re right. I don’t think we would have had as much in common as we do now.”

  He brushed a curl from her cheek. “Did you always plan on moving back to Colton?”

  “When my dad finally realized I wasn’t going to follow him into the music business he arranged for me to have a job with a publisher in New York. I thought about it for about ten minutes and said no. I’ve always been a small-town girl at heart. Then Grandma and Grandpa died and I knew right away I wanted to be here. The old librarian that Grandpa had hired wanted to retire so it worked out that when I moved here permanently I could take over.”

  “So the library isn’t run by the state?”

  “It’s a public-private partnership. Grandpa always owned the library and we have an agreement with the state to use their search engines and things like book transfers.”

  Dax wouldn’t let her help clear the dishes after dinner so she made herself comfortable and watched the man who with every word and gesture burrowed deeper into her heart. He packed everything back in the hamper and pushed it out of the way before settling next to her.

  He held out his arm and patted the space next to him.

  She scooted next to him. He reached behind him and pulled out a package of Red Vines, and two boxes of Junior Mints and Milk Duds. “I thought we could have dessert while we watch the movie.”

  “What movie did you pick?” she asked, expecting some kind of action-adventure guy flick.

  “Desk Set.”

  She did a double-take. “How did you know it’s one of my favorite movies?”

  “I did my research.”

  “Mae,” Callie said, with a laugh. Mae was the only person who would know.

  “Sorry, I can’t reveal my sources. Besides my source would knock me into next week if I gave her away.”

  He gave her one more toe-curling kiss before he tucked her under his arm and with a few clicks of his tablet, the opening credits appeared on the screen. Dax fed her pieces of candy, stealing kisses every now and then while they watched Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy exchange snappy dialogue. When the old-fashioned computer malfunctioned and began to spew the punch cards all over the office, Dax doubled over with laughter. Callie enjoyed watching his reactions as much as the movie.

  When the final credits rolled they lay side by side under the stars, talking about the movie, life, and their hopes and dreams for Colton. Conversation with Dax was easy, so much easier than any other man she’d spent time with. He asked questions and made observations that made her aware of just how much he cared about her. Their words became kisses, and this time there was a new level of trust when they made love under the stars. She sighed with contentment wrapped in Dax’s arms.

  Dax propped himself up on his arm, tracing the worry lines on her forehead. “You’re thinking awfully hard. Do you want to share what’s going on in there?”

  “Not thinking that hard. Just enjoying this moment.” She turned her head and looked at him. “Best. Date. Ever.”

  Dax returned to the field after he dropped Callie off to take down the makeshift screen he’d set up for their date. When he was finished he sat on the bed of the truck looking up at the stars replaying his date with Callie. Suddenly an image of his future flashed in his head: sitting with Callie on her front porch, a little girl in her lap looking up at him with big, brown eyes that matched his and golden curls just like Callie’s.

  The wind rustled the leaves in the trees and the air grew heavy with the scent of eucalyptus. He peered into the darkness surrounding his vision. An old woman appeared out of the shadows, her dark brown skin still smooth and her eyes bright despite her age. She grinned at him.

  “I’m 104 years old.” She lifted her chin. “Colton woman age well,” she answered his unasked question. She gazed lovingly at Callie and the little girl in her lap. “There’s only so much I can do from this side. When the time comes, you’ll have to do the rest.”

  She faded back into the darkness.

  Dax jerked upright. “What do I have to do?” he whispered to the old woman even though the vision had already disappeared.

  *

  Dax headed to the bank the next morning eager to move forward with his contribution toward improving his hometown. An hour later he looked down at the deposit slip in his hand with satisfaction.

  “Thanks for all your help, Ash.”

  “It’s my pleasure.” Ashton Beaumont glanced around the room to make sure no one was within earshot. “I’m really looking forward to working with you and Callie. There’s a lot of good we can do now that we have the Colton Foundation account all set up.”

  “What would you think about setting up a business association?”

  Ashton grinned at him. “That’s a great idea.”

  “There w
ouldn’t be many of us to start with. I was thinking the three of us, Hank and Tillie.”

  “I’d be happy to stop by and talk to them tomorrow.”

  “That’d be great and I’ll talk to Callie about it tonight.”

  Ashton’s eyebrows rose. “Tonight?”

  “You keep that bit of information to yourself, you hear?”

  “Are you kidding me? The last thing I want is to be subjected to the hissy fit my sister’s gonna have when she finds out, your secret’s safe with me. But,” Ashton’s mouth turned down, “you know how this town is, someone’s going to find out about it and tell your mother. Be careful Dax. I know she’s your mom and has been saying some really terrible things about Callie lately.”

  Dax sighed. “I know, when the time is right I’ll have to have a hard talk with her.”

  “Just so you know half the town has bets going on if that will ever happen.”

  “Oh yea, what are the odds?”

  “Lately they’ve been turning in your favor.”

  “Good to know.”

  Dax stood up and shook Ashton’s hand. He couldn’t keep from smiling as he walked out of the bank. He was settling in, finding his place in the community, and he had another date with Callie tonight. The odds were turning in his favor. He planned to have Sunday dinner with his mother and confront her about her behavior and more importantly break the news to her that he was dating Callie. She wasn’t going to be happy, far from it, but he hoped they could reach some kind of truce in the end.

  He walked down the block to his place just as Mae pulled up in front of the building.

  “Good timing. I was hoping to catch you,” she said.

  Dax unlocked the door and stood aside to let her in. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

  “Well…I thought this was a good idea but now that I’m here…this is really awkward.”

  “Am I in trouble?”

  “That’s the thing I’m trying to help you avoid it.”

  Dax waited for her to elaborate.

  “Spit it out Mae,” he said when she remained silent.

  Mae took a deep breath. “Here’s the thing, I know you have a date with Callie tonight and I’m sure she has taken care of this but just in case you wanted to buy…protection, you shouldn’t get it at Walker’s Pharmacy because everyone in town will know. Trust me I’ve learned this lesson the hard way,” she said in a rush.

  Dax looked at her in stunned silence for a minute before throwing his head back and laughing.

  “It’s not funny. Callie is my best friend and I’m just trying to make sure you’re being responsible.”

  Mae’s outburst had him laughing so hard his sides hurt. Mae’s lips twitched and then she stared laughing along with him.

  “Okay, I’ll admit as I said it out loud I realized how ridiculous I sound. I hope I didn’t offend you or anything.”

  “Not at all, you’re looking out for Callie, that’s what good friends do for each other.”

  “Just don’t tell her, she’d be mad as hell if she found out.”

  “Not a word.”

  Mae looked around the finished main floor. “How are the apartments coming along?”

  “Good, want to take a look? Since you’re my first official renter you get first pick.”

  Dax led Mae up to the second floor and through the four units. Each space had an open floor plan and the same exposed brick walls that Dax had upstairs in his loft. Mae was thrilled and chose one of the units that overlooked the park. Once they finished Mae left him to get ready for his date after another promise to never speak of their earlier conversation again.

  Dax arrived on Callie’s doorstep with a bouquet of yellow flowers in hand.

  The door flung open before his knuckles hit the wood. “I saw you coming up the walk.”

  She smiled, and stood back so he could come in. He held out the bouquet and she took it from him burying her face in the blossoms.

  She took a deep breath. “Heavenly, thank you.”

  “Anything I can do to help?” he asked.

  “No, I just have to pull everything out of the oven. Have a seat.”

  Dax hadn’t been in Callie’s house since the book club meeting. He was so wound up then he didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings. He looked around the tiny bungalow admiring the mix between old and new.

  Callie put the bouquet he brought out and set it on the table and went back to the kitchen returning with a platter filled with chicken, vegetables and rice.

  “It’s nothing fancy,” she said as she set the platter on the table.

  He caught her wrist and kissed the back of her hand. “It’s not the food, it’s the company.”

  “White wine okay with you?”

  “You’re the expert.”

  She went back into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of wine. She poured out two glasses handing him one.

  “I’ve never made dinner for anyone before.” She blushed.

  He reached across the table and took her hand. “Would it be impolite for me to say I’m glad?”

  “No, because I feel the same way.”

  They grinned at each other for a moment before he let her hand go.

  *

  Callie had butterflies all day getting ready for her date with Dax. Now that he was here sitting at her kitchen table she wondered why. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to enjoy a quiet dinner with him.

  “I stopped by the bank today. The account for the Colton Foundation is set up and all we have to do now is decide what our next project is going to be.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. It may be a while before we find a doctor who would be willing to move here and run the clinic. What if we provide the funds for the fire department to have an EMT?”

  Dax looked at her thoughtfully. “I like that idea.”

  “We just have to figure out a way to do it so that the town council can’t divert the funds.”

  “Has that been a problem?”

  “I learned quickly not to make any kind of monetary donation when I first started doing this.”

  Dax frowned. “I hate what my mother is doing to this town.”

  Now it was her turn to take his hand. “Dax you can’t take on this burden. Grandpa used to say that Colton will only thrive when everyone in the community takes responsibility and pride in the town. A lot of folks are scared of the town council and their influence.”

  “I just want to make a difference.”

  “You are and you will, but you have to give it time, give people a chance to get to know you and they’ll realize that you have good intentions and a good heart.”

  He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “Thank you, Callie.”

  The room grew warm as he looked into her eyes. They finished their dinner and Dax followed her into the kitchen carrying the empty platter. “What can I do?”

  Callie pointed to a dish towel on the counter. “Do you mind drying while I wash?”

  “Nope, not at all.”

  It didn’t take long to get the dishes cleaned up, they stood next to each other hip to hip in her tiny kitchen, their fingers brushing, their touches lingering until they finished and Dax pulled her into his arms and captured her mouth with his.

  “I wanted to do that the minute I walked in the door,” he said.

  “So did I.”

  He kissed her again threading his fingers through her hair pulling her against him. She wound her arms around his neck. He dipped his tongue in her mouth and his tongue danced with hers.

  “This is all I’ve been able to think about since kissing you under the stars last night.”

  His hands slid down to her hips; she pressed against him and he sucked in his breath.

  Callie looked up into his beautiful brown eyes that were filled with desire. He made her feel cherished in a way she’d never felt before.

  She let her hands fall to his shoulders and reveled in the feel of his body under her
hands. Her mouth found his and she nipped at his bottom lip eliciting a groan from him.

  “Callie please, I can’t let you go.” He tore his mouth away from hers holding her gaze. “Please—”

  He didn’t get any further as Callie took his hand and led hehim down the hallway to her bedroom. She reached the bed, turned around and started unbuttoning his shirt.

  “The answer is yes.”

  When the sun found its way through Callie’s bedroom window, they had explored and touched and tasted every inch of each other. She stretched and grinned at the ceiling.

  “That may be the prettiest sight I’ve ever woken up to,” Dax said in a low, sexy voice that made her heart flutter.

  She reached up with a lazy smile and stroked the stubble covering his jaw. “Good morning,” she murmured.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  It was late when Dax pulled up in front of the library. Callie decided it wouldn’t be the end of the world if the library opened an hour late so she could spend a little more time in bed with Dax. She cringed when she saw his mother standing on the sidewalk in front of the library. Dax reached over and grasped her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

  “Don’t worry,” he reassured her, ignoring his own feeling of unease.

  Callie jerked forward. “Oh no,” she exclaimed jumping out of the truck before it came to a complete stop.

  His mother was standing in the doorway. Wait, why was the door open? He parked the truck and rushed in.

  Presley stood in front of him, her arms filled with books. She held the stack out to him.

  “Oh, good you’re here. Take these, will ya? They’re old so you can put them over there with the rest in the garbage pile,” she said pointing to a jumble of books tossed carelessly in a corner.

  “Get out.” She rushed over, grabbing the books away from Presley. “GET OUT!” she shouted.

  Presley blinked at Callie. “Mrs. Ellis says you’re not responsible enough to run the library, so I’m takin’ over.” She flipped the cotton candy, tangled mess of her hair and smirked. “It’s a good thing, too, nothing made sense in here. I’m gonna rearrange everything by color. It’s gonna be so pretty.”