More than Sometimes (Summer Lake Silver Book 6)

by SJ McCoy

  When they finally came up for air, she smiled at him. “Wow, Blake Callahan. You are something else. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  He chuckled. “I can honestly say that no, no one ever has.”

  She gave him a sassy smile. “How about that? I get to be your first at something.”

  He tightened his arms around her. They were both a few decades past the point of firsts in the sense he was thinking about, but just the fact that she mentioned it heightened his desire for her.

  Her eyes widened as she looked up into his. She felt the change in him, and her expression told him that she understood what it was about.

  She pressed herself against him, making his eyes close and the blood surge in his veins.

  Chapter Eleven

  “What are you up to today?” Elle looked up from her laptop when Teresa came into the kitchen.

  “I’m meeting Nina for lunch. What about you?”

  Elle shrugged. “I think I’m going to take Skye to the park.”

  “By yourself? I can come if you—”

  “That’s okay. Not by myself, no. I got to talking to Emma on Friday night and she wanted to get Skye and little Isabel together.”

  “Aww. That’s a lovely idea. I’ve always liked Emma.”

  “Yeah. She’s a sweetheart. I’m glad she’s with Jack now. He’s awesome. I met up with her in the city a couple of times when she was married to that Rob. He was …” Elle shuddered and the look on her face spoke volumes.

  Teresa couldn’t resist. “See, she just needed to come home to the lake and she found her perfect guy.”

  Elle made a face. “It’s okay. You don’t need to keep pushing all the merits of this place on me. I get it. And I’m thinking that maybe …”

  Teresa held her breath, hoping she knew what Elle was about to say.

  “Maybe it is for the best if we stay here. Skye definitely has a better life here. And I can make it work.”

  “Oh, Elle.” Teresa wrapped her up in a hug. “You know I’ll do everything I can to help. To make life good here for you. If you want one of the houses, just say so. Tell me which one. You know I won’t throw anyone out, but all the three of the leases are coming up soon. And I have a feeling that the Sullivans are ready to move out of the place at Four Mile.”

  Elle raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Yes. I heard that he’s been offered a job in San Francisco. They love it here, but her mom’s getting older and they want to move back to be closer to her. They haven’t told me that themselves yet, but you know what the grapevine’s like.”

  Elle laughed. “I sure do. If that place does come vacant, I’d love to rent it from you.”

  Teresa frowned. “You don’t need—”

  “I do, Mom. I need to stand on my own two feet. I’m not coming home to sponge off Mommy. And besides, that place is part of your income.”

  “It’s not income. It’s savings. And the only thing I’m saving for is you and Skye.”

  “I don’t want to argue with you. If the place is available, I’d like to rent it from you. That’s all.”

  Teresa nodded and managed to stop herself from saying anything else. She needed to just be grateful that Elle was thinking about staying. That was enough for now.

  “And you wouldn’t mind me staying on at the salon with you?”

  “I’d love it. And … I know it’s probably too soon to talk about it, but I’m just going to plant the seed. I’d like you to think about taking over if you want to. I’d like to start cutting back. I’m getting too old to be in there full-time.”

  “You are not!”

  Teresa laughed. “Well, I feel it, put it that way. I’m ready to do more with my life than spend all my days in there. So, you have a think about it and when you’re ready we can talk about what it might look like. Okay?”

  Elle nodded. “Okay.”

  “Awesome!” Teresa was thrilled.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.”

  “Does this have anything to do with you and Cal?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean … I know it’s none of my business, so tell me to butt out if you like, but are you two getting serious?”

  Teresa laughed. “What makes you think that?”

  “Err, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that out of the last four nights you’ve been out with him twice and he’s been over here twice.”

  Teresa’s heart sank. “Do you mind? That’s not why you—?”

  Elle laughed. “I don’t mind at all. He’s awesome! Not only is he good to you, he’s good to Skye and me, too. And this probably sounds weird but he’s good for you and for us, too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean none of us is used to having a decent man in our lives, are we? And Cal? He’s the most decent person I’ve ever met.” She waggled her eyebrows “And there’s no denying that he’s all man—or that he’s totally besotted with you.”

  “You think so?”

  Elle laughed. “Come on, Mom. The guy’s crazy about you. Do you think he’d come over and hangout with your daughter and your granddaughter if he wasn’t? We both know he’d rather have you all to himself, but he’ll take whatever time you’ll give him. How many guys would come over on a Sunday afternoon to grill for his new girlfriend’s family?”

  Teresa couldn’t hide her smile. “Wasn’t it a good time?”

  “It was. I’m glad you argued with me and made me stay. I would have taken Skye out to give the two of you time together. But it was such a good time. It felt like …”

  “Like what?”

  “Like we were a real family. Skye’s never known that, and I never really did either. Dad wasn’t exactly …”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

  “Don’t be! I didn’t mean it in a bad way. After Dad left, I loved what we had, you and me. I had the best girl mom around—just ask any of my friends. Hair, nails, makeup, clothes, I was the go-to girl because of you. You did everything you could and more. But I did kind of envy my friends who were close with their dads. You know, the ones who got to go out on the boat or go four-wheeling.” She shrugged. “I guess having Cal here yesterday reminded me of that. And it made me want it for Skye, too. You know?”

  Teresa nodded. She knew exactly what Elle was talking about.

  “So, back to the original question. Do you want things to get serious between you and him?”

  “It’s way too soon to think about that. We’ve only known each other a couple of weeks. And he’s …”

  Elle laughed. “He’s nuts about you. I only asked if you want things to get serious; I can already tell that he does.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “I’d put money on it.” She made a face. “I’ll come clean, too. I’ve asked around about him. I got Abbie to dig the dirt through her mom and Manny. And the info I got back is that he doesn’t normally date at all. And he isn’t the kind of man who does anything in half-measures.”

  Butterflies took flight in Teresa’s stomach at those last few words. Cal had spoken them himself on Saturday night before he brought her home. When they’d left the Boathouse, he’d suggested she come back for a drink at his place, but even though she’d agreed—eagerly—he’d brought her home instead. She hadn’t understood what was going on until he’d turned onto her street, parked his SUV outside her house and cut the engine.

  The way he’d kissed her had left her in no doubt that he wanted her. But he’d explained that he didn’t do anything in half-measures and that if he’d taken her back to his place there was no way he would have brought her home before morning.

  Elle was watching her closely. “You want it, don’t you?”

  Teresa felt the heat in her cheeks, and Elle laughed.

  “I meant you want things to get serious between you. But the look on your face says you want it, too. And I don’t blame you. I think hal
f the women in town wouldn’t mind getting it either.”

  Teresa recovered and laughed. “I’m not going to deny it. Any of it. But I still think it’s too soon to be thinking about it.”

  “I think you’re wrong. But it’s your call. I just wanted you to know that not only do I not mind. I like the idea—a lot. For you, of course. But selfishly, too.”

  Teresa nodded. She loved the idea of Cal becoming a part of their lives. He was such a good man, and he was so good with Skye, and with Elle for that matter. Her smile faded.

  “Have you heard from your dad?”

  Elle rolled her eyes. “Yeah. He wants to come up and bring Maddie.”

  “I know. He called me about it the other night.”

  “Would you mind?”

  “Of course not. He’s your father.”

  Elle shrugged. “I’ll keep him out of your way.”

  “You don’t need to. He asked if I had any trips planned—or if I could plan one. I told him the end of the month.”

  “He shouldn’t be able to run you out of town.”

  “He’s not. I volunteered. I can go …”

  Elle grinned. “You can go away for a dirty weekend with Cal!”

  Teresa laughed. “Oh, my God! You’re so bad.”

  “I am my mother’s daughter.”

  Teresa slapped her arm but had to laugh with her.

  They both stopped when Teresa’s phone rang.

  “That’s probably Nina wondering where you are.”

  “No. It’s the salon. Even after all these years I can’t train people that we’re closed on Mondays. They still call for appointments.”

  “Well, let it go to voicemail and I’ll deal with it. And in the future, we can start forwarding the calls to my phone.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart. That’d be great.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Cal looked up at the sound of a knock on his office door and smiled when he saw Ryan and Manny standing there grinning at him.

  “What’s up?”

  “We’re finishing up for the day and we’ve come to take you to the Boathouse for a drink.”

  Cal frowned at his screen. He wanted to—

  “Don’t even think about making excuses or claiming you have more work to do,” said Ryan as he came into the office. “You’ve been doing better this week. But I was serious when I said that you need to lighten up. You’re supposed to be taking life easier here.”

  Cal blew out a sigh. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Ryan laughed. “Just like that?”

  Cal chuckled. “Yeah. Just like that. We’re halfway through the week already and I need to save something to do to keep me going until the weekend.”

  “Awesome! Let’s go then.”

  Manny grinned at him as he got to his feet. “I wish you hadn’t made it so easy on him.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “He was bragging that he was going to drag you out of here if you said no.”

  Cal raised an eyebrow at Ryan and rolled his sleeves up a little higher.

  Ryan just laughed. “Okay! I admit I’m full of shit. There’s no need to go baring your tree trunks at me to remind me I’d have no chance whatsoever of dragging you anywhere.”

  Cal winked at Manny. “You just have to remind him who’s really the boss every now and then.”

  When they got to the Boathouse, Cal looked around as they made their way to the bar. It was early, so it was still quiet. He frowned when he saw Dallas, Austin’s brother, the kid who was supposed to be showing him the house over at Four Mile. He was sitting in a booth by himself.

  “I’ll catch up with you guys.”

  “You want a beer?”

  “No, just a water. I’ll be right there.”

  “Hi, Mr. Callahan.”

  Cal smiled and sat down opposite him. “Dallas. How’s it going?”

  The kid ran a hand through his hair, the gesture belying his words. “Great, thanks. How about you? Have you figured out when you’ll have time to go and see the Lakeside house? I can make time whenever suits you, just say the word.”

  Cal thought about it. “How about this time tomorrow?”

  “Perfect. Let’s do it. Do you want me to drive you over there?”

  “No. There’s no need. I’ll meet you there. Five-thirty?”

  “You got it.”

  Cal met his gaze. “Don’t be late.”

  Dallas’s eyes widened. “I won’t.”

  Cal wanted to help Austin out, and Dallas seemed like a good kid, too. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Fine. Great.”

  Cal sat back and folded his arms across his chest. He raised an eyebrow and waited.

  A flurry of emotions flitted across the kid’s face before he spoke. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

  “That’s what I’m here for.”

  “You’re used to having people working for you, right?”

  “I am.”

  “And sometimes people screw up.”

  “Everyone does, sometimes.”

  “So, if someone who worked for you screwed up. Would you want them to fix it before they told you about it? Or would you want to know first?”

  “That’d depend.”

  “On what?”

  “On how sure they were that they could fix it by themselves. If it were something small and they were one hundred percent sure that they weren’t going to make things worse then I’d be okay with them doing so. But …” He paused for effect, and Dallas eyed him warily. “If there was any chance that they didn’t know enough to fix it, or that they might screw things up further, I’d expect them to come to me.”

  The expression on Dallas’s face told him which scenario they were talking about.

  Cal got to his feet. “That answer your question?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Cal turned as if to walk away, but he took pity on the kid and looked back over his shoulder. “If that person came to me and told me that they’d screwed up, I’d help them fix it and teach them what they needed to know so that it didn’t happen again. And I’d have a little more faith in them going forward. It takes balls to admit when you’ve screwed up, Dallas.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  When he reached the bar, Manny gave him a puzzled look. “What was that about?”

  “I was just helping Austin out.”

  “I thought that was Dallas?” asked Ryan.

  “Yeah, it is,” Cal said with a smile. “Anyway, what are the two of you doing coming for a drink after work in the middle of the week? I thought you’d be eager to get home.”

  Manny smiled. “Nina took a shift in the gift shop and I’m not allowed to pick her up until seven.”

  “And Leanne’s working with Donovan on some legal files.” Ryan lifted a shoulder. “I may have gone in and checked on them a few too many times already this afternoon.”

  Manny laughed. “Yeah. She kicked his ass out of there.”

  Cal gave Ryan a puzzled look. “You have a problem with Donovan? I like him. He’s good.”

  Manny laughed again. “You don’t know the story about when Leanne first came up here?”

  Ryan groaned. “I didn’t believe she was with him for a minute.”

  Manny winked at Cal. “That’s what he says. But you’ll notice that whenever Leanne and Donovan lock themselves in an office, Ryan here worries that they’re working on something other than legal files.”

  Ryan punched his arm. “Quit it, old man.”

  Manny clipped the back of his head. “You know it’s true.”

  “Children, please!” Cal folded his arms across his chest and gave them a stern look.

  Ryan laughed. “Uh-oh, he’s displaying the tree trunks again.”

  Cal rolled his eyes but didn’t get the chance to speak before Kenzie called his name.

 
“Cal! They managed to get you out, then? How are you doing?”

  “Fine thanks, Kenzie. And you?”

  She nodded. “All’s well in my world. Are the ladies joining you?”

  “No.”

  Kenzie made a face. “Where is she?”

  Cal frowned and looked at Manny, but he was no help, he just grinned.

  Kenzie laughed. “Oh, come on! It’s not as though the whole town doesn’t know that you and Teresa are seeing each other. I thought she might be coming to join you. And Leanne and Nina, too.” She looked at the others.

  “They’re both working,” said Ryan.

  “Shame. You should bring them all out together.”

  Manny nodded his agreement. “Nina’s mentioned that a few times now.” He looked at Cal. “What do you think, Saturday?”

  Cal nodded. What else could he do? “I’ll ask her.”

  “We should ask Ted and Diego, too.” Ryan looked at Cal. “Have you met Audrey and Izzy yet?”

  “No.” Of course, he knew that Ted and Diego were living here now and that they’d both met women and settled down. But he hadn’t made the time to catch up with them yet.

  “It’ll be like old times,” said Manny. “How many years has it been since the five of us were in the same room?”

  Ryan laughed. “I’m not sure we’ve ever all been in the same room at the same time, have we?”

  Cal shook his head as he thought about it. They probably hadn’t, despite all the work they’d done together. Ted and Diego had had business in Colombia back in the day. That was how their paths had crossed with his. It’d be good to see them again and it’d be interesting to see the dynamic between everyone now that they were not only in civilian life, but also had partners.

  Teresa wasn’t exactly his partner. Not in the same way as the others, but … he knew that he’d like her to be.

  He looked up to find Manny watching him curiously. “Are you up for it?”

  He nodded.

  “Do you think Teresa will be?”