by Barbara Gee
It was hard, though. She had no doubt Vince would be an exciting man to get to know, and she had to admit, his interest in her was extremely flattering.
It felt good…..it felt too good…..and she didn’t have time for it.
With a sigh she sat back down and positioned her computer in front of her again, determined to knock out another couple hours of work before pizza night commenced.
This time, her phone stayed silent.
***
Her three friends arrived at seven o’clock, all beaming at the chance to be back in the house where they’d spent so much time growing up.
“Where’s the pizza?” Callie asked, feigning alarm when they walked in empty handed. They all took turns hugging Jeremiah while making a noble effort to be somewhat subdued. Callie loved them for that.
“I called the pizza in to Ty’s Pies, but when we went to pick it up, they’d misplaced the ticket and it wasn’t even started,” Brit explained. “So Brandon said he’d bring it out to us, even though it’s outside their normal delivery range.”
Rose nudged Callie with her elbow. “You should’ve seen Brit,” she said. “She batted her eyes at that poor boy until he was falling all over himself to make it up to her.”
“Just making sure we’d have dinner,” Brit said, waggling her brows. “It should be here in a half hour.”
The girls settled onto the couch in the living room, facing Jeremiah in his recliner, and he asked them to update him on what they’d been doing since he’d last seen them. While they chattered happily, Callie went out to the kitchen to mix up a batch of the drink they’d all loved as kids, made with lemonade, grape juice and Sprite. They hadn’t had it in years, and she knew they’d love the surprise—if not the calories.
She was stirring in some crushed ice when Brandon knocked. Grabbing her wallet, she hurried to the door, glad he’d come around to the kitchen rather than interrupting the conversation in the living room. She pulled the door open and froze.
Not Brandon. Oh, good gracious, definitely not Brandon. She felt her eyes widen as she looked up, way up, into Vince Abbot’s twinkling blue eyes. He stood there larger than life in dark jeans and a white Henley shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, holding an enormous pizza box.
“Hey, Callie. I hope it’s okay I came to this door. I saw you through the window.” He spoke as if it was no big deal that he was there, at her house, delivering pizza.
“Wha--what are you doing here?” she asked, hating that she sounded breathless. She was shocked, confused, and also a bit peeved. She’d tried to do the right thing earlier by rebuffing his attempt to reach out to her, and yet here he was, at her kitchen door, looking more than a little smug.
He grinned and walked in, turning sideways to get past her since she didn’t move aside. “That should be obvious, Callie. I’m delivering an extra-large pizza.” He checked the ticket taped to the box. “A meat-lovers pizza, to be exact.”
She closed the door and turned toward him, folding her arms instead of taking the box.
“But why are you delivering it?” She could think of no scenario that would bring this man to her door with a pizza. How had he even known where to come?
“I guess it was just meant to be,” he said, looking maddeningly cheerful. “I went to Ty’s to pick up a pizza to take to Boone and Jolene’s house, and while I was there a big order was called in, and one of the guys was upset because he had a delivery to make and didn’t know how they were going to get the order done. I heard him say the delivery needed to go to Callie Green’s, so I offered to take it. I thought it would be a good chance to ask for your number again, because I tried texting you this afternoon and got a wrong number.”
He raised a dark brow and gave her a knowing look that made her cheeks get hot. “And here I thought I had such a good memory.”
She ignored both his comment and the look. “Oh, well, thanks, I guess. Did Brit pay for it?”
He shrugged. “They didn’t say anything about money, so I assume it’s covered.”
She relieved him of the pizza and put it on the counter. “Okay, um, thanks again. I guess you’d better get going so your own pizza doesn’t get cold.”
“No worries. I dropped it off on my way here.”
She could tell he was thoroughly enjoying her discomfort. No doubt it was his revenge for being shut down on the texting thing. She wished he’d take the hint and leave, but instead he just shoved his hand into his pockets and stood there, waiting to hear what she’d say next. Before she could think of another reason to send him on his way, Kim wandered into the kitchen.
“Did I hear Brandon?” she asked before coming to a dead stop, her jaw dropping as her eyes grew round.
Callie almost groaned when Vince smiled at the poor flabbergasted girl. She knew what was going to happen next, and it didn’t involve him leaving.
“Hi, I’m Vince, your pizza guy for the evening.”
“Vince Abbot,” Kim breathed. “I’ve heard all about you being in town. Holy smokes, I can’t believe you’re standing in Callie’s kitchen. Wait, why are you standing in Callie’s kitchen? Did you really bring our pizza?”
“I did. The pizza place was a little overwhelmed, so I offered to drive it out. I wanted to see where Callie lived anyway.”
“Oh my gosh, let me tell the others you’re here.” Kim whirled and left the room before Callie could stop her.
Callie looked at him, folding her arms once again. “Chaos is about to commence,” she warned. “Just remember, you brought it on yourself.”
His eyes glinted with humor. “Or you did, by rejecting my texts. Not very nice, Callie. I’d be hurt and upset if I didn’t know why you did it.”
What was he talking about? There was no way he could know why she’d done it…..could he?
“We don’t know each other well enough for you to think you can guess my motives,” she stated grimly.
He took a step toward her. “I’m pretty sure you ignored my texts because you already have too much going on in your life. I’m a complication you don’t want.”
Callie opened her mouth to respond, but her three friends came hurrying into the kitchen then, practically squealing with delight at having the handsome hockey player in their midst. Callie left them to it and went to the living room to explain things to Jeremiah.
“Did Brittany just say Vince Abbot is here?” Jeremiah asked as soon as she entered the room. “Isn’t that the hockey player we watch all the time on TV?” He looked totally confused. “Why would he be here? In our house? With a pizza?
That was a very popular question. Callie sighed as excited female voices emanated from the kitchen. “He’s volunteering at the retreat center this summer. He happened to be at Ty’s Pies and they needed help with the delivery, so he offered.”
“Must be a nice fella,” Jeremiah said. “You should invite him to stay.” He pushed slowly to his feet. “I’m gettin’ tired, but I think I’m gonna go sit on the front porch for a spell before I turn in. Give you girls a chance to catch up without worrying about me.”
“You don’t want any pizza?” Callie asked. She’d hoped he would eat a few bites at least.
“Doesn’t sound good to me right now, but I ate some soup earlier, remember? I’ll be fine until breakfast.”
“Okay.” Callie reached up and kissed his cheek. “I’ll come check on you after a while.”
He nodded and walked to the front door. He had a rocking chair on the porch, and back when he’d been well, he’d often ended his days sitting there, enjoying the fresh night air. Callie was glad he had the urge to sit out there again tonight. It was another taste of the normal she’d been missing.
Unfortunately, that sense of normal didn’t last long. Kim came bursting into the room, holding the stack of plates Callie had set out. “We asked Vince to stay and eat with us,” she announced excitedly. “We warned him we always eat on the floor in front of the TV watching a chick flick, but Brit offered to go wit
h a comedy instead, if he stayed.”
Callie wasn’t surprised they’d asked, but surely he hadn’t accepted the invitation. He’d enjoyed surprising her with the pizza, and to be honest she understood him wanting to make a point regarding the whole texting thing. But staying to eat with them, with her three friends vying for his attention, would be like putting himself into the proverbial lion’s den.
“He didn’t agree, did he?” she asked hopefully.
“Of course I did,” a familiar deep voice said behind her. Callie spun around. He was walking toward her, carrying the pizza once again. He stopped and their eyes met. “I hope you don’t mind,” he said, his blue eyes sparkling because he knew he had her cornered.
Rose slinked up behind him. “Of course she doesn’t mind. You’ve made our night. You can put the pizza on the coffee table.”
Brit popped into the room. “Is that pitcher on the counter what I think it is, Callie? Because if it’s grape-ade, I’m gonna hug you.”
Callie decided it was no use fighting it. Vince was there, and he was staying. She might as well get over it and try to at least enjoy the excitement of her friends.
She walked toward Brit and opened her arms. “Give it up then, girlfriend. We have a whole gallon of our vintage grape-ade, heavy on the Sprite. Just like you like it.”
“You’re the best! Love you, Callie.” Brit gave her a huge hug. “This is epic. We get Vince Abbot, meat-lovers, and grape-ade, all in the same evening. Does it get any better than that?”
Callie didn’t answer, just went on out to the kitchen to get the pitcher and glasses. Soon everyone was settled on the floor with a plate of pizza and a glass of the sweet-sour, fizzy drink, which Vince tasted tentatively before nodding his approval.
“Somehow it goes with this meat-lovers pizza, which I would have never expected you ladies to like,” he said, stretching his long legs out in front of him as he leaned back against the couch.
“Veggie pizza is for wimps,” Kim stated. “And.…also for me, when we’re not together reliving old times,” she added sheepishly. “I’m not fifteen anymore, after all.”
Callie handed the remote to Rose, who had taken a seat on the floor right next to Vince. “Find something to watch,” Callie said, curling her legs beneath her. Since she wasn’t the one who had invited Vince to stay, she didn’t feel like she needed to be the one to find a movie they could all agree on.
Vince told them not to worry about choosing one he’d like, because he’d promised Boone and Jolene he’d be back within the hour. It only took a few minutes before the girls decided on a chick-flick that had been one of their favorites back in the day.
Callie tried to ignore Vince’s presence as much as possible, but it seemed like whenever she did sneak a glance at him, he was looking at her, too. It made her uneasy, and she hoped the others didn’t notice.
For the most part, the girls behaved themselves. Brit didn’t seem happy about Rose scooting close enough to Vince for their shoulders to occasionally brush, but aside from a glare or two, she didn’t make a big deal of it.
Callie stood with everyone else when he said he needed to go after forty-five minutes, but she let the others be the ones to take his plate and glass and thank him effusively for bringing their pizza and hanging out for a while. It was obvious all three of them were completely enamored with the man, and Callie couldn’t blame them. He’d been great. Friendly, charming, maybe a tiny bit flirty at times, but Callie had gotten the feeling that was his way of keeping things light, and also deflecting questions he didn’t want to answer. Like when Rose had asked him whether he preferred blondes, brunettes, or red-heads.
Callie hung back as the others said their goodbyes. Vince finally made it to the door and opened it, but before he went out he looked past the girls, his eyes finding hers. Callie raised her hand and gave an awkward little wave, surprised when she detected a glimmer of hurt in his gaze.
Wait, what? Did he honestly care about her reaction when he had three beautiful women fawning all over him?
He responded to her wave with a small nod, closing the door softly behind him. Callie decided she’d imagined the hurt, and resolutely shook off the guilt the thought had caused. Meanwhile, her three friends giggled and squealed, declaring they’d never met a hotter guy in their entire lives. Eventually, they settled down and wandered back to the movie. It wasn’t until then that Callie remembered her grandfather was still out on the porch.
She told the girls she was going to go get him and help him to bed, and they should just continue on with the movie, no need to pause it for her. She slipped out the front door, taking in a sharp breath when she saw Jeremiah wasn’t alone.
Vince was seated on the porch swing across from her grandfather’s rocking chair, one arm slung comfortably along the back of the swing.
The men hadn’t heard her come out, and she realized Jeremiah was talking about the ranch, telling Vince how his ancestors had homesteaded the first hundred acres, and it had grown bigger with each owner, currently standing in the thousands of acres, which sounded big but was actually on the small side compared to spreads like the Full Heart Ranch.
Vince was listening intently as Jeremiah went on to say how thankful he was for his Callie, who intended to keep the ranch in the family for at least one more generation.
Callie’s eyes stung with tears. She appreciated his confidence, but she wasn’t sure it was warranted. She wished yet again he had more time to teach her what she needed to know.
When Jeremiah started talking about how she’d lost her mother so young, she walked quickly toward them. Things were getting a little too personal for her liking.
“You ready to go in, Grandpa?” she asked, ignoring Vince, who sat up straight at the sight of her approaching.
“I suppose I am.” Jeremiah barked out a laugh. “This young man was headed for his car a little bit ago and I about scared the daylights out of him when I called out. He didn’t know anyone was sitting here.”
Vince stood. “I’m glad you stopped me. It’s been a pleasure talking to you, Mr. Green.”
Callie reached out a hand and helped Jeremiah to his feet. “Vince needs to get going, and it’s way past the time you normally turn in.”
“I invited him out to see the horses sometime. He said he already has your phone number, and he’ll call to set up a time.”
Callie gave Vince a sidelong glance, wondering if he could see her displeasure in the fading light. “We’ll see how you feel in the next few days, Grandpa,” she said vaguely, taking Jeremiah’s arm to help him inside.
He shook off her hand, and she instantly regretted treating him like an invalid in front of another man. She knew he was sensitive about being so weak and dependent, and here she was trying to lead him inside, after talking about his bedtime.
She quickly stepped back. “Um, don’t forget to say goodnight to the girls.”
“I won’t,” he said shortly. “And goodnight to you, Vince. I’m lookin’ forward to your next visit.” He shuffled to the door and disappeared inside, leaving Callie alone with Vince in the near darkness. Exactly where she didn’t want to be.
“Quite a grandfather you’ve got there,” he said softly.
She gave a jerky nod. “Yeah. He’s the best.”
“Seems like he feels the same way about you. That’s pretty cool.”
Callie glanced up at him, wondering why he was being so nice when she’d barely given him the time of day all evening. His eyes looked almost black in the dim light given off by the old-fashioned porch light, and she couldn’t read his expression.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and dipped his head slightly. “Kay told me this morning he’s been sick for a while. How serious is it?”
The gentle concern in his voice stirred her unexpectedly, and to her horror, Callie’s eyes instantly filled with tears. She’d been oddly emotional all day, ever since meeting Vince that morning. It had started with her strong, confusing rea
ction to him, and gotten worse when he’d asked for her number, and then actually texted her. Him showing up here at the house had thrown her for another major loop, and then, instead of leaving and giving her a chance to recoup, he’d stayed and put up with her overly enthusiastic friends. To top it off, he’d been so sweet to sit and chat with Jeremiah when he could have just said hi and left.
Now he was asking about her grandfather like he really cared, and it was all just too much. The emotion she’d been fighting was suddenly winning the battle, and she had to get away from him before she completely broke down.
She wiped frantically at the tears that spilled over. “He’s dying,” she whispered. “Good night, Vince.”
Before he could respond, she whirled around and went inside.
CHAPTER 6
Vince left the Double Nickel and went over to Boone’s as planned, but he was distracted to the point where his captain called him out on it. With only a little prodding, Vince revealed what was bothering him. He told them about his interesting talk with Jeremiah Green, and Callie’s admission that he was dying.
“I could tell he was pretty frail, but I didn’t know it was that bad,” he said. “I can’t stop thinking about it—and how Callie looked when she told me. She’s devastated.”
“Jeremiah has stomach cancer,” Jolene informed him. “It’s his second bout with it, and from what I’ve heard, he’s stopped all treatment because it wasn’t working and made him so sick he could hardly function. Sounds like it’s just a matter of pain control now, and waiting.” She shook her head. “I don’t know Callie well, but Kay does, and she was telling me the other day how hard it’s been on her. Somehow she’s holding it together, but Kay’s afraid it’s all going to catch up with her one of these days. She’s got a lot on her shoulders.”
“Jeremiah told me her mom died when she was little, but where’s her dad?” Vince asked. “Surely he hasn’t left her to deal with this all alone.”
“I don’t think she’s ever known her father, and yes, her mother died in a riding accident when Callie was really young, maybe five or six? Since then, it’s always been just her and Jeremiah.”
