“You’re welcome. Now go get your girl and bring her home,” I say, winking at him.
“You talked to her,” he says, smiling for the first time today.
“She went home. I can’t believe no one thought of that one. Her cell died is why she wasn’t answering anybody. She answered the home phone when I called a few minutes ago. I promised not to tell you where she was, but I’m not very good at keeping promises sometimes,” I say, smiling at Brody. “I know Callie comes across as strong and independent and she is, but I think right now she is scared and needs you. That’s why I am telling you. Your flight leaves in three hours. You better get packed,” I say.
“Thank you,” he says, running over to give me a kiss on the cheek. “I owe you big time,” he says, before running out the door. Yep, that boy has it bad.
After everybody finally leaves Brody grabs my hand and pulls me out the door to my car with him. After we get in the car, he grabs my hand and finally says something.
“What time does your flight leave?” he asks, quietly.
“I don’t have one. I gave mine to Ash. I think I may stay here one more night if that’s okay with you,” I say hoping he doesn’t say he would rather have me leave.
“That’s definitely okay with me. What do you want to do?” he asks.
“I have no idea. I feel like I need to go back to Florida to check on Callie, but I’m sure Ash can take care of her.
“How about we go back to the hotel and let you check out and then you can stay with me tonight. If I only have one more night with you, I don’t want to waste a second,” he says, looking over at me.
“I think I can handle that. What about lunch first. I am starving,” I suggest, before he pulls into a restaurant. I guess he feels the same way.
After lunch, horseback riding, supper and a movie at Brody’s that mostly involved a lot of kissing, I am finally in bed ready to sleep. I decide I should probably call and check on Callie and make sure she doesn’t hate me for telling Ash where she was. I grab my phone off the nightstand and dial her number.
“Hello,” she answers on the first ring.
“Hey, am I still your best friend?” I ask.
“Of course, thank you for telling him where I was. I guess you know me pretty well,” she says. I can barely hear her, it’s so loud.
“Where are you?” I ask.
“Oh, we just decided to get out for a little while. Are you already back to Miami?” she asks, sounding distracted.
“No, I gave your boyfriend my ticket. I have another flight tomorrow. Are you sure everything is good with you two?” I ask her.
“I am positive, it couldn’t be better,” she says.
“I really wish you would change your mind about going tomorrow,” Brody says, walking into the room. I put my hand over the phone and mouth Callie to him. Maybe he will be a little quieter now.
“Who was that?” Callie asks, sounding surprised.
“It was the TV. I think must have sat on the remote. Sorry, I think it’s off now,” I say hoping I’m not sounding too guilty.
“Okay, call me when you get back to town. I think I’m going to go back to Nashville, but don’t tell Brody yet. I want to see you again before I go,” she says.
“Sounds good, I’ll call when I get in,” I say, before telling her bye and hanging up.
“Good timing,” I say to Brody, smiling. “It’s probably a good thing I’m leaving. This is getting pretty hard to hide. I don’t know how Callie and Ash did it for so long.
“Yeah, it sucks. It’s going to suck even more when you’re not here,” he says, sitting down beside me.
“I know, but we can talk and you can come visit. Maybe I can come back and visit here too,” I say trying my best not to cry.
“I think that can definitely be arranged. I’m kind of tired of talking right now though,” he says, smiling at me.
“What do you want to do then?” I ask, smiling at him too.
“Stop talking and I will show you,” he says, before pulling me into his lap.
Brody
I can’t believe I have finally found the girl of my dreams and she doesn’t live in the same state as I do. Leighton left early this morning to go the airport. She wouldn’t even let me take her. She said it would be easier if she went by herself.
I thought she was just playing me at first. Having a nice distraction while she was here, but those were definitely real tears in her eyes when she walked out of my door this morning. I have tried to wait all day to call her, but I know I am fixing to break down and call. I really need to know what is going on with Callie and Ash too. I can’t seem to get either of them to answer a phone. He better be taking care of her. I am trying to decide what I want to do about calling when my phone rings. I guess Leighton couldn’t wait either.
“Hey sweetheart,” I answer, knowing that will throw her off. I am definitely not a pet name type of guy, but I love throwing her off track.
“Well, hey there handsome,” she says, with a small laugh.
“Handsome, huh, you do know that really turned me off of you when you said that to me the first day I saw you,” I say.
“Is that so? Well I am so glad I figured out a way to turn you back on to me,” she says, laughing. “I thought you may want a Callie update,” she says sounding a little more serious.
“I would love one. I can’t seem to get either one of them to answer a phone,” I say wondering why they don’t want to talk to me.
“I just came from there and you will be happy to know they are packing her stuff right now. She is even putting her house on the market. Looks like you all are getting her full time and I am losing everyone I have,” she says, sounding really sad.
“You know you are welcome to come here. I really want you here. You can even stay with me,” I say hoping she will finally take me up on my offer.
“Maybe one day that can happen. I’ll put my resume in and maybe one day I will get a call. Right now, I need to pay my bills though.”
“Okay, but just know the offer still stands. Do you know when Callie and Ash are coming home?” I ask trying to change the subject.
“It will probably be late tomorrow night. She was meeting with a realtor in the morning, so I guess they will leave after that,” she says, before adding, “don’t tell her I told you, I think she wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Your secret is safe with me. Thanks for telling me,” I say.
“You are welcome. I better try to get some sleep. Some of us have to get a classroom ready for next week,” she says, yawning. “Have a good night, Brody.”
“You too, sweetheart. I’ll talk to you soon,” I say, before hanging up. What have I gotten myself into? It’s taking everything in me not to call her back or go straight to the airport. Why does life have to be so complicated?
I get up the next morning and decide I need to go see my parents. I haven’t seen any family since the day we found out Callie was gone. I pull up to my parent’s house and see both my brothers trucks are there. I really hope Molly is in a good mood. I get out and head inside to find everyone but Molly sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast.
“Thanks for inviting me to breakfast,” I say, taking a seat next to Jaxon.
“We didn’t get invited either, we just thought we would take a chance there would be food,” Collin says, taking a big bite out of a biscuit.
“Where’s Molly?” I ask, looking at my mom.
“She is still asleep. She had a date last night and stayed out a little late. I guess she doesn’t want to get up yet,” she says. I’m finding that a little hard to believe. I feel sorry for any guy that would want to date her.
“How long is she staying here? Is she going back to Nashville any time soon?” I ask.
“I don’t know. I told her to stay as long as she wanted. She has been so distant the last few years and I don’t want her running off again. She is my daughter,” my mom says.
“I know that mom. She is s
till my sister and I am worried about her too. But there is no reason for her to treat Callie the way she is. None of this has been Callie’s fault either,” I say.
“Have you talked to Callie or Ash? Are they coming back any time soon?” Jaxon asks.
“I talked to Leighton last night. She said Callie was meeting with a realtor this morning to put her house on the market and she should be home tonight,” I say, watching everybody stare at me. “What?” I ask.
“You talked to Leighton last night. What is going on with the two of you?” Collin asks, with a smirk.
“Nothing, she was just letting me know about Callie. She is like a sister to her and wanted to make sure she would be taken care of when she got back,” I say hoping they believe me.
“I’m sure Ash will take great care of her, I can’t believe they have been together all this time and none of us knew,” Collin says, shaking his head. He looks around to all of us and starts shaking his head again when none of us agree with him. “How long did y’all know?” he asks, looking shocked.
“I figured it out the night we came back from the hospital,” Jaxon says, looking at me.
“Ash told me that same night. I had pretty much threatened to kill him if he touched her, so he thought it would be a good idea to be honest about it. I kind of already had a feeling something was going on,” I say, looking at my parents. “Did you two know about them?”
“I had no idea, but I have had a lot on my mind lately,” my mom says, while my dad agrees with her. I hope Leighton and I are as good at hiding it as Callie and Ash have been.
I feel like I have only just gotten to sleep when somebody starts knocking on my door. Of course, that’s probably because I was on the phone with Leighton until three o’clock this morning. This girl is going to be the death of me. I grab a shirt and throw it on with my sweats before opening the door. Collin and Jaxon are standing there, looking very unhappy. I open the door wider so they can come in.
“Callie and Ash are back. She must be planning to stay. They have a huge trailer in his driveway. Do you really think she is planning to stay with him?” Collin asks.
“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about where she is staying. Maybe we should go over there and figure it out,” I say, thinking the same thing they are. She is not staying with him if I have anything to say about it. I know she doesn’t want to stay with my parents, but she is more than welcome to stay with me.
I get in the truck with Jaxon and Collin and we head over to Ash’s.
“I guess she stayed here last night. They were supposed to get back last night, but it totally slipped my mind,” I say, looking over at Jaxon.
“What has your mind all messed up? You don’t usually forget anything,” Jaxon says back.
“I just have a lot on my mind, I guess,” I say hoping he doesn’t ask more. There’s definitely a lot on my mind, most of it comes in the package of a little hot blonde.
We pull up to Ash’s and I see the trailer in his driveway. She is definitely staying. Now if I can just convince her to stay with me. We all walk up to the front door and start knocking on it immediately. I actually have a key, but I was in such a hurry I left it at home. After what feels like forever, Ash finally opens the door looking like he just crawled out of bed.
“Hey man, thanks for talking her into coming home. Where is she?” I ask, looking around.
“I think she’s in the bathroom. She should be out in a minute,” he says, sounding very nervous. I really feel like I am missing something now. Finally, Callie walks out of the door and looks at us all. I have no idea what to say because she looks like she just crawled out of bed too and I’m pretty sure she came straight out of Ash’s bedroom.
“Hi,” she says, looking at Jaxon and Collin, before her eyes fall on mine. I have no idea what to say right now. I really feel like I am missing something. Collin finally moves and runs straight to her to give her a big hug.
“Thank you for coming back. I didn’t think you were going to. Please say you are planning to stay and that’s why there is a trailer outside,” he says.
“I’m staying,” she says, looking at me again.
“I hope you’re staying for all of us and not just this guy,” I say, pointing to Ash. She just looks at Ash and smiles.
“Can’t I just stay for all of you?” she asks.
“I guess that’s okay, but where do you plan on living? Leighton went back to Miami since school starts next week and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to live in a hotel anyway,” I say, watching her look at Ash again then back to me.
“I was planning on staying here,” she says, watching Ash smile again. Why would he think this is funny? I really may have to kill him now.
“Absolutely not,” I say, looking over at Ash. “She is not shacking up with you man. I love you like a brother, but that is not happening,” I say, watching Ash look back at Callie and smile.
“Where do you think I should stay?” she asks.
“You can stay with me or even them,” I say, looking over at Collin and Jaxon who are being way too quiet about all of this. “Just don’t stay with him,” I say, pointing back to Ash. “Mom and dad are really not going to like it and I don’t either. You should be with family.”
“Brody, thank you for caring so much, but I am staying here and no one is changing my mind. This is where I want to be and this is where I feel safe. I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but I’m not going anywhere,” Callie says, looking straight at me. I cannot believe this girl thought I would be okay with this. I may not have known her long, but she is my sister. I guess I’ll just stay here too.
“Okay,” I say, smiling at Callie. “I’m moving back in.” I look over at Ash who is just smiling and shaking his head. I can’t believe he is being so quiet about all of this too.
“You want to move in here with Ash and me?” she asks, looking frustrated. I smile back and nod my head at her.
“Okay,” she says. “But don’t worry about taking the couch, your bed has been empty for quite some time now,” she says, before turning around and heading back to the bedroom. I can’t believe she just said that and stormed off.
“You can’t seriously think we are okay with this,” I say to Ash.
“I never thought you would be okay with this. But you have a very stubborn sister and I am willing to do whatever she wants to keep her here. You are very welcome for getting her here too,” he says, walking out of the room to follow her.
“I guess she is staying and I am moving in,” I say to Jaxon and Collin, watching them shake their heads and smile. We are probably all willing to do whatever is needed to keep her here.
“I guess we need to start moving her in here first,” I say, before heading down the hall. “You need to get off my sister and get your tail in here and help us unload her crap if she’s really staying here,” I yell through the door.
Ash comes out laughing followed by Callie and in around an hour, everything is unloaded and put up. She didn’t bring much with her. Now it’s time to bring up a not so great subject to her. I got a text from my mom a few minutes ago. I think it’s a bad idea, but my mom usually gets her way. I turn to look at Callie.
“Mom and dad are having a cookout tonight and really want you to come. Molly should be there, so they didn’t know how you would feel about that. Clay will be there and I guess Ash will have to be there if you are,” I say, smiling at her.
“I can handle Molly,” she says, before tuning to Ash. “Can you handle your dad being there?”
“I can handle anything for you,” he says, smiling at her. Uhh, I am definitely not going to be able to handle living with these two. I don’t know how it happened, but they definitely seem closer now. “I told you I am good with my dad and I meant it. I have actually talked to him twice in the past week so he would know what was going on with you,” he says.
“You talked to him twice and he didn’t even ask to talk to me,” she practically screams at Ash. I guess she
really is close to Cruz. I can’t believe I didn’t figure that out in Miami.
“You were busy both times, he did ask about you though. Do you have a problem with me talking to my dad?” he asks her. I take this as my cue to leave.
“We are going to get going, we will see you both tonight. Thanks for coming tonight. I promise to try and keep Molly out of your way,” I say, giving her a quick hug before we head out. I really hope Molly controls herself tonight.
Leighton
I have just gotten off the phone with Callie, when my phone starts ringing again. I am really glad Callie is getting to remember what it’s like being a part of a family, but I am so jealous too. Not only is she getting a mom and dad and siblings, she has finally found someone she hopes to spend forever with. I am really happy for her about that though. It gives me some hope that maybe happily ever afters really can exist. I look down at my phone and see Brody’s picture.
“Hey there handsome,” I say not being able to stop smiling.
“Hey to you too, beautiful,” he says. “How has your day been?”
“Not nearly as exciting as yours,” I say. “I just got off the phone with Callie. Y’all have definitely had an exciting day. Did you really threaten to move in with them?” I ask, laughing.
“Yes, I did. I thought that would be enough to make her see it my way, I was really wrong. She is very stubborn,” he says.
“That she is. Let her have some fun. She deserves it. I think she is in good hands. You can tell he is so in love with her it’s pitiful,” I say hoping I don’t sound too jealous.
“He is a good guy and he is probably the only guy I would ever trust her with, so I’m good with that,” he says. “Plus, if I made her move out, I would sound like a royal hypocrite for what I’m about to ask you,” he says, making me very suspicious.
“Is that so?” I ask. “What do you need to ask me? You definitely have my curiosity up.”
Trusting You: The Switched Series book two Page 7
