But it’d been Lucille who’d pushed her out of the nest and into the real world.
As Callie sat there lost in her past, two little girls came out of the house. They were clearly twins, with matching red hair and toothless grins as they raced each other across the grass. One was in all pink, the other in a variety of mismatched clothes, but together they let out peals of laughter as they ran.
Not quiet, not shy.
The sight made Callie smile. Thankfully history didn’t always repeat itself.
From across the street, a boy about the same age as the girls joined them. The twins stopped cold a moment, looked at each other, and then seemed to have some sort of silent communication between them because they let the boy join them.
Callie thought about Eric. He’d been her boy across the street. She’d latched onto him from the day he’d moved in. He hadn’t been a nerd like her, but he wasn’t a jock either. They’d bonded quickly, and he’d been her first real boyfriend. He’d made her laugh, made her heart pound, and, best yet, he’d paid attention to her.
She’d really believed it was love, true love. The forever-after kind of love.
Looking back, she could admit it hadn’t been. She’d fitted him into the mold that she’d needed, not worried about what would happen when he couldn’t possibly live up to her expectations.
And he hadn’t.
Now she no longer had expectations at all. And yet sitting there thinking too hard, she suddenly realized that wasn’t any healthier.
The kids had started a game of tag and were having the time of their lives. Callie sat there watching and…aching.
She loved her parents, she really did. They’d given her a roof over her head, clothes and food, and they’d done their absolute best. She knew this. She didn’t blame them for their shortcomings any more than they blamed her for hers. But she swore to herself right then and there that if she ever got lucky enough to have her own family, she’d do more for them. She’d be in her kids’ lives every step of the way, and she’d give them guidance and—
Whoa.
Was she actually sitting here contemplating someday when she’d have a husband and kids? In just over three weeks of a renewed crush on Tanner, she was suddenly thinking this way? Good Lord. Of all people, she knew better.
Way better.
Most relationships didn’t end up with a fairy-tale ending. She saw that every single day at work. She needed to remember it.
Damn, she really needed a doughnut. Or anything chocolate, she thought, and jumped when someone opened her passenger door and slid into her car.
A tall, built, gorgeous someone.
Tanner Riggs, of course, showing up when she was feeling especially vulnerable and uncertain, as only he could unerringly do.
Chapter 20
Tanner sat comfortable as you please, even though Callie’s car felt way too small for him. He leaned forward a little, making a show of looking at the house she’d been staring at as he handed her over a to-go mug of hot chocolate.
She took a sip and smiled. “Are you magic?” she asked. “Can you read minds?”
“Neither,” he said. “In the span of five minutes I took multiple calls that you were sitting in your car on the street where you used to live, looking sad.”
This snapped her spine straight. Ah, there she was, his proud, stubborn Callie. “I’m not sad,” she said. “And who called you?”
“I promised not to say.”
“My grandma,” she guessed. “That damn Find Friends app. Honestly, what was I thinking when I bought her that smartphone for Christmas last year?”
Figuring silence was best here, he just sipped his hot chocolate.
“And then…either Becca or Olivia,” she guessed. “Although I have no idea how they’d know.”
“One of them is marrying a guy with an eagle eye and a natural nose for details, who just happened to be driving through and saw you,” he said.
“Yeah, well, people in this town need to get a life.”
“People care about you,” he said.
She turned her head and met his gaze. “People?”
“People.”
She looked at him for a long beat. “You?”
“Little bit.”
“We’re not even friends,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about me. Scratch that, you don’t get to worry about me.”
Did she really believe they weren’t friends? Who the hell was she fooling? Clearly herself, which was irritating as shit.
“It’s time to rethink our relationship,” he said.
She stared at him like he’d lost his marbles. And he probably had.
“No,” she said. “No rethinking. Rethinking is a dangerous sport. Rethinking gets people hurt.”
People as in her. Her voice had risen slightly, and though she was doing her best to keep her cool, she was a little panicked. Her eyes gave her away. He reached out for her hand, entwining his fingers with hers, squeezing gently. “You grew up in that house?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“I knew your parents,” he said. “My mom cleaned your parents’ legal office at night for extra cash.”
Her only movement was to rub her thumb over his. “I had no idea,” she finally said.
“No one did. It was in her verbal contract with them. My mom’s pride was at stake, and she has a lot of it. She didn’t want anyone to see her as a struggling single mom. Your dad always gave her a bonus at the end of the year and for her birthday. My mom said that he was a fair man. Real fair. She also said he hardly even realized he had a kid, and all he ever had time for was work and his wife.”