“Didn’t you just tell me you were too busy to take my phone calls and grab a beer with your youngest brother? But you have the time to drive out of town with Jessa and go do free labor at her dad’s shop?”
I grunt. He got me there.
Jude looks at me, clearly entertained. “You fucking like her.” He cackles. “You have the hots for the nanny. Well, I’ll be damned.”
Yup—that electric fence is so gonna happen.
“Can you tell me why you’re here so I can get on with my day?” I bark.
Jude checks out my uncomfortable expression and chuckles. Then, he finally relents. “I just wanted you to know that I’m hosting Walker’s bachelor party,” he announces.
Goddammit…
“Good for you,” I mutter and bring my water bottle to my lips.
“Showing up isn’t optional, Eli,” he states firmly.
Momentarily, I close my eyes, frustrated and utterly unable to think of anything I’d like less than going to a damn bachelor party. But before I can build up my case, Jude speaks again.
“You’ll be there, helping our brother celebrate the fact that he was finally able to find someone able to see past his horrid farmer outfits and his bad attitude and give him her heart. You will smile and you will take tequila shots and you will laugh at all the terrible jokes and you will have a good time.”
“I don’t know about that…”
“Then, you’ll fake it till you make it, Eli.” He stomps. “I’ve had enough of your sulking and secluding yourself from everybody. You’re a free man, now. It’s time you start acting like it.”
On those words of wisdom, my smartass brother gets up and pokes his head into the house and says goodbye to his niece. Then he jumps into his convertible and takes off, leaving me with a whole lot to think about.
Callie is quiet for the rest of the morning while I spend some time tinkering around under the hood of Jessa’s car. As the day goes on, my daughter becomes increasingly sluggish. She barely has the energy to participate when I offer to let her help me stain the front porch. By the time evening rolls around, she is completely depleted and closed in on herself. Dinnertime becomes a struggle.
“Eat up, honey. I thought you liked macaroni,” I speak softly to her as we crowd around the small dinner table. We’ve been sitting here for a while, but the little girl has just been pushing her food around her tiny plate.
“I’m not hungry. This doesn’t taste right,” Callie responds petulantly, shoving her plate away.
Huh…? That’s not like her. Especially when it comes to mac and cheese.
I open my mouth to scold my daughter for her less than kind comment, but I cut myself off. I learned long ago not to be offended by a child’s food preferences. One moment, mac and cheese is their favorite thing in the world. The next, all they want is chicken nuggets.
“It’s fine.” I lean back in my chair and observe the child’s lethargic movements. “Are you feeling all right?” I hold the back of my hand up to her cheek.
She’s warm. She’s definitely a bit warm. “I don’t feel too good…” she murmurs and curls in on herself.
I think back to what my mom used to do when one of us would start coming down with something. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s get you in the bath.”
I’m not sure what’s going on with my girl but whatever it is, I have a feeling it can’t be good.
25 Jessa
I couldn’t wait to get back to Crescent Harbor after my break. I am missing Callie something fierce. And a not-so-tiny part of me is eager to see my boss again, too, especially after the way things unfolded yesterday when he helped my family out with working on the repair shop.
I had been hoping to get back earlier to hang out with Callie and Eli, but I ended up meeting Michael for lunch. I never gave him my new phone number but he tracked me down somehow through his ‘network of contacts’, as he put it.
Michael was my last quasi-relationship. We dated right before I moved to Crescent Harbor. There was always something a bit shifty about the guy but in a town like Cowersville, my romantic options weren’t exactly varied. I tried to focus on the good in him. He opened doors for me, he pulled out my chair and he was always well-groomed. I managed to convince myself that I was in love with him but somewhere deep inside, I always knew he wasn’t the prince I was looking for.
Anyway today, he lured me to a local coffee shop. He told me that he had a lead on a job interview for me tomorrow. What he did not tell me was that he’d spend what felt like hours talking on and on about himself. I don’t know if he was trying to brag his way into my panties but what I do know is that he just annoyed the hell out of me. Things only got more awkward each time he’d dump a splash of alcohol from his flask into his coffee cup. He even had the nerve to offer me some. Eww!
In any case, after I managed to get away from my ex, my dad drove me back to Eli’s house. It’s late now, and I expect that my sweet little Callie is probably fast asleep. But one step into the house and I know that something’s amiss.
I don’t see anyone, but I hear raised voices coming from the back of the house. I consider tip-toeing to my room, not wanting to intrude on Eli’s time alone with his daughter. Technically, I’m not on the clock until tomorrow, and I don’t want to interrupt. Still, my heart won’t let me stay away.
I move down the hallway shrouded in near darkness toward Callie’s room. I watch from the doorway as Eli struggles, fighting to comb his daughter’s
