Taunting Callum - Kristen Proby Page 0,25
Cowboy cookies were her favorite.”
“You sell those in the café,” I say.
“And I always will. It’s honestly a long, sad story, Callum. Longer than I can share in one late afternoon. But there are so many happy memories, too. I miss them both. I don’t know if Greg and I would have made it for the long haul. I hate to admit that out loud, especially since the poor man is dead. We married painfully young, and well, who knows what might have happened if they hadn’t gone camping that weekend? But he was a good man and a great father. He was my best friend and the one constant I had in my life from the time I was fourteen.”
She clears her throat, seemingly determined not to cry.
“Well, this conversation came out of nowhere,” she says with a little frown. “But to bring it full circle, Emma would love this spot. She loved picnics, and of course, being outside. She would have asked if we could fish in the river.”
I smile and imagine a little girl with Aspen’s red hair asking to throw a line into the water.
“Thank you for sharing a little of her with me.”
Aspen’s green eyes fly to mine. “You’re welcome.”
“I just have one more very important question about your past, Aspen, and then we’ll leave it be for the time being.”
Her green eyes look guarded as she waits for the question to come.
“Did you ever have swimming lessons?”
She blinks rapidly. “Of course.”
“Good.”
I pick her up, sling her over my shoulder, and walk right into the cold water, making Aspen squeal and thrash.
“Callum! Holy shit!”
I squat so she’s in the water, and then laugh as she comes up sputtering.
“You’re going to pay for that, Charming.”
I cock a brow at the nickname. “Oh? And how will I do that, love?”
She launches herself at me, sending me backwards into the water. We swim and splash, laugh and play.
And when we finally trudge our way out of the water and back to the table, I pull Aspen into my arms and kiss her. I don’t care that we’re both sopping wet and getting a chill from the river.
I need my lips on hers.
And by the way she holds onto my arms as I deepen the kiss, I’d say it’s mutual.
When I pull back and smile down at her, her eyes are still closed, and she has a soft smile on her lips.
“Are you okay?” I whisper.
“Yeah,” she whispers back. “I’m just soaking it all in.”
“The sunshine?”
“The moment. I’m basking in the moment.”
Chapter 7
~Aspen~
“Kelli called out again,” Gretchen says with a roll of her eyes as she joins me behind the counter. “Seriously, why is it so hard to find good help these days?”
“If I could clone you four times over, I would,” I reply with a sigh. “Did she claim to be sick?”
“Yeah, it’s a headache this time,” she says. “She gives me a headache. I won’t leave you alone this afternoon. I’ll cover it.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s no biggie. Just do me a solid and find someone who actually wants to work.”
“I’ll have a conversation with Kelli, but I have to be careful because there are labor laws.” I sigh and watch as a kid walks over to the coffee station where I have sweeteners and self-serve coffee set up, along with creamers and such. I watch in horror as he decides he should pour half and half all over the floor.”
“Daniel!” his mother yells, her eyes wide and cheeks pink with embarrassment. “What in the world? Ask Aspen for a rag to clean this up.”
“Sowwy,” Daniel says. He’s not sorry. But I grab a rag and walk around to where he’s standing.
“I’ve got this.”
“He should clean it up.”
“He’s three,” I remind Cindy with a shrug and a sympathetic smile. I remember what it’s like to have a toddler. “I’ve got it.”
I quickly wipe up the mess. When I turn back around, I see Gretchen looking at her phone with a corny smile on her face.
“Don’t tell me.”
“I met someone,” she says.
“I said, don’t tell me.”
Gretchen laughs as she tucks her phone back into her pocket. “His name is Miles Johnson. Do you know him?”
I frown, searching my memory. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Is he a fireman?”
“No,” she says and casually reaches for some tongs to move muffins from one plate to another, consolidating them. “He’s actually between jobs, but he says that’s because he does construction. He just finished with a house, and they’re between