One to Tell the Grandkids (16 page)

Caleb dragged one of the other chairs in the room over to the bedside. “Hey, Annie.” He leaned in to press a hello kiss to his sister’s forehead.

“Is my being here okay?” Taryn asked as he sat down. “I can leave you guys alone if I’m intruding.”

Still feeling like he had to be missing something, Caleb glanced back and forth between his sister and Taryn. “Did you need something from me?”

“No. I told you, I’m just here visiting.”

When Ann’s own father couldn’t stand to be in the same room as her, it was almost incomprehensible to Caleb that Taryn would be here of her own free will. No one had ever been here with Caleb, let alone on their own. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and turned to his sister. “What do you think, Annie? Is this chick bothering you?”

“No.”

Looking back to Taryn, Caleb smiled. He reached out, squeezing her shoulder once. “If it’s okay with Ann, it’s okay with me.”

“You’re a good brother, you know,” Taryn said when they were heading away from Ann’s room after their visit. Caleb sucked in a quick breath. “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” He bowed his head, looking down at the floor as they walked. “It’s just not something I hear very often, that’s all.”

“Well, you should. Not everyone could do this. Not everyone is strong enough.”

“That’s what my father says. He says he isn’t strong enough, as if that excuses him.” There was a forced lightness to his tone, but Taryn saw the harder emotion in his eyes.

She reached out, taking his hand in an impulsive gesture. “I think your father failed both his kids. He should be here not only for Ann but for you. He shouldn’t let you do this on your own.”

She couldn’t read his expression when he looked at her, but the moment felt heavy—too intense to be comfortable. She pulled away, unsure if she’d overstepped her boundaries. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s nothing I haven’t said to him myself.” He ducked his head to catch her eyes. “I guess that makes you a saint, being here when you have no tie to us at all.”

Taryn blushed. “I’m no saint.” It was a kind gesture, she knew, to spend time with someone so sick. No one liked hospitals of any kind, but convalescent hospitals were on a level all their own. Still, she didn’t want anyone, Caleb in particular, looking at her like she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart. Maybe that was true, but she had plenty to make up for where sick siblings were concerned.

“When Bailey was sick and I was acting out, I used to make Mike so angry. I think it was a miracle he never hit me. I remember once, after he got me out of trouble again, he screamed and screamed at me. He said, ‘Bailey is so little, and she’s scared. She needs Mom and Dad right now. This is the one thing you can do for her—not take her parents away. She needs them more than you do.’ But over and over, I still kept getting into trouble.”

“Just because your sister was sick doesn’t mean you stopped needing your parents.” He leaned in so close, his nose almost brushed hers. “And the fact you’ve done bad things in your life doesn’t mean the good things you do are meaningless. It means the world to me.”

For a handful of heartbeats, Taryn couldn’t process his words. She was distracted by his nearness. The look in his eyes was sincere and intense. The world warped, and he was the only thing she could see. She was hyper-aware of the way his eyes traced the lines of her face, lingering on her lips.

“Excuse me,” a man said under his breath as he passed by them to get into the hospital. The moment was broken, and Taryn’s head spun as she took one step away from Caleb, wondering what the hell had just happened.

“Hey, Taryn?” Caleb’s voice was scratchier than usual.

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have to go back to work today, do you?”

“No.”

“I have an inkling to go down to Newport. It’s been the kind of day only tacos and ice cream on the beach can fix.”

Taryn grinned. That sounded fabulous, and she told him so.

“When I was little, I thought I was going to be an actress. My mother took me to one audition. Just one. I got the part.”

Caleb raised his eyebrows. “Really? Anything I know?”

“No.” Taryn laughed. “It was a commercial for a local joint.” She leaned across the table, dropping her voice to speak in a scandalized tone. “They wanted me to eat chicken nuggets. On camera.”

“Surely not.” Caleb widened his eyes in mock horror. “It’s too debauched.”

“To say the least. A four-year-old needs her standards after all.” She raised her glass of lemonade. “To the short-lived acting career of Taryn Sato. You’ll never find me on IMDb.”

Watching her, it occurred to Caleb her smile was beautiful. She seemed lighter today, at least since they’d arrived at the little taco joint on the beach. She seemed more at ease than he could remember seeing her.

Something had changed between them. Maybe they had become true friends.

“So what about you? What did you want to be when you were a kid?” Taryn asked.

“Are you kidding? I’m living my dream. I’ve always wanted to own a bar.”

“Shut up.”

“It’s true. My grandfather built me a mini-bar when I was three, and I served up a mean juice mixed with more juice.”

“Really?”

“Of course not. A three-year-old with a bar? Whose parents are that cool?” He stroked his chin, remembering. “My grandfather did build me a rocking horse, but my mother was convinced it would fall apart if my chubby ass got near it.”

“You were a chubby baby, huh?”

“They called me Pudge for years.”

“Cute.” Taryn shook her finger in his direction. “But I can’t help but notice you didn’t answer the original question.”

Caleb made a face. “I wanted to be an archeologist.”

“Oh. That’s interesting.”

“No, it’s horribly boring and tedious. What I really wanted to be was Indiana Jones.”

“I used to daydream I was his daughter, and he would take me on adventures. I nearly broke my leg once trying to swing from one tree to another.”

“I can see that. You would have been better than Mr. Transformers.”

Taryn brandished her fork at him. “That’s not difficult.”

“Listen, just because you were in the business doesn’t mean you can get snotty.”

Her smile was impish. “I’m going to the ocean,” she said apropos of nothing.

“Are you?” She was already getting up. “You just expect me to pay your tab, then?”

She threw a bill on the table large enough to cover her meal and then some, her expression challenging. “Don’t leave me alone long. I tend to space out near water. I’m likely to fall right in.”

Caleb followed her with his eyes as she crossed the parking lot, headed for the sand. There was a jaunt in her step that made him happy. He picked up the money she’d set down, replacing her bill with a larger one, and hurried after.

He found her exactly where she said she’d be. It looked like she was dancing with the surf. She already had her shoes in her hand, and she crept out on the wet sand only to scurry back when the waves threatened to go past her ankles. There was something pure and innocent about the satisfied smile she wore as she stood in the water. As he got closer, Caleb could see she was wiggling her toes in the sand.

When he was near enough and she still hadn’t acknowledged him, he sidled up to her, ducking so he could speak in her ear. “I see how you are.” He laughed when she gave a little squeal of surprise. She really had spaced out. “You’re going to get sand in my car.”

Taryn looked over her shoulder and smirked. “Don’t look now, but you still have shoes on. You’re going to get way more sand in your car than I am.”

Before Caleb could retort, the cold water of the ocean engulfed his feet, the bottom of his pants, socks, shoes, and all. “Shit.” He stumbled backward out of the water.

“And now you have soggy shoes.” Taryn laughed, skittering backward to avoid a similar fate.

“Think it’s funny, do you?”

“Your jeans are soaked.” She lifted her leg. “See, I rolled mine up.”

“Uh-huh.” He took a large step in her direction and wrapped his arm around her waist. He tugged her forward into his arms, pulling her into the deeper water with him.

“Caleb!” Her hands came down about his shoulders. Rather than try to get away, she clung to him as though she could keep herself out of the water. He chuckled, keeping his arms securely around her as though she were in danger of floating away in the four inches of water they were standing in.

Taryn turned her head up to stare at Caleb with accusing eyes, but her glare faded almost instantly. With her face tilted up like that, her lips were incredibly close. Just another inch and they would be kissing. And just like that, Caleb was consumed with the need to kiss her. Her breath stuttered, falling hot on his mouth. Her eyes darted from his lips back up to his eyes.

He ducked his head half an inch, so close his lips tingled with anticipation. Her body shifted against his, and a jolt went down his spine at the feel of the hard swell at her belly. Her clothes still hid the bulge well, but at twenty weeks, with her pressed against him, he could feel it.

Caleb cleared his throat, stepping backward until he was out of the water before he set her back on her feet. His mouth was bone-dry. Guilt or panic—it was hard to tell which was more prevalent as he tried to find the right words. Her cheeks were flushed, and the bewildered expression on her face left him aching. “I, um, I think I promised you ice cream.”

You coward
, he chastised himself.

Taryn stared, but she nodded. “Okay. Ice cream. Yeah, that sounds really good.”

She was carrying Slate’s baby, Caleb reminded himself repeatedly as they walked back to the cluster of shops and restaurants in awkward silence.
Bad idea.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Taryn wrap her arms around her shoulders, all the lightness of the afternoon gone in a heartbeat.

Bad idea.

Why, he wondered. Once upon a time, he’d lost everything exactly like this. He would have thought his psyche would shy away from the idea of bringing on that kind of pain ever again. And Slate.

Whatever had almost happened could have cost Caleb far too much. He had no idea where that heady moment had come from, and as sorry as he was that Taryn was hurting, he wasn’t going to explore it.

Bad idea.

Chapter Sixteen

S
late was a lot more nervous than Taryn was. It was obvious he felt out of place in the waiting room. Taryn noticed him glancing at the others and self-consciously rubbing his hands up and down his tattoo-covered arms. When he started to bounce his leg, Taryn spread her hand wide over his knee, pressing down and giving him a pointed look.

“Sorry,” he said with a sheepish smile. He bumped her shoulder. “Hey, you know what I did last night?”

“Tattooed a drunk celebrity? Oh, please tell me you misspelled their tattoo on purpose.”

He grinned. “I only do sober tattoos, thanks. No, I found my old weights in Mom’s garage. You know, the one-pound, three-pound, and five-pound weights? I got to thinking that Patch will be a little thing when he’s born. Or she. So I took the two five-pound weights and cradled them in my arms like this.” He demonstrated in the classic baby-holding pose, and then he looked up at her. “Is that stupid?”

“I don’t think it’s stupid.” Taryn shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. “But if you put a ten-pound baby in me, I’m going to kill you.”

“Ten pounds seemed so light.”

“Oh, Slate. You’re about to stick your foot in your mouth. And I’m the type of girl who holds a grudge. I’ll make sure you won’t see it coming when I punch you in the nuts.”

Slate wrinkled his nose. “So violent. You never threaten a man’s jewels.”

“I threaten a man’s jewels when he says ten pounds is light. Ten pounds is only light when it’s not being pushed out of my vagina.”

Slate held his hands up in surrender. “I should have only used the one.”

Taryn frowned, tightening her arms. “Five pounds is worrisome. Better for my lady parts, but it’s too close to ‘something’s wrong’ weight.” Her throat felt tight. This was one of her worst fears. The little life she carried was so fragile.

“Hey.” Slate touched her arm, drawing her attention. “Compromise. I should have used the five-pound weight and both the one pound weights. How about that?”

“Seven pounds is manageable. Seven pounds of a brand-new human.” She looked to him and let her hands fall to her lap. “Do you want a boy or a girl?”

His eyes were cautious as he looked back at her. “Ah, hell, I don’t know. I don’t know how you feel about it. I’m not really into the whole labeling thing. You call a kid a boy or a girl, there’s this set of rules that automatically apply to them, and I think that’s weird. Boy, girl, transgender—maybe I’d rather wait and let them tell me what they want to be.” He shrugged. “I want Patch to be healthy. I want not to mess up. That’s all I want.”