Rekindled (32 page)

“You guys should come check them out. I’m sure Roan would want to see you again, too,” Holly says as she hands us a couple of Styrofoam cups. “He still asks me how you’re doing.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun.” Callie smiles at me. “Maybe with enough alcohol, I’ll be able to coerce Tate into dancing with me.”

Holly throws her head back and laughs. “She must know you really well if she knows you need liquor in you to do anything that requires coordination. I once tried to take him to my ballroom dancing class, and boy, that was a disaster. I think I would have been better off bringing a stuffed doll.”

“Oh believe me, I know. When we were teenagers he almost broke my toe from stepping it on so many times while slow-dancing.”

Wrapping my arm around Callie’s waist, I pull her toward me. “Well, ladies, as fun as it’s been rehashing my terrible dancing skills, I think Callie and I should probably put our order in. We still have to check into the hotel.”

“Where is it you’re booked?” Holly asks as she walks with us to an open table.

“The Salinger House Inn.” I pull out Callie’s chair and slide it underneath her.

“Oh, I just
love
that place. How romantic!” She wiggles her eyebrows at me. “You two will absolutely have the greatest time there.”

“I’m counting on it,” I say, winking at Callie.

“Well, you two just sit back and relax. I’ll bring you out all of our best items for you to enjoy, on the house.” She places a hand on the back of my chair and leans her hip into the frame.

“You don’t have to do that, Holly. We’re customers, we should pay for our meals,” I say.

“Nonsense. You’re my friend, and friends don’t pay here.” She holds up her hand in protest when I open my mouth to argue. “I won’t hear another word about it.”

“Why don’t we buy you and your girlfriend dinner and a couple of drinks tonight?” Callie asks placing her hand over mine and giving me a smile.

“That, I will accept,” Holly replies with a grin. She pats me on the back and leans down to whisper in my ear. “This one’s a keeper. I like her. Don’t fuck it up.”

I laugh and shake my head. “Don’t worry, even I’m not that stupid.”

Tate’s right. I absolutely love it here. After stuffing ourselves with pulled pork, chicken and brisket, we pull up in front of a large, three-story home that looks like something straight out of
Gone with the Wind.

Giant oak trees draped with silvery-grey strands of moss stand guard around the perimeter of the property, and a row of rocking chairs and cushioned wicker sofas sit on the wide colonnaded veranda. Vibrant green plants hang in pots from the white balcony and an American flag waves lazily in the warm breeze. The wood siding is colored a lively white hue, with navy shutters sandwiching the large paned windows, and the scent of paint and cinnamon lingers in the air.

It doesn’t take us long to check in and put our suitcases in our room, which is just as lovely as the rest of the inn. The entire room is designed in mint and cream colors, with lavender toiletries and two pairs of cotton robes and slippers for our use during our stay. Everything about this place, from the employees to the views of the courtyard, feels welcoming. They even have complimentary Keurig coffee machines and pods in the room, along with an assortment of homemade cookies laid out on the nightstand next to postcards of Beaufort that come pre-stamped.

Tate leaves to go pick up Matt who is staying at Macy’s parent’s place, and they’re going to go visit their old fire station. He offered for me to tag along, but after the flight, I told him I really just wanted to rest before heading out tonight to meet up with Holly and Lisa. I grab a quick shower, and then call Caleb to check in with him and Jonah, and then decide to use the alone time to call Patty and fill her in on everything.

She picks up on the third ring. “Hey, I was just thinking about you! Scott and I went into Chinatown for lunch today and all I could think of was how much it sucks not having you here to get dim sum. He doesn’t like any of the good stuff.”

I laugh and collapse on the bed. “Let me guess, he wouldn’t try anything that wasn’t a dumpling or an eggroll?”

“Pretty much. I really thought we were going to get kicked out after he asked the server if they secretly use dog meat in their dishes.”

I groan and roll my eyes. I love Patty and her husband, but he is the quintessential Doubting-Debbie who believes in crazy conspiracy theories about the secret power of the Illuminati running the world, and the Roswell cover-up. When we’d go out to a restaurant, he’d demand to go someplace with an exposed kitchen so he could make sure they weren’t slipping any narcotics into his food, and he’d never drink soda unless it was directly from a can.

“Oh, Patty, that’s awful,” I say, as a snort escapes while I’m laughing. “Luckily, your kids seem to take more after you, at least in terms of openness to trying new things.”

She sighs. “Yeah, but I’m not sure about this next one.”

“Wait, what? Patty, are you pregnant?”

She pauses and I can practically see her smile through the phone. “Yes!” she screeches. “Omigosh, that feels
so
good to finally say something. I’ve been holding it to myself for a week, and I feel like I’m dying.”

“You haven’t told Scott yet?”

“No. I’m not really sure how he’s going to react. After I had Lauren, he told me he didn’t want to have any more kids. You know how hard it was for us to get pregnant with her, and how rough the pregnancy was, and the doctors thought my chances for getting pregnant a third time were really slim, so I never bothered making him use a condom. But now…”

“Oh, Patty. Scott loves you and he’s going to love this baby, too.”

“I hope so. It’s just that he’s been spending more and more time at the office, and I feel like I’m losing him.” She sniffles and lets out a hiccupped sigh. “He has a new intern at the office.
Kari
. I met her when I stopped by the office. She’s twenty-two and just graduated from UCLA and looks like a freakin’ Barbie Doll. How am I supposed to compete with that?”

“Well, I don’t know this Kari girl, but I do know you, and you’re a gorgeous, smart, talented woman, and Scott is lucky to have you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, when he thinks no one’s watching. I highly doubt he’s going to cheat and throw away what he has with you and his kids for someone who is a decade younger than him. But if he does, I’ll come back to California and go full on Lorena Bobbitt on his ass if that helps.”

She laughs and sighs again. “Thanks, Cals. Anyways, what’s been going on with you? How’s life in Idaho?”

“Things have been amazing, actually.” I flip over onto my stomach and cross my ankles in the air like I used to when I was a teenager. I tell her everything about how my relationship with Tate progressed and that we’re in South Carolina at the moment for a romantic weekend getaway.

“Wow, I’m really happy for you guys,” she says. “Have you talked about what’s going to happen when summer ends?”

This time, it was my turn to sigh. “No, not yet. I’m still not sure what Jonah and I will be doing. I can’t imagine moving back to Los Angeles, and Jonah seems to like it here, but I don’t know how he’d feel about living here permanently.”

“And what does Tate want?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t really discussed it yet.”

“Ah…”

I roll over onto my back and readjust the pillows behind my head. “What, ah?”

“Well, summer’s going to be over in a few weeks. Don’t you think that’s something you guys should probably talk about?”

I run my free hand over the surface of the comforter, staring at the ivory floral pattern. “Yeah, I know we need to sit down and have a talk about things, but there just never really seems to be a good time.”

“So make time.”

I know she’s right. Tate and I need to sit down and talk about the future. Jonah’s mentioned wanting to stay in Idaho, and Caleb has already taken me to the elementary school to talk to the principal about enrolling him this fall. My tips at Reds have been steady, and while I still would like to go back to working in a salon one day, everything in my life feels like it’s finally working out. It feels like I’m right where I’m supposed to be. I just want to make sure Tate feels the same way.

“Hey, listen Callie, I’ve got to go. Lauren just woke up from a nap, but give me a call later on and let me know how the talk with Tate goes. Love you and miss you.”

“Will do. Love and miss you too, Patty.”

“You know, it’s not too late to turn around and go back to the inn,” Tate says, as he pulls into the parking lot which is crammed with cars. “I can just text Matt and tell him that I’ve got a major migraine, and then you and I can spend the whole night doing something much more…
fun
.”

I laugh and unbuckle my seatbelt. “We’re already here. Besides, I’m pretty sure Matt would know you’re lying” I point toward the entrance where Matt is standing waving his arms at us.

“Damn,” he mutters under his breath. He unfolds from the car and jogs over to my side to open the door for me. I grab my purse and drape it over my shoulder when Tate wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me toward him before placing a soft kiss on my lips, stealing my breath away. “Two hours,” he says against my lips. “We’re only staying two hours, and then you’re all mine.”

I nod as he takes my hand in his and guides us into the bar where I can see everyone sitting at a table in the center of the room. The room is packed, and I can barely hear myself think over the sound of the band and drunken women chortling, so when Holly stands up and hugs Tate, talking into his ear, I have no idea what she says, but I figure it can’t be all that bad when he turns to look at me and winks before nodding his head at her.

I slide into a seat in between Tate and Macy, and our server comes by and we order a few drinks and buckets of crab legs, a specialty that comes with a plastic bib and melted butter. I’m licking my fingers clean, listening to Holly and Lisa argue over who asked who out first, when I feel my phone vibrate in my purse. Pulling it out of my purse, I frown when I don’t recognize the number.

Tate leans over and runs a finger across my thigh. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s probably just a telemarketer or something. Just ignore it.”

I’m about to put my phone back in my purse when my senses finally hit me and I realize I can’t ignore it. Caleb and Jonah are out of town this weekend. What if something happened? What if someone’s trying to reach me? My chest grows tight with the thought of them in the hospital, my son crying out for me, and I’m not around because I’m too busy downing locally brewed ale and having a grand ol’ time. Shoving my chair back, I ignore the curious glances from around the table.