Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“I’d like that,” Callum replied. I pulled out my cell phone and got his phone number.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Callum
We’d decided I should drive to their house and leave my car there since I was going over for dinner afterward. My stomach had been on a roller coaster all morning—swooping, ascending, then evening out for what seemed to be no reason at all. I was spending the day with a straight guy and his son. What was the big deal? Knox probably only invited me because Logan seemed to feel comfortable with me, and he was the kind of dad who would move heaven and earth to make his son happy. It was one of my favorite things about him so far.
I’d gone back and forth deciding what to wear, which was absolutely ridiculous. I settled on a simple pair of jeans, with a denim button-up shirt left open and a white tee underneath.
“Where are you off to today?” Mom asked when I left my room. It was only eight, and she sat at the table, drinking her coffee.
“I’m, um…going to Knox’s house? His son has taken a liking to me, and they invited me—well, I don’t know what town we’re going to, actually. Somewhere that’s a couple of hours away, for Logan to see about getting a dog. Then they asked me to dinner afterward.”
“Oh.” She paused for a moment. “That’s nice. I’m glad to see you making friends here.”
“Me too. I like them.” I didn’t know them well, obviously, but I really did like them. I wanted to get to know them better. It felt good, important, that Logan seemed to have connected with me. And Knox…well, my lumberjack was easy on the eyes and fun to be around, so that was a win-win.
I popped a bagel into the toaster, then made a protein shake—not for bulking, just for the protein. When the bagel was done, I added a light dusting of butter. I had a fast metabolism and had never struggled with my weight, but I’d always eaten light and was careful about what I ate.
I put the bagel on a napkin and grabbed my stuff. “I don’t know what time I’ll be home. I’ll call you.” Without thinking, I bent over and kissed her forehead. We both froze for a moment, like neither of us expected it. There was a pang in my chest at that thought.
“Okay. Have fun. I love you, Callum.”
I smiled. “Love you too, Mom.” Then I was out the door. I typed the address Knox had given me into my GPS. They lived outside the main town of Havenwood, off one of the old highways. I turned down a gravel road to see a large, two-story cabin, which immediately made a smile tug at my lips. It was such a lumberjack kind of home, tucked between way too many trees. Off to the right was a large barn. Knox’s truck was out front. I parked beside it, and the second I was out of the car, Logan came outside.
“You’re here!” he said enthusiastically.
“Wouldn’t miss it. How’s your hand?” I stepped onto the porch. There was a swing on the end of it. So quaint and homey.
Logan rolled his eyes. “Fine. Now you sound like Dad.”
There was this little swell in my chest at that. Not that I was truly anything to Logan, but, hell, I couldn’t really explain it. That I worried about him like his dad did? That I didn’t sound like a fraud or his healthcare provider, but a parent? It wasn’t something I’d ever thought about before—becoming a parent—but now I wondered if maybe it would be in my future. Not to Logan, obviously; I wasn’t delusional. But maybe I would want a kid of my own one day.
“Well, I’m your care provider, so can I at least ask if it’s giving you much pain?” He shook his head. “You guys cleaned it?” He nodded. “No redness or—”
“Callum.” The way he said it was with such familiarity, it nearly stole my breath. Why I was suddenly being so sappy, I didn’t know.
“Fine, fine. I’ll stop. Sorry I’m a few minutes early.”
“It’s okay. Come in.”
I followed Logan into the house. It was incredibly Knox on the inside too. All earth tones, with lots of browns, greens, and black. He had a large dark-brown sectional in the middle of the room, and in front of it, a coffee table made from a really dark, solid wood. It had some kind of coating on it, I could tell, with blue running through the middle. The edges were rough, knobby, but in a way you could tell was on purpose. “Wow…this is gorgeous.”
“It’s called, like, epoxy resin river table or something. Dad made it. He can make anything. He’s good at all that stuff. I’m…not.” The dejection in his voice was obvious. Logan felt bad about himself because he couldn’t do things like this.