Page 67 of Beck and Call

"Has it occurred to you that my kid is going to call you grandpa?" Beckett asked in a voice that wavered with the effort to keep from laughing more.

Colter shook his head. "This gets more fucked up every minute." He pointed at Beckett in the mirror. "You call me gramps and I will punch you."

"Can the two of you work out the details of your bromance later? One of you better tell me where you are taking me."

"I actually have no idea," Beckett answered.

"And you're fine with him driving us to—" I looked out the window. "Are we heading into the mountains?"

Beckett shrugged. "I trust him." He looked pointedly forward, and Colter caught his eyes, then nodded. At least they'd managed to work through the damage made by Beckett's accusations.

Colter looked over his shoulder at me for one second. "We're going to my cabin up at Snoqualmie Pass."

"Just what I always wanted. A mountain getaway with my baby daddy and my dad," I mumbled.

Beckett growled, but Colter stopped him. "You'll get your chance to make your case. Just, not right now."

"I'm not going anywhere with him until he tells me where he goes every Friday," I announced.

"Shit," Colter blurted out.

"That answers that question," I said to myself. "You know."

He nodded.

I turned to Beckett. "So, what is this? Get involved with the young girl because she's too naive to notice you still have someone on the side? What kind of woman accepts seeing you once a week and lets you fucking marry someone else?"

Colter had pulled off onto a gravel road. A large A-frame cabin appeared between the trees. One side of it opened up to the lake, gently lapping against the wooden dock protruding into the water. The other side stared directly at a peak of the mountain. There was a light on inside, so there was obviously power.

When he said cabin I was starting to fear he was taking me to a cedar shack out in the middle of nowhere with an outhouse and an outdoor pump for water. Given the fact it was January, an outhouse was not going to work. I had to visit the bathroom much more than I ever had before in my life, and from what the books I've been reading said, it was only going to get worse.

The moment the SUV stopped, I jumped out and started walking back down the road. We were a few miles from the town we passed through, but perhaps I'd come across another house along the road and could use their phone. It was a stupid plan, but I was committed to it.

"Where are you going?" Beckett shouted.

I didn't answer, only kept walking down the road. "Stop. The only house on this road on the way into town is the one owned by Colter's parents."

"He's telling you the truth. That's where I'm staying tonight." Colter came over to me. "Give him a chance to explain."

He put a new cellphone in my hand. "If he tells you everything and you still want to leave, I'll come back and get you."

"You weren't supposed to drop me off in the middle of the woods with him by myself," I grumbled.

He hugged me, which felt equal parts awkward and like I'd come home. We'd have to work on it. "I would do anything to have a second chance with your mom. Don't make my mistakes," he whispered into my hair.

"Okay," I whispered back. When he put it like that, I would try. I owed it to my baby to give it a chance to have its father in their life.

* * *

Beckett

After talking to her father, she walked into the house, still ignoring me.

"She agreed to stay and hear you out. You've got one shot at this. I told her if you explained and she still wanted to leave I'd come back and get her. Don't fuck up anymore. You are out of chances." Colter slapped me on the back and went back to the car.

I hoped there were still clothes in the house. The last thing I wanted was to spend the night in a tux. Inside the house, I found her pacing in front of the large window that looked out on the lake.

It reminded me of another time in front of a window, and I had to move away from her to collect myself. The bedrooms were all on the second floor. I went to Colter's room and found he had left clothes behind. I was a little taller, but not so much that it made a big difference in fit. Colter's younger sister, Waverly, sometimes came up here with him. He liked to be able to get away at a moment's notice, so generally there were enough clothes for everyone for an impromptu weekend trip.

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