Page 90 of Inseverable (Carolina Beach)

That’s all we have left.

Three minutes more and this ends.

But as I stare into the eyes of my son, and see him laughing as he rocks on his belly, three minutes more of tummy time doesn’t seem like long at all. “You’re a lot tougher than that book says. Aren’t you, soldier?”

He squeals when I tickle his chin. People say Cal junior has my eyes. Maybe. But the sparkle of mischief within them, and that wide contagious grin, that’s all his momma.

I adjust my hips against the sand, thankful that for once the agonizing ache is a thing of the past, and so is the numbness I once searched for like a friend.

My eyes tear when the breeze picks up and shoots a bit of sand in them. The sneeze it stirs makes Cal giggle so I don’t mind. A laugh from my son is well worth a little sand, and a lot more.

I pick him up and kiss his chubby cheeks in time to hear a car pull up the driveway. It’s not long after that that those familiar footsteps bounce through the house.

“Batman? You out back with Robin?”

I chuckle. “Yeah. We’re out here, baby.”

“Robin” starts flapping his little arms excitedly the moment he sees Trin walk through the back door. Can’t say I blame him. She’s only been gone a couple hours, but like him, I missed her the whole damn time.

She smiles brightly and reaches for him. “Hi,” she says, drawing out the word. “Here’s my little super hero.” She cuddles him against her, but greets me with a kiss packed with one hell of a sizzle.

She tugs on my bottom lip as she pulls away. I grin against her mouth. “I wouldn’t start anything you can’t finish,” I tell her.

“Now, baby. When have I ever not finished?” She tosses me a sly look over her shoulder as she carries our boy back into the house. “Besides, you need to give me something to do once our little bird goes down for his nap.”

I rub my jaw and chuckle. For all I suffered, I’m convinced she and our baby must be my reward. It almost seems wrong for a man like me to be given such love, to have his heart so filled with joy, but I’ll take it. And like I promised Trin on our wedding day, I’ll never let us go.

I find them lying on our bed as she feeds him. It’s cold in here from the air blasting through the A.C.. I grab the blanket at the foot of the bed and gather it around us as I lie beside them, positioning my body so I can see my pretty wife’s face. She smiles when I stroke her cheek.

“Did you get to see Hale?” she asks.

“Yeah. For bit.”

Her face shadows with concern. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s all right. These past few years have been rough, dealing with what he’s had to deal with, and being so far away. We’re supposed to get together later for a beer and talk.”

“That’ll be good for him.” She adjusts the blanket around Cal’s shoulders and asks, “Did you ask him about dinner Friday?”

I try to keep my face neutral, but it’s hard since I know what she’s really asking. “Yeah. He said he’ll be here.”

She raises her brows, hope sparking that gleam in her eyes. “Did you tell him Becca will be here?”

“I did.”

“And?” she presses.

“And what?” I ask, doing a shitty job at playing dumb.

“Callahan. . .”

I chuckle. “Well, for a man you claim had lost his grin. He sure found it when I told him she was coming.”

Knowing Trin’s all but planning Hale and Becca’s wedding, I quick change the subject. “How was lunch with your momma?” I ask her.

She gives me “the look” the one that tells me she knows I’m trying to distract her. But even so, she answers. “It was good. Landon sold his robotics technology for a cool fifteen million.” She shakes her head. “Everybody used to tell me I was the smart one. Little did they know Landon would graduate from M.I.T and develop something so high-tech it would change the world.”

“Yeah. Your daddy told me all about it when he was over earlier. Also said Landon donated ten of those millions to his charity.”

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