Page 48 of Inseverable (Carolina Beach)

Callahan cocks his head slightly, his stare softening with enough kindness to cloak the ire and pain that lies beneath. He unsnaps his seatbelt and leans forward.

“Come here,” he says, reaching for me.

Our lips part when they meet so our tongues can immediately play and explore. This kiss isn’t like the heated ones before. It’s slow, reassuring me that he’s safe and that I shouldn’t be afraid.

I slide my hand up, digging my fingers through his thick silky waves while his arms circle my waist. He holds me tenderly and so close I feel his warmth and the thud of his beating heart. For a moment, I fool myself into believing that I’m the one reassuring him. Maybe I am. So I give more of myself to our kiss, hoping he’ll take a part of me with him so he’s not so alone.

His hands slide over my waist to grip my hips before gradually loosening his hold. I watch him edge away, struggling it seems to let me go.

“I think I should leave,” he says.

As much as I want him to stay, I don’t ask him to. He needs space. I can see it, and sense it. I’m only hoping he doesn’t pull completely away. “All right. Goodnight.”

I reach for my purse and start to climb out when he says, “Wait. Don’t leave yet. “He hops out of the truck and jogs around the other side to open the door for me, offering me his hand to help me down.

“I want to make sure you get inside,” he says.

He keeps my hand in his and leads me up the long driveway. “You let me walk up by myself the other night,” I remind him.

He offers me a one shoulder shrug. “That’s different. You weren’t walking into an empty house.”

He glances up, taking in the house when we reach it. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“You can ask me anything,” I tell him truthfully.

He laughs a little. “You said your parents did volunteer work.”

“That’s right. They did so for years, and they still do locally.”

“How is it that they came to live here?”

It’s not the first time someone asked me this question. As a child, it made me uncomfortable. I had friends who didn’t have much. And even though I did, it’s something we never flaunted.

My parents bought us only what we needed, not just what we wanted to have. They kept my brother and I humble by taking us around the world and showing us what poverty really was, introducing us to those who didn’t have much, so we’d see firsthand what it was like to be hungry, sick, and alone. They taught us the importance of compassion and how we should spend our lives demonstrating it to everyone we meet.

“Trin?” he says.

“Sorry,” I say, pausing as we reach the bottom of my front steps. “My father comes from what people refer to as old Southern money. There’s a lot of blood attached to those dollar signs, and even my granddaddy admitted he’s not proud of how the family fortune was built.” I push a strand of my hair behind my ear, feeling the brunt of what I’m telling him. “No one has ever come out and fully explained, like I said, there’s a lot of shame. But it’s understood that good people broke their backs to make my great-granddaddy rich.”

A lot goes unsaid in my words, but Callahan seems to understand. “It’s not something many southerners with our degree of wealth discuss. And many like to pretend it didn’t happen. But we know it did, and I’m not going to lie.”

He nods like he understands. “All right,” he says.

“What’s your family like?”

He motions toward the large front doors. “Not like yours,” he says.

The way he responds makes me think that his family is another sore spot in his life. After baring his soul about his experiences in the war, it’s clear that he’s already shared more than he’s comfortable with. So instead of pressing for more, I lift up on my toes and kiss his cheek. “Okay,” I whisper.

He smiles, sweeping a finger along my jaw. “Are you going to be okay by yourself?”

No. I’d rather be with you.Again it’s what I think, but don’t dare say aloud. I motion up the brick steps. “The alarm’s set, and you may not believe it, but sometimes even I need some peace and quiet.”

He chuckles. “You’re right. I don’t believe it.”

I laugh, lifting my arms to embrace him when his hands reach around to stroke the small of my back.

“Do you want to go out to dinner tomorrow night?” he asks. “Maybe catch a movie?”

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