Page 61 of Fall Wherever They May

I can feel his pain so emphatically. I wipe my tears with the back of my hand. When he begins sobbing again, I gather the sleeve of my shirt in my hand, reaching up to wipe his face. His tear-filled hazel eyes lock on mine. I can’t bear it. My heart aches for him. Seeing that raw pain in his eyes undoes me, and I sob right along with him.

He takes a staggering breath. “I was pulled from the seventh game of the championship series. My teammate’s . . .”Tears stream down his face, his body wracks with grief, struggling to let out his next words. “My teammate’s wife . . . she found Paisley. She umm . . .” He gasps for a breath. I wrap my arms around him, trying to give him every bit of comfort I can. I stroke his hair while he continues. “I wasn’t enough.” He shakes in my arms as sobs wrack his body.

I wrap him tight in my arms until he calms down, then I hold his face in both of my hands, wiping his tears with my thumbs. “You are enough, Cal. She must have been utterly and completely broken. I can’t imagine the pain either of you were going through. What she did, it wasn’t your fault.”

He stares at me, gauging my sincerity before he nods in acceptance. He wipes his eyes again. “I think I know that now. I went to see Paisley yesterday while I was in Colorado. I needed to sort some things out before I could move on. This sounds so stupid, but I needed permission to move on with you. I want to be with you, Aspen. I’ve been wanting that for a long time, but I just couldn’t get out of my own way.” He sniffs and wipes his face with the back of his hand again. “I think I’m ready if this is what you want. If I’m what you want.”

I continue to soothe him by running my fingers through his hair while my arms encompass him. I place a gentle kiss on his lips. “I’ve been waiting on you, Hotshot.” His body visibly relaxes. “You know, you weren’t one hundred percent accurate when you said you haven’t given me anything in return. You may have been holding back from telling me about your life and your past. But you’ve been giving Tucker and me your presence. You make him happy. You make me happy. You’re important to us. Maybe at one time you were coasting through life, but for the past few months, that’s not what it’s felt like, not to me anyway.” I stroke his hair, consoling him.

Now I know why he’s kept me at arm’s length this whole time. Even though I’m in a somber state about the revelation ofhis wife and his baby, I’m glad to be the one he felt safe enough with to share his past with. He brings his hand up to my face and caresses my cheek with his thumb before he kisses me softly.

He pulls back, and I see an earnest gleam in his eyes. “Thank you for everything: for bringing me joy, for pushing me out of this godawful headspace, for forcing me to live, and for placing your trust in me, not only with your heart but also with your son’s. I love him, Aspen. I love him like my own, and I would do anything in this world for him. I willalwaysbe here to protect him.”

I look for the truth, finding it in his eyes as he regards me with so much adoration. He kisses me one more time before whispering. “You don’t mean anything to me, Aspen; you mean everything. You own every piece of me. I don’t want to lose you because I’m stuck in the past; I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to put all of this behind me.”

I release a breath as he engulfs me in his strong arms, holding me tight. “You have such a big heart, Cal. You love hard, and there is nothing wrong with that. They will always be a part of you, and I’m not looking to replace her.”

“I know, Angel. It’s just been hard to comprehend that moving on doesn’t mean replacing, but I get it now.”

“I think I know a way we can honor her and Xander’s memory if you are open to it.”

With my head placed in the crook of his neck, his fingertips stroke through my hair. “I would love that actually,” he finally states.

“I also think you should talk to your dad.”

He plays with the ends of my hair. “Yeah. I probably should.”

I don’t know how long we sit wrapped in each other’s arms, drawing comfort from one another as we grieve his pasttogether. Eventually, he tips up my chin and kisses my lips. “Okay. Enough with the heavy,” he says softly.

With my legs wrapped around his waist, Cal picks me up, carrying me through the living room, the entryway, and then up the stairs to his master bathroom.

“What are we doing?”

He wets a washcloth. “I’m going to wash our tears away.” He begins to wipe my face. “Then I’m going to walk you back home.”

Once my face is patted dry with a hand towel, he takes my chin in his hand and angles my face up towards his. He peppers light, feather-soft kisses all over my face before taking my lips in a tender kiss. Butterflies take flight in my stomach. This man is not what I ever expected. I think back to our first encounter and snort a laugh, kind of ruining the tender moment.

“What’s so funny?” He muses with a smirk. “Do I amuse you?” He lifts one brow.

I shake my head, then think better of it and nod. “You keep surprising me. Gone is the brooding asshole who hit my car, and standing in front of me is this incredible man who is so tender and sweet.”

Cal lays the washcloth over the laundry basket to dry. Chuckling, he strolls back to me and lifts me off the counter with such ease, then places me on my feet. “Awe, you think I’m incredible?” He smirks as he washes his face.

I roll my eyes, like he needs an ego boost. Leaning against the doorjamb with my arms folded across my chest, I watch him. “I’m sorry, did you hear me say incredible? I think you must be imagining things because I’m pretty certain I saidincorrigible.”

Cal pats his face dry with a hand towel and laughs. He sets the towel down on the counter; then suddenly, he bends down and grabs me by the waist, hoisting me over his shoulder—fireman style. He carries me into his room and plops me down in the middle of the four-poster king-sized bed that’s draped with a light gray down comforter. I scamper to climb away from him, but he pulls me back to him by my ankle and descends on me with an onslaught of tickles. “What was that?” He continues to tickle my ribs. “I don’t think I heard you correctly the second time.”

A fit of giggles erupts out of me, and I try to fight him off, but it’s no use. “Okay! Okay! You’re incredible!” I wheeze between laughs. “You’re Incredible! I give up! Mercy!”

He smacks my ass and drops a peck to my lips. “That’s what I thought.”

He moves off me and stands beside the bed, placing his phone on the charger. Still on the bed, I hop to my feet so I can tower over him. I know I’m playing with fire, but I don’t care. I grab one of his pillows and toss it at him. The pillow lands a playful blow to the back of his head before falling to the floor. He turns around, tongue in cheek, as I giggle. My eyes go wide, and I squeal when he effortlessly jumps onto the bed and wraps his arm around my waist. We both tumble in a fit of laughter, but our laughter dies down as his eyes map my face. His fingers tenderly move my hair away from my eyes.

“You’re so beautiful,” he says, nipping my bottom lip. “And you’re going to look even more beautiful when your ass is painted red with my handprint.”

“Mmm. Is that so?” I sass.

“You have no idea, Angel,” he breathes. “Keep testing me.”

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