Page 30 of Fall Wherever They May

“Yeah?”

“You can love Tucker all you want. He needs you, and I think you really need him, but if you break his heart, Callan Miles, I will break your damn neck.”

“Duly noted . . . you know, I was thinking . . .”

“Don’t go hurting yourself.”

“Har har.” He takes the steps up quickly and stands in front of me on the porch. “Seriously, I was thinking.” His eyes lock with mine; the porch light catches the golden flecks in his.

“Okay?” I frown. He studies my lips for a beat, then quickly averts his gaze. His eyes slowly make their way back to mine.

“Uh . . . you know I said I haven’t cared about anyone but myself for a long time. I’ve been really fucking selfish until Tuck came blowing through my life like a goddamned tornado.” I giggle because that’s Tucker; his joy is contagious, and he kind of just attaches to you and doesn’t let you go. Cal continues, “God, this is so stupid, but . . . um . . .” He stops talking and rubs the back of his neck, the vulnerability showing on his face. I give him a reassuring smile to continue. “Carter knows a little bit about my past, and some of his advice from the last couple of months is kind of starting to settle with me.” I give him a confused look. “I guess what I’m trying to do is turn over a new leaf, and I don’t know how to do that, so I’m just going to spit it out. I want to try this friendship thing . . . with you.”

A smile lights up my face. “We can be friends on one condition. Well, actually two.”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t take friendships lightly, so if you’re going to be my friend, you have to stay my friend. None of the back-and-forth shit. That doesn’t sit well with me. You’re either in or you’re out. Capisce? I’ll probably push your buttons and piss you off, but you can’t just stop being friends with me.”

“And the other condition?”

“You can’t go catching feelings for me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Firecracker.” He turns around swiftly and skips down the steps. “Goodnight,friend.” I watch him until he makes it back to his house.

“Go inside!” He yells from across the street.

I roll my eyes and step across the threshold. Tomorrow is going to be interesting.

The sound of my alarm is blaring in my ears, yelling at me to start the day. My head feels like someone is taking a pickaxe to it. Wine always does that to me—guaranteed headache. I groan and slap at my alarm clock. Peeking through squinty eyes, I see the time. Shit! It’s seven forty-five! Jumping out of bed, I race to the shower and take the fastest shower in the history of showers and wash my hair. I throw on a long, light blue, floral, sleeveless dress with a high neck, put my hair in a quick bun, and accessorize with a pair of pearl earrings. Forgoing a full face of makeup and only using a few swipes of mascara and lip gloss, I decide this is as good as it’s going to get today. I send up a silent thank you to the universe for clear skin and sprint out of my bedroom to coax Tucker out of bed.

When I waltz into his room, his bed is made, so I turn and run downstairs. I find him sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, completely dressed, reading a book, and eating a bowl of cereal.

“Thank God! Did Aunt River get you ready?” I kiss the top of his head.

“No. She’s still in bed.”

Of course she is! Wine was a terrible idea. I’m surprised to see Tucker remembered dress clothes and a tie.

“Okay, we don’t have time to wait. We have three minutes to be outside. Did you eat enough?”

“Yes ma’am.” He rinses out his bowl and leaves it on the counter.

“Dishwasher, Bud.” I direct a pointed look at him. “Then go brush your teeth, please.”

As I’m sorting through papers, making sure we have everything for enrollment should we decide on a school today, the doorbell rings. I start to shove the papers back into the envelope when River appears at the bottom of the stairs, her hair a mess, and she’s clad in pajamas. She stumbles over a pair of Tucker’s shoes in the entryway, kicks them off to the side, and opens the door. Cal is standing there with a cup carrier holding what I’m guessing is three coffees and a hot chocolate, looking every bit of a GQ magazine model.Goddamn.

My eyes travel the length of him when he walks through the door sporting a pair of navy slacks, a white t-shirt, and a navy blazer. Short stubble enhances his sharp jawline. The way he is standing at the door with the left corner of his lips popping into a smirk tells me I’ve been caught checking him out. Damn it! I avert my eyes. I’m his boss; I really need to stop ogling him. Way to play it cool, Aspen. I shake my head and place my concentration back on the papers.

“Good morning, Frat Boy. Are you going to continue to make a habit of pulling me out of my slumber?” River grumbles, rubbing her eyes. “She’s in here.” She thumbs over her shoulder in my direction while I continue sorting through all of the ridiculous items needing to be submitted: birth certificate, immunization records, letters of recommendation . . . what ten-year-old needs a letter of recommendation?

“You should have been out of bed already! I guess I can assume you’re not going with us today?” I raise one eyebrow at her.

She groans at me in response and plops face down onto the couch. Her response is muffled. I’m taking that as a no. I roll my eyes. The freaking traitor!

“Morning, Cal!” Tucker casually walks down the stairs and across the entryway to Cal and gives him a fist bump. “You ready to do this thang?” Tucker asks Cal.

“Yep. Are you?”

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