Page 37 of Finding Home

Oh, my heart.

I touch his tattooed arm, making him look at me. “My mother is a school counselor, and she always says, ‘If you keep telling yourself something, then it becomes the truth. And then, it stays the truth, until you start telling yourself something different.’” He seems receptive, so I add, “Since your brain is always going to tell yourself stuff, because that’s how brains work, then why notchooseto tell yourself something good? Something productive? ‘I’ve turned over a new leaf. I’m committed to becoming a better man, a great father. A great friend, bandmate, and brother.’ Maybe even a great boyfriend or husband one day. Why not? Everyone deserves love,Caleb.” I grin sympathetically. “Even someone as horrible as you.”

Caleb can’t keep himself from returning my smile, though he’s clearly trying not to do it.

“Manifestation,” he says softly. “My sister believes in that shit, too.”

“So did Claudia. And look what she accomplished. With the help of your money, she manifested a whole new life for herself and Raine. Plus, she got her mother away from her abusive father.”

He lights up. “Seriously?”

“And before that, Claudia finagled her way backstage at her favorite band’s show and wound up having sex with her biggest celebrity crush. So, seriously, don’t knock manifestation till you’ve tried it.” Thick silence fills the cab of the truck, and it occurs to me I totally ruined the vibe by mentioning Caleb having sex with Claudia. But if Caleb truly is planning to raise Raine for the rest of his life, then, sorry, he needs to understand how amazing and wonderful Raine’s mommy really was. “I don’t know how much you remember about Claudia,” I begin. “But she was?—"

“Nothing much,” Caleb interrupts. “I was shitfaced when I hooked up with her. Honestly, it’s all a blur.” He pauses, apparently lost in thought. “I remember smoking a blunt with a pretty blonde in Seattle and talking about Prairie Springs, though. When my lawyer showed me Claudia’s photo, I remembered that part. But that’s about it.”

I should feel offended on Claudia’s behalf. Or maybe vicarious disappointment for her.And yet, the overwhelming emotion I’m feeling is relief that Caleb doesn’t stroke that big dick of his while fantasizing about Claudia, the pretty blonde he banged in Seattle. Claudia, the girl all the boys wanted when we were growing up together inPrairie Springs. Surely, Caleb groans out a different name, every time he strokes that big, thick dick of his; but I can’t deny, as I’m sitting here next to him, it’s a massive relief to find out he groaned outmyname before ever groaning out Claudia’s.

“Listen, about Claudia,” Caleb says. “I know she was your best friend, and you feel loyalty to her; but you have to understand, to me, she was?—”

As he’s talking, my eyes happen to lock onto a figure exiting the music store across the street; and the moment my eyes relay the man’s identity to my brain, I gasp loudly, interrupting Caleb, mid-sentence. Throwing my palm over my mouth, I slump down in my seat to avoid being seen.

“What?” Caleb blurts. “What’s wrong?” He turns his head to follow the trajectory of my gaze, to where my ex-boyfriend, Trent, has now stopped a few feet away from the music store entrance to tap out something on his phone. Caleb motions to Trent. “That guy there?”

I nod and whimper. “That’s Trent. My ex-boyfriend.”

Caleb practically snarls. “The one who punched you?”

“Slapped me, yes. Very hard.” I slump down even more and a little squeak escapes my throat. What are the odds in a city of a hundred thousand? Although Trent loves music and plays guitar, so I guess?—

Without warning, Caleb unfastens his seatbelt and swings his car door open with a kind of ferocious, alpha-dog energy that makes it clear he’s not planning to invite Trent for a friendly beer.

“Where are you going?” I blurt, causing Caleb to lower his face into the opened door frame.

“I’m going to teach our buddy Trent a much-needed lesson about karma.” With that, he slams the door and marches across the street, while I inch up higher in my seat,enough to peek over the dashboard and watch whatever’s going to happen next.

With my heart going a mile a minute, I watch Caleb, a man on a mission, stride over to Trent. When Caleb reaches his destination, he says something that makes Trent look up from his phone and instantly go wide-eyed. It wouldn’t surprise me if Trent has instantly recognized Caleb. He’s a musician himself who loves music and music pop culture; and I know for a fact Red Card Riot is one of his all-time favorite?—

Holy fuck! Out of nowhere, Caleb just slapped Trent, hard, across the cheek, making him recoil, stumble back, and drop his phone!

I yelp in shock. But only a fraction of a second later, my shock morphs into glee, which prompts me to laugh out loud, involuntarily, at the sheer absurdity of the delicious moment. Seriously, if I’d taken a sip of water immediately before that slap, I would have done a spit-take.

Without another word being exchanged, Caleb trots back to the truck with a wicked grin on his face that makes me guffaw again. This time, he comes around to my side of the truck. After opening the door, he leans his full head into the opening and flashes me a beaming smile that takes my breath away. “You’re welcome.” He winks.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” I blurt, even though I’m elated he did. I peek toward the scene of the crime again, and thankfully, Trent is scurrying away at a hurried clip, rather than coming over here to do God knows what in retaliation. “Caleb, you can’t walk around slapping people on the street.” I don’t know why I’m flogging him, when all I want to do is high-five him. But that’s what my knee-jerk reaction is, so I guess I’m committed now.

Caleb looks at me like I’ve got two heads. “Thatdouchebag slapped you, Aubrey. He deserved that and more.”

I can’t suppress my smile, even though I don’t want to give Caleb a free pass for what he did. Was it delightful? Yes. But it was also a totally unhinged thing for him to do, especially considering his celebrity status. Has he forgotten about Ralph Beaumont and the custody hearing in a month? “What if Trent sues you?”

“He won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do, because suing me would require him to admit what he did to you. And I assure you, he doesn’t want to do that.” Caleb smirks. “Either way, it was totally worth it. If he sues me, I’ll pay him off, like all the rest.”

“All therest? How many people have you slapped on the street like that?”

“Nobody. Not like that. But over the span of my life, I’ve definitely beaten the shit out of more than a couple people who totally deserved it.”

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