Page 93 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

“About what?”

“About anything. I don’t know if I should stay here. I don’t know if I should go back to Arizona. Chloe and I are doing good. Really good. What you said about just being her brother, you were right. So right. That’s what I should have been doing allalong. I am now. And, thankfully, she isn’t holding the past ten years against me.

“While she was home sick this week, I talked to her about everything, and she definitely wants me to be her guardian, so that’s one thing that’s settled. She says that she’s fine going to Arizona, but I think she’s happy here. Or maybe she’s not. I don’t know. Her life has been so hard, and I have let her down so much already; I don’t want to do the wrong thing.”

He shook his head and sighed as we once again reached the highest point of the wheel.

“All my life, I’ve been decisive. You know that. I have a plan. I have clear goals. Even when things didn’t go how I thought they would, I adjusted.”

My heart ached. I knew exactly what he was referring to. He meant my not moving to Arizona after graduation, us not getting married, and us not starting our family.

“I threw myself into my work. Then, when life threw me another curveball, I knew I had to step back, so I changed my career. But this, I don’t know what the right thing to do is. I can’t put the decision on Chloe. She’s a teenager, and she’s had to be an adult for too much of her life. If I accept the fight, and we move back there, and I’m basically MIA in both of their lives for the next eight months, how is that going to affect Chloe? But this money, I know the money could really help her future. But I also know that she can’t just be left on her own. I just don’t want to make the wrong decision. And then I’m dealing with all of this Felicity shit…it’s over. She knows that, but she’s dragging it on. She went behind my back and told Matty we were getting married and even went to see a wedding planner. He got so excited, and then I had to be the one to tell him that wasn’t happening. He doesn’t understand that she only showed up and is doing this now because of you.”

“Because of me?” I touched my hand to my chest.

He nodded.

“Whyme?”

“Because she’s jealous of you?”

“Why would she be jealous ofme?” She had something I didn’t with Callum; she shared a child with him.

“Because it’s you,” he rasped with so much emotion my heart broke. “It’s always beenyou.”

“But how does she know about…me?”

I could see that whatever he’d told her, he didn’t want to share it with me. I wanted to ask, to push him on it, to find out what he’d said, but I didn’t. It was obvious he was very upset. The decision of whether or not to take the fight might seem like an easy one to most people, but Callum wasn’t most people. Having Chloe’s well-being in his hands is not something he would ever take lightly; in fact, it’s the opposite. He would make himself physically ill trying to make the ‘right’ decision for fear that the ‘wrong’ decision would hurt her and it would be his fault. I knew that he was confused as to why Danielle had chosen him to be Chloe’s guardian, but I wasn’t. If I were in her shoes, I would have done the same thing.

During our relationship, I might have brought some drama and baggage, but I was also what Nora referred to as the Callum Whisperer. Whenever he was overthinking or would get too much in his own head, I was the one person who could bring him out of it. I hoped that I still had that gift.

I turned to look at him as the cart descended. “Okay, so, I don’t haveanyidea what you must be going through or what it would feel like to have the responsibility of not one but two people’s happiness, well-being, and futures on your shoulders. I’m responsible for twenty kids’ snacks every day, and that’sa lotfor me.” I smiled, and I got a little grin back. “So clearly, I’m not an expert, but from what I can see, I don’t think that there isoneright answer. I think you just have to make the bestdecision you can with the information you have. That’s all any of us can do. You don’t have a crystal ball. You can’t see the future. Any decision you make could be the right one, and any decision you make could be the wrong one. Or both could be rightandwrong.”

His lips curled at the corners. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

I shrugged. “Maybe. Because the truth is, when there is no right answer, then there’s no wrong one. Everyone can have an opinion, and if you’re asking me for that, I can give you mine. But onlyyoucan know what’s right for your son and your sister and your family. And whatever decision you make, if Chloe hasyou, then she’ll be fine. And if she’s not fine, she still has you, and anyone who has you when they're not fine has won the not-fine lottery. I could not ask for a better person to have when I’m not fine. You thrive when people are not fine. You are like the Not Fine Superhero; it’s like a bat signal to you. When someone you love is not fine, you throw on your cape and mask and fly in to save the day.”

He chuckled as he shook his head.

“I’m serious, Callum. I know you didn’t understand why Danielle named you Chloe’s guardian, but she knewexactlywhat she was doing.” I lifted my hand and put it over his chest. “You have one of, no,thebest heart of any person I know. Just follow that. You’ll make the best choice. I know you will.”

His large hand reached up and covered mine, enveloping me completely. “How do you always say the perfect things at the perfect time?”

My eyes narrowed, and I tilted my head to the side. “Mmmm, I think ninety-nine point nine percent of Firefly would disagree with you on that.”

“Well, then ninety-nine point nine percent of Firefly is fucking wrong.”

I chuckled. “I mean, you won’t get any argument from me?—”

My response was cut off when Callum leaned forward, cupped my face in his hand, and claimed me in a kiss. His lips pressed against mine as his tongue slid into my mouth. The kiss was both tender and forceful. Soft and firm. Gentle and passionate. It was a swirl of contradictions.

His hand wrapped around the back of my neck, and the tips of his fingers flexed, causing my head to tilt back. The new position gave him total control. His tongue explored my mouth with mastery. I moaned into his mouth and barely noticed as the ride stopped. It wasn’t until he broke our kiss and I blinked my eyes open that I realized we were hanging at the top of the ride; the cabin swayed back and forth.

Callum’s forehead was pressed against mine for a brief moment before he leaned his head over the side. When he did, a man shouted up. “Stay calm. We’ll have you folks down in no time.”

When he turned back to me, he grinned. “We’re stuck.”

“We’re stuck?”

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