Page 32 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

“And who are you?”

“The calico is Jelly, and the orange tabby is Butter.”

Callum chuckled. “Peanut, Butter, and Jelly. I love that. Did you get them all at the same time?”

“No, and I didn’t name any of them, actually. I rescued Jelly first from the shelter. She came with her name, Jelly Bean. And then about six months later, Peanut was abandoned with four other dogs in a cardboard box at the school. He was the runt and was named Peanut by the kids at the school. And Butter was Mrs. Trina’s. I don’t know if you remember her. She taught Spanish.”

Callum nodded.

“She passed away, and I didn’t want Butter to go to the shelter, so I brought her home. The names just sort of worked out like that, but I think that means they were meant to be together. It was fate.”

When I said ‘fate,’ the energy between us changed. I couldn’t explain it, whether it was tense or just charged, but something felt different. Callum gave each of them one more head rub and then stood and continued walking.

As I followed behind, I couldn’t stop staring at him. Yes, I’d seen him since he’d returned. But only briefly and not this up close and personal. So much about him was familiar, but at the same time, so much about him had changed. My eyes roamed the contours of his muscular back. The lines of his chiseled shoulder blades. The broad structure of his frame.

He’d matured in the ten years we’d been apart. Not only had his body filled out, but his face had matured. His jawline was more defined; it was squarer. He had a new scar above his right eyebrow that wasn’t there before. He had new tattoos. New wrinkles. He’d lived an entire life since I’d seen him last.

When he entered the bright, airy kitchen, Callum stopped up short and spun around. The sudden about-face caused me to nearly barrel into him. Out of instinct, I reached out and grabbed his arms and rocked back on my heels to stop myself from falling on my butt.

Once I regained my balance, I dropped my hands to my side and tilted my head to meet his gaze. The moment our eyes locked, my heart lodged itself in my throat. The intensity in his smoldering, soulful stare stole the breath from my lungs. There was so much feeling, so much emotion; it was suffocating. I wanted to look away before I did something to embarrass myself, like blush, swoon, cry, or drool, but I was unable to tear my gaze away.

“What’s that?” His voice was gravelly and sent a shiver dancing down my spine.

“What’s what?

He pointed toward the whiteboard hanging beside my cupboard. “That.”

I felt my cheeks flush, not that I had anything to be embarrassed about.

“Thatis a whiteboard. You can write things on it and then erase them.”

A tiny grin of amusement was all my smart-ass reply elicited, but I’d take it. Callum continued staring at me, playing silent chicken, and he was the victor; I cried uncle first. He knew I hated silences. I had a compulsion; silence gave me anxiety.

“Those are, um, just good rules of thumb to live by,” I skirted around the truth.

“No drinking. No dating. No dick,” he stated flatly.

“Yep.”

“Those are the rules you live by?” he questioned.

“For the next year, yes.”

His brow furrowed. “Seriously?”

“’Fraid so. Those are my New Year’s resolutions. I’m taking the entire year off.”

I waited, bracing myself for the follow-up questions, and one came, but it had nothing to do with my resolutions.

“How long have you been here?” he asked. “Living here.”

It took me a second to recalibrate my mind to the left turn this conversation had taken. “Um, two years. I moved in right after Poppa Dell passed.”

His jaw tensed. “I should have called or sent?—”

“Oh no!” I cut him off. I could see the pain in his eyes. I hoped he hadn’t carried it around all these years. “It’s okay, really. It was fine. He passed in his sleep at ninety-six. He was ready, and he lived a good life.”

Callum held my stare, pinning me in place with an invisible force field like the invisible fence collar I’d tried for Peanut. I couldn’t see the barrier, but I knew it was there, and if I got close to it, I would get zapped. As every second ticked by, I feltmy heart begin to beat faster. The tension between us felt like a rubber band being stretched to its limit.

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