Page 39 of Sunflower

I cast my mind back, thinking about those times she’d focused on me. “Um, maybe four or five times?”

“What?!”For some reason, Callum sounded horrified. “You mean to tell me she read you that much every week?! What the hell were you doing?!”

“Oh!” I let out a nervous laugh. “No. I mean, maybe four or five times over the three years before I went to college. It wasn’t many.”

“What.” Like a popped balloon, Callum’s bluster deflated, and he sagged against his seat in defeat.

“What?” Frowning, I squeezed his hand again. “What am I missing?”

Sucking in a breath, Callum muttered testily, “I used to get read four or five times a month when I was younger.”

I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing.

“Oh, fuck off,” he said half-heartedly, biting back his own amusement. “I was a good kid. I just liked to explore…”

“Explore what? Erin’s patience?” I was laughing so hard that I had to grip my side so I wouldn’t cramp. I couldtotallysee a young Callum getting up to mischief and causing mayhem wherever he went.

“Most likely,” he conceded, the corners of his lips twitching as he recalled whatever misadventures he got up to in his youth that I would be sure to ask him about when we had more time. “Those were some good times.”

“I’m sure they were.”

Releasing a happy sigh, he settled himself enough to bring us back to the topic at hand. “Okay. Training someone to block a reader properly takes years, but the quick and dirty fix is to overwhelm your thoughts with something else. Reciting times tables were a good solution for me when I was a kid. Something that you can focus on whilst still being able to carry on a conversation. Think of it like white noise for your brain.”

“Huh.” That, strangely, made a lot of sense. The only thing I needed to do was find something I could focus on enough that she’d get bored with trying to read me and give up. “I can do that. Or at least,tryto do that.” I nibbled my bottom lip, my nervous anxiety getting the better of me. “I think.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Callum grinned at me with way more confidence than I felt.

This was going to go so terribly.

Laden down with a fuck ton of trepidation, I eased the front door open and called out, “Dad? Erin? Anyone home?”

I don’t even know why I asked the question. It was Thanksgiving. Of course they’d be home.

“In here, honey!” Erin’s voice echoed from the kitchen. The mouthwatering smell of roast turkey wafted down the corridor to greet me as I made my way through the front door. “Lunch is still an hour or so away from being ready. I haven’t heard from Callum yet, so I don’t know if I should dish up then or wait.”

Kicking my shoes off, I stared pointedly at Callum, who was trying his best to ignore the way my head was bobbing in Erin’s direction.

“Yeah, yeah,” he murmured at me, rolled his eyes and maneuvered his way around me by placing his hands on my hips and shifting me gently out of the way so he could get past. After brushing up against my ass, he leaned in and pressed his lips gently against mine in a chaste kiss, before pulling back just enough to whisper, “Wish me luck.”

I snickered at the level of impending doom that had entered his voice. “Good luck.”

He kissed me one last time, before he reluctantly let go and headed towards the open-plan kitchen and dining area that we could hear Erin pottering around in, grumbling the entire way. Once he got to the cased opening, he leaned to the side, his elbow resting on the frame above him so he could run his hand nervously through his hair. “Hi Mam.”

“Callum?!” I heard a clatter of dishes as no doubt Erin dropped whatever she was holding at the sound of her son’s voice. “Oh my God! Callum!! Barry! Look who’s here!”

Smiling to myself, I couldn’t fault her for her surprise and excitement. Callum hadn’t been home sincethat night, so to say Erin was enthusiastic about Callum visiting was like saying water was wet.

Still sorting out my tangled shoelaces, I heard anoomphand looked up to see Callum had stepped back from the doorway and was now hugging the stuffing out of his mother who was making all the sounds you’d expect to hear from a mother who hadn’t seen her son in months. Crying, laughing, some more crying; it was all there. By the time I’d finished figuring my laces out and was easing my way around them to enter the kitchen and dining room properly, Erin had her hands on Callum’s cheeks and was staring at him with pure love in her eyes.

“Why didn’t you let us know to come and pick you up from the airport?” Erin scolded gently. “Barry’s been waiting for your call.”

Callum gripped her wrists, holding her steady. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, color me surprised.” Erin’s wide grin stalled for a moment before I watched her eyes glaze over.

“Mam, don’t,” Callum said wearily, his hands tugging at her wrists in an attempt to remove the skin contact, but she held on. Grimacing, Callum steadied himself and forced his mom back. “Mam. Enough. If you want to know something, just ask.”

“You’re hiding something,” Erin responded suspiciously. “Your defenses are stronger than I’ve ever seen them, but they shouldn’t be if you weren’t trying to hide something from me. What’s going on?”

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