Page 75 of Stay for Me

Chapter Fourteen

Diana

Two weeks later. The last day of August.

Ishouldn’tbehere.

I shouldn’t be here.

I shouldn’t be here.

And yet?

I heard gravel crunching behind me and whirled to find Caleb walking up, dressed in running shorts and a faded tee. He was covered in sweat, most likely having finished with a run. I’d known him since he was just a baby, I remembered the way he felt on my hip, the way he giggled when I played peek-a-boo with him, and his sweet baby scent. The only certainty in my life was this: time was the thief, and the world wasn’t going to wait for you to start living your life.

Which was why I was here, standing on Denver and Val’s porch for the first time in weeks. I’d had this day marked in my planner for the last three months, highlighted in green with a mountain sticker in the corner.

Today was my break—my last taste of freedom.

On Monday, I would be heading into the city to teach my first class of the fall semester. My teaching schedule was hectic this semester and with my firm on top of it, I knew that for the next four months, I wouldn’t have any free time. This was my last weekend to do something for me, and according to Emma, I hadn’t done that since February.

Caleb looked up at me with his striking gray eyes and smirked, reminding me of his uncle. “Sup, Di? Long time, no see.”

Guilt lodged itself in my throat then, making it difficult to reply. So, I gave him a smile, and Caleb, being almost a teenager, thought that was good enough. “Just teasin’,” he muttered, walking up the steps, birds chirping in the tree by Denver’s truck. “I know you’re busy as hell.”

My reply was instant, guilt be damned. “Don’t say ‘hell’,” I ordered.

He stopped on the top step and stared. “It’s a place, not a cuss word.”

Those damn cowboys were rubbing off on him. “It’s a cuss word to me, and you’re a child.”

Caleb was taller than me now, giving him the confidence he needed to argue. “I don’t look like a child,” he deadpanned, gesturing to his sweat-soaked shirt.

My heart squeezed as visions of him running through the house with a superman cape flying behind him as his laughter bounced off the walls was all I could see. No matter how big or tall this boy got, he’d always be Denver’s dark haired, chubby-cheeked, little boy to me. He would be married with four children, and he’d still be that precious baby boy to me.

“Until you turn eighteen, you’re a child, and you cuss in front of me again….” I trailed off, trying to think of something that would scare him. “I’ll pinch your ear,” I threatened.

One of his dark brows rose, making him look more like his dad than his uncle now. “You’ll pinchmy ear?”he parroted, confused. “Is that all you got? Usually, the guys threaten to whoop my ass.”

“Don’t say ‘ass!’”

“It’s a part of the body, Di,” he grumbled.

“No. You say butt or—or tooshie,” I blurted.

Now, he looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Did you just say ‘tooshie?’”

Yeah, I clearly wasn’t getting any cool aunt points today.

“You’re a nut, you know that?” he asked, pulling me from my thoughts. “Which is surprising because everyone else finds you intimidating.”

“I am intimidating,” I shot back.

Once again, he looked seconds away from laughing.

I pointed my finger up at him. “Don’t test me, Caleb Langston.”

He looked me up and down, clearly unimpressed. “Yeah, I’m not scare of you, Di.”

---