Page 31 of All in December
“Coming,” I call back.
I’ll always be a dad first, but for the first time in a long time… I’ve got something good waiting for me too.
CHAPTER 15
Caleb
“Hey, bud,” I say, looking in the rearview mirror at Sam. “Remember Benji’s sister Emma will be there this weekend too. So let’s make sure everyone’s included, okay?”
He groans. “But, Dad, she’s little. She probably won’t want to race.” He pouts.
“She’s six, which is only a couple of years younger than you. Not that little, according to you when you were that age,” I remind him, parking the car in the lot Nash and I agreed to meet in. “And I’m guessing she can keep up if she’s anything like her brother.”
“Fine,” Sam says, already unbuckling his seatbelt and reaching for the door handle before I’ve even turned the engine off.
A couple minutes later, Nash’s SUV pulls in a few spots down from where we parked, and the second I see him, my nerves pick up. If this were anyone else catching feelings this fast, I’d probably roll my eyes and say there’s no way you can fall for someone that hard that fast. But here I am, fullyinvested after one weekend in the mountains, a mutual phone jerk off conversation, and a lunch date.
The second the car’s parked, Benji hops out of the car, and Nash opens the door behind him to get Emma. She’s a little smaller, bundled like a marshmallow in a purple coat with braids poking out from under her hat. She waves at us, and I melt a little on sight at how cute she is.
“Sam!” Benji yells, running over to us.
“Hi, Sam!” she echoes from next to her dad.
Sam glances at me, then waves back. “Hi.”
Nash and Emma walk over to us. “Don’t worry, little man. She’s tiny but fierce,” he says to Sam who smiles at him.
When Nash reaches me, he pulls me into a hug. His arms wrap around me tightly, and I sink into him as my cheek brushes his maroon jacket.
“I wish I could kiss you right now,” he murmurs into my ear, and same.
I pull back slightly to look at him, and his bright blue eyes meet mine. I swallow, suddenly aware of how close our faces still are. “Me too,” I say quietly. “Later.”
He nods, squeezing my arm once before letting go. “I promise.”
Even though we’re spending the weekend together with our kids, I don’t want to kiss Nash in front of Sam. Especially without talking to him about it first. Once we know more about what this is, then I’ll have that conversation with him. But for right now, all he needs to know is that we’re here to spend another weekend with our new friends.
Sam’s mom walked out when he was three, and even now, years later, there are days when he asks why she didn’t want to stay. I’ve spent every day since trying to make him feel safeand secure again. The last thing he needs is to get attached to someone who might not stick.
Even if I desperately want Nash to stick.
Even if I have a gut feeling Nash will stick.
That’s why it makes sense for us to do something “for the kids” because as much as I want to chase this feeling, I won’t let it cost Sam his sense of safety. Not unless I know—for sure—that it’s going to last.
We focus on getting the kids dressed and ready, then ourselves, and once everyone is bundled with their boots on and skis and poles in hand, we head toward the lifts. Emma sticks close to Benji and Sam, who are already planning what they want to do today, and it seems like the three of them will get along just fine.
The five of us head to the six-person chairlift, and it scoops us up. The snow from last weekend isn’t coating the trees anymore. It’s a blue sky, sunny day, and the snowcapped mountains that surround us are stunning as usual.
At the summit, the kids take off first—Benji leading, Sam right behind him, and Emma following like a tiny purple rocket. Nash and I trail, just like last weekend, and as I suspected, Emma is able to keep up with the boys.
“Wow, she’s amazing,” I call out to Nash.
He grins, watching her carve her way down with the boys. “She’s a show-off,” he says with pride. “But yeah, she’s pretty great. She can definitely hold her own when we’re out here with Benji.”
“I’m impressed, honestly.” Because for six, she’s really confident.
“She started when she was three. We were a bit nervous to start her that young, but since Benji was skiing, she wanted to be just like her brother. I spent a lot of time working with herthose first two years. She picked it up pretty quickly. I think having Benji made her want to be better faster because he always complained about not wanting to wait.”
