Page 44 of Matthew
The clouds had been thickening all morning, stretching low and heavy across the sky like a warning someone forgot to deliver. Callie wiped her hands on a rag and stepped into the small office tucked behind the supply shed only to find Maggie already there, sorting through the latest invoice sheets.
Her sister looked up with a grin that said,I know something you don’t want me to know.
“You’re early,” Callie said, tossing the rag into the bin and nudging the door closed behind her.
Maggie held up a clipboard. “Wanted to double-check the delivery manifest before the truck gets here. You were distracted yesterday, and I didn’t trust your math.”
Callie rolled her eyes and plopped down in the chair opposite her. “You mean the math I learned before you were out of diapers?”
“Hey, I’m just saying that love makes people miscount. Especially when that love comes with biceps and a sexy grin.”
Callie stared. “Seriously?”
Maggie tapped the pencil against her bottom lip, trying and failing to look innocent. “You two have been doing the bee ballet around each other for days.”
“He’s helping out,” Callie muttered, focusing on the invoices.
“Uh-huh. Helping out with his mouth, his hands, or his smolder?”
“Maggie.”
How in the world had she known about the kiss?
Her sister grinned, then leaned back. “Relax. I like him. He watches you as if planning backup in case a thunderstorm tries to flirt with you. That’s rare.”
Callie’s chest tightened before she could stop it. Because she knew. Matthew wasn’t passing through. He’d started to matter. And it scared the hell out of her.
“I’m not sure what this is,” she said finally.
Maggie’s smile softened. “You don’t have to know. Just don’t shut the door before it gets the chance to open all the way.”
Callie didn’t answer. Outside, the wind stirred the trees in that shifty way it did before a big front rolled in. The air had that coppery tang—summer storm on the way.
“I’m heading out early.” Maggie stood and stretched. “Don’t want to be driving in that mess when it hits.”
She followed her to the door. “Thanks for getting a head start on the paperwork.”
Maggie paused, turned. “One more thing.”
Maybe stop pretending there’s no storm simply because the sky’s still quiet.”
She was gone before Callie could unpack that.
***
The delivery truck rumbled down the long gravel drive at four, right on schedule. Unlike tomorrow’s delivery, she’d confirmed this one.
Callie stepped out from the greenhouse, shielding her eyes with one hand as the wind kicked up around her. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, the sky overhead turning that eerie greenish hue she knew all too well. The storm wasn’t just coming, it was waiting for its cue.
Matthew appeared from the equipment shed, clipboard in hand as if he’d been born for logistics. Sammy trailed behindhim, tail wagging even as his posture stayed alert, clearly sensing the shift in the air.
“You sure you want to unload this now?” Matthew called over the rumble as the delivery truck backed into place.
“Better than letting the soil turn into soup,” Callie shot back, tugging on her gloves as the first hint of thunder growled somewhere in the distance.
The driver hopped down with an easy wave. “Hey, Callie.”
“Mason.” She smiled as she walked over to greet her friend. The sixty-year-old had been making the same delivery for nearly twenty years now. “Right on time. Ellis still keeping you on a tight schedule?” she asked.
