“Callahan.” Leo claps me on the shoulder. “How are you doing?”
“Better.”
He motions for me to have a seat before doing the same. “How was rehab?”
“You want the polite or honest answer?” I chew on the inside of my cheek.
“Shoot it to me straight, son.”
“It was fucking hell. I can’t believe I paid tens of thousands of dollars to go through that kind of pain.”
The wrinkled skin around his eyes tightens. “Sorry to hear that, but I’m also very proud of you, and I’m sure your grandpa would say the same if he were here with us.”
“I’d like to think so, since this was all part of his master plan.”
Leo’s raspy chuckle makes my lips curve upward. “All he wanted was for you to be happy.”
I blink twice. “Really?” With all the shit he put me through with the inheritance and his will, it’s laughable to hear. He knew what kind of position I would be put in with Lana. The least he could have done was give me a second option, especially if he cared about her as much as he made it seem.
Leo makes his chair creak as he leans back. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“After everything he required of me this summer, yes.”
Leo chuckles. “I know his way of going about things seems… unconventional.”
“That’s because it is.” Everything about my grandfather’s will is far from the status quo. Like he couldn’t bear the thought of being considered anything but unique, so he decided to have his legacy live on long after he did. Rowan’s task to work at Dreamland. Declan’s requirement to get married and have a child. Me having to spend the summer at the lake house before selling it despite my grandpa knowing how much Lana loves it.
“Whatever the case, he only wanted the best for you. That much I can guarantee.”
“Even if it means selling the house despite Lana’s and my wishes?”
He leans forward on his elbows. “Do you mind if I offer a piece of advice?”
My muscles turn to stone beneath my shirt. “What?”
He twirls the tip of his mustache. “There are multiple ways to buy a house.”
My eyebrows inch up my forehead. “Who said anything about me buying a house? Selling one is hard enough as it is.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” His lips curve upward for a second before dropping back into their flat line.
I lean forward. “What do you mean by that?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” His fingers interlock. “What other questions do you have for me?”
My brain can’t keep up with the emotional ping-pong match this man is putting me through.
I pull out the chip I earned and show him. “I plan on returning to the AA group tonight.”
“That’s good. I’m sure you’ll get me that green chip in no time.”
“About that…I wanted to ask if I’m able to split my time between this AA group and one being held in Lake Wisteria.”
His head tilts. “I don’t see why not.”
My shoulders drop. “Great.”
The landline on his desk rings.
Leo’s gaze slides from the phone to my face. “Do you have any other questions?”
“Regarding the house—”
“All I can say is to follow your gut.”
“What gut? I’ve just been winging it because I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Every choice you have made up until this point proves otherwise.” He lifts the phone off the receiver. “Now if you don’t mind, this client is being read his last rites…”
Jesus.
“I’ll see myself out.” I take a few steps toward the door.
“And Callahan?”
I glance at Leo from over my shoulder. “Yes?”
“I trust you’ll find a way to sort all this out.” He returns to his call, and I shut the door behind me.
I trust you’ll find a way to sort all this out?
“What a load of shit.”
After going through another dreadful run-in with my father at the AA meeting, all I want to do is call Lana and hear her voice. So, instead of keeping away, I do just that.
“Hey.” I balance my phone between my ear and shoulder as I climb into bed.
Lana releases a heavy breath before speaking. “Cal.”
“How are you doing?”
“Fine.”
I see we are sticking to one-word answers now.
“And how’s Cami?”
“Good.” Her tone is as flat as her response.
My heart pounds harder against my rib cage. “Is everything okay?”
She lets out a loud sigh. “Not really.”
I’ll count her two-worded reply as a win. “What’s wrong?” I sit up in bed.
“Someone put an offer on the house.”
“Oh.” My stomach sinks.
“Yeah. Oh.”
“I’m going to fix this.” I’m not sure how yet, but I will find a way.
“So you say.” Sheets rustle on her side of the call.
“I’m working on it.”
“Iris and I talked.”
I swallow hard. “And?”
“You and I both know there is no other option regarding your grandfather’s will. And as much as I love that house, there is no way I’ll let you screw over everyone to keep it.”
My chest tightens. “Lana—”
“I need to go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day with back-to-school night.”
“You’re starting back up already?”
“Yup. And Cami starts at her new school next Monday.”
“Can I go with you?” The question rushes out of me.
“To take her to school?”
My racing pulse isn’t doing me any favors. “Yeah.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want you hanging around her.”
My chest feels like she cracked it in half with a crowbar. “Okay. I understand.”
“I don’t want to hurt you—”
I stop her. “I know.”
“It’s just that—”
I don’t let her finish. “You don’t trust me.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then I won’t stop until I give you every reason to.” This time, I’m the one to hang up the phone. Prolonging that kind of conversation won’t help either one of us, and I’d much rather spend my time finding ways to prove her wrong.
Instead of going to sleep like I had planned, I pull out my laptop and get to researching different ways to buy a house.
Turns out Leo wasn’t just spouting shit after all.
He was right. There are multiple ways to buy a house—both legal and illegal.
I trust you’ll find a way to sort all this out.
Leo wasn’t trying to fill me with false confidence, but rather offer me a clue. It turns out my grandfather wasn’t the only tricky bastard.
Leo is too.
I last one whole week before giving up on my idea to stay away from Lana. Even if she hates me for it, I can’t go another night without seeing her. Now that I have a solid plan for the house, there isn’t much else keeping me from her.
At least nothing but her.
Before I stop by the guesthouse, I make a quick detour for Wyatt and Delilah’s place.
Delilah throws the door open. “What are you doing here?”
“Is your husband around?” I try to peek over her head, but she snaps her fingers in my face.
“Why?”
“I need to speak to him about something.”
She crosses her arms against her chest. “If the reason you came back here is because you want to stir up trouble—”
“He’s not.” Wyatt pulls Delilah away from the door and tucks her underneath his arm.
His chin tips in my direction. “You’re back.”
“Yup.” I pop the p.
His left brow rises. “Permanently?”
“So long as Lana wants me to be.”
Delilah frowns. “Are you sober?”
I flash my chip in front of her. Wyatt’s eyes narrow at the chip before he looks down at Delilah. “Can you give us a minute?”
She rises on the tips of her toes and gives him a kiss on the cheek. “Fine.”
Wyatt smacks her ass as she walks away, earning himself a half-hearted glare from over her shoulder.
“Want to take a walk?” He motions outside.
“Sure.” I tuck my hands into my pockets and step off the porch.
“How was rehab?”
“About as good as I remember.”
He snorts a laugh. “Liar.”
“It was torture, but I’m glad I did it.”
He claps me on the shoulder. “Hopefully it sticks this time.”
“I was hoping…” My voice drifts off, the courage I had from earlier evaporating.
“I’d be your sponsor?”
“If the offer still stands, that is.”
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “Depends if you tell me why Lana is upset with you for leaving.”
My brows rise. “Did she say something?”
Not that I would blame her if she did.
“No, and Dee has been tight-lipped about it any time I ask.”
Damn. “She has?”
“Yes. And since I didn’t want to put Dee in a position to choose between me or her friends, I didn’t bug her about it.”
I suck in a breath. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated enough to drive you to drink?”
I shake my head. “No. I’m finding other ways to cope.”
“Like?”
“Well, I wasn’t allowed to build a boat in rehab because they were afraid I would get high off the glue or something, so I read. A lot.”
He rears back. “Wait. You can read?”
I give him a shove with my shoulder, which knocks him off-balance. He laughs, which only makes me break out into a chuckle too.
“What book did you like most?”
“Catcher in the Rye.”
His rubs his jaw. “I don’t feel like I appreciated that book as much as I should have when I read it in high school. Maybe I should give it a reread now that I’m an adult with more life experience.”
“Definitely. I think it’s a new favorite of mine.”
“What did you relate to most?”
“It’s hard to pick a particular theme, but maybe that I need to care about myself before prioritizing others.”
He nods. “And how’s that going?”
“Falling in love with yourself is ten times harder than falling in love with someone else, especially when I don’t like myself very much.”
“You’ll get there.”
“Did you used to feel that way?” I ask.
His gaze flickers across my face. “All the time.”
“How did you get past it?”
“By becoming someone I was proud of.”
We continue walking in silence. Delilah and Wyatt don’t live on the lake like we do, but their neighborhood is quaint and quiet, which makes it easy for me to get lost in my thoughts.
I’m not sure how long we walk for, but my calves are burning by the time we arrive back at their house. I’ve never had a sponsor before, so I’m not sure what to expect of the process, but a quiet walk wasn’t the first idea I had in mind.
Yet I feel more at peace than ever.
“See you tomorrow at AA?” Wyatt tucks his hands into his athletic shorts.
“Absolutely.”
