She jolted to a stop, only to whip around and pin me with a defiant glare. “No wait!”
Callan strode past, his arms barely straining under the weight of two oversized suitcases. “You heard her, Mum.” He grinned at me over his shoulder. “No wait!”
“Don’t encourage her,” I grumbled, carefully stepping on each stone to the front door.
By the time I reached the porch, Callan had already stuck the key in the lock, opened the door, and stepped out of Matilda’s way. He rolled the suitcases by the door but didn’t go inside.
“Bron left you plenty of towels and fresh sheets,” he said. “We stocked some essentials in the fridge and pantry. And you’ll need these.” A set of keys dangled from his finger.
“For the cottage?”
“Yup. The smaller one is for the shared laundry just down the hill. You can use the one in the homestead if you prefer, but if I’m not there, I can’t protect you from an inquisition from Mim.” He grinned. “And this one.” He jiggled a fob. “This is the spare for my truck.”
“Oh, Cal, no—”
“You need to get around until you sort out your divorce settlement, right? Take the truck anytime you want.” With a nod and a tight smile, he disappeared from the doorway and down the steps.
“Cal!”
He threw me a questioning look over his shoulder.
I fished my purse out of my bag and hopped down onto the grass. “Here.” I counted out a wad of bills. “For our first week—”
“No.” He nudged the money back at me. “I’m not taking that from you.”
“Technically, it’s from Jeremy. I stole it from our mortgage account.”
And a whole lot more.
My new—and separate—account had enough cash to cover rent, food, and a few treats for the next twelve months. My lawyer was going to have a heart attack when I eventually admitted that I completely ignored her advice and took the money. Did she honestly think I’d stay under the same roof as the man who’d let some other woman “ride his dick” all night while he left our daughter stranded at playgroup? No way. Thepiddly bit of money I’d taken was theleastJeremy owed me until the divorce was finalized.
I expected Callan to laugh, but his smile was almost sad. “You can’t steal what’s rightfully yours, Ez.” He exhaled a slow breath. “Marriage is teamwork. It’s about sharing. Bloody hell, everything about this guy…” He shook his head. “Keep your money.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “For this. For everything. The cottage… Remembering to put in a booster seat for Til…”
An unfamiliar warmth curled around my heart. I wasn’t used to someone else doing the worrying. I touched a hand to his arm and smiled up at him. It was an unspoken thanks for being there for me.
Callan understood. A hint of pink flushed his cheeks. “Anytime. I mean it. Call me for anything. Oh, except if it’s about little soaps and shit.” He grinned. “Best to call Bron for that.”
Matilda was obsessed withthe cottage.
She tore from room to room, touching everything, testing every chair with a quick bounce up and down on her bottom, and opening all the drawers and cupboards to peek inside. She loved the smaller bedroom with pink sheets and fairy curtains.Herbedroom.
But, most of all, she loved the dollhouse set up in the corner.
Of all the little critters in the box, the white rabbit family was her favorite. Matilda plopped in front of the two-story house and lost herself in their tiny world. She rearranged the furniture and cooed to her new friends as I unpacked her clothes into the drawers beside her bed.
“Mummy?”
“Yeah?”
One chubby hand held up a white rabbit in a pink frock, while the other shoved a bicycle at me. “Put on.”
“What do you say?”
Matilda smiled sweetly. “Please.”
I crouched beside her and popped the rabbit onto the bicycle, adjusting its arms near the handlebars. “She’s all set,” I said, handing back her toys. “Does your rabbit have a name?”
