Page 115 of Legacy

“I don’t know if I really want to just leave so that she’s sleeping in Callum’s bed,” Rune mumbled.

“I don’t want to think about that,” Dad said with a sigh.

But Rune’s lips twitched anyway, and then my family was gone, taking Bodhi with them, and I stood there in front of Callum, just wanting to be in his arms.

“I’m really okay.”

“It’s going to take me a little while to get there. And Felicity? Somebody helped him. Somebody knew exactly what to do to fuck with my brewery. So you’re going to have to bear with me for a little while until we find out what happened.”

I nodded and wrapped my arms around his waist. It took a moment, and then he was holding me, and I could finally let myself relax in his embrace.

“Let’s go to sleep, little flower. Because I’m never letting you go.”

I kissed his chest and finally let myself just breathe.

If only for the moment.

* * *

“I wish you would just stay home. Maybe behind four alarms, where your family can watch you?” Callum posed it as a question, and I just shook my head.

“Really? You truly believe that I would be at home right now when you’re having a huge bottle day event?”

Callum sighed and then kissed the top of my head. I ignored the odd looks from people who were either just now realizing Callum and I were seeing each other or still confused as to why we were.

“Hey, Callum, can you come over here for a minute? I need to ask you a few questions thanks to the damn pump.”

Callum pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just stay in sight of Rune and the others for the rest of the day. Okay? I know I sound like an asshole. But, well, your lip is still swollen, and I know it hurts whenever you kiss me. Okay?”

I smiled at him, trying to look reassuring, but instead, I just winced. His eyes narrowed, and I went on with a sigh. “I’ll be good. I’ll either be in your office or surrounded by people that we know and love the entire time. I promise. I’m not going to let any one of us get hurt, okay?

“Okay.”

He kissed the other side of my mouth where the cut didn’t hurt, and we both ignored the wolf-whistling before he went off to help one of his staff, and I went to Bodhi’s side. The fact that Bodhi was here at all surprised me.

Another true crime documentary podcast had come out, and Bodhi’s name had been thrown into the muck again. Now, people were remembering what they had thought about him all those years ago, and even strangers would come to town, knowing his name.

But it was Bodhi, and I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt him either.

“Okay, where do you need me?” I asked.

Bodhi raised a brow. “Preferably behind some caged wall, so Callum stops freaking the fuck out.”

I rolled my eyes. “Did you guys plan on saying nearly the same thing?”

“Maybe. He’s just worried about you.” Bodhi let out a breath. “Watching someone you love get hurt? Knowing you can’t do anything about it and⁠—”

He cut himself off, and I reached out without thinking and gripped his arm. The burn scars underneath my palm startled me for a moment, but I didn’t let go. Instead, I just squeezed him reassuringly and looked up at the line forming.

“Let’s get these beers out. People are going to love the red ale.”

“Because it’s yours,” he mumbled. And I was grateful he seemed okay with my touch, even if for just that instant.

We sold out of the seasonal packs within an hour, apparently hitting a new record for Ashford Brews. I couldn’t help but grin at how wonderful the company was doing. Callum was making a name for himself, and it had nothing to do with him being an NFL player. I was so damn proud of him.

By the time we went to work on the rest of the inventory, my feet hurt, and I was grinning so widely that the cut in my lip ached, not that I would tell anybody that. I just relished the fact that Callum was great at what he did.

Everybody seemed happy. Even if they didn’t get exactly what they wanted, nobody left empty-handed. That just told me how organized the whole staff had been. Even with the unexpected issues, thanks to the break-in, they had fixed everything up, and it was as if nothing had happened.