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He grabs my plate too and I follow him to the living room. We’ve been watchingYellowstonetogether whenever we can, which usually means we eat dinner in front of the TV since both of us are so busy.
I plop onto the couch beside him as he crosses his legs and rests his feet on the coffee table.
Callum makes a face at his pizza, then picks off the broccoli. “Maybe I’ll just start eating a salad on the side,” he mumbles.
I laugh and scoop his broccoli onto my plate. “You’re weird. This is delicious.”
″It isn’t.”
I curl into his side as he turns on our show and we settle into a comfortable silence. I reach for the remote, but he grabs my wrist to stop me.
″Before we watch our show, I have something to show you,” Cal says. He grabs his laptop from the coffee table and turns it so I can’t see what he is doing.
After a few moments of fiddling, he turns the screen toward me. “We won’t be going to Seattle until the decorating process is complete, but Saoirse sent over the floorplans today. This is the homeless shelter.”
I grab the laptop, zooming in on touchscreen to see the 3D model of the building. I may still be mad at Saoirse for going along with Cal’s plan and strong-arming me into the plane, but her work is beautiful.
She’s designed a large eating hall with elegant wooden tables and functioning ceiling lighting. There’s built-in cabinets and buffet tables for serving large amounts of people.
I flicker through more rooms to find a concept for a library, a few classrooms, and playrooms. The second and third levels are filled with bedrooms that are more like a hotel room than the typical open space of most homeless shelters.
I refrain from shedding tears as I flicker through the pictures and reach the end. The outside of the building has my sister’s name in beautiful, grey, block letters. “Saoirse did this all?”
″She did. She stayed in Seattle to oversee the groundbreaking. She’ll be home tomorrow. I know you’re still upset with her and not returning her calls, but I want you included in this project.”
″I didn’t realize how truly it is a family event. I didn’t know she was involved.”
He nods, squeezing my shoulder as he finishes his pizza. “Everything we do together is like this, love.”
″You guys have never fought before?”
″Not for long. We always work it out. And Saoirse was just doing what I asked of her. I’m her big brotherandher boss.”
″She lied to me, Cal. Even if you asked her to. I know her loyalty is to you, but it just stings. I thought she wanted to be my friend. Now I just feel used. Like she’s only kind to me to make you happy.”
″Saoirse is difficult to understand. She shields herself, but she let you in. She didn’t want to go along with it at first, Doc. But, eventually she realized that I was only trying to do for you what I had done for her.”
″What do you mean?”
″I mean I dealt with her own monster. It gave her closure and she wanted the same for you. She knew you wouldn’t get on that plane willingly. We all knew it, Haley.”
Hearing that Saoirse had a similar situation doesn’t help me to forgive her, but I understand more now. I’d been most upset with her and Scotty because they’d broken my trust in them. The betrayal reminded me that their only loyalty is to Callum and that was a hard pill to swallow.
I could learn to come to terms with that, though. Especially knowing now that Cal only has my best interests in mind.
Settling back into his side, I sigh. “I suppose I should chat with her.”
He smiles, turning on the TV. “That’s a girl,” he murmurs.
Haley: A birdie told me you’re back in town. Care to meet for lunch and then take me shopping for this charity?
Saoirse: What charity? Why wasn’t I invited to the charity?
Haley: *eye-roll emoji* It’s for the event in Seattle. Callum’s put me in charge of planning it.
Saoirse: Why didn’t he tell me?
Haley: Invitation is at your house. Check your mailbox. We need to sit down and talk about your budget so I can set my money raising goals.
