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“He texted us all this morning,” Lori said.
Steph frowned, her mind trying to fit together the puzzle pieces. “How did he know your numbers?”
“He got mine when Julie was at the hospital, and it went from there.” Brandy folded her arms, her smile growing. “He told us you might push back and try to cancel everything. So we’re telling you that it’s too late for that.”
Steph didn’t know if she was angry, annoyed, or impressed. “I need to talk to him.” She strode away, making a beeline for Cal.
He looked up as she approached, and the smile dropped from his face. He quickly stood and stepped out of the group he was in. “Steph, you okay?” he asked in a quiet voice.
“We need to talk,” she whispered.
His brows rose, but he didn’t say anything more. He merely followed her around the side of the cabin, where no one could hear them.
Steph turned to face him, noting the concerned lines on his face. “My friends told me you recruited them to help with Pops. Cal, they can’t take time off from their jobs. Pops is my responsibility, not theirs.”
He didn’t answer, just waited, because apparently he knew her well enough to know she wasn’t finished talking.
“I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to live with him,” she continued. “My parents warned me, and I also talked to my boss Carol. I can’t put my friends out, I can’t.” Steph’s voice cut off, and she swallowed against the lump in her throat. Blinking rapidly against the burning in her eyes, she refused to cry.
Cal slipped his hands into his pockets. “Your friends want to help you, Steph. I didn’t go begging. Brandy and Lori—and even Julie—repeatedly told me they want to help you, but that you never let them.”
Steph rubbed the back of her neck because somehow she was aching there. “Everyone has their own lives, their own problems—I don’t need to be a burden.”
Cal reached for her hand. “You’re far from a burden, Steph. Why is it okay that you help out your friends, but they can’t help you? Isn’t that what friendship is all about? Having each other’s backs?”
Steph couldn’t look at his imploring eyes, so she looked down at his hand holding hers.
“I don’t know what in your life has made you feel like a burden, Bee,” Cal said quietly. “Maybe it’s the string of idiot men you’ve dated. Maybe it’s the complication of Pops being a step-grandparent who your parents have left behind, and you feel like you have to make up for their behavior. Maybe it’s other hurts that you’ve internalized … I really don’t know. But I at least know one thing.”
She was definitely crying now. She used her other hand to wipe away the renegade tears. “What?” she whispered.
“You deserve happiness, too,” Cal said, his thumb moving over her knuckles. “You deserve as much love and fulfillment as everyone around you. I know you want the best for your friends, and it’s natural they want the best for you, too. You need to stop pushing others away. Believe me, I know what it’s like to go solo and how it fosters regret and loneliness. For all my father’s faults, I waited much too long to reconcile.”
Steph drew in a shaky breath and raised her gaze. Seeing moisture in Cal’s eyes wasn’t helping her keep her emotions under control. “I’m sorry about your father.”
“I am, too,” he said in a gentle tone. “But I can’t go back in time and change things. You have the chance to change things now with your friends. Don’t push them away. Let them help. Pops will enjoy it.”
The tightness in her chest eased. “You’re right, Pops will love all the attention, even if he acts grumpy about it.”
Cal’s smile appeared. “You know him so well.”
A small laugh burst out of Steph. She stepped into Cal’s arms, not sure if she was laughing or crying now. Even though she was grateful for her friends, it was still going to be hard to let them help. But if she could think of it as something Pops would love, that would make it easier.
Cal pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. She ignored the burst of butterflies in her stomach as she caught his scent. “My soap smells good on you.”
He chuckled. “I like your soap.”
It was a simple statement, in response to her own, yet it sent the butterflies tumbling again.
She drew away, because they’d been missing for way too long—and there was already enough speculation about her relationship with Cal.
“Thanks for being a friend.”
He only smiled and squeezed her hand before releasing it. Something in her chest wanted him to keep ahold of her hand and never let go.
CAL KNEW HE WAS IN love with Stephenie Grady, but as of now, she was the last person he’d tell. Which was ironic, since he had no one else to tell, so that meant no one would know. He hoped that might change someday, but she was keeping him quite firmly in the friend zone.
He didn’t mind because he wanted to be around her—whatever form that took.
