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She looks almost like a stranger now, staring back at me with the Worthing brown eyes. Probably because Caleb’s presence has thrown me back into the past so fully.
I shake off the feeling, reminding myself of who I am and how far I’ve come in three years.
I’m not going back.
Instead of brooding, I pour two cups of coffee and carry them out through my front door. It’s a chilly morning, and the pavement and trees and grass are all shimmering with a thick coat of frost. Caleb is standing halfway down the front walk, looking at something on the tablet he’s holding. He’s wearing one of his typical outfits—gray trousers and a blue button-up—covered with a black wool coat.
“Hey,” he says without looking up. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Just checking on the security system I installed yesterday. Got to make a few tweaks.”
When he glances back at me, I offer him one of the cups of coffee.
He comes over to take it. “Thanks. Did we wake you up?”
“No. I always wake up around this time. Or sometimes earlier. Is Mick already gone?”
“Yeah. He just took off.” Caleb’s blue eyes scan me from head to toe with almost clinical efficiency. I’m glad I put on the thick bathrobe since it fully covers my body. “It’s too cold out here. Get back inside.”
I frown at his bossiness, but I don’t argue. I used to be sassy with him—always ready with a smart response to anything he said—but I have neither the energy nor the inclination for useless conflict anymore.
When we’ve moved into my living room, I can’t hold back a shiver. Since Mick is gone, I claim his coffee as mine and take a sip.
“So what’s your schedule for the day? You going to your health club?”
“Yeah. I almost always go in the morning. If that’s okay?” I add the last sentence, lifting my voice to make it a question because I’m feeling anxious and self-conscious around him.
“Of course. They cleared me to be there with a weapon, so we’re good to go.”
“Okay. Then I usually leave by nine. I swim for an hour or so and then shower and get dressed there. This afternoon I have an art thing at the community center. It starts at one and will go through four.”
“An art thing?”
“They call them art experiences. I’ll take whatever group signs up to a scenic spot and guide them through painting the landscape. They’re a lot bigger and more frequent in spring and summer and especially fall when the leaves change and we have a lot of tourists. Today I think there are only three or four people signed up. One couple traveling through and a couple of locals who enjoy them.”
“Where are you planning to take them?”
“There’s a spot on a hill with a view of a rocky coastline I really like. I’ll probably take them there. It’s not very far out of town.”
“Can you show me beforehand?”
“Of course. We can stop by on our way back from my club.”
He nods. He’s tapping out something on his tablet, maybe making notes for himself. “Anything else today?”
“I’m having an early dinner with friends at five thirty when they get off work.”
“Here?”
“No. We’ll go to the Mexican restaurant in town probably. That’s usually where we end up. I guess that will be Trey’s shift.”
“I’ll probably do everything today so I can get the lay of the land.”
I nod, staring down at my coffee cup. I’m not too excited about his being attached to my hip all day, but it would be irrational to complain about it since it’s exactly what I agreed to.
It’s not Caleb’s fault he makes me feel so jittery.
