“It’s good to be back,” he said, and meant it. His mother had died not long after he graduated from college and his father, who liked to visit cousins in Arizona, used to drive there and on to California once a year in his motor home until his death five years ago. As a result, Callum had become almost a stranger around here.
Evelyn returned with three scrumptious sundaes. The kids dug in. He ate at a more leisurely pace while he and Ella Mae brought each other up to date on their lives. She nodded appreciatively when he admitted he was the boys’ father.
“I always wondered about that,” she said. “The older those boys get, the more they look like you. I figured maybe something had gone on between you and Jody, but she didn’t like to let on and I’m not one to pry.”
“How come other people didn’t notice?” Callum asked. “Or did they?”
The café owner gave him a knowing smile. “People see what they want to see. Besides, Jody had another boyfriend before the kids were born. He moved away when he realized she could never really love him, or so I heard. I never did believe she had a fling with that rodeo rider, though, no matter what people said.”
“What rodeo rider?” He glanced at the boys, but they were absorbed in making mush out of their ice cream.
“Nobody to be concerned about,” Ella Mae said. “Now, I wanted to talk to you about Abner.”
“The cat?” Callum remembered about the contest. “Oh, right. You want to take him to Paris.”
She folded her arms on the table. “I entered the contest after I saw a picture on the Internet of some cats traveling with their owners. They looked real cute, but the more I think about it, the more I worry that Abner might get lost. I appreciate your making me a finalist, Callum, but I won’t feel bad if I lose.”
He thanked his lucky stars that she’d smoothed over the situation. “I’m sure our readers found the idea amusing.”
“Ever think about moving back here?” Ella Mae asked abruptly. “We’ve got a lot of nice things happening in central Texas. Maybe you could run your business from here.”
“I’d love to spend more time with my boys, but I don’t know if that’s feasible.” Callum had a packed schedule: supervising weekly story meetings, mediating staff disputes, handling sudden emergencies. Sometimes his ability to crank out a last-minute cover story or charm a celebrity averted disaster. Family Voyager needed him at the helm, in person.
“Well, you’d better do something before we end up with our own soap opera.” Ella Mae indicated the waitress, who was disappearing into the kitchen. “Evelyn’s got it bad for Bo Landers, and he’s got it bad for Jody. Or hadn’t you noticed?”
“I noticed,” Callum said between bites of ice cream. “The part about Bo and Jody, in any event.”
“She doesn’t look sick,” Jerry said.
“Excuse me?” Ella Mae leaned over and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Nobody’s sick, sweetheart.”
“You said Evelyn’s got it bad.”
She uttered a bark of laughter. “When somebody has it bad, that means they’re in love. My point is, this whole tangle needs to get resolved and your father is the only person who can do it.”
“Any suggestions?” Callum asked.
“Follow your heart,” said the café owner.
He wasn’t accustomed to following, he was accustomed to leading. Maybe that was part of the problem, he conceded. Maybe he talked too much and listened too little.
That was going to change. Callum intended to listen to Jody, even if it meant facing the possibility that a marriage of convenience was the right way to go.
CHAPTER FIVE
IF JODY had figured she could spread the word quietly that Callum was the boys’ father, her hopes of discretion received a knockout punch on Sunday morning. As the four of them arrived for church, Ben greeted everyone he knew by announcing, “This is my daddy!”
“Mine, too,” Jeremy said, a bit defensively.
Although a few people had already heard the news from Ella Mae and Bo, most were startled. Jody caught a disapproving frown from Melody Lee, a former PTA president who’d tried to get Jody fired from her teaching job when she became pregnant. Others shook Callum’s hand, glad to see him again and willing to suspend judgment.
“The Prodigal Son has returned,” he told the preacher ruefully.
“To stay, I hope,” came the response.
“We’re working on that,” Callum said.
He’d certainly been working at being a father. Last night, he’d introduced the boys to the game of dominoes. Although they couldn’t add their scores, they’d relished the challenge of counting and matching the dots on the tiles.
Jody’s throat tightened as she recalled childhood evenings at the kitchen table playing with this same worn set in the company of her parents and friends. That was the way family life ought to be. If only she could have that kind of closeness with Callum for more than just a few days.
During the game, her gaze had fallen on his hands. Although they lacked the ranching scars her father had sported, they moved with strength and deftness. Between rounds, he’d built an elaborate domino structure and encouraged the boys to blow on the end tile until the array flattened itself amid an exhilarating series of clacks.
Later, Callum had directed the twins to sit beside their mother on the piano bench and sing while he stood behind them, providing bass. They’d harmonized until a muffed version of “Row Your Boat” dissolved into laughter.
If only Callum would stay. If only he belonged to her.
Jody was intensely aware of him sitting beside her through the service. The broad shoulders, the high planes of his face, the full, good-humored mouth all marked him as someone special.
For the rest of the service, she struggled to pay attention to the preacher. It was a good thing there wasn’t a pop quiz at the end.
In the social hall afterwards, as people gathered to talk before going their ways, the twins ran to play with friends. Old acquaintances surrounded Callum. Jody, hanging back in the crush, saw Bo approaching.
He seemed oblivious to the attention of the dark-haired waitress from the café, which had been riveted on him from the moment he arrived. Callum had mentioned yesterday, among various tidbits he brought back from town, that she had a crush on the guy.
“Have you two resolved anything?” Bo said quietly.
“Not yet,” Jody admitted.
Spotting Bo, Callum disengaged from his group and came over. “The boys asked if it was okay to go home with the Wiltons and their son for the afternoon. I didn’t think you’d mind. We’re supposed to pick them up after dinner.”
“It’s fine.” Already, Ben and Jerry were turning to their father as an authority figure, Jody mused.
“How long are you planning on staying?” Bo asked him. In case the question sounded rude, he added, “My interview comes out next Friday. I was hoping you’d get a chance to read it.”
“I’m not sure how long the office can spare me,” Callum admitted. “If I’m not here, maybe Jody will be kind enough to send me a copy.”
“Of course,” she said.
To her, Bo didn’t look satisfied by the indefinite answer. Neither, for that matter, was she.
On the road home, Callum took the wheel of the pickup. Jody settled back, content to let him drive. The truck had been her father’s and had never suited her.
“Tell me something,” he said. “Are you happy here?”
“In Everett Landing? Sure,” she said.
“Always have been?”
“Yes.”
“Always will be?”
“Probably.” As long as she had something special and wonderful to hold on to, Jody added silently. Like two adorable little boys. And a trip to Paris that she’d never forget.