Page 140 of If You Love Me

“Connor wanted to be here today, but he had to take his grandma to an appointment,” Tristan explains as he passes Callie a very large, very flat gift wrapped in unicorn-printed paper. “He said he’d come to your game tomorrow, though.”

“He loves his grandma.” Callie opens the card first, grinning and blushing as she reads it, then sets it aside. Dred holds the gift steady while she carefully peels the tape free and reveals the contents. Callie bursts into a fit of giggles.

“Seriously, man?” Flip mutters.

“That’s awesome.” Nate snorts a laugh and Flip side eyes him.

“Oh, that is magical,” Rix snickers.

“So magical,” Dred agrees.

“We all need your talent in our lives.” Essie points at Peggy with her lip gloss wand.

“Thank you,” Peggy says, smiling widely.

“You helped with this?” Flip looks put out.

“It’s sweet,” Tally says defensively. She turns her unimpressed gaze on Flip. “You don’t have to like him to acknowledge that.”

He holds up his hands. “You’re right, Talls. I’m just jealous I didn’t think of it myself.”

“Oh, I can make this happen for you, too.” Peggy grins.

Mounted on a board the size of a movie poster is a picture of Connor, dressed in full hockey gear, wielding his stick like a sword, riding a unicorn up a rainbow. It’s been signed by Connor as Callie’s number one fan.

“Can I ride a dragon instead?” Flip asks.

“You can ride anything you want,” Tally pipes up. Her eyes go wide, and she sinks into her chair.

“She means I can photoshop you riding any animal, mythical or otherwise,” Peggy clarifies. “I can even make you ride a dinosaur, if you want.”

“I want in on this,” Dallas says.

“Of course you do, honey.” Hemi smirks.

“Should I jump in on this, Callie-wallie?” I ask.

She shrugs. “If you want. But I don’t need a picture of you on my walls because now I get to live with you and see you all the time when you’re not traveling, and you’re going to be my dad, which is the best present of them all.”

“He’s married to our sister, Callie. He’s not our dad. Our dad is gone!” Fee snaps.

The room is silent for a moment. Her face turns red, and she pushes her chair away from the table, rushing down the hall to her bedroom.

Callie bursts into tears.

Lexi stands, rounds the table, and hugs her sister. “She’s not upset with you. She’s just overwhelmed, Callie. It’s a lot of change.”

“I could see if Fee’s okay?” Tally offers.

“She probably needs a minute to herself, but you could text her later,” Lexi replies, still hugging a tearful Callie.

Tally nods, and everyone rises to help clear the table. Once everything is put away they excuse themselves shortly thereafter, despite there still being cake and more housewarming gifts to open.

“I’ll be right next door if she needs someone to talk to later,” Peggy offers as she and Hollis follow the rest of the crew to the door. “I know it’s not the same, but I understand that the change is hard.”

“I’ll let you know how things go,” I assure her.

By the time everyone leaves, Lexi has calmed Callie down, helped her bring all her new gifts to her room, and goes to checkon Fee. I meet her in the hall, looking frantic. “I can’t find Fee. She’s not in her room, and she’s not answering when I text.”

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