Page 42 of Finding You
We ran through town up Water Street to the boatyards and commercial docks. We set an easy pace, and the town was so peaceful this early in the morning that it seemed like a good time to figure out what was going on with Callum. After a few miles we looped back around the hill toward downtown. I was already dreaming about a breakfast sandwich from the diner. Maybe two, given how brutal this run had been.
“So what’s going on with you? You’re dating Astrid?” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Yup.” The less I said the better. My brother knew me better than anyone on earth and just happened to be super brilliant. The odds were good he could sniff this one out if I slipped up.
“Care to elaborate?”
“Nope.”
“It’s just a surprise. You aren’t the relationship type. At least you haven’t been in a while.”
“I know that. But I like her. I’m a thirty-five-year-old man. I am smart enough to know what to do when I like a woman.”
“I know you are.”
“Good.”
“How about we go up by the hospital and then back downtown? It’s only another mile or so. I’ll buy you coffee?”
“Sure. But you are buying me eggs too.”
“Deal.”
* * *
It wasn’t so bad. The town was so quiet and peaceful at this hour. We had looped up past the hospital all the way toward the highway and turned around. We ran by the old Thompson Farm and through the more rural side of town and then back downtown, where things were starting to wake up. Running was a lot more fun with someone else. Callum looked tired and in a better mood, so I knew it was time to strike.
“So,” I asked, “are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
He feigned surprise. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t bullshit me, Cal. I know something is up with you and you are not alright. You are running yourself into the ground, literally, and haven’t been yourself for weeks.” I raised my eyebrows at him and sat silently waiting for him to answer.
He stared at me blankly, stretching his quad while holding on to the park bench. An outdoor yoga class was getting started on the pier, and there was a lot of chatter.
I took a step closer. “You are my brother and my best friend. We have always shared everything with each other. Also you have stubble. You hate my beard and constantly give me shit about it. If you are not shaving then something is up. You know I am a vault, man. I just want to help. ”
Callum looked at me and let out a sigh. “Fine. Let me finish stretching.”
After cooling down we sat on the bench in silence, looking out at the harbor. People were taking their small craft out, enjoying the warmer winter weather and the bright sunlight. I longed to be on the water. I spent most of my time in the office these days, and it was starting to get to me.
I gave him time. I didn’t want to rush him. And so we sat. Silence didn’t bother me. In fact, I reveled in it. It was nice hanging out with my big brother like this.
“Becca is engaged,” he blurted out, disrupting our meditative silence. Oh shit. Becca was Callum’s ex-wife. She was the love of his life who blindsided him by walking out one day and never coming back.
“What? Engaged?”
“Yup.” His gaze was steely and focused on the horizon. “That’s not even the worst part.”
“And…” How much worse could this get?
“She is engaged to Patrick Richmond.”
“You have got to be shitting me.” Patrick was Callum’s former best friend.
I put my arm around his shoulders. “I am so sorry, bro. That sucks. Those assholes deserve each other,” I growled. I didn’t get worked up about much, but someone hurting my family made me see red. I wanted to jump in the car and fucking rearrange that smug prick’s face.
“Thanks, Dec.” He turned to face me, and I saw how exhausted he looked. “It’s been almost three years since the divorce and it still hurts.” I didn’t know the full details of Callum and Becca’s divorce. As his brother, my job at the time was to get him drunk and make sure he showed up on time to his court dates. We were not in the habit of talking about feelings, so this conversation was already feeling strange.
