Page 11 of Always Meant for You
Cal’s hurting. I can see it. But so am I. And I’m not about to let him use his grief as a license to belittle my dreams.
I walk toward him. He stands firm, his face unreadable.
“If you think this is your big moment to step into Jamie’s shoes and start bossing me around, don’t waste your breath, farm boy.” I keep my tone steady, even as everything inside me vibrates.
A flush creeps up his neck.
A reaction?
Interesting.
He takes a step closer. “I have no desire to be your brother, Mabel.”
His breath brushes my lips.
This is the closest we’ve been in years.
I hold my ground.
He’s taller by at least a good six inches, but I meet his gaze head-on. His eyes are steel blue-gray like the sky before a thunderclap.
And this is a storm I’ve seen coming for years.
“You could never take Jamie’s place. And you’ll never understand what it means to want something different than what this town can offer. So why do you even care what I do with my life? You’ve ignored me every day since I was thirteen years old.”
There. I said it.
It’s been eight years of silence.
Eight years of dancing around being invisible to him.
The words hang between us, raw and electric.
Heat surges through me, fueled by the fury of being overlooked, the ache of wanting more from this man, the unbearable thrill of speaking the truth.
And Cal?
His eyes don’t soften. No, they blaze, locked on mine, daring me to flinch, to yield, to be the one to break first.
This is the storm, cracking through the silence.
It’s here, blowing in and ready to slice the sky.
And it’s about time.
Let it come.
Let it tear us apart.
Chapter Three
CAL
It takes everything I’ve got to hold it together. Mabel tilts her head, sky-blue eyes sharp, mouth curved in that infuriating half-smile that dares me to lose control.
A brutal thud echoes in my veins. Every muscle locks, tension winding so tight I could snap. Heat lashes down my spine, pooling low, igniting everything it touches. Her presence charges the air until I feel her in every breath, every strained beat of my heart.
I grind my jaw, forcing stillness into my limbs. I cannot let her see what she does to me. But every second she stands there, steady and unflinching, the ground shifts under my feet. Fighting with her has been the only way to keep distance between us. Now Jamie’s gone. And there’s nothing left but fire.
