Page 5 of We Thought We Knew It All
Then there was Dylan. I met him the day I met my father, and that time was all such a blur. I’d used him to make me feel better; to ground me in this unknown city. I’d used him to forget.
I never meant to fall in love.
Glancing back to where the boys played in the sand, my eyes stayed on Jackson’s face. I hadn’t meant to get pregnant either. That came before the love. Way before. But it was the part I didn’t regret. If it hadn’t been for him, I might have gone home.
Home. That was what Florida was. Never L.A. I didn’t fit here. It was Dylan’s city. I guess that was one of the many reasons he forced me to walk away.
The saga of the divorce was over. I’d gotten over Dylan’s affair. I had full custody. My book was out. Now was the time. I’d been preparing to take my boys away from here for months. That was why Colby came. My brother. My twin. Always there when I needed him. It was time I returned the favor. He wanted me back.
I felt a presence beside me before I saw him.
“You’re here,” I said, harsher than I’d intended.
Before he could respond, Liam came running. “Daddy!”
Dylan dropped his board and scooped Liam up. “Hey, little man.”
“I miss you, Daddy.”
A tear escaped from my eye, but I chalked it up to sweat from the hot sun.
“I miss you too, buddy.” He put Liam down and gestured to the other boys. “Go tell your brothers I’ll come over in a minute. I need to talk to mommy.”
Liam flashed a smile and darted off.
“I’m always here surfing on Saturday mornings.” Dylan turned back toward me. “You know that. We used to come together.”
“I must have forgotten, you know, with taking care of three kids and all.”
He raised a tanned hand to scratch his chin. “Jesus, Cal. Don’t be such a-”
“Such a what? Girl? Wife? Mother? Which term were you going to use to tear me down?”
Silence stretched between us before he laughed. “God, I’ve missed that tongue of yours.”
“I’ll bet.” A smile formed of its own accord. “Look, Dylan, I did know you’d be here. I thought you’d want to see them before we leave this week. I’m not here for you. This is for them.”
“You’re really going, huh?”
“Already finished my work at Hendrick’s. We’re packed. My brother came to drive with us.”
“I don’t know why anyone would leave this city.”
And that was one of the many reasons we didn’t work out. He didn’t understand a thing about me.
“I left all the info on your desk at work. Address. Phone numbers for my people there. I may not want the boys growing up here, but they’ll still need their father.”
“I’ll always be here, Cal,” he said.
I know. That’s the problem. You’ll always be here. Not where we need you to be.
After I’d left him, I waited for him to come after me, after us - even after I found out he’d been sleeping with an extra on a movie he was working on. When I told him months ago that we were leaving, my eyes had begged him to ask us to stay; be the family we were. He’d nodded, knowing before I did that we weren’t meant to last forever.
I left him to spend time with the boys, gesturing for Colby to join me. He hooked his arm through mine.
“Colby and Callie McCoy, together again.” He grinned. “It’ll be good to have you back.”
I looked back over my shoulder at Dylan who was wrestling the boys in the sand.
