Page 14 of Coming Home for Fall 6
Finally, there was Sasha.
Brave, young Sasha, who took a chance after losing almost everything and still chose to love. She was in a new phase of her life too—one of deep connection instead of loneliness. She’d found a home, a real home with a family that was slowly but surely welcoming her.
If she could find love and her place in this world, Mallory could too. She could give with all her heart and take a chance on something that had no guarantees.
Right then, after everyone had scraped every bite of pie from their plates, Mallory’s phone buzzed. She had a text from James, saying he was on his way—assuming he was still invited. She told him he was always invited and then raised a glass.
“I want to make a toast,” she said, smiling so brightly that her cheeks ached a little. Everyone fell quiet and lifted their glasses with her. “To this family and our amazing resilience, and to the love we share that carries us through anything.” She met everyone’s gaze individually, staying on her mother for a beat longer. Callie’s eyes grew blurry, as if she might cry. Mallory sniffled and held her head high, continuing her toast. “And to us all starting on new, exciting paths. I hope we all find success, and I want you all to wish me good luck as well.”
Taylor and Ariel shared a look of confusion, but it was Sasha who asked, “What new path are you starting?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Mallory said. “But I know that it’s a path that both starts, and probably ends, right here in Ferndale.”
Chapter 8
1 Year Later
“It’s just a cut,” Callie insisted. “There’s no reason to freak out.”
“Who’s freaking out? I’m not freaking out.” Joshua held the paper towel tightly around Callie’s finger as the color slowly returned to his face. He seemed far more upset about her cutting the top of her knuckle than she was. “I’m just saying, there’s a lot of blood. I think you might need stitches. Shouldn’t we at least go to urgent care to double check that you’re alright?”
“No. That will only make us late for the BBQ. Besides, all they’re going to do there is put a bigger bandage on me and call it a day.” Callie smiled at him and brushed his hand away, peeling the towel from her skin. “See. It’s already bleeding less.”
“I’m not sure. Just look at how much is on the paper towel.”
She glanced at the towel and stifled a laugh. She found Joshua’s concern endearing, if not a little over the top. “I’m telling you, honey, this is no big deal. Raising three kids and then having grandkids, I’ve seen my fair share of cuts. I know when they are serious and when they just look bad.”
Joshua glanced at the cut and sucked air through his teeth, turning away. “You’re right about it looking bad, that’s for sure.”
“You know, for someone who works on a farm, you’re awfully squeamish. Haven’t you ever cut yourself with one of the tools you use?”
“Yeah,” he said. “And I went to the hospital. Like a normal person.”
“Mm.” Callie pressed her uninjured hand to his chest and stretched onto her toes, placing a soft kiss on his lips. “Well, nobody will ever accuse you of not being cautious, but really, I’m okay. I’ll just put a band-aid on it and then we have to go. Will you finish cutting up the veggies and I’ll finish getting ready?”
“Yeah, alright,” he said begrudgingly. “But what should I do with the carrot that has your blood all over it?”
“Uh… throw it away? Is that not what you were going to do?”
“But it’s evidence,” he said. “When we get to the party and everyone asks what happened, I want to be able to say, ‘Callie, my amazing, beautiful, and totally irresponsible girlfriend cut herself while chopping carrots, and then refused to go to the doctor.’ That way, if your finger falls off, no one will blame me.”
Callie chuckled and shook her head. “Fine. Then bag the carrot and put it in the fridge before all the evidence gets contaminated.” They’d been watching a lot of detective shows recently, so she knew the lingo. “Maybe while you’re at it you should pull the footage from the security cameras too. Just to be safe.”
“Maybe I will.” He stole one last kiss and then threw away the carrot in question. Callie lingered for a moment in the kitchen, just appreciating what a lovely morning it had been. Joshua had showed up at the house early with all the fixings to make her and Sasha a delicious breakfast. Later, she and Joshua took Dot for a walk through the park before coming home and getting their contributions to the BBQ ready — a veggie platter and punch.
He glanced up at her and grinned. “I thought you were worried about being late.”
“I’m going, I’m going. Just enjoying the view. I can’t wait for you to move in, then I’ll get to watch you cook whenever I want.”
“I can’t wait to have this much space to cook in,” he said. “It’s a huge step up from that little kitchen on the farm, and my place at the reservation is nice, but sharing a kitchen with six other people isn’t always ideal.”
“Yeah, but you can’t beat the smell of that place,” Callie said, her mouth watering as she recalled the time Joshua took her to dinner on the reservation. His mother and one of his brothers were amazing cooks, and they always had something going on the stove that smelled delicious. “By the way, any time one of your family members wants to come over and cook here, make sure they know they’re invited, as long as I get to have a taste.”
“Sounds like a fair deal to me.”
She nodded and then headed down the hall to check on Sasha before going to get changed. When she approached the door to David’s old office, she heard Sasha repeating a handful of words in a singsong voice. They’d been trying to get Dot to say more than just “mama,” “Callie,” and “no,” but as of right then, those were her three favorite words. She could say other things, but in general she had been slow to talk. The pediatrician said it wasn’t anything to be worried about and that some kids are just quieter than others, but that they should do their best to talk to her as often as they could. Sasha had taken this instruction very seriously, even making recordings of herself saying various words so Callie could play them for Dot while Sasha was working.
“What about doggy,” Sasha said as Callie gingerly opened the door. “Can you say doggy? You know, the dog goes ruff, ruff!”
