The Unexpected Wedding(40)

Cal winked at her when Steve wasn’t looking.

She shifted in her seat and raised her eyebrows back at him.

“So you said you’d be back to work on Tuesday?” Steve interrupted their silent conversation.

“Yes, we’re going to head to Baton Rouge to pick up more of Scotty’s things and more of my stuff. Not that I have much more.”

Becky Lee wasn’t sure where they were going to put what Cal had already brought, much less where they’d put even more of their belongings.

Steve took one more long swig of beer and put down the empty bottle.

How did men drink a bottle of beer so quickly?

“Come on, Josh. Time to go. Let’s let these three get all settled in.” Steve turned to Cal. “You’re still leaving Scotty with Mrs. Baker tomorrow while you go to Baton Rouge, right?”

“Right. I’ll drop him off first thing in the morning.”

“Okay. Have a safe trip and I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

Josh and Scotty came racing up and skidded to a stop before bumping into Steve.

She’d like to have about a tenth of their energy. Becky Lee pushed out of her chair. “Here, I’ll walk you out.”

She led them to the front door and waved as they left. Scotty settled down in the front room, kneeling by the coffee table, and started working on another jigsaw puzzle she’d left out for him.

She slowly walked through the house, ignoring boxes and suitcases, and headed back outside to finish her beer. Time enough to get it all sorted later.

But it was very unlike her not to sort first, relax later. Is this what marriage had done to her?





~ * ~

A little later, Cal helped Becky Lee put things away in the kitchen. They unpacked Scotty’s things and put them in the closet in the back bedroom, the closet he shared with Becky Lee’s yarn stash. Becky Lee made a light dinner and it had the expected effect on a hard-playing seven-year-old, and Scotty quickly crashed on the sofa.

Becky Lee watched as Cal carefully scooped up Scotty and carried him to bed. She followed them back to the boy’s bedroom and leaned against the doorway as Cal put Scotty to bed. She stood mesmerized by how efficiently he got the boy ready for bed. Gently. Calmly. How had he gotten so competent so quickly? He pulled off Scotty’s shoes and helped the almost sleeping boy into his pj’s. The boy drifted off to sleep again as Cal pulled the covers over him. She caught a brief glance of the look on Cal’s face right before he switched off the bedside lamp. The only word she could think of to describe the look was besotted.

Cal was hopelessly in love with the boy. The love showed clearly in his expression.

Her heart melted at the sight. Scotty was one lucky boy to be cared for by this uncle of his.

Cal turned and saw her standing in the doorway. He tiptoed out of the room and they walked down the hallway.

“I think I might turn in now, too. Been a long couple of days. I like to read a bit before bed.” Becky Lee stopped at the doorway to her room. “Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m good. I think I’ll grab a drink then I might turn in now, too. I’ll be sure to be up before Scotty and make up the daybed in the sunroom.”

She nodded, hoping the ruse was going to work. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Cal brushed past her on the way to the kitchen, their arms barely touching. An electric jolt flashed through her, and her arm warmed at the brief touch.

She watched him walk down the hall, looking so at ease, yet out of place in her small cottage. Or maybe she was feeling out of place.

How could she feel out of place in her own cottage?

~ * ~

It took Cal three tries to find the cabinet with the glasses. He poured himself some cold water from the fridge and stood at the kitchen sink sipping it slowly. He felt like a man with no place of his own. A stranger in his own home. But it wasn’t really his home, it was Becky Lee’s. He was just a temporary visitor. His few clothes were hung in about twelve inches of Becky Lee’s closet, his toiletries in the guest bathroom.

What had he done? He’d married a stranger.

He pushed the thought from his mind. It was done. He was married.

An unsettling feeling of loneliness descended upon him. The familiar stab of the loss of his brother and overwhelming responsibility of raising Scotty flowed through him.

But his next thought was relief that Becky Lee was here to help him. If nothing else, help him make decisions. He was so afraid he was going to screw something up. Raising a kid was hard work. Should he let Scotty do this or that? Was he feeding him right? Was he too young to do something that Cal thought he was old enough to do?

He’d cleaned up his language in the last few weeks, that’s for sure. He was pretty sure that TJ wouldn’t want Scotty learning any of the colorful language he’d been used to saying.