Flight Risk (Antiques in Flight) (25 page)

Em’s nose wrinkled. “Then what is it?”

“I don’t know. It’s just…”

“You’re sleeping together, and you’re going to go out to dinner together. I’d call that a date.”

“Look, don’t get your romantic hopes and dreams pinned on this, okay? Trevor and I are just…”

“You keep saying just. Just what?”

That was the problem. Callie didn’t know. The more she tried to come up with the right terminology for what they were, the more she regretted letting this whole thing happen.

“It’s not permanent. Trevor and I agreed whatever happens between us beyond friendship is just a…” There was that just word again. “A temporary thing.”

Em rolled her eyes before sticking her nose back in the book. “I know whose idea that was.”

“Don’t start.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Em discarded the book again and slid off the couch, all graceful hurt. “My talk about letting down your guard and letting people in obviously fell on deaf ears when it came to Trevor. Well, I give up.” She sauntered off to her room in an unusual huff.

Which only served to make Callie more unsure and antsy. She should call and cancel. She should tell Trevor this whole thing was a mistake and they never should have slept together and maybe they would be better off meaning nothing to each other at all.

Middle ground was slipping through her fingers. It seemed no matter what happened between them, it was too little or too much. Too little would be the smart thing, the right thing.

Callie stood at the door and stared at it. In the end, she couldn’t do the right thing.

Meaning nothing to each other was the worst-case scenario, and she wasn’t ready to go down that road. Surely there was a middle ground road hiding around somewhere. She just had to find it before things got too sticky.

Callie drove away from AIF and into the heart of Pilot’s Point. She pulled up to the Steele house the same time another car did, and when Dan got out of the driver’s side, Callie felt even more like a foolish teen. On a sigh, she stepped out of the car and pulled at the hem of her skirt a little.

“Well, hey, Dan.”

Dan smiled in cheerful greeting. “Hey, Callie. What are you doing here?”

Callie had to fight to keep a pleasant smile on her face. “Oh, Trevor and I are going to, um, hang out a bit.”

He looked down at her skirt, looked away quickly, and then blushed. “Oh. Cool.”

Callie rolled her eyes. If she couldn’t fool Dan, there wasn’t much hope in fooling anybody.

“I want to thank you for letting me help out at AIF. It’s been really awesome, and we never would have done it if you hadn’t tricked us into it. But it’s practically been the best part of my summer.”

Callie knew what that meant. Shelby had been the best part of his summer. Callie fought off the grimace and kept her lips curved upward. Foolish, hopeful teen love was enough to make anyone a little sick to their stomach.

“I’m glad. You’re welcome to volunteer any time. We’ll always need help. Breaks. Next summer. Whatever.”

“Thanks!” His exuberance and excitement were infectious and Callie didn’t have to fake her smile anymore as they stepped up onto the porch. “Man, I can’t believe we’ll be leaving in three and a half weeks. Everything has gone by so fast.”

Three and a half weeks. Mid-August. Shelby would be gone and Trevor would be free to focus on his choices. Seattle. A Midwest field office. Pilot’s Point.

Then in September he’d make his choice. He’d either ruin everything by staying, or he’d rip her heart out by leaving. Maybe sometimes, against her will, thoughts popped into her head like Trevor staying and things going on as they were. Winter when things at AIF were slower and they’d be able to curl up by the fireplace and…

She sighed and pressed a finger to the doorbell. Her heart would be ripped out either way. Picturing things that would only make it harder was a bad move. It was absolutely best to know when so she could prepare for the heart ripping instead of getting lost in some fantasy and then having the rug pulled out from under her.

Dan hit the nail on the head. Everything had gone by so fast. So fast Callie didn’t know which way was up anymore.

Everything seemed to right when Trevor answered the door and half of the worries in her head got drowned out by the eagerness in his smile and the fact that, for right now, he wanted to be with her every bit as much as she wanted to be with him.

Didn’t she used to be good at ignoring things? At putting up walls? Why not put up a wall around the end result and enjoy the here and now? She’d done that once, and maybe it hadn’t always been the best way of dealing with life, but it seemed like a hell of a good idea tonight.

“Isn’t this special, Shelby? Both our dates are here.”

Shelby appeared next to Trevor, and she didn’t gag or insult Callie. Instead, she seemed pleased Trevor had called Callie his date.

Must be some weird trick of lighting.

“We’ll get out of your way,” Shelby said in a sing-songy voice as she pushed past Trevor. “Don’t wait up. We won’t be home until late.”

“Midnight.”

“One-thirty.”

“You’re not home by one I get one of the guys at county to send a patrol car after you.”

“Whatever.” She flounced away on Dan’s arm, but Dan looked back at Trevor with a look of panic.

“One,” he mouthed.

Callie bit back a chuckle until the teens were in the car. “That’s sweet.”

“What?”

“That little protective moment you just had, and the fact Dan is still such a wimp that he’s scared of you. You realize once they go off to college you won’t be able to dictate what time she gets home?”

Trevor grimaced. “You’re mean.”

“Yes, I am. Remember that.”

“If I was afraid of a little meanness I would have kicked you to the curb a long time ago, Calloway.”

“Do not use my full name.” She poked him in the ribs, but he grabbed her hand and held it so any irritation immediately petered out as his warm hand closed over hers.

“Any ideas on where you what to go to dinner?” He pulled her inside the entryway. “We could drive out farther if nothing in Pilot’s Point sounds good. Anything in Heartland or Gwenview?”

“We don’t need to go to Heartland or Gwenview. Hunan Wok here is good.” She laughed when, as expected, his whole face twisted with disgust.

Trevor closed the door and stood in front of it with his arms folded across his chest. “Chinese is not food. It’s disgusting slimy noodles and vegetables.”

“You asked where I wanted to go.”

“I get to veto.”

“That hardly seems fair.”

“Let’s skip dinner.” She was in his arms before she had a chance to react. “We’ll order in.”

Callie smiled against his lips. “Hunan Wok delivers.”

“That’s it. I’m taking you upstairs.” Despite her shocked screech, he swept his arms under her legs and carried her toward the stairs.

“You’re not seriously carrying me right now.”

“I seriously am. It’s a romantic gesture. Feel free to swoon.”

Callie held on to his neck, fought the flutters in her chest. “I’m not much of a swooner.” She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder as he huffed up the stairs. “But maybe this once.”

Chapter Twenty

Trevor sat on the couch staring at his Happy List. He’d added enough items to Pilot’s Point that it was now tied with Seattle. The additions weren’t even all about Callie, which was kind of surprising. He’d resorted to adding little things. Shelby’s cookies, Friday lunches at AIF, Evan’s incessant questions on how many guys he’d shot.

He just needed one more happy item to tip things the way he wanted.

Which was idiotic when he really thought about it. If he wanted to stay, why didn’t he just stay? What did this damn list matter in the grand scheme of things?

It would matter to Callie. She’d been bringing up September more and more each day. Over the past week he was pretty sure he’d heard the word September about a hundred times.

Almost as many times as he’d heard Callie complain about Em. He didn’t know how the two were related, but there was a correlation.

Em and Callie were in some kind of fight that had been escalating with every day, and as much as Callie tried to pretend she was unaffected by it, she had been sullen and broody.

Trevor stared at the list. He had to stay. Even if the list didn’t reflect it, a life without Callie, a life without AIF, a life different than the one he’d been leading for the past few weeks made Seattle or the FBI anywhere pale in comparison.

He was needed in Pilot’s Point. Callie needed someone to calm her down when she flew off the handle. Even with Lawson and the boys back, AIF needed an occasional hand. Shelby needed him to be in a place she could call home.

He always thought being needed felt like being choked, but it didn’t. Not when the people who needed him just wanted him to be Trevor. Not better or smarter or more successful. Exactly as he already was.

As much as it made him feel guilty, with his parents gone, Pilot’s Point didn’t demand any more of him than that.

The doorbell rang and Trevor folded up the list and put it in his pocket. He’d find that one last thing for the list. Maybe a few more for good measure, and then he’d tell Callie he was staying for good and he’d find a way to convince her he wasn’t going to leave.

When Trevor opened the door, Callie looked more sullen and broody than she had all week. That was a scary thing.

Trevor tried out a dazzling smile. “Hi, gorgeous.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed past him. “Make me vomit, why don’t you?”

So much for compliments. He should have known better. “I see you’re just as cheery as you’ve been all week.”

She shot him a killing look over her shoulder. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, fantastic.” Trevor closed the door and followed her inside. “You want to go catch the movie or you want to stay here and tell me what crawled up your ass? It is your turn to choose, remember?”

Callie turned to face him, arms across her chest, lips in a firm, angry line. He hadn’t seen her like this in a while. In fact, it was a look he associated more with old Callie.

She opened her mouth, shut it, and frowned. “I don’t know who she thinks she is,” Callie muttered, sinking into the couch.

Ah, so they were going to talk about Em. Trevor hoped Callie was going to vent about the real issue so she would get it out of her system and finally talk to Em about whatever it was they were arguing over.

“Telling me what I think or feel. Pretty sure I’m the only resident of my brain.” Callie hopped up and stalked the length of floor in front of the couch, back and forth.

In between her pacing, Trevor moved onto the couch and made himself comfortable. He had a feeling this was going to take a while.

“Like she has any room to talk about this stuff.” Callie kicked at the floor. She paced, she stopped, she paced again. “She’s still pining after Luke and it’s been seven fucking years. She is not the world’s expert on relationships.” Her voice got louder with each word like she was hoping Em could hear them all the way back at the cabin.

“I really don’t think this is about Luke.” Not that he had any earthly clue what it was about, but he liked the word relationship peppered in there. Progress.

Callie crossed arms over her chest, blew a breath out that fluttered her bangs. “She says I’m reverting.”

“Reverting?”

“Yeah, walls up and all that other bullshit.” She threw her hands up into the air and then pointed a finger at him. “I am not reverting.”

He held up his hands. “On any other occasion I might be inclined to agree with you, but this, uh, outburst is a little old school Callie.”

She scowled at him. “You want to be on my fight list too?”

He reached out and took her hand, pulled her closer to the couch. “No. I want you to be happy.”

She sighed and let herself be led until she folded next to him. He moved his arms around her and she didn’t fight him. He tried not to grin. Em was wrong. Callie wasn’t reverting. She was giving in. Inch by little inch. A reverting Callie never would have leaned into him, never would have accepted comfort. Hell, she wouldn’t have told him what she and Em were fighting about.

Things were going exactly right. Callie was softening, leaning on him. He was winning, just by being there. Pretty soon, he’d tell her he was staying and she wouldn’t freak out.

He just had to find a way to help her overcome those last little pockets of fear.

“You want to go back and work things out with Em?”

She pushed him away. “I do not have anything to work out with her.” Callie shot to her feet. “Let’s go. You were going to buy me popcorn at the movie, remember?”

Trevor pushed himself off the couch, Callie already at the door. So much for getting lucky tonight.

By the end of the movie and a walk around town, Callie had calmed down and eased up a little. She wasn’t totally present, but she wasn’t brooding every second either. Trevor would have to give himself a pat on the back.