Along Came Trouble(127)

“I do,” Caleb said.

She stilled, and they looked at each other. Ellen saw something pass between them—a moment of understanding, of honest exchange. “Oh,” Janet said. Almost a sigh.

“This is my life, Ma.” Caleb looked at Ellen and Henry. “This is exactly where I want to be. Exactly what I want to be doing.” He brushed his hand over Ellen’s shoulder, a touch that warmed her right through. “I want you to support me, and I want you to say so.”

Janet’s mouth quirked into a smirk remarkably like Caleb’s. “Well, Ellen, I am proud of him,” she said, looking right at her son. “I love him. I respect and support his decisions.” The statement came out wooden and awkward, but at least she’d said it. When she smiled at Caleb, she looked shy and proud at the same time.

“Me, too,” Ellen echoed. “I think your son is pretty wonderful, Mrs. Clark. And for what it’s worth, I’m not going anywhere, and neither is Jamie. This is where we belong. You may have to get used to a little extra craziness around Camelot.”

Caleb grinned at that, and Ellen lost her head all over again. It felt like an eternity since she’d seen him smile right at her. It made her giddy. She was vaguely conscious of the conversation continuing at the other end of the table, with Katie chiming in to defend Caleb’s skill and dedication, but most of her attention had been captured by the smile wrinkling the corners of Caleb’s eyes, and the rest of it jumped ship when he found her knee under the table and squeezed.

Carly and Jamie could have their crowds and the public declarations of love. Big gestures and drama had never been Ellen’s thing. One gesture, one moment of connection when her eyes met Caleb’s, and she knew. She wouldn’t trade what they had for anything.

Kind of incredible, she thought. My man.

She got a little dippy with it. Which was why she wasn’t at all prepared when Henry dumped an entire cup of ice water on her lap.

She was still mopping at it with a paper towel when Katie announced, apropos of nothing, “So, everybody, while we’re doing the confessions and Hallmark moments, I should probably mention that I’m married.”

After that, no one paid much attention to Ellen and Henry.





Chapter Thirty-two



Once the presents had been opened and the boys laid waste to the cake, the celebration wrapped up quickly. Caleb’s parents said their goodbyes, Amber rounded up her brood and hustled them out the door, and the decibel level inside the house dropped by a factor of ten.

Henry was playing in the detritus from the party, stomping on crumpled pieces of wrapping paper. Ellen sat on the rug, unsure whether she should take him home now or try to find a way to talk to Caleb. He and Katie had disappeared into the kitchen after clearing the table.

Just as she lost what nerve she had left and rose to go, Katie came out, Caleb behind her. “Hey, Henry?” Katie said. “I’ve been thinking an ice-cream bar from the bookstore sounds pretty darn good. You like ice cream?”

“Yas,” he said, jumping up and down. “Mama take you.”

Katie looked her way and smiled. “Mama’s going to stay here with Caleb. We’ll go get some ice cream, just the two of us, and give them a few minutes to talk. C’mon, I have something really cool to show you in the garage.”

Seduced by Katie’s warm manner and her promise of ice cream plus an exciting surprise, Henry followed her happily enough, and after the two of them shuffled out the door, the house fell silent.

Then there was only Ellen and the man standing in the doorway of his kitchen, a black column of lean muscle with an indulgent expression that made her heart race.

“Hello, Ellen Sydney Callahan,” he said.

Oh.

He crossed the room and reached for her hands, pulling her right up against his body.

Oh, my.

“So that’s my family.” Caleb gripped her hips as if they were his to do with as he pleased. Which they totally were. “I think they like you.”

“I argued with your mom.” The memory of it made her flush with shame, and she looked down, unwilling to meet his eyes.

Stark against her white skirt, his left hand on her hip was a raw mess, yellow-green with fading bruises. Painful-looking. He’d done that for her. She hadn’t even thanked him.

“Yeah, that was my favorite part. It was a long time coming. But I liked it when you explained eminent domain to my dad, too.” He glanced around the room. “You probably want a tour, don’t you?”