again.
And nothing terrified her more than the idea that she could lose her children. Hell, anyone could understand that. If it came down to it, Caleb would fight like hell for his niece and nephew. If anyone tried to take them away, they’d have to do it over his dead body.
But Caleb couldn’t say that he completely agreed with Callie over the twins’ daddy. The Scotsman was definitely interested in his children and from what Caleb had seen the man still carried a torch for Callie. He thought that she ought to give Euan the benefit of the doubt in regards to his children. They’d all be watching the man, for sure, but he needed a chance to prove himself.
He wondered what their grandfather was doing. Papa would discern the character of the man and decide what he thought ought to be done and that’s pretty much how it would be regardless of whether or not the rest of the family agreed with it. Their grandmother would also have a strong say in it but she usually backed their grandfather up.
Caleb answered his sister. “Nope, I wouldn’t like it one damned bit and I probably wouldn’t think too highly of her for doing me that way. Probably be more than just a bit gun-shy of the next woman who come along, too. But you know, sister, we can’t go through life afraid of the shadows of the past. At some point we’ve got to let the sun shine in and take them away. Otherwise you won’t ever be able to really live your life.”
“For someone who’s only twenty you sound pretty cock-sure of yourself, little brother,” Callie replied sarcastically. “Any more great pearls of wisdom?”
Caleb gave his sister a disgusted look and offered a suggestion for where she could go and what she could do with herself if that was how she was going to be. “Everyone’s right about one thing,” he said. “You’re too damned hard-headed and you bite the hand that reaches out to help you.”
Callie suggested that Caleb follow his previous suggestion himself. “If I wanted advice I’d ask for it!” she snapped.
For a while they both took their anger out on the wood they were splitting. Callie put her axe down to pet Fugly when he came over seeking attention. He made happy bleating sounds and wagged his tail with gusto while Callie enjoyed the simple pleasure of scratching his ears and around his horns and feeling his warmth beneath her fingers. Of course the dogs and wolves all had to have their petting time as well, resulting in Callie not getting much work done from that point on.
The phone in the house started ringing and Caleb raced to get it. He came out in less than a minute and said, “Grandma says we need to get back to the lodge in a bit for a family meeting.”
“Great,” Callie muttered. She wondered what it would be like to have a family that wasn’t as nosy as hers. Her ex shows up with the possible intent of taking her children and instead of kicking his ass and sending him back to Scotland, they have a meeting to talk about it.
She sighed deeply, not resigned to the situation but not sure about what she could do about it. Callie wasn’t used to having her life turned so completely upside-down and inside out. She hated feeling as if she had no control over what was going on around her. It was like being on a horse running at a full gallop with no bridle and her hands tied behind her back. All she could do was hang on for dear life and wait for it to stop.
They put out feed for the stock, shut the hens up in the hen house, and locked the cabin up. Saddling Chick and Breezy up, they headed back down to the lodge. Caleb followed Callie, thinking. He loved his sister but damn it, she was too hard-headed, too quick to fight, too slow to forgive, and too afraid of getting hurt to open herself up to anyone. He just hoped that she didn’t carry her stubbornness past the point of stupidity. Considering that fact that nearly everyone in their family lived well into their late nineties, she would have a long
And nothing terrified her more than the idea that she could lose her children. Hell, anyone could understand that. If it came down to it, Caleb would fight like hell for his niece and nephew. If anyone tried to take them away, they’d have to do it over his dead body.
But Caleb couldn’t say that he completely agreed with Callie over the twins’ daddy. The Scotsman was definitely interested in his children and from what Caleb had seen the man still carried a torch for Callie. He thought that she ought to give Euan the benefit of the doubt in regards to his children. They’d all be watching the man, for sure, but he needed a chance to prove himself.
He wondered what their grandfather was doing. Papa would discern the character of the man and decide what he thought ought to be done and that’s pretty much how it would be regardless of whether or not the rest of the family agreed with it. Their grandmother would also have a strong say in it but she usually backed their grandfather up.
Caleb answered his sister. “Nope, I wouldn’t like it one damned bit and I probably wouldn’t think too highly of her for doing me that way. Probably be more than just a bit gun-shy of the next woman who come along, too. But you know, sister, we can’t go through life afraid of the shadows of the past. At some point we’ve got to let the sun shine in and take them away. Otherwise you won’t ever be able to really live your life.”
“For someone who’s only twenty you sound pretty cock-sure of yourself, little brother,” Callie replied sarcastically. “Any more great pearls of wisdom?”
Caleb gave his sister a disgusted look and offered a suggestion for where she could go and what she could do with herself if that was how she was going to be. “Everyone’s right about one thing,” he said. “You’re too damned hard-headed and you bite the hand that reaches out to help you.”
Callie suggested that Caleb follow his previous suggestion himself. “If I wanted advice I’d ask for it!” she snapped.
For a while they both took their anger out on the wood they were splitting. Callie put her axe down to pet Fugly when he came over seeking attention. He made happy bleating sounds and wagged his tail with gusto while Callie enjoyed the simple pleasure of scratching his ears and around his horns and feeling his warmth beneath her fingers. Of course the dogs and wolves all had to have their petting time as well, resulting in Callie not getting much work done from that point on.
The phone in the house started ringing and Caleb raced to get it. He came out in less than a minute and said, “Grandma says we need to get back to the lodge in a bit for a family meeting.”
“Great,” Callie muttered. She wondered what it would be like to have a family that wasn’t as nosy as hers. Her ex shows up with the possible intent of taking her children and instead of kicking his ass and sending him back to Scotland, they have a meeting to talk about it.
She sighed deeply, not resigned to the situation but not sure about what she could do about it. Callie wasn’t used to having her life turned so completely upside-down and inside out. She hated feeling as if she had no control over what was going on around her. It was like being on a horse running at a full gallop with no bridle and her hands tied behind her back. All she could do was hang on for dear life and wait for it to stop.
They put out feed for the stock, shut the hens up in the hen house, and locked the cabin up. Saddling Chick and Breezy up, they headed back down to the lodge. Caleb followed Callie, thinking. He loved his sister but damn it, she was too hard-headed, too quick to fight, too slow to forgive, and too afraid of getting hurt to open herself up to anyone. He just hoped that she didn’t carry her stubbornness past the point of stupidity. Considering that fact that nearly everyone in their family lived well into their late nineties, she would have a long
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