Chapter 11

You're my favorite Calloway.

I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her words since she'd said them. I'd never brought anyone home to tour the farm before. It was good to share it with her and her son. Especially since they seemed to appreciate it.

Teddy explained the tagging process to Owen and was patient with his questions. He even took him to one of the fields with trees that weren't tagged and let him do a few of them.

"Thank you for taking your time with Owen. You all are so patient with him."

"We enjoy spending time with him." Wes and Teddy wouldn't have spent their Saturday with him otherwise.

Their presence made me nervous. I wondered if they knew about my crush on his mother. I'd done my best to keep my distance from her, but when we walked together, she'd hooked her arm through mine, and it felt too good to pull away.

I justified it to myself by saying that she could stumble at any minute. I was doing my part to help her traverse the uneven terrain. I could smell her shampoo and feel her warmth through the palm of her hand. It was a selfish move on my part.

"You should come back on Thanksgiving weekend and choose your tree. We'll show you how to cut it down," I offered, my heart pounding.

"Could I do it myself?" Owen asked.

Claire looked uncertain. "I don't know. I don't like the idea of you using a saw."

"I promise we'll show him how to do it properly. We learned at his age," Teddy said.

"Okay," Claire said the same time Owen yelled, "Yes."

Owen walked next to Teddy and Wes, listening to them talk about the different types of trees and their characteristics.

I squeezed Claire's hand. "We'll take care of him. Don't worry."

Claire let out a breath. "This is what I wanted: a male figure teaching Owen life skills."

I frowned. "His father doesn't show him things? Put air in the car tires, change the oil."

Claire shook her head. "He's not particularly handy or athletic."

I vowed to myself that she could count on me. I'd help Owen when I could. Just not in front of the other football parents or at school. Even if I couldn't have her, I could bring her and Owen into our fold. If he worked here, and I helped him with football, he'd have plenty of male influence.

By the time we finished our walk, Owen knew everything there was to know about tagging trees. He knew the different types, the best shape, and weight of the branches. "We grew up knowing these things. We followed Dad around from the time we could walk, begging him to tell us everything."

"That's sweet. I can just imagine you following him around the fields."

"Fiona and Daphne weren't into the farm. Not like we were," I said as we headed in the direction of the house.

Dad stood on the porch. "Are you staying for dinner? I can grill out."

Claire waved a hand. "Oh, you don't have to do that. We can head home."

I wanted her and Owen to stay for dinner. I liked having them here.

"Oh, I insist. You must be hungry, and we have plenty of food," Al said kindly.

"Can we stay, Mom? Please?" Owen pleaded with Claire.

I winked at her. "You know you can't resist spending more time with me."

Claire flushed, even though at this point, she had to know my charm was an act. "Okay. We'll stay.

I wondered if she saw through the act. I supposed it was too much to believe she preferred when I was real with her.

"You can help us cook. You ever fire up a grill?" Dad asked Owen.

Owen's eyes widened as he glanced at his mother. "No."

"There's a first time for everything. Wash your hands, and then come out back." Al went inside, and Owen asked Claire, "Are you okay with me helping?"

Claire's lips pursed, and I knew she was nervous. "Just listen to whatever he tells you."

Owen swallowed. "I can do that."

I suspected he was still nervous after he'd started that kitchen fire.

The others went inside, but I hung back with Claire. "Has he attempted to cook yet??

She looked up at me. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

"You know he needs to do it soon, or it will be an issue going forward."

Claire grimaced. "I know."

"We can start with the grill tonight. It's different enough that it might not trigger him. He'll gain some confidence. Then you can try the stove at home. When you're there, of course."

Claire shuddered. "I don't think I could handle him cooking without me present. At least not until he's older. I think I lost several years of my life that day."

"You have to push him, or he'll never cook again. You don't want him to be traumatized forever," I said gently.

Claire scowled. "Of course I don't want that. Sometimes being a parent is hard. You want to protect them, but you have to push them out of their comfort zone, and mine."

"If you want, I can be there the first few times you give it a try."

Her expression relaxed. "It would make me feel better if I had my own firefighter in the kitchen with us."

"I aim to please," I said, giving her a winning smile.

Her eyes darkened, and she mumbled, "I bet you do."

But before I could ask her what she meant by that comment, she opened the front door and slipped inside. I hadn't meant the comment as a double entendre, but had she taken it as one?

Feeling energized and filled with more hope than I cared to admit to, I opened the door and followed her inside. Had I misread Claire? Did she see me as more than her son's mentor and football coach?

My heart fluttered as I approached her where she stood in the kitchen, staring out the slider where Owen was with my dad and Teddy.

"He's in good hands."

"I know he is. It's hard to let go sometimes."

"I've seen my sister struggle with it too. Especially when Cole and she tried to share their lives. She'd done it all with Izzy for so long; I think it was hard for her to let Cole help."

"I was with Eric for the first eleven years of his life, but he didn't help with Owen. He wasn't there for breakfast or bedtime or his activities."

"That sucks."

"He wasn't a bad dad. He just wasn't there."

"At the end of your life, no one will remember how much time you spent at work. Your kids will remember whether you were present." That's what I remembered about my mom: her cooking for us in the kitchen, reading us a story at bedtime.

Claire turned, and that's when I realized how close we'd been standing. Close enough I could reach out and touch her.

I rested my hand on her upper arm, wishing I could pull her against me. My breath hitched when she looked up at me with desire in her eyes.

The slider opened, and Claire startled. I stepped back.

It was Teddy with a platter full of hamburger meat. Thankfully, he hadn't seen what we'd been doing. We'd been partially blocked by the curtain, and he was preoccupied with balancing the food.

"Come outside. It's nice out. I threw on one of the heaters if you want to sit on the couch," Teddy said to Claire.

"That sounds lovely." Then she ducked out, leaving me alone with Teddy.

"The potatoes are taking longer," Teddy said.

"They always do."

Teddy held my gaze. "Owen's a good kid."

"A little gun-shy around fire. But that's to be expected with what happened."

"And you? Are you shy around women?"

I chuckled nervously. "Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know. Claire's a beautiful woman, and you're all wrapped up in her son. Do you expect us to believe it's all about him for you?"

"I like Owen. He's a good kid. But Claire's just come off a divorce. Frankly, I don't think she even sees me that way." But just a minute ago, I could have sworn her eyes were dark with desire, that she enjoyed my body pressed against hers too. But I wouldn't admit that to my brother.

"I wouldn't wait to make a move if that's what you want."

My stomach twisted as Teddy headed back outside. Was he right? Had I not been reading Claire's signals? Or was I too caught up in the idea that a woman like Claire wouldn't like me?

I took a deep breath before I headed outside to join the others. There was ribbing and teasing, and Claire watched it all with an affectionate expression on her face.

We ate inside because it got colder as the sun set. Owen spoke more freely as the night went on and seemed to be more comfortable. I liked the idea of him working here. It would be easier to see Claire.

"Thank you so much for sharing your farm and home with us. We had a nice time," Claire said as she and Owen stood by the door, saying goodbye to my brothers and my dad.

"You're welcome back. Any friend of Jameson's is a friend of ours," Al said.

As much as I wanted to be friends with Claire, I didn't like the idea of someone else dating Claire. If I waited too long, someone else would see how amazing she was. I couldn't let that happen.

I opened the door. "I'll walk you out." I ignored my brothers' raised eyebrows. Let them talk. Teddy was the one who told me to make a move, but I wasn't going to do it in front of my family and her son.

I closed the door behind me. When we reached the car, I fist-bumped Owen. "I'll see you at practice. Keep up with your workouts."

"I am," he said as he opened the back door and got inside.

"You know, he's probably big enough to sit up front," I said to Claire once his door was shut.

She shook her head, a smile playing on her face. "Don't remind me he's growing up. He's going to be taller than me at some point."

"I think that's going to happen very soon," I teased.

She slapped my arm, and I wanted to grab her wrist and pull her to me.

The only thing that stopped me was that Owen was in the back seat. His head was probably buried in his phone that he hadn't bothered to look at all day. But there was still the issue of my nosy brothers. I wouldn't put it past them for their noses to be pressed against the front windows.

"You want to schedule that cooking lesson one night this week? I can come over after practice." I wanted to see her more often. The few seconds after practice didn't count, especially since we had to pretend we didn't know each other.

"That would be great. I'll let you know which day would be best."

"It's a date," I said with a smile, not bothering to clarify my word choice.

Her lips quirked. "You're too charming for your own good."

Before I could tell her that I was serious and it wasn't an act, she'd opened her car door and climbed inside.

"Have a good night, Claire. I'll see you soon."

She smiled at me. "Night, Jameson."

I loved the sound of my name on her lips. She didn't think I was too young or immature. She treated me as an equal. I just wished she'd see me as something more than friends.

I closed her door and stepped back, shoving my hands into my pockets as she turned on the engine, then the lights, and backed out.

I stretched out the tension in my neck as her taillights disappeared down the lane. Inside, my brothers were in the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes.

"You weren't watching out the front window?" I asked when I entered the room.

"What do you think we are—stupid kids?" Wes asked.

"Yes. Yes. I do."

Teddy smacked me with the edge of a towel, and I couldn't back away fast enough. "Fuck. That hurt. Knock that right off."

"Boys. Behave," Dad said.

"You know you love having us around," Teddy said with a smile that was uncharacteristic for him.

"I could do without the fighting," Dad grumbled.

"You see Claire off without a problem?" Wes asked at the same time Teddy asked, "You give her a good night kiss?"

"You were the one who told me to make a move on her," I said with more force than was necessary.

Silence fell over the kitchen.

"I didn't know for sure you were interested in her. I just said you should make a move if you wanted to. A woman like that doesn't stay single for long. Her ex was obviously an idiot."

I took a step toward Teddy. "Are you saying you're interested in her?"

He chuckled and held up his palms. "Clearly, you've already staked your claim."

Wes handed me a beer. "Settle down. No one's moving in on Claire."

"I haven't staked anything. I'm still in the friend zone."

Teddy laughed harder. "That's rich. The charmer can't get the woman?"

"I think she sees right through it anyway," I mumbled.

"That's even better. A woman that isn't entranced by you. You actually have to work to get her to notice you. I'm glad we're getting a front row seat to this." Teddy clinked bottles with Wes.

"Claire's different. She was married. She's got a kid."

"You can't make a move unless you're sure," Wes said.

"I've been sure about her. I just didn't think she was into me. I still don't know what she's thinking." I tended to go for girls who were flighty, didn't know what they wanted out of life. Maybe because that's the shirt I'd worn. But what if I wasn't that guy? What if I was someone Claire could be interested in? What if she saw me as respectable and responsible? And better yet, attractive. Someone she could see herself with?

"We talked to her on the porch earlier when you were playing with Owen," Teddy admitted.

"You didn't tell her embarrassing stories, did you?" I wouldn't put it past them.

Wes groaned. "Why didn't we think of that?"

Teddy grinned. "Next time we'll get out the naked baby pictures."

"Remember that time when you and Daphne took a bath together. You looked so cute with those rolls of fat on your arms," Wes said.

"He looked like a sumo wrestler," Teddy was quick to add.

"You two are assholes. I don't know why I hang around you."

Teddy leaned on the counter. "She insisted you were friends—"

Wes grabbed another beer out of the fridge, twisting off the top. "But she repeated herself a lot. Almost like the woman doth protest too much, if you know what I mean."

"Are you sure you read her right? I don't want to make a move, and she really thinks of me as a friend."

"Her face was red. She was embarrassed. She wouldn't feel that way unless she felt something more for you."

That made me feel marginally better. "How can I trust you two? You have the emotional range of widgets."

Wes threw a hand towel at me. "Like you're any better."

I rested a hand on my chest. "The women love me, and you know it."

"You only want one woman to love you. That's different than being the guy who can show anyone a good time. You have to be there for her, show her that a future with you is possible," Wes said.

"I want to see if there's something there and let it unravel how it will." I didn't know what the future would hold. If I'd be good in a long-term relationship. Especially when I'd never been in one. "She's nervous about Owen cooking. I volunteered to be there when they cook together. Just to ease her mind."

Wes's lips quirked up. "You're using the fireman role."

I flexed my muscles. "I'll use every advantage I've got. Just like you'd use your law enforcement job and uniform if it helped you."

Wes rolled his eyes. "Women love the uniform. That doesn't mean they're good for me or want the man underneath."

"Tell me about it," Teddy said.

"How's Sutton?" I asked Wes, needing to take the pressure off of me.

Wes sobered. "Her grandmother isn't doing well. She called a meeting to discuss the will."

"She called a meeting to discuss the will before she dies?" I asked, making sure I'd heard him right.

"She's a tough old bat. She knows exactly what's going on, and she likes to keep everyone jumping with her antics."

"Is Sutton worried about being disinherited?" I asked him, knowing how close they were. At times, I thought Wes liked her, but I'd never gotten a sense of how Sutton felt about him.

"I don't know where her head is at."

I could tell he was worried about her though.

"Hopefully, her grandmother doesn't do anything that hurts her family. That wouldn't be cool," Teddy said.

"I can't begin to understand her family dynamics," Wes said. "Wealth will fuck you up. That's all I have to say about that."

"Good thing we don't have that to worry about," I said as we drank our beers.

The look Wes gave me said he was worried about Sutton and whatever effect this meeting would have on her.

It was good to be with my brothers. I felt like we were finally connected on even footing. Maybe it was this new direction I was taking in my life. Or maybe they'd respected me all along, and I just hadn't realized it.