Page 47 of Burn Falls

And with that, I left to pick up Calla.

When I arrived at Calla’s house, I cut the engine and walked up the drive before knocking on the door. It was weird knowing I was picking up a grown woman, and at her mom’s house no less. I was out of my element.Should I have brought flowers? Flowers for her mom? Fuck.

The door opened, and Calla stood before me. Her long brown hair was loosely curled, and she had on jeans and a heavy coat.

“Wow,” I uttered. “You’re beautiful.”

Her cheeks turned pink. “Thank you. You know, you could have texted you were here, and I would have walked down the driveway.”

I stepped aside so she could exit the doorway. “That wouldn’t have been gentlemanly of me, now would it?”

Calla chuckled. “I guess not.”

Before she could close the door behind her, Alastair filled the frame. “You’ll have her home by eleven?”

“Al!” Calla scolded.

“What? I’m the man of the house now. I want to make sure the good doctor has you home at a decent hour.” He shrugged as though he were older than me and had authority.

“You’re mybabybrother. If I want to stay out until five in the morning, that’s my choice.” Calla rolled her eyes and turned from the door.

I smiled at Alastair. “Don’t worry. She’s safe with me. I’ll have her home before the sun rises.”

Calla started to walk down the steps, and I took that as my cue to follow. I hurried around her and made it to the passenger side door of my black Mercedes to open it for her. Once she was inside, I went around to my side and buckled in before starting the engine.

“I figured we could drive into Anchorage. More restaurants there. Unless you like Italian, and then we can go to the place here in town. I’ve never been.”

She sucked in a breath as she turned her head to look at me, her green eyes wide. “You haven’t? Oh my God, Bartoli’s has the best pasta. We should go there for sure.”

I nodded. “Okay, I trust your taste.”

Bartoli’s was a short drive into town, and Calla and I made small talk as I navigated the streets. She was easy to hold a conversation with. Once inside the cozy restaurant that looked like something that would sit on Lake Como rather than the middle of Alaska, I ordered a rare Palermo style steak that had garlic and capers on top with tomatoes and basil under the meat.Yes, I can eat garlic.If anything, the blood from the rare steak would be the only thing worth tasting on the plate.

“How’s your mother doing?” I asked, leaning forward with my elbows on the table.

Calla nodded her head with a tight smile. “The best she can be.”

“Are you the official owner of O’Bannion Burn yet?”

“No. My mom still needs to meet with the probate attorney and get everything drawn up for me to sign. I’ll do that once I move back.”

“Are you planning on moving in with your mother then?”

She sighed. “For now. My mom hasn’t been alone since … Well, never. She was still living at home when she married my father.”

“It’s going to be a change for sure.”

“Yeah.”

The waitress placed our drinks down and then left.

“Are Alastair and Betha going back to school?” I asked.

“Yes. We all leave tomorrow, and then I’ll be back in two weeks or so.”

“Who’s staying with your mother until you return?”

“I’m not entirely sure except my father’s best friend, Ted, said he’d keep an eye on her. He doesn’t have any out of town meeting for a few weeks. I’ll be back before he needs to go to Phoenix.”