Page 32

The solid metal of the key felt cool in Callum’s palm as he turned it in the lock of Linear Tactical’s private gym. Normally, at this predawn hour, he’d be working out in his garage at home, but today, the very walls of his house seemed to suffocate him with reminders of Sloane.

After the hellish day he’d had yesterday, he thought exhaustion alone would grant him a few hours’ reprieve. But sleep had proven elusive, his mind churning with all the ways he’d screwed things up.

He shouldered open the heavy door, hoping to find solitude, but paused when he spotted a large figure already lifting at one of the weight racks. Bear. The younger man sat up, giving Callum a nod of acknowledgment.

“Hey, man. I can clear out of here if you need the space to yourself,” Callum offered, even as his muscles itched to unleash some of his pent-up energy and turmoil.

Bear shook his head. “Nah, it’s all good. Plenty of room for both of us. What’s your poison today? Bench? Squats?”

“Actually, you up for a few rounds in the ring?” The urge to hit something, to take a few hits himself, suddenly overwhelmed Callum. A heavy bag wasn’t going to cut it. He needed to spar, needed the adrenaline and endorphin release of skin-on-skin combat. “I’ll go easy on you, of course.”

Bear barked out a laugh as he hopped up and began strapping on protective gear. “Pretty sure it’s you who’ll be wanting me to go easy, old man. But sure, I could use the practice.”

They met in the center of the ring, tapping gloves before the match began. Despite the age difference, Callum knew Bear would be a formidable opponent—young, strong, with boundless stamina and a hell of a right hook. Callum had experience and technique on his side, but he found himself wanting to draw out the match, to feel each landed punch in his bones.

So, he did. He threw himself into the fight, holding nothing back as they circled and jabbed. A hook to Bear’s ribs. A cross that snapped the younger man’s head back. He took hits of his own. The sting and ache felt good, grounding. Slowly, the rolling turmoil in his gut began to settle. This, at least, was something he could control. Something he was good at.

Unlike relationships.

After three brutal rounds, they leaned against the ropes, chests heaving and sweat dripping. Despite the safety gear, a cut over Bear’s eye trickled blood, and Callum could feel his own cheek beginning to swell. But damn, if he didn’t feel a little better.

“Jesus, Callum,” Bear panted, unwrapping his gloves. “You were really going at it today. Everything all right?”

Callum huffed a humorless laugh. “Not really. But I could say the same about you. What’s eating you?”

“Ah, just the usual,” Bear replied with forced lightness. “Wanting things I can’t have. Story of my life.”

Callum opened his mouth to press for more details, but Bear turned the questioning around on him. “So why are you really here at this ungodly hour? It’s obviously something to do with Sloane. Everyone could see the tension between you two yesterday at the Eagle’s Nest. And Joy looked ready to skin you alive.”

Callum’s shoulders slumped. He’d already told Bear about his relationship with Sloane. The urge to confide, to unburden himself about the rest, suddenly overwhelmed him. “It’s…complicated.”

“Isn’t it always?” Bear’s tone was gentle.

Callum took a deep breath. The words came out in a rush. “Sloane’s pregnant. With my baby.”

Bear stood frozen, his mouth agape. “Holy shit,” he finally managed. “I, uh… Wow. That’s… I mean, congratulations? Or… sorry ? I don’t know what to say here, man.”

Callum barely registered Bear’s stammering. The reality of everything crashed over him like a wave, stealing his breath.

He was going to be a father. Responsible for a tiny, innocent life.

His legs suddenly felt rubbery beneath him. He needed to sit down. He staggered to the edge of the ring and sank onto the floor, his back against the ropes.

He was going to be a father .

Bear rubbed the back of his neck, still looking supremely uncomfortable. “Wow. That’s…big news.” He grimaced. “I’m probably the last person who should be giving relationship advice. I don’t exactly have a stellar track record with women.”

“Why don’t you let me take over this conversation, Bear.” They both spun to see Zac Mackay leaning up against a far wall. “I slipped in while you two were going at it in the ring.”

Bear shot to his feet, relief stark on his face. “He’s all yours. I’m going to hit the showers. Callum, I… Good luck, man. Or condolences. Whichever. I mean that.” He clapped Callum on the shoulder before practically bolting for the door.

The kid was freaked. Callum wondered if all men handled the news of arriving babies like complete morons, or if it was just Oak Creek. So far, they were zero for two.

Zac tossed Callum a water bottle, which he caught reflexively. “Sounds like life’s taken an exciting turn for you.”

Callum twisted off the cap and took a long swig, the cool liquid soothing his parched throat. “I never expected this,” he admitted, his voice rough with emotion. “Never expected Sloane. She and I had sex in Moldova. I know it isn’t okay. I know that. Even though she wanted it, I shouldn’t have let it happen.”

Zac settled onto the bench across from Callum, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “I wasn’t in Moldova. I don’t know what happened. But tensions and emotions run high on a mission like that. You’re bonded in a way that defies normal relational factors. Turning to each other for comfort and passion…it happens.”

Callum scrubbed a hand over his jaw, the rasp of stubble loud in the quiet gym. “But is that all it was for me? A one-week stand that now has a permanent souvenir?” The question hung heavy in the air between them.

Zac regarded him steadily. “It doesn’t make you a jerk if you never wanted more from Sloane than that one week. You’ll have to help financially with the kid either way?—”

“Of course,” Callum interjected. “I would never even consider anything else.”

“I know.” Zac nodded. “But before you can go any further with plans about this baby, you’ve first got to decide how you feel about the mom.”

Callum blew out a breath, his shoulders drooping. “It’s more complicated than that. Sloane…she’s an incredible person. Beautiful, smart, kind. She has this quiet strength that most people wouldn’t notice, but it’s definitely there.”

He shook his head, a wry smile tugging at his mouth. “The question isn’t whether I want her. It’s whether I’m right for her.”

Zac raised an eyebrow. “Because…?”

“I’m old, Zac. Twenty years her senior. I’m a gruff workaholic who can’t remember the last time I took a vacation. Hell, my porch doesn’t even have any flowers, for Christ’s sake.” The words tumbled out in a rush, all the doubts and insecurities he’d been grappling with laid bare.

Zac was silent for a long moment, his expression thoughtful. Callum could practically see the gears turning in his friend’s head as he weighed his response. When he finally spoke, his voice was gentle but firm.

“Look, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about with porch flowers, but Callum, if Sloane wants you—if she sees something in you that makes her believe you’re worth taking a chance on, despite your age and your gruff exterior—then maybe you need to trust her judgment. Maybe you need to give yourself permission to grab on to this unexpected gift with both hands and never let go.”

Callum huffed out a breath, scrubbing a hand over his face. Deep down, he knew Zac was right. If Sloane wanted him, flaws and all, then who was he to question it? But still, a niggling doubt persisted.

Zac seemed to sense his hesitation. He leaned forward, his gaze intent. “Can I ask you something? As one widower to another?”

Callum nodded.

“Does any of your hesitation have to do with your feelings for Amelia?”

The question hung in the air between them, heavy with unspoken understanding. Zac, of all people, knew what it was like to lose a spouse, to feel like your heart had been ripped out of your chest and you’d never be whole again.

Callum swallowed hard, memories of Amelia flashing through his mind. Her smile, her laugh, the way she’d fit so perfectly in his arms. But even as the pain of her loss washed over him, he knew with startling clarity that this wasn’t about her.

“No,” he said quietly, meeting Zac’s gaze head on. “I’ll always love Amelia, always miss her. But I know she’s gone. Sloane doesn’t have to compete with her for my heart.”

Zac nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes. “Good. Because back when Becky died, I never thought I’d get over it. Never thought I’d be able to love anyone else. But then Annie came back to Oak Creek, and everything changed.”

“I know that feeling, but I think it’s a little more.” Callum swallowed hard, the words sticking in his throat. “When Amelia died, I not only buried her, I buried a future that involved children. I figured that even if I did remarry, it would be to someone my own age, someone past their childbearing years. But now…”

He trailed off, the magnitude of the situation hitting him all over again. He was going to be a father.

Zac chuckled. “Scary as shit, isn’t it?”

Callum nodded, a shaky laugh escaping his own lips. “You can say that again.”

“Nothing in this world can prepare you for it.”

“Amelia…she got pregnant once. But it was right when she was diagnosed with cancer. She miscarried.”

“Shit, man. I’m sorry.”

“I’ve always hated how sad that made her. Even though she never would’ve been able to carry the baby to term anyway, because of her illness.”

Zac’s expression softened with sympathy. “That’s something you’ll have to grieve, Callum. It’s healthy to mourn the child you and Amelia never had. Maybe you never got the chance to before, because you were so quickly thrown into dealing with her cancer. Maybe that grieving is something you’ve never known you needed.”

“Yeah.” Callum felt his throat tighten, tears pricking at the backs of his eyes. He blinked them away, drawing in a deep, steadying breath.

Zac was right. Callum needed to grieve the baby he and Amelia had lost, needed to make peace with that pain before he could fully embrace the joy and terror of impending fatherhood with Sloane.

“I want this. I want Sloane and I want this baby, but…” He shook his head. “I really messed up. The way I reacted when she told me about the baby… I was a complete ass. Insinuated I didn’t think the baby was mine. I was shocked and caught off guard by the news, sure, but that’s no excuse. I handled it all wrong.”

Zac leaned back, sympathy softening his features. “Listen, whatever you said, I guarantee it wasn’t as bad as the time I got drunk and ran Annie out of town. It’s been over thirty years, and I still regret it.” He met Callum’s gaze steadily. “The point is, the women we love? They’re a hell of a lot smarter and more gracious than we deserve. They forgive us, even when we’re at our worst. Thank God for that, right?”

The women we love.

Really, it wasn’t much more complicated than that, was it? Callum loved Sloane. It didn’t matter about their difference in age, or how they’d gotten together, or that their relationship wasn’t progressing in the normal order.

A wry chuckle escaped Callum’s lips. “Amen to that.” He sobered, worry creasing his brow. “But I don’t know how to make this right, Zac. Sloane’s been through so much with her family. Manipulation, gaslighting, emotional abuse. I want to be there for her, but I also know she’s trying to be independent for the first time in her life. She needs to make her own choices.”

Zac nodded thoughtfully. “So, what can you do to show her you’re all in, without stepping on her toes? There’s got to be a way to support her while still respecting her autonomy.”

Callum’s mind raced. Now that he was putting actual thought into this, the possibilities tumbled over each other. “I’ll start with the Gettys. I can sic Lincoln on them. They’ve been illegally controlling Sloane for years, and it’s time she knew for certain that they don’t have a hold over her anymore.”

His eyes narrowed, and a slow grin crept over his face. “Hell, maybe we can even hit them with a lawsuit for what they’ve put her through.”

Zac’s eyebrows lifted, impressed. “Now that’s a plan. Show her you’re in her corner, fighting for her, without trying to make her decisions for her.”

“I need to get the house ready for a baby.” He stood up, the idea feeling more right than anything had since she’d told him the news of her pregnancy. “Even if Sloane won’t take me back, I’ll still be watching the kid.”

Zac smiled knowingly. “It’s hitting you now, isn’t it? You’re going to be a dad.”

A mix of fear and awe swirled in Callum’s gut. “I don’t want my child growing up split between two houses. I want us to be a family, under one roof.”

“Then you fight for that,” Zac said firmly. “Not just for the baby, but for Sloane. Show her that she’s the one you want, with or without a baby in the picture.”

Callum clapped Zac on the shoulder. “Thanks for the talk, man. I needed it more than I realized.”

Zac grinned. “Anytime. Now, go get your girl.”

As Callum strode out of the gym, a plan began to take shape in his mind. He would start with the house, transforming it into a welcoming haven for Sloane and their baby. Then, he’d enlist Lincoln’s help to obliterate any lingering hold the Gettys had over Sloane.

But most importantly, he would prove to Sloane, with every word and action, that she was worth fighting for. He had been given a second chance at happiness, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to waste it.