Page 21 of Wildly Yours (Owl Creek #3)

T here might be a groove in my floor from all the pacing I've been doing waiting for Cody. It's still early but I've been ready to go for an hour. I've reapplied my lipstick, changed my outfit four times, and moved the desert I made in and out of the refrigerator twice.

I'm a mess. But at least I look good—I think.

I spent the last couple of days working, journaling, and trying to find ways to open myself to trust.

Talking to my parents about this is not going to be any help, since they refuse to see how much they messed with mine and my sister's heads.

I love them deeply, but they are two misinformed people and I don't want to engage with their paranoia anymore, even if it seems like my mother is starting to see the light.

I've gotta take care of me first or I won't be able to help them, and that means doing things that make me really uncomfortable—so I made two phone calls.

One was to Hadley. I told her that I would give her a raise, and let her work two shifts on her own if she stayed.

She told me she'd think about it. The second was to Meredith.

I told her I will be reducing my office hours at Town hall down to three days a week from the five I've been holding.

With Blake out of the race, I don't have any competition so I think it won't hurt me.

And if I keep taking steps toward building real bridges instead of relying on my political capital, I'll have a strong support network if something goes wrong in my life.

I hope.

This is what trust looks like according to my therapist. I have to give it my best shot.

If Hadley stays on, I'm suddenly going to have a lot more free time, and I have been fighting the urge to take up a hobby that involves growing food, making clothes, or anything that resembles being a prepper like my parents.

Maybe I'll volunteer at the park.

Finally, I hear the engine of his truck pull in my driveway. My heart kicks up a notch. This is it. I'm going to his parent's house on his arm, even though I don't know what we are yet. I haven't talked to him since we left my therapist's office, besides his text telling me when he'd be here.

It's hitting me right now that I don't know what I'm going to be facing. I know he promised to tell his parents what happened, but I don't know what else they know. My teeth are set as I answer his knock.

When I open the door, he's leaning against the jam.

He's wearing a flannel and jeans, somehow making that look as sexy as a tuxedo.

One look at him and my insides are fluttering around, half from nerves and half from looking at this man I want.

I've always wanted him since the day we sat next to each other in eighth grade biology.

"Hi."

"Hi."

He leans in and kisses me on the cheek. Very chaste. I wonder if I should be worried, but then I notice the look on his face. An appreciative grin as he looks me up and down in my black fitted button down and jeans.

"Sorry I'm early. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Let me grab the desert I made."

"Between you, Zoe, and Renée, I think we're all going to get cavities from this meal. What is it with you women and desert?"

"It's what makes us so sweet, Cody."

He grins and holds the door while I get the cheesecake.

"Let's put that in the cooler so you don't have to hold it. You look nice, by the way."

"Thanks. So do you."

He opens the truck door for me and takes the desert, laying it the cooler in the back.

Then he climbs in and shifts his muscled frame toward me.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight. My folks know you're coming, but I didn't say anything to the guys so they might act a little…

surprised. Especially Caleb. But don't mind him, he just likes to be an idiot sometimes. "

"I've met your brother."

"Serena, I came a few minutes early because I wanted to thank you for making me go see your therapist. The conversation I had with my parents was…" Cody scans my face, his eyes soft. "It was freeing."

Anticipation roils through me. I want him to say he's turning a corner. That he's ready to put all that behind him. And I know that I have to do the same. But isn't that what I'm doing?

"Freeing you up to do what?"

"This."

Cody leans over and cups my face, then he kisses me. His lips are tender, his touch is reverent. I've never been touched like this before. His movements are slow and deliberate. Pregnant with meaning.

And I'm melting again.

He pulls back an inch or so until his eyes meet mine.

"Will you do me the honor of—"

"Oh my god, are you proposing?"

A grin spreads across his mind-blowingly handsome face.

"I was thinking more that we go on a real date first. But it's good to know where your head is at."

I'm shrinking in my seat. I can't believe I just blurted that out.

"Hey. Don't be embarrassed. I'm not. Though I might get plenty embarrassed with the ribbing I'm about to get from my brothers."

"They won't be that bad. It's not like they know. Wait, do they know? Do they know you and I—"

"Only Caleb. Well, okay. I told my parents the other day. So I guess it's Cole who's in the dark."

"And Zoe, and Renée. I haven't talked to them yet. Maybe we can finesse this so I can pull them aside somehow?"

"Do they need an intervention?"

"No, but I'm trying to build trust. And they are going to be hurt if they have to hear it from your brothers that we were together. I need to do that part."

"Well I suggest doing it as soon as we get there. You know how we get when we're together."

I do. And I can't wait to be part of that again.

We pull out of my driveway and head down the main road to Callie and Buzz's place.

They live on the edge of town in a house on one of the two lakes in Owl Creek.

If I had to pick one place in this town I would have wanted to grow up, it's in this house with this family.

I've been here countless times hanging out with Cody climbing trees and swimming, and on official business visiting Callie, who organizes our annual boat festival.

Every single time I visit, I feel like I'm being pulled into a warm hug.

The deciduous trees that line the road are budding out, filling in the canopy with fresh green splashes.

Spring is my favorite time of year, because it carries a sense of hope in the air.

I've always held onto hope. Hope that things can turn out differently for me than the path of being single and wary that I was on.

We pull into their driveway and I see Caleb's slick black truck, and Renée's classic mustang. We're the last ones here.

I've known the Barone family most of my life, but I still feel sweat trickle down my sides and my hands are clammy. What if this all goes sideways?

We climb out and Caleb grabs my cheesecake and a paper bag with mushrooms in it.

"What's with the mushrooms?"

"The first of spring. My mom loves these. You don't have to eat them if you don't trust my botany skills."

"I trust you Cody."

"How much?"

"Enough to be here, and to eat those mushrooms."

"That's a great start."

I roll my eyes but I know why he's pushing. For the first time in my life, I'm walking into his house not as the mayor on town business, not as his school buddy, but as his date. Things have changed.

When he opens the door, he waves to everyone and I hear a roar of excitement. Then he steps aside and I walk in, and the whole room gets quiet.

Okay, I wasn't expecting this grand of an entry.

"Um, hi everyone. I brought cheesecake!"

Zoe and Renée jump up to hug me and I whisper in their ears that we need to grab a drink and head out to the dock.

Callie and Buzz both give me a hug too, with Cole and Caleb giving me a smile in greeting.

Renée grabs a bottle of white wine from the fridge and three glasses. "We're going to have a little girl talk outside. Sorry Callie, this might be more information than you want to hear."

"I'm fine staying in here with all my boys." She winks and waves us off.

Zoe grabs a blanket and the three of us head down the short trail to the dock. We settle in on the blanket and before my wine is in my hand, she pipes up.

"Okay, spill. Last time I saw you two in the same vicinity you were avoiding each other on purpose. What happened?"

I take a deep breath. This is how I start to trust. One secret told at a time.

"Cody and I had a falling out seven years ago."

Zoe's eyebrows shoot up with impatience. She already knows that part.

"Okay, okay. We were close when we were young.

Very close. We spent all our time together when Cody wasn't with Caleb.

I even signed up for the same community college as Cody so I could be around him before he left and got his Master's degree.

Anyway, during our college years, our friendship turned into something else.

Something much deeper. I fell…I fell in love with him. "

I look out over the lake. The sun is reflecting off of the water, and the tops of a few tall trees in the distance are dancing in the breeze.

I felt so at home here for all those years.

Off to the left is the giant maple we used to climb with our books and soda pop, relaxing in the wide branches and talking about school, our families, and animals.

With Cody, there was always talk of animals.

His favorite bird could sometimes be heard on those long, lazy afternoons, and he'd tell me how much he dreamed of studying them, or working with wildlife animals in a vet clinic.

Zoe nudges me and I'm pulled from my reverie.

"Sorry. Uh…anyway he graduated two years earlier than me because he's so smart, so after he finished college we spent one last summer together.

And one night while my roommate was away, we had sex.

And it was everything. I don't think I've ever experienced a deeper sense of closeness and care and…

intimacy as I did that night. I know that sex is already intimate but this was more than that.

It was like there was before that night, and after that night.

Before Cody, and after Cody. Everything in my life is split between those times. "

"Gives new meaning to B.C." Zoe barks out with a snicker.

We all crack up, nearly spilling what's left of the bottle of wine as we double over with laughter.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys before. Especially given that he's going to be your brother-in-law soon."

"Well, Caleb hasn't actually asked me yet. But I think he's working up to it. He thinks he's being sneaky but I caught him measuring one of my rings the other day when I came out of the bathroom. He played it off but…"

"That's so exciting!" Renée pulls Zoe in for a hug.

"Wait Serena, the story can't be over yet. You said you had a falling out."

"Yeah. We did. So, we have this one magical night until he tells me he has to go do something really important, but he won't say what it is. So he leaves, and I don't hear from him for two weeks."

"What? That's a dick move."

"Tell me about it. But it gets worse. When he get back, he tells me he can't see me anymore.

That he's sorry he, uh, took my virginity when he didn't deserve me.

That I'm better off without him. I begged him not to do it.

He was my sun. He was my everything. I lived and breathed for Cody, but he hung up the phone and we never spoke again. "

The inevitable tears start to flow, and my friends wrap me in their arms and hug me as I remember the night that changed my life. The night that served as the last nail in the coffin, making me turn away from believing in people. From believing that my heart could be safe with them.

"If he wasn't Cole's little brother, I'd kick his ass for you."

I sniffle out a laugh. "Thanks, Renee."

Zoe hands me a napkin and then she nudges me again. "The story isn't over yet. Why did he do it and how did you end up here today?"

"The why part of your question is his story to tell. But the how is because he needed money."

My two friends stare at me wide-eyed.

Renée giggles. "Now this is getting really interesting."

"Not for himself. For the park. And that part I'm sure you both know. At least you do, Zoe."

"Yeah, he was hoping Caleb could get some of his fans from his Car Mechanics for Women YouTube channel to donate.

If I was a less secure woman, that channel would drive me nuts.

The comments section is insane, even though I make guest appearances.

It's almost like I'm dating a celebrity with the things they say. "

"Dinner is ready if you ladies are." Callie is standing on the back porch with her hands on her hips and a wide smile.

She's always had a lot on her plate with the three boys, but she's looking at us like we are the gift she never knew she needed in her life.

And with that smile, I already feel like I'm being integrated into this messy, beautiful family that has formed.

We gather up our glasses and the blanket, and Zoe does a makeup check on all of us, ensuring our mascara isn't smeared from crying.

When we walk in, Buzz and the boys are cackling about something, and the magic spell is complete. I want to be here. I want to work hard to trust Cody so I can be part of this again, only this time I want it for good. Forever.

Buzz has a gleam in his eye and he raises a glass.

"Now that you gorgeous gals are here, let's raise a toast. First to my son Cole.

You made us so proud when you became fire chief, and now as the first of your brothers to walk down the aisle.

I know you are going to be a good husband to Renée, and we are lucky to have her in our family. "

Callie hands Cole a small present and kisses him on the cheek.

"Next toast is to my son Caleb. You've worked so hard to become the man you are, and your mother and I are proud of everything you've done with my old garage, your education of women, and of finally settling down with this lovely lady."

He winks at Zoe while Callie gives Caleb a similar-sized gift.

"To our son Cody. You've always excelled at school and work, but this week you excelled as a man.

You demonstrated the courage it takes to be vulnerable, which is the most important quality a man can possess if he wants to excel in his relationships.

And what would we be without these women?

" Buzz presses a kiss on Callie's head before she gives Cody his parcel.

"And lastly, I want to toast this perfect woman who walked into my life nearly thirty years ago. I don't know what my life would be like if I hadn't found you walking down the side of the road with three babies, but I know it wouldn't have been as rich and rewarding as it has been. So with that…"

Buzz gets down on one knee in front of Callie, holding a ring in his hand. "Marry me, darling."

Whoops and hollers sound around me like thunder. The walls seem to be shaking with all the noise we're making, and I see Callie wipe at her eyes as she nods yes.