Callie walks back into the kitchen, her face paler than usual.
“Baby, you all right?”
“Fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“Just a little bit of an upset stomach,” she says.
“Do you need anything? An antacid?”
She shakes her head. “I’m good. Really.”
I’m not sure I believe her, but what can I do? We’re all in now.
“Callie,” I say to her, “I’m going to give you a choice right now.”
“What kind of choice?”
“To walk away.”
Her jaw drops. “From you?”
I rub my forehead, trying—with desperation—to ease the ache that’s forming. Any minute now, I’m sure it will explode. “From…all of this. And unfortunately, that includes me.”
Her eyes widen, and her lips curve downward into a frown. “You’re dumping me? In front of your brother and sister-in-law?”
“God, no! I love you, Callie. I love you so much. This isn’t what I want. It’s about what’s best for you.”
Ashley grabs Dale’s hand. “We should go.”
“No,” I say. “Stay. We need to deal with this. I’m just giving the woman I love a chance to escape what’s coming. Because, Callie, baby, a shitstorm is coming.”
“What if I have a shitstorm of my own coming?” she says.
I look at her then. I really look at her. Her white pallor. Her slightly trembling lips. The goose bumps on her forearms.
She’s frightened.
And it’s not because of what’s going on with my family.
“What is it, baby?” I ask. “I’ll make it go away. Is it the fire? What do you need?”
She blows out a breath. “Right. The fire. We’re fine. I just worry sometimes.”
I don’t believe her. She’s struggling with something, but I can’t force her to tell me. Maybe later, after Dale and Ashley go home.
“Callie, I don’t want to drag you into this mess, and I promise I won’t think less of you if you want to leave.”
“I won’t leave you,” she says. “I love you.”
“I know that. It doesn’t have anything to do with loving me. Or me loving you.”
“Donny, I want to be here for you. Help you any way I can. I’m not leaving.”
I cup her cheek. If possible, I think I just fell in love with her even more. I just hope she doesn’t run away screaming when she hears what I’ve done. “There’s another reason I want you to consider leaving. Once you know, you can be considered an accessory.”
“You’ve committed a crime?” Ashley says, her eyes wide.
“Not exactly.”
“For God’s sake, Don, let’s just spit it out. It was my idea, anyway.”
Ashley’s jaw drops. “You guys are really scaring me now.”
“It’s okay, Ash,” Dale says. “We’ll protect you. You haven’t done anything, and Donny hasn’t committed a crime.”
Callie meets my gaze. She doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t ask. Doesn’t say she’s scared. Though she is. Her wide eyes tell the tale.
But she doesn’t look any different from how she did when she came back from the bathroom.
I inhale deeply, hold the breath and gather my courage, and then exhale. “Here goes.”
The story tumbles out of my mouth in a monotone voice.
How I called in a favor with the energy board, got the Murphys to vacate their property while a potential gas leak was investigated.
How Dale and I are going in tomorrow with some decoys.
When I finally stop talking, Ashley and Callie are both staring at me.
“Is that all?” Callie says.
“Yeah. So far, anyway.”
“Thank God. I was afraid you’d done something awful.”
“I did.”
“You did something dishonest,” Callie says. “Unethical.”
“Unlawful,” I say. “At least it will be when we trespass.”
“On property our family has a lien on,” Dale adds.
“I understand,” Callie continues, “but this isn’t something unforgiveable. No one will be hurt in the long run.”
“See?” Dale says. “Your lady understands. Murphy wants the lien off his property, and once we check everything out, we can do that for him.”
“You’re sweet, Cal,” I say, “and I suppose you’re technically right, but—”
“You said yourself you and Dale will reimburse the Murphys for any lost income. This isn’t a huge deal. You’re doing what you have to do to uncover the mysteries of your family.”
“You may not even find anything more,” Ashley says.
“In which case, we shouldn’t have done this at all,” I retort.
Ashley shakes her head. “I agree with Callie. Do I like this? Of course not, but it’s clear the two of you don’t like it either. Your friend at the energy board won’t rat you out. He has a lot more to lose than you do.”
“I know that. I just wish…”
“You wish it hadn’t come to this,” Callie says. “I get it.”
In her eyes, I see not only love.
I see understanding.
She does get it.
And I can’t help wondering how she seems to so fully understand my dilemma.
“We’ll go in,” Dale says, “investigate, and leave. It won’t take more than a day or two to look through everything. We’ll put everything back in place, and then we’ll be done.”
“Until we have to look through some other property the Steels own,” I say.