“You would.”
His gaze met mine, freezing me to the spot. “Call me if you need anything.”
I wouldn’t. “Okay.”
He shook his head as if he knew I was lying and turned towards his SUV. “I’ll be seeing you.”
The words felt like both a promise and a threat. There’d be no escaping Hayes now.
10
Hayes
A knock sounded on my door, and I looked up from the pile of paperwork on my desk to see Calder standing in my doorway. “Look what the cat dragged in after he got it out of a tree.”
“After all the calls you get from Ms. Pat, I’d say missing cats are your wheelhouse, brother.”
I leaned back in my chair and glared at him. Because he was right. I’d had two this morning already.
Calder barked out a laugh. “She called you today already, didn’t she?”
“It’s been a long Friday, and it’s only nine a.m.”
He slid into one of the chairs opposite me at my desk and set down some coffee in a to-go cup. “Maybe this will help.”
I eyed him cautiously. “You’re bringing me coffee…”
“Yes…”
“You need a favor, or something bad happened.”
Calder rolled his eyes. “So suspicious of everyone.”
“I’m suspicious of you because I’ve known you my entire life.”
“Can’t a guy check up on his friend? Make sure he’s hanging in there?”
I picked up the cup and took a sip. “Mom told you Everly’s back?”
“Hadley took the twins to the park yesterday.”
Hads adored Birdie and Sage and loved stealing them away for adventures whenever she could. I scrubbed a hand over my face. “She talk to you about Mom at all?”
“No. They get into it at family dinner?”
“Understatement.” Over the years, Calder had become one of the family and had seen more than a few dustups between Hadley and Mom.
His gaze drifted out the window as a muscle ticked in his cheek. “Hads needs to understand that she can’t just take off to climb a mountain by herself and expect no one to worry.”
“I know that, and you know that, but Hadley’s yearned to stretch her wings from the time she was seven. Mom and Dad were protective after what happened to Shiloh, and Hadley took the brunt of it for the longest.”
Calder looked back to me. “I get that she needs freedom, but it’s not worth her getting hurt or killed.”
His words alone caused my chest to constrict, made breathing just a little more difficult. Calder muttered a curse. “Sorry, man. I shouldn’t have said it like that. I know you worry about her.”
“It’s fine.” But the tension in my voice argued otherwise.
He studied me for a moment, likely taking in the lie. “Want to come fishing with me and the girls tomorrow? Should be the perfect day for it.”