Page 43 of Shadows Relived
Her brows lifted slightly, surprised. “I didn’t really know what I was doing.”
“You didn’t have to. You cared. They felt that.” He let his head rest back against the pillow, still watching her. “I noticed it, too. Every time you held Sophie’s hand when she was scared or how you got Lucas to smile, even when he didn’t want to. And Willie…” A faint smile tugged at his lips. “That little guy didn’t want to leave your side. He looked at you like you were the only safe place left in the world. You made them feel safe. I bet you make a damn good teacher, just from what I’ve seen the past couple of days.”
Her eyes filled, but she held his gaze. “I’ve always loved kids,” she whispered. “That’s why I became a teacher. Kindergarten’s not just colors and letters; it’s when they learn how to be in the world. How to trust, how to feel safe, how to believe someone’s looking out for them.”
She hesitated, then added in a whisper, “I just wish I could’ve protected them from all this.”
“You did,” he said, reaching for her hand. “You kept them grounded. You kept them human in the middle of a nightmare. Never think that wasn’t enough.”
She didn’t respond right away, just squeezed his hand like she needed the contact to believe his words. Her breath hitched, and for a moment that seemed to stretch on forever, silence hung between them. But it wasn’t heavy. It was full of meaning. Full of things they weren’t ready to say.
Not yet.
Finally, she broke the silence, her gaze stilldowncast, voice low. “All I ever wanted was to give them something I didn’t always have.”
Callen’s brows drew together, but he said nothing, sensing there was more.
She picked at the corner of the blanket, her voice even quieter now. “My dad… he was always off somewhere. Campaign trail, meetings, handshakes and headlines. We had money, sure. And nannies. Tutors. But not a lot of his presence. I used to think maybe if I was quieter, easier to handle, he’d come around more. Eventually, I just stopped expecting it.” She glanced over at him, a smirk twisting her lips. “That’s probably when I started acting out.”
Callen felt that truth hit somewhere deep in his chest. “You deserved better.”
She shrugged. “I always wanted to be that kind of person,” she said. “The one who makes a difference. A teacher, a counselor… someone who mattered in a kid’s life.” Her smile turned self-conscious. “Even a forest ranger could do that.”
He reached for her hand, lacing their fingers slowly. “You were that person. Out there with them. You made more of a difference in two days than some people make in years.”
Her eyes shimmered, but she didn’t cry. She didn’t need to. Instead, she squeezed his hand and nodded, just once. Steady. Strong. Still standing.
And Callen thought, not for the first time that night, God help anyone who tries to take her away from me again.
They sat like that for another long moment, the clock ticking faintly, the heater rattling once and going still.
“I have something for you,” he said as he shifted so he could dig something out of his pocket. “I found it in the cabin, and I want you to have it.” He pulled out a silver necklace with a white-gold pendant of a crescent moon. “It’s something I made years ago before…” He smiled over at her as he handed her the necklace. “Well, before I was an idiot.”
She took the necklace, a soft smile toying at her lips. “It’s gorgeous.” She sat up in the bed and slid it around her neck, rubbing the pendant when she finished. “I love it. Thank you.”
He nodded, his throat closing as he stared over at her. “Not the best circumstances, I know, but I’m glad it brought us back together.”
“Me too,” she said, still touching the necklace.
He could have let her go to sleep. Should have, really. Instead, they sat there in the silence, a silence filled with expectation. Like the pause before the storm.
“You remember that night after graduation?” he asked suddenly.
She looked over, brows lifting. “Which one?”
“End-of-summer bonfire. Out at Mariner’s Point. You wore that ridiculous hoodie from the senior trip, and I was… hell, probably already buzzed off two beers.”
Her mouth curved. “I remember you falling asleep in the back of your truck.”
“That was after,” he said, voice low. “Before that… we almost said it.”
She froze.
Callen kept his eyes on the ceiling. “We were walking back to the cars. You were talking about college,and I kept thinking—say something. Tell her you don’t want her to go. But I didn’t. I chickened out and enlisted.”
“You weren’t the only one,” Meaghan whispered. “I was scared that if I said it, you’d laugh. Or worse, say it back.”
Now he looked at her, and their eyes locked.
