Page 25 of Branded By Bishop

"Bishop. Earth to Bishop!"

I blink bleary eyes, trying to focus on Blaze. "What?"

"I asked if you were finished with that," he says, nodding at the bucket.

I glance down and realize it's overflowing. "Shit," I mutter, quickly sliding it out of the way before grabbing a new one to slide under Betsy. "My bad."

Blaze hoists the bucket, carrying it across the barn to Brian to deal with. He comes back over a second later, stopping beside me. "You good, man?"

"Fine. Why?"

"Uh, maybe because that bucket was full for ten minutes before you finally heard me?" He eyes me sideways. "You were out of it."

"Didn't sleep last night," I mutter.

A slow grin stretches across his face. "Son of a bitch," he says.

"Don't start."

"You didn't come home last night."

"Don't start, motherfucker."

"Sex is supposed to mellow you out, not make you even more cranky," he says with a laugh, clearly enjoying this a little too much. We weren't nearly this fucking irritating when Morgan was keeping him up all night. Matter of fact, I moved the fuck out to give them privacy.

"I'm not cranky," I growl. "I'm tired."

He just chuckles, slapping me on the back. "Go take a fucking nap, brother. I'll handle this shit."

"I've got it."

"Bishop," he says, suddenly serious. "Go. You've been busting your ass, trying to be here and there. Go catch a nap. I've got this."

Well, shit. I lean back on my stool, scratching the side of my face. "I owe you."

"No." He shakes his head. "You really don't. You've been helping me watch out for my wife for months. Letting you catch a fucking nap so you can win your girl is the least I can do."

"Watching out for Calamity isn't a hardship, Blaze."

"Believe me, I'm aware." He grins. "Doesn't mean I don't appreciate the hell out of you for doing it. Now, let me return the goddamn favor."

"I think she already did," I mutter.

"You're figuring it out, huh?" He laughs. "You know why I love her so fucking much, man? Because even when she's turning everything upside down and inside out, she's making it better." He smacks me on the back. "You can thank her for it later."

I just shake my head, bemused. Not because he's wrong. I don't think he is. Rather, because I think he might be right. Somehow, she knew exactly what she was doing when she sent me to Callie. She knew I'd fall. And I think maybe she knew just how much I needed it.

Blaze always says she's magic. Hell, maybe she is.

My life certainly feels a little magical lately, not since last night, but since that first day. Since I stepped inside that studio and saw Callie barefoot, singing her heart out. Ever since that moment, my life has felt damn near perfect.

Maybe my pops really did have it right all those years. The greatest love stories aren't the ones that look perfect to everyone else. They're simply the ones that feel that way to the people living in them. He chased my mom because she was his perfect. And she didn't just have the stage…she had him, too.

Is that what Callie wants? What she needs from me?

"Get some sleep," Blaze murmurs.

I just nod, my mind already trying to work it through and figure out exactly what loving a woman like her looks like. It's funny. I watched my dad do it my entire fucking life, and I'm not sure I ever actually saw it clearly. I'm not sure I ever learned what I need to know now. But…I'm learning now.