CAL
Ipull away as Justin knocks on the glass again. His shadow blocks out the sun through the frosted windowpane. “Are you all right?”
She nods, wiping her cheeks. Caleb cries out, letting us know he’s still here like he does whenever we’re out of his sight, even though he can hear us.
“I’ll see to him,” she says as I open the door and let Justin in.
“Are the kids ready?” He smiles, rocking back on his heels with his hands in his pockets.
“Come in. They’re in the garden.” I hold the door open, allowing him to walk into the small hallway. I close the door and follow him into the kitchen.
“Have you been crying?” he asks Steph.
She shakes her head. “I got an email from an old enemy.” She lets out a sigh and waves her hand in the air. “It’s nothing. I’m over it.”
Cassie wanders into the kitchen like a drowned rat, dripping water all over the floor. Her giggles are followed by Cairen’s laughs, who’s also dripping wet. “Daddy.”
“What’s happened to the pair of you?” Justin laughs.
“Callum gave us his giant water balloons.”
Justin glances over his shoulder at me. I hold my hands up.
“Kids, go upstairs and change. Your dad’s waiting to go.” Steph rolls her eyes as they both run up the stairs, leaving a puddle on the floor. “And leave your wet clothes in the bath,” she shouts from the bottom of the hall.
“Giant water balloons?” Justin frowns, holding up an empty condom wrapper from the counter, looking between the two of us.
Steph puts her hand on her hip. “Cairen found Callum’s stash in the bathroom and filled them with water, so Callum played along with it.”
I pat Justin on the arm. “I figured you’d wanna be the one to have that chat with him. You know, man to man, when you’re ready.” I give him my best grin, and he shakes his head.
“You twat,” he says with a smile tugging at his mouth. “It’s a good job I like you.”
“Wait. Did I hear that right? You like him?” Steph looks between the two of us, and I itch the back of my neck.
Justin shrugs a shoulder and leans against the worktop. “He’s okay.”
She laughs, causing me to laugh along. Would he feel the same if he knew how much I hurt Steph and upset her just minutes ago?
I gather Caleb’s things together and pack up his changing bag with fresh nappies and bibs.
“Cal, what are you doing?” Steph asks.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Justin’s having Caleb tonight.” I flash her a grin and a wink.
She tilts her head, giving me a half smile. “Is this what you were cooking up between you yesterday on the driveway?”
Justin laughs. “Maybe. Anyway, I’ve missed this little man.” He unclips Caleb from his highchair and picks him up in his large hands, bringing him to his face. “You can have a night with your uncle. We’ll have some fun. Auntie Maxine’s looking forward to spending time with you.” He pulls a face at Caleb, making him giggle and babble.
“Are you okay with this?” Steph asks Justin.
“Yeah. We’ve been looking forward to having him.”
I grip my fist around the bottle in my hand and count to five. It still riles me that I missed that time, but I choose to let go and drop the bottle in the changing bag along with the formula.
“I’ll get him a change of clothes,” Steph says, disappearing upstairs.
“Thanks for this, mate. I really appreciate it.” I hand him the changing bag and he drapes it over his shoulder.