“Of course!” She left the door open as she hurried to the store room for towels.

Though she had ended their dinner date stiff and unresponsive, he came back. Any tension from the argument with Mitch, any nervousness about noticing how much she liked Cal, melted in the warmth of knowing he liked her enough to come back.

“You’re okay with this?” Cal asked as he ran the towels over Bailey’s fur. “He might leave wet places and fur in your back seat.”

“Yes, that’s fine, not a problem,” she answered. Fur on the upholstery would remind her Cal had come back. She might never vacuum the back seat again.

Cal smiled up at her. “Is that your car?”

“Yes.” She pointed to the blue Malibu parked in front of the store. She hit the remote to unlock the doors, pulled her shawl over her head, and started to lead Cal and Bailey out the door.

Cal stopped. “Isn’t that your purse on the table over there?”

“Yes!” She stepped back to retrieve her purse and the bank deposit, led them out, and locked the door behind her. “I have to drop this off at the bank on the way. Do you mind?”

The rain slowed to a sprinkle.

“Do whatever you need to. We’re along for the ride.” Cal smirked. “After all, we are the ‘unwelcome surprise’ here.”

For the umpteenth time since meeting Cal, heat flooded Bryony’s cheeks. “Please forgive me,” she said. “I don’t know why I said that.”

They walked to the car, neither of them hurrying.

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard it,” Cal said. “That’s how my mother described me for the first ten years of my life.”

“Is that true?” Bryony asked.

“No, but it was a great one-liner.” Cal bumped her ever so lightly with his arm.

She wanted to bump him back with more oomph, but she settled for simply noticing the heat generated by his touch. It spread through her entire body, and she turned to him, a flower turning toward the sun, to say, “Tell me more about your mother.”

CAL CALLS AGAIN

After Bryony dropped them off, Cal went into the house and immediately called her. She answered after one ring.

“Are you still driving?” he asked. He wanted to hear her voice again. The short conversation in the car as Bryony drove him home upped both his interest and his confidence. For every answer he gave, she found another question to ask.

“You know I am,” she said. “I’m a block away. Did you leave something in the car?”

“No,” he said. She sounded happy, not annoyed. A good sign. “Are both of your hands on the wheel?”

“I have you on speaker.”

“Good.” He had nothing to talk about. He merely didn’t want the evening to end. “You shouldn’t talk on the phone while driving.”

Bryony laughed. “Why are you calling, Cal?”

He was calling because, geographically challenged or not, he wanted to be as close to her as he could be. “Would you like to go on a non-date Saturday night?”

There was a pause before she answered. Had he pushed his luck too far?

“Any paperwork involved?” she asked.

Cal breathed out. “I can bring something to grade if it makes you happy.”

“Not necessary.” Her voice was warm, confident. “Yes, I will have dinner with you on Saturday night.”

“Pick you up at five?”

“I’ll be ready,” she said.

Heidi would give him a hard time, and he might regret this decision to follow his heart and not his head, but he couldn’t stop himself. Bryony was to his whole being, what the shoe insert was to his knee pain, what vitamin D was to his immune system, and what a low fat diet was to his cardiovascular system. She made everything feel better, function better. He would never write any of that on a Valentine’s Day card, but if he did, Bryony was the kind of woman who would understand.

Feeling pleased and hopeful, Cal showered and threw on a pair of socks, some old jogging shorts, and a tee under a thick, lined sweatshirt. He had just settled into his favorite reading spot when his phone announced a caller. Mitch.

“Seriously?”

Bailey raised his head, his ears perked, his eyes alert.

“Thanks for being here, buddy.” Cal rubbed Bailey’s head with his foot and poked the green button with his middle finger.

“Hey, Mitch. Looking forward to Friday night. You’re not backing out on me, are you?”

“What? No, are you?”

“Absolutely not. I’m stoked. Ready to wipe the floor with those other teams. They don’t stand a chance against us.” Cal raised his fist and pumped the air mouthing, “Woot woot!”

Bailey barked.

“I like your style, Forster, but I didn’t call about trivia. I called because it has come to my attention that in spite of my best efforts, you have not stayed away from my sister.”

Mitch’s tone was subdued, heartfelt, probably due to his interest in not losing Cal on Friday nights.

“You’re not hearing me, Cal. Bryony is special, not like other people. She’s easily hurt, and not able to deal with the world as it is, and she hung up on me tonight! She’s never acted like that before. The best thing you can do for her is leave her alone.”

Was Mitch Green even talking about the same person Cal had just spoken to less than an hour ago?

“Look, Mitch,” Cal said. “While I respect your concern for her, I think you don’t give her enough credit. I think Bryony can make her own decisions, but if it eases your mind at all, I want you to know that I have no intention of hurting her.”

Silence met his response.

Bailey remained on guard, ears up, eyes bright and searching Cal’s face.

Finally Mitch spoke, unable to keep the menace from his voice. “You’d better not, Forster. See you at school tomorrow.”

IS BRYONY ROOT-BOUND?