Cali Boy by Charli Meadows

Author:Charli Meadows [Meadows, Charli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-08-17T16:00:00+00:00

School flies by without any issues, which is a relief. Lately, it feels like there’s some kind of drama at least every other day. I was trying to escape that shit when I moved, not dive head first right back into it.

Finn pulls into the garage and shuts the Jeep off, turning in his seat to face me. “Okay, so you’ll see the first part of your surprise as soon as we walk in.”

That has me perking up in my seat. “Really?”

He flashes me a wicked grin, boyish and devilish. “Let’s go.”

When we step out of the Jeep, Finn walks around and grabs my hand, tugging me toward the door like an impatient kid, making my stomach flutter. He’s just as excited to show me his surprise as I am to receive it. A rush of warmth floods my veins, and I fall a little harder for this lost boy with so much depth.

We bound up the steps and walk through the mudroom, entering the hallway outside of the kitchen.

I suck in a sharp breath of air at what’s in front of me.

I can’t believe it. . .

A black cat sitting precariously on the edge of a wooden table, guarding a bowl of fruit. The atmosphere is dark, but the cat’s eyes and the fruit are bright, creating a beautiful contrast I’ve always admired.

“Finn. . .” I whisper, unable to properly form words.

“Shhh. Just wait.”

Finn tugs on my hand again, and I’m helpless to stop him, following behind like a children’s pull toy until we come to our next stop.

A horse stands tall and proud in a field of wildflowers, its dark mane blowing gently in the breeze. The purple sunset behind a forest shines through the trees, highlighting the beast's regal stature.

We keep moving, and I just keep seeing them. All of them. My grandmother’s paintings, tastefully dispersed throughout the house. I can’t believe Finn got them here in a few days. I’m shocked at his thoughtfulness.

Tears prick my eyes when we get to the last painting. A mother holding her baby. More accurately, my mother holding me. The look of pure love on her face is undeniable—the emotion is captured perfectly. Every brush stroke is preserved and timeless, and I can’t help but tell Finn the story behind this one.

“I was nine before I noticed the baby had six fingers instead of five.”

“What?” He huffs out a startled laugh.

“My grandmother. She accidentally painted six fingers on one of the baby’s hands. No one noticed until I did, but she fixed it. You can’t even tell.”

I turn away from the painting that means so much to me. “Finn. . . What? How?” I know he got the number for the storage unit from my phone, but I figured he was just going to pass it to his dad to handle.

“You and Vivian deserve to make this your home. You shouldn’t even have a storage unit, and you damn sure shouldn’t have these paintings packed away.”

Hearing the reverence in his voice for my grandma’s paintings makes me fall for him all the more.

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