Evan

Tara!

Merry Christmas to my better half!

Hope you like the gifts. What else was I to get you other than something to remind you how much you mean to me...and that I always have your back and will bug you all at the same time.

Love ya!

Evan, Callie, Riley, Toby, Jamie and Skye.

Callie

Merry Christmas my beautiful wife. I hope you enjoy the gifts. You will look amazing in them.

All my love

Evan!

Momma

Merry Christmas. Thank you for all you do for us!

Love

Jamie and Skye

“ not many jerks can get their wife to stand by them so many times, “ she countered with a slight shake of her head, “ but there is no where i would rather be and no one i would rather stand with, “ giving his hand a small squeeze. callie didn’t want to burst this bubble but they had to act like adults, “ what happens now ? “

Evan laughed a little. “Well that makes me sound like I’ve given you so many times where you have had to stand by me while I make mistakes..” he admitted to the other. As the other squeezed his hand, he smiled again and brought the hand up to give a kiss on the top of it. “Well I guess, We’ll have to try and get somewhere to stay until we get a house, and go pack up and get the kids..” he stated to the other. He couldn’t deny he was excited to go back home and see the kids. 

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“Apparently around 2 months ago,” the brunette admitted with a huff before moving to seat herself across from her brother. “Max decided it would be a great idea to hide that little bit of information from me. I had to find out about my granddaughter from my not so dead husband.” Tara rolled her eyes as she gave a shake of her head at the male’s words. “Next time say something,” she retorted. “Because I did think that you would do that and it pissed me off. I wanted to hunt you down and kill you myself.”

Evan raised a brow at the female. Evan watched his sister and then looked down to his coffee before back to the female. “Firstly, Max isn’t unreasonable, there must have been a reason as to why he kept it from you, although I could see why you’d be pissed finding out about it from someone who was suppose to be dead..” he admitted. “Well you clearly don’t know me too well, I would never leave them, Tara...Not by choice. I don’t plan on going anywhere again though... other than to pack up the house and kids, and move up here..” 

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When the drink was placed in front of him Max’s eyes lit up, he’d drank before, not a lot but he had gotten tipsy with friends back in the bayou on more than one occasion in high school. Mostly school events like prom or a sporting game. 

But now his family was actually supplying him with the alcohol and it was something different, but he wasn’t complaining. On the contrary he was actually enjoying himself.

“Thanks uncle Evan!” He said happily, taking the drink and knocking it back as he sat at the bar. “Isn’t Gator cool? I always wanted a reptile for a pet.”

Evan winked at the male at the thank you, before watching the male drink it in one swell gulp. “Uh, yeah he’s cool I guess.... but please never let your mother buy Jamie one of those... I’m sure he’ll be nagging us for one now cousin Maxi has got one..” he chuckled. “And take it easy on the drinks... you have all night... you don’t wanna ruin the night by getting wasted before it’s half way through..,” he stated to the younger male. It was a little hypocritical of him since both he and Tara had done quite the same in their youth. 

callie couldn’t help but laugh as she silently agreed with that statement; out of the two, tara had always been the headstrong one, even as kids. “ her lusty hands ? “ she couldn’t help but repeat in amusement, “ well, lucky for you and unlucky for her, i am even more in love with you than i was twenty years ago, “  her words rang true. there had not been one day where callie had not loved evan. her love for him growing stronger as they both grew together, “ i think he will just have to settle for sleepovers at tara’s instead, “

Evan watched the female and smiled across to her in silence for a few moments. It was as if he didn’t want to leave this moment and to face reality again. “I am lucky, I always have been lucky... not many jerks get a beautiful, caring and loving woman to marry them.” he pointed out. Hearing her words about Jamie he laughed again. “I don’t think Tara could cope with him stay over... they are trying to outnumber the Bakers..” he admitted.

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“Well I am a mother and a grandmother now so,” she mused, sticking out a tongue out there in a childish way they used to when they were younger. “Complicated my ass,” Tara quickly retorted, eyes rolling as he continued to speak. “You’re an idiot, you know that? A massive idiot. You’re married, dude, better or worse, sickness and health. God, you better have the best apology gift in the world after this.” 

“Whoa, perhaps I have been out of the loop a little to long, when did you become a grandmother?” he questioned. “I’m an idiot yes, but you must be crazy if you ever think I would give up and leave Callie like that. She’s the best thing to ever happen to me,” he admitted. “It was just like I woke up and I had to go, no matter what... like if I didn’t leave I would do something stupid... and I couldn’t risk that..” he stated. 

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An intrigued brow rose, the alcohol making most of the choices for her as she peered at her brother, a laugh leaving her lips as she gave a shrug of her shoulders. “It’s only breaking the law if we get caught, right,” she spoke. “Isn’t that what we always used to say?”

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Evan watched his sister and nodded his head a little at her words. “We did... although it wasn’t as big a deal if we got caught then as it is now... of course having a police officer with me, we could just say we were walking past and heard commotion and you went it to check.” He shrugged with a chuckle. 

“I mean, depending on the herbs it does work and it is better for the health than coffee,” she said, though there was no put having her shop if she didn’t believe that. “But yes, lacks the buzz.” 

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“Oh I cannot stomach the herbal stuff... I don’t mind plain black tea and a little milk, but that’s it... no chamomile or green tea..” he shook his head. “It does... I try to start the day with a coffee, just to kick me up the backside.” he admitted. 

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“Don’t you ‘hey Tar’ me,” the brunette huffed angrily at the other, her hard glare trained on her brother as she continued to grip his ear a moment longer before finally releasing it. “Whether you ‘walked out’ walked out or just walked out, Evan, you still left the woman to care for your children alone without a word. How could you even think of doing that to her after you saw what losing Nic did to me? Not a damn word, Evan? Seriously?!” Arms were quick to cross over her chest, her foot tapping rhythmically, impatiently against the tile beneath her as brows rose. “And yet here you are in the town I moved to and you hadn’t reached out,” she huffed. “No phone call, no text, not even a knock on my door. You’re unbelievable.”

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Pulling his hand up to his ear as she released it he rubbed it. “You are becoming more like mom and grandma when you do that, the older you get..” he stated. “It wasn’t like I just... look Tara, It’s complicated... I wasn’t in my right frame of mind, I’m not in my right frame of mind... I saw what you were like, Tara, and I wouldn’t want Callie to go through that... and yet I managed to do it and still be alive...” he admitted referring to being kidnapped for so long. “I have only just arrived, You were my first point of call after coffee..” he admitted. “You think I could turn up here and not come and see you and the kids? I would think you’d give me more credit than that, Tara Grace..” 

Green hues sparkled under the pale moonlight, the street lamps reflecting in the emerald swirls as she continued to stifle her laughter, a single hand gripping her brother’s arm as she steadied herself. “No such thing as too oiled,” she grinned. “Honestly, I could go for more drinks but the damn bar just had to close.”

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Evan watched the female and laughed a little as her hand gripped onto him before he took his other arm and wrapped it around his sister shoulders to keep her safe and upright. “You don’t need a bar for drinks... I have some where I’m staying... or if the cop isn’t too ‘good’, we could pick a lock like the good ol’ days and party..” he teased the other. 

“ i know. you can remind me about it for the rest of our lives, “ her words teasing as she thanked the waiter for the coffee before taking a sip, “ don’t you act all innocent either, mister. you can be as equally as stubborn, “ dark eyes peering at him from over the top of her coffee cup before placing it down as an amused look appeared on her face, “ i mean, if you want to. tara and i have a pact that if either of us divorce, we marry each other. it’s always nice to have a contingency plan. “ callie couldn’t help but tease evan, enjoying the light turn the conversation had taken.

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“I will, don’t you worry about that..” He admitted. He shrugged his shoulder. “You know I have to be stubborn, if I wasn’t I’d get walked all over by Tara... come to think of it, being stubborn didn’t really stop that..” he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. He watched the other and rolled his eyes a little at the other. “Why do I not doubt that... Although I have no plans on divorcing you, so unless you have any plans, she can keep her lusty hands off my wife.” he teased. “Nice to know it’s the contingency plan, though I’m pretty sure Jamie would love for Aunt Tara to live with him rather than me..” 

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Jackson’s eyes widened.  “Holy shit.  Ev - what are you doing here?”  Sliding out of his own booth, he sat down on the other side of the table from him.  “I don’t know, it kept me down a good while.”

Evan watched the male as he slipped in across him and smiled softly. “Oh just following up Tara and seeing how she’s doing..” he admitted to the other. “Yeah, but not too long... certainly not forever.” he pointed out. “You’re looking well” 

“ we are a team, remember ? you’ve taken care of me before but it’s now my time to take care of you, okay ? “ if evan wanted her and the kids with him, then they were going to have to work at being a lot better at communicating. if moving was what was going to help him, then she would; no questions asked. “ i am right here. luckily for the two of us, i can be quite stubborn, “ a slight laugh falling from her lips, “ plus i would never say no to being close to tara. after all, she was going to be my wife if we didn’t work out, “ the last part teasing him as a grin graced her face.

Evan watched the female and smiled softly. “You are amazing, Cal,” he stated. Nodding his head Evan watched her as the coffee were delivered to the table. “Tell me about it..” he teased. He took a sip of his coffee watching her before coughing a little on his coffee at her words. “I mean okay... but doesn’t that mean I’m Nic’s husband then though?” he asked since they had all been together since school. 

biting her bottom lip softly, she allowed for her husband to take her hands into his own. callie was trying to navigate this as best as she could without putting extra stress on evan but she didn’t know what the right thing to say in this moment. “ i am always going to be worried about you. i worry about the people i love, “ taking a pause to squeeze his hands gently in return, “ i love you too. i just want to do the right thing for you, to help you. i don’t mean space like separating or divorcing but maybe space where you can do what you need to do to feel better. i’ll still be here but in the distance and when you need me, let me know, “ 

Evan felt like a knife stabbing him as he heard the other’s words. He knew she what she meant but it still hurt him. “I know but I’m suppose to take care of you... you are doing the right thing for me... you’re listening... and I know it’s gonna be hard to adjust, but I want you and the kids with me... I was wrong to leave like that... to think it would do me good... because nothing matters without you.” he admitted. “Maybe we need to start over... move here and start fresh.. the kids have their cousins here, and Tara and Nic are here...” he pointed out. 

frowning gently, callie remained silent as she allowed for her husband to get everything he was feeling off his chest without interrupting him. if she interrupted him now, it could potentially cause him to shut down from her and she wasn’t about to let that happen. “ why didn’t you tell me any of this ? “ her words soft as her eyes remained focused on him, “ if you needed some time away, you could have just told me and i would have understood. barely any questions asked, “ callie knew she wouldn’t be able to understand what he went through and she wasn’t about to tell him how he should cope with everything he had been through, “ i am not going to lecture you about leaving without telling but remember, we are a team. if space from us is what you need, then okay, “

Evan listened as the female finally spoke and shook his head a little to the female, taking her hands in his own. “I didn’t want to worry you... you had enough on your plate with the kids... and it wasn’t completely planned, it felt like I just had to go there and then... but I do not want a break for you from us. us and the kids are the thing keeping me going making sure I could get home.” he assured the female with a squeeze of her hands. “I love you, Calliope, and this has nothing to do with wanting space from us, I need you to know that. Don’t ever think that.”