Free Into the Future: A Callahan Novel by Celya Bowers Page A

stayed with her parents during the day. 
    When Cam first came up with the plan, he thought Izzy would hit the roof, but she went along with it.  Just to please her husband. That was love.  Tristan wanted that kind of love. 
    “Hey, baby,” he said, kissing Lizzy on the lips. He noticed Izzy was sitting on a pillow, and holding a thermos.  The bright red container was filled with some kind of health drink, he feared. Campbell was sitting next to his wife.  They looked nauseatingly happy holding hands. Campbell was holding a large plastic coffee cup in his free hand.  Although Izzy was trying to maintain her clean eating lifestyle, her pregnancy and Campbell was giving her a run for her money.
    “Hey, guys,” he said, as she sat next to Lizzy.  “Where’s PJ and Tatum?”
    “PJ and his team are warming up.  Their game starts in ten minutes.  Tatum is practicing with her team.  Their game starts in an hour.”  She waved at her son.  “PJ is waving at you.” 
    Tristan looked toward the field and sure enough PJ was waving at him.  Then he ran toward the stands.  Tristan got up and walked toward the field.  The little boy couldn’t contain his excitement. 
    “Tristan, I’m so glad you could make it!  I knew you’d be here.”  He hugged Tristan, almost knocking him over. 
    “You know I wouldn’t miss you playing for anything, PJ.”  He hugged him.  It felt so natural, so right, as if he needed a sign to know he was in the right place at the right time.  “Your coach is waving at you.  Your game is starting.”
    “Okay, see you after the game?”
    “You bet.”  Tristan wiped his eyes and headed back toward Lizzy.  He was at the right place and the right time.
    Lizzy watched the exchange between her two favorite men.  She noticed Tristan heading back to the seats and wiping his eyes.  He didn’t look angry as he approached her.  Once he took his seat, she had to ask. 
    “Is everything okay?”
    “Couldn’t be better,” he said on a sigh.  “In fact, pretty freaking awesome.”  He grabbed her hand and kissed it.  “You have fantastic kids, Lizzy.”
    “I know.”  She moved closer to him and kissed him lightly on the lips.  Public displays of affection were not in Tristan’s MacDonald’s comfort zone.  Especially not a soccer field where anyone could see them.  “They’re wonderful kids, and I’m very blessed to be their mother.”  She paused a beat, trying to figure out what exactly was going on with this Irish man.  “So what are we doing this evening, since I will be child free this evening?”
    He smiled back at her.  “I was thinking we could dine with the Callahans this evening.  I hear Izzy is dying to get out of the house.”  He nodded at the expectant couple. 
    “I was thinking the exact same thing.  There’s something I need to do first.”
    He grinned.  His brain already on the night ahead.  “Whipped cream?”
    She shook her head.  “Video games.”
    “And since when did you get into playing video games?
    “Never. It’s for PJ.  Some game Paul had.  He tried to play it and it wouldn’t work.  So I told him I’d get him another one.”
    Tristan’s squinted those beautiful blue eyes.  A sure sign he was thinking.  “What’s wrong with the game?  Maybe it’s fixable without getting a new one.”
    “I don’t know.  He was trying to play it the other night and said there was gibberish on the screen.”
    “Gibberish, really?  How does an eight-year-old know what gibberish is?”
    “Because that’s what his handwriting looks like to me.  He’s only in the second grade and his handwriting is horrible.  He just scribbles.”
    “Oh.  Why don’t we look at it later? Did Paul give it to him lately?” 
    “No, when we moved into the house there was some miscellaneous junk of Paul’s.  I didn’t want to throw it away just in case it was something important.  The video game was in it. PJ found it months ago, but