Chapter 1 #2
“Missed you, too,” I tell her, before rushing to take my gifts to the gift table. Sophia and I drop off our packages, and then I stand and wait for Ellison and Copeland to walk through the door.
I shift from one foot to the next, anxious to see my sister.
The last time I was home was for her wedding, and I missed her.
I haven’t been here for most of her pregnancy, and that’s been tough.
We’re all so close, and I’ve been skipping out on being an active, present part of their lives.
Not because I wanted to, but because of the distance I put between us when I ran off to New York to chase a dream I can’t even remember these days.
The door opens, and we all yell, “Surprise!”
Ellison freezes, and I watch as Copeland steps up behind her, gripping her hips to steady her. “What?” she asks, and I can hear the emotion in her voice.
Mary, Copeland’s mom, steps away from the crowd and makes her way toward them. “It’s your baby shower,” she tells Ellison, pulling her into a hug.
“Yeah, so get your behind in here!” I call out.
Ellison gasps. “Bay?” she asks, her voice cracking.
“Bring it in, big sister.” I race over to give her a hug. “Look at you.” I pull back and place my hands on her baby bump. “It’s just not the same seeing you through the phone screen. You’re glowing, Ellie.” My eyes well with tears.
“It’s so good to see you,” Ellison says, tugging me close and embracing me tightly. “It’s been ages since the wedding. That’s too long, Bay.” She sniffs and wipes her tears away.
“I know.” I bob my head. “That’s why I’m moving back home.” The confession slips out. I didn’t mean for it to, but being here, seeing her glowing and pregnant, I’ve missed her. I’ve missed all of them.
There’s a collective drop of jaws around me.
“Did I hear that right?” Courtlynn asks.
“Baylor?” Leighton pushes, her eyes wide and hopeful. “Are you really coming home?”
“I am.” I nod, swallowing hard.
“For real? It’s too close to Christmas for you to joke about this.” Courtlynn stares at me intently, and my smile stretches, less watery this time.
“It’s real. I was hoping my old room would be available.”
“Always,” all three of my sisters reply at once, and my heart almost bursts with love and gratitude for them all. I’m so damn lucky to have them.
“I want details,” Courtlynn says.
I inhale deeply before nodding. “Not today. This is Ellie’s day, but I promise to give you the rundown.”
“When?” Leighton asks me. I can tell by the look in her eyes that she knows I’m not moving back just because I missed them.
Leighton is my quiet sister. She’s got a heart the size of the entire state of Tennessee, and she’s an observer.
She can see there’s more, but she won’t push.
Not today—well, at least not until the shower is over.
I aim for casual and shrug. “I don’t have to go back.”
“What?” Ellison asks, her voice turning high-pitched.
“I brought everything I need. Everything I want with me.” My entire life since moving to New York is currently in the back of my rental SUV, sitting in Sophia’s driveway.
“You’re really staying?” Emotion fills Leighton’s tone, and her voice breaks a little.
“I’m staying,” I tell her, and suddenly, it’s a Moran sisters’ huddle.
I hear Copeland chuckle, and then his arms try to wrap around all four of us.
I don’t know how long the five of us stand there, but eventually, I pull away to say, “Enough about me. This is Ellie’s day. Come on. Let’s get this party started.”
We ease apart as my sisters lead Ellison to a recliner that is now sitting in the dining room.
“You, too, Cope!” Courtlynn calls out. “This is a co-ed baby shower, as you can see.” She grins and waves her hand around.
“Yeah, if I had to shop for pink, frilly stuff, you have to stick around to open it!” Bowen calls out, and laughter follows from everyone here for the baby shower.
“Bring on the pink frill.” Copeland chuckles. “I’m sure my life is about to be filled with the color pink, and I’m okay with that.” He settles next to Ellison.
I love the two of them together. I love that they found their way back to one another. Copeland gazes at Ellison like she’s the air he breathes, and looking back, I know I’ve never had that. I’ve never had a man love me the way that my brother-in-law loves my sister.
I want that kind of love. The deep-rooted, unshakable kind that doesn’t waver when things get hard or messy or inconvenient.
The kind that feels like home, even when everything else is uncertain.
The kind that doesn’t just exist in the easy moments, but in the quiet ones, too.
The shared glances, the comfortable silences, the way someone instinctively reaches for your hand without thinking.
The kind of love that makes time for you because there’s just no other option. I want that. I want what they have.
Watching them, it’s impossible not to feel how natural they are together, how effortless. Like, no matter how far they drifted apart before, they were always meant to circle back to this exact point. To each other.
Ellison laughs at something Copeland says, her head tipping back slightly.
His hand is on her belly, a gentle smile tugging at his lips.
Anyone can see the love they have for each other.
It’s always been Copeland and Ellison. Maybe some people are just written into each other’s stories from the start, no matter how many chapters try to keep them apart.
I wonder what that feels like. To be chosen like that. Not just once, but over and over again. To have someone look at you the way Copeland looks at her, like there’s nowhere else in the world he’d rather be.
My chest tightens, but it’s not quite jealousy.
It’s something softer. A quiet longing. A hope I’ve spent the last several years refusing to acknowledge.
I stayed far too long. I’m glad I found that medical bill.
I’m relieved to know I’m not going to be spending more wasted time on a man who didn’t cherish me.
I needed a push, and Friday night, the universe gave me one.
And now I have the chance to search for something more.
Because I want that. I want someone to look at me like I’m everything. I want to know that the man I share my life with needs me next to him, just like Copeland needs Ellison. I want to feel like I’m enough. I want someone who, no matter where we are in this world, feels like home.
I want that, but not yet.
I need some time. I need to evaluate my life plan, my goals, and decide what I want for my future. Once I get myself worked out, and I’m settled wherever that might be, then I’ll let myself think about love, about finding my forever.