Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Kylie
A wall of men.
That was the only way to describe what I encountered when I stepped into the house a few minutes later. Big men, too. A lot of them.
“We’ll dispense with introduction,” Brantley said, his expression one of wonder and what appeared to be relief.
“Good idea,” Travis said as Kieran closed the door, sealing us all inside.
“Do you want to get your things?” Gage prompted.
I shook my head, leaning into him, eager for him to take me home. Whatever I had there wasn’t mine. Plus, I didn’t want to be there another minute. While I appreciated that Kieran had saved me from the brink of death, this had been as much a prison as the hospital and the shit hole.
I was ready to go home.
Travis put his hand on Brantley’s shoulder and squeezed. “Thank you.”
“Did y’all find Martin?” I asked the group, looking from one face to the next and finally landing on Kieran.
“Not yet,” he answered.
“We will,” Brantley stated in that tone that left no room for argument.
I believed him. I had to. Otherwise, going home would put everyone at risk, and while I wanted them to be safe, I wanted to be there to ensure that was the case. I couldn’t do this anymore.
Travis urged me toward the front of the house, and I went without hesitation. Gage tried to remove his hand from mine to open the door, but I squeezed tighter, unwilling to let go. God gave him two hands; he could use the other because, for the moment, this one belonged to me.
We walked out front, and the first thing I noticed was the SUV.
I was surprised to see that it was the same one that Travis had before I …
died. I knew it was the same one because there was a perfect indentation on the bumper.
It was there because I accidentally hit one of those metal poles that hold the sign they put in the parking space for designated pickup.
It was at Target, and I had been distracted by …
God, I couldn’t even remember now. Travis had never gotten it fixed.
For some reason, seeing it made me feel better. Like they hadn’t moved completely on.
Before I could reach for the rear passenger door, Gage opened the front door and tugged me in that direction. I went without argument.
Once inside and buckled, I took a deep, shuddering breath, and the tears sprang forth again. My chest heaved with sobs, but I couldn’t help it. This nightmare was over.
It was really over.
“We’ve got you,” Gage said from behind me, his arms coming around the seat to settle on my shoulders. I grabbed one of his hands and latched onto Travis’s when he reached over to pat my arm.
“Take me home,” I rasped, knowing the tears would stop soon enough, but for now, it was the only way for the relief to escape.
Travis put the SUV in gear and headed out.
I stared straight ahead, trying to catch my breath and taking in everything around me.
Aside from the trees and the river, I hadn’t seen anything outside since the day we went to Walker Park.
The day Juliet Prince hit me with her car.
Kieran had told me that we were in a rural area, but he hadn’t given me many other details.
I hadn’t asked, either. It had been easier to stay put if I didn’t know where I was in relation to my family.
“She’s dead,” I said, glancing over at Travis. I didn’t tell him who I was referring to, but it appeared he didn’t need to hear Juliet’s name.
His blue-gray eyes shifted to me briefly. He nodded, and there wasn’t an ounce of remorse on his face.
I turned my attention back out the window. “Good.”
For many miles, no one said anything. I found the silence both off-putting and refreshing. I’d spent the past year and a half in solitude. Mostly, anyway. And with all my memories intact, I knew what I was walking into would be anything but silent.
Not that I wasn’t looking forward to it.
I was. Of course I was. However, I was also hesitant.
I was terrified that my children wouldn’t remember me.
And it was a strong possibility. Especially Maddox and Haden.
They’d been so little. In fact, I’d been away from Maddox longer than I’d been with him, not counting the pregnancy. No way would he know me.
I fought the panic that surged in my bloodstream. The last thing I wanted was to lose it before I even made it home.
I could feel Travis watching me, knew he sensed me falling apart.
“They’ve missed you,” he said softly.
My gaze darted over, meeting his gaze briefly.
Gage squeezed my shoulder. “They haven’t forgotten you.”
How they knew what I was thinking, I wasn’t sure. However, I didn’t want to get into it at the moment, so I nodded once, letting them know I heard them.
Part of me expected Travis to start interrogating me.
He didn’t. In fact, he hadn’t asked a single question about where they’d kept me or what had happened.
I’d anticipated those questions from the moment I saw him.
And again, I was grateful for the reprieve.
I wasn’t sure I was capable of talking about it.
I didn’t want to think about it; I knew that for sure.
I wanted to take advantage of the calm before the storm.
So I did.
Curtis
“I need everyone to come sit down for a minute,” I called to my grandkids.
Travis and Gage had dropped the kids off at our house a couple of hours ago, briefly sharing the information they had about Kylie.
I would admit, the shock hadn’t been immediate, but as soon as his words sank in, I wasn’t sure how either of us functioned.
Luckily, five rugrats had the ability to kickstart just about any muddled brain, and we’d managed to keep them from destroying anyone or anything.
Half an hour ago, we’d gotten word from Travis that they were on the way home, and he had confirmed that my daughter-in-law was alive.
At that point, I felt like I was walking around on the set of a television show where someone had just changed the script.
Needless to say, the shock had officially set in.
My wife was working double time to keep from crying.
She was being strong so that the little ones didn’t pick up on it.
It didn’t matter that those were tears of joy and relief.
We knew all too well how an overabundance of emotion could cause fear and worry in those little faces.
Wanting the kids to be home when their mother arrived, we loaded them up, and now here we were, at Travis’s house, wrangling them in an attempt to get them somewhat settled before their parents got home.
My wife unlocked the front door while the kids unloaded and took off after her. Maddox, always the quiet, calm one, remained with me, holding my hand as we headed for the porch. Oh, if he only knew how his little life was going to change. For the better, of course, but change nonetheless.
“We need to have a chat,” I told the kids as they were tossing their things into the foyer. “Hey, wait a minute.”
Kate, Kade, and Avery stopped suddenly, pivoting to look at me. They knew that my tone meant they were forgetting something.
I nodded to the bags they’d left on the floor.
With a huff, Kade marched forward first and picked up his bag. It took him a few seconds to hang it on the hook designated as his. Avery was next. Kate did the same, but I sensed she was far more curious about the chat I promised.
“Thank you,” I told them. “Now come on. Let’s cop a squat.”
When we walked into the living room, Lorrie was already moving about, tidying things up. I could tell it wasn’t so much that the house was a mess, more so that her hands were trembling and she didn’t want the kids to see.
I understood the feeling. The wealth of emotion that my body was attempting to process was overwhelming. But I had to keep a level head for these little ones. The last thing I wanted was for Kylie to walk through that door and for them to be shocked that she was there.
In my opinion, a heads-up was critical.
“Put the butts on the cushions,” I instructed when they started hopping around as only kids could do after dinner.
Little butts landed on cushions, and five sets of eyes peered up at me with eager anticipation. While they practically vibrated, Lorrie came over to sit in the chair facing the couch.
“Why is Grammy cryin’?” Avery asked.
“She’s happy.”
Haden giggled. “No, she’s not. She’s cwyin’”
“These are happy tears,” Lorrie explained.
I waited until all eyes were on me once more. “Alright. So you know your dads had to take a trip. They—”
“Where’d they go?” Kade interrupted.
“We’ll get to that,” I informed him as I came closer, nudging the wooden coffee table back, putting some space between the couch and it.
“Are they comin’ home?” Avery asked.
“Yes. In fact, that’s what I want to talk about.” I eased my old bones down onto the coffee table, bringing myself to their level.
I looked at each of their faces as I took a deep breath. When I met Kate’s eyes, I got the feeling she already knew what I was about to say, although I had no idea how that could be possible.
“What I’m about to tell you is very important. That means I want you to listen to every word before you say anything. Understood?”
“We understand, Pop,” Kade said, his tone stern. I could see the amusement in his blue-gray eyes, though. He was humoring me as he was known to do.
“Your dads are on their way home, and they’re bringin’ someone with them.”
“Who is it?” Haden asked absently, his attention on the little truck he was holding.
I glanced at Lorrie, trying to build the nerve to share news that would forever alter these kids. I wasn’t sure how they were going to react, but they needed to know before Kylie walked through that door.
My wife nodded, giving me permission to continue.
I turned back to the kids. “When everyone’s lookin’ at me, I’ll tell you what’s about to happen.”
That got their attention and five sets of eyes bounced up to my face again. This time, they remained there.
“Remember how we had to say goodbye to your mom?”