Chapter 53
Chapter Fifty-Three
Kylie
Back before I died, we’d started having larger celebrations for birthdays on a monthly basis.
And because we already got together for family dinner every Sunday, we had all agreed that Sundays worked the best due to all the busy schedules.
So rather than attempt to make it to several birthday parties in a given month, now there was only one.
Considering it was all the little ones had known, the kids didn’t mind sharing their birthday with someone else.
Or multiple someones, as was the case with this enormous family.
And it worked for the most part. When it came to the adults, anyway.
Although we all participated in those monthly celebrations, we, as a family, celebrated in a smaller fashion as well.
There were a lot of December birthdays. If you happened to look at the calendar hanging on Lorrie’s kitchen wall, you’d see plenty of names in all those little boxes.
Kate would be turning eight on Monday, the fifth.
Dustin, Zane and V’s youngest, would be three on the tenth.
Braydon and Brendon would be celebrating their thirty-eighth on the seventeenth.
Gerald, Curtis’s oldest brother, just celebrated his eighty-second birthday yesterday.
Travis’s cousins Kyle, Whitney, Eric, and Wyatt also had December birthdays.
So, yeah. There was a lot of celebrating, but that was one of the benefits of having such a large family, I figured. And yes, Lorrie kept all those dates organized on her calendar to ensure that everyone’s day was celebrated in some small way.
While spending time with family was one of our greatest traditions, we felt it was important to give the kids the individual attention they craved on their special day.
Or on the weekend before, since the kids had school and Travis and Gage had work.
Although I was sure the kids wouldn’t mind staying home on their birthday, it was easier to avoid a disruption to the week.
This year, I was happy to say that Kate hadn’t wanted a bounce house or a slumber party.
Having a houseful was fine and all, but since I was still getting my bearings, all that noise could be a bit overwhelming.
Sure, I was working through that, but still.
I certainly didn’t mind leaving the mess for someone else to clean up.
And this year, the nice folks at the skating rink would have that honor.
I had set out to make this event relatively small, but Kate had insisted that Mason come.
Since Kaleb and Zoey’s oldest also had three younger brothers who were old enough to skate, I knew we couldn’t invite one and not the others.
Sawyer and Kennedy’s two boys were old enough, so we added them to the list. All three of Braydon and Jessie’s, plus both of Brendon’s boys, were also old enough.
We couldn’t leave out Ethan and Beau’s triplets because, while they were three, they’d been strapping on skates almost since the time they could stand up.
At least according to Beau. And that left Zane and V’s four boys, three of whom were old enough.
What I had intended to be a small outing had turned into a large gathering with some of the grandparents tagging along to assist. Lorrie and Curtis, my dad and Melissa, and V’s mother, Regina.
Plus Kennedy’s dad. Very rarely did Jeff miss out on anything his grandsons did.
And that meant Jeff’s husband Mack was tagging along.
Needless to say, it was a good thing we’d rented the big room at the skating rink for the party because we needed it.
Due to my weak leg, I couldn’t strap on skates this year, but I didn’t mind. I found great pleasure in standing back and watching everyone else attempt to remain upright on wheels.
“You doin’ okay?”
Glancing over, I smiled at Curtis as he took a seat on the wooden bench beside me. “I am. You?”
“It’s quite the shindig.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. I think it turned out okay.”
Curtis leaned in. “Maybe not for everyone.”
I frowned, my gaze instantly scanning my surroundings, searching for an upset kid.
“Oh, no,” I muttered when I saw Avery sitting in a corner, her eyes red.
“She hasn’t been there long,” Curtis assured me.
“I’ll go talk to her.” I patted his arm. “Thank you for lettin’ me know.”
While he went one way, I went the other, making a beeline for my daughter. I weaved between kids, dodging some pinwheeling arms as they attempted to stay upright even on the carpet.
Finally, I made it over to Avery.
“Mind if I join you?” I asked, smiling.
She looked up at me but didn’t say a word. I took that as a yes and sat down on the long wooden bench beside her.
“What’s goin’ on ?” I prompted, hoping she would open up.
“Nothin’.”
“You look sad.”
“I’m not,” she insisted.
“Oh. Okay.” I pretended to shift my attention back to all the skaters.
I was impressed. At five, Avery managed to keep her sadness to herself for the better part of two minutes. But then she folded.
“How come you didn’t come to my birthday, but you came to Kate’s?”
Peering over, I scanned my daughter’s sweet face.
It sucked that I had an easy answer, but I couldn’t share it with her.
I didn’t think that telling this innocent five-year-old that I had been kidnapped and imprisoned was going to make the situation any easier.
As far as Avery was concerned, I hadn’t been there, and now I was.
It was as simple as that. And from her perspective, she wasn’t wrong.
While I never would’ve missed a single day if I could’ve helped it, any reason I gave her would’ve sounded like an excuse.
I already knew because I’d gone through Gage’s photos at least three dozen times, I asked anyway. “What did you do on your birthday?”
“We got a bounce house.”
“Was it giant?” I smiled.
Avery nodded, her eyes on the skaters. “Yeah.”
“I bet it was the biggest one they had.”
“It was. We also got a slushy machine.”
“Slushies? What kind?”
“Grape.”
“Oh, man. Grape’s my favorite.”
She looked up at me but she didn’t smile. “Mine, too.”
“I’m so sorry I missed it.”
“You didn’t come to Kade’s birthday, either.”
There was no reason to acknowledge her statement because I could tell it wouldn’t help.
She was upset with me. Rightfully so. In her mind, she believed I abandoned her.
And my reasons for not giving her the hard truth were simple: I wanted to shield my daughter from the horrors of the world for as long as possible.
If it meant she was angry with me for a little while, I had to bear that.
With time, I hoped she would see that I wasn’t going anywhere.
Turning my attention to the skaters, I watched as they all whipped by, laughing and talking.
“I’ve got an idea,” I told Avery, peering down at her. I waited until she looked at me before I spoke. “What if we had a mini celebration for you, Kade, Haden, and Maddox?”
“Like a party?”
“Like some cake and ice cream one night this week,” I suggested. “We can celebrate all the birthdays I missed.”
“Dad’s birthday, too?”
“Yes.”
“Daddy-O’s?”
“Of course.”
Her light brown eyes remained locked on my face for a moment. I waited patiently for her to say something.
“Can we do it today?”
I chuckled. “I think we need to pick out a cake for the celebration, don’t you?”
“Can we have cupcakes instead?”
“Yes.”
That seemed to please her.
“Okay. Can we do it next Saturday?”
I tried to do a mental rundown of what might be on the calendar. I came up with nothing that we couldn’t shift around.
“Next Saturday sounds perfect.”
Avery nodded, her gaze swinging out to the rink once more.
We were both watching the skaters when she spoke up again.
“You didn’t get to have a birthday either.”
“No,” I acknowledged. “I didn’t.”
“Do you think we could have your birthday, too?”
I fought the tears that threatened. They were happy tears, but still. I didn’t want my daughter to see me cry.
“I’d love that, Avery.”
Her eyes locked with mine. “Me, too, Mommy.”
I swallowed past the lump that formed in my throat, sniffling back the tears. That was the first time she’d called me Mommy since I came home.
It was hard to believe she was only five.
She seemed so much older than that sometimes.
It pained me that they’d suffered because of my absence.
And when I thought about who was responsible, a red haze clouded my vision.
The damage Martin Calloway had done to me was bad enough.
But the bastard had hurt my family in the process, and as far as I was concerned, that was unforgivable.
He would pay. Of that I was certain.
Travis
I stood beside Kaleb and Sawyer, watching the movement on the wooden floor. I grinned every time Kade passed because he waved like it was the first time he saw me. The kid was so damn animated. Not to mention, a laugh-riot when he wanted to be.
“I thought for sure you’d wear your rhinestones and spandex,” Kaleb said to Sawyer, chuckling as he spoke.
Sawyer’s gaze swung over, landing on Kaleb. He looked sincere and very serious when he said, “Do not make fun of my pink spandex. They make me go faster.”
“Now they’re pink, huh?” I prompted, rolling my eyes.
“With a tutu,” Sawyer said, again very serious. “And a pretty pink bra. With a star on it.”
“Oh, lord.” Kaleb barked a laugh. “I do not need that image in my head.”
“Neither do I,” I told them, trying my damnedest not to imagine Sawyer dressed like a … I wasn’t sure what wore pink spandex and a tutu, but whatever it was, I didn’t need to imagine Sawyer looking like one.
“Hey, man. Seriously though. How’s Kylie?” Kaleb asked, speaking up to be heard over the music.
My gaze instantly shifted to her across the crowded room. She was sitting on a bench beside Avery, both of them smiling.
“She’s good.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded, turning my attention to my brother. “Yup. She’s still goin’ to Piper every week.”