Page 74 of Kylie

“It’s gonna be a little while before they get here,” Lorrie said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “So why don’t we make some popcorn and go upstairs and watch a movie?”

“I wanna wait down here,” Avery stated.

“We’re gonna watch a movie,” Kate said, getting to her feet. It was obvious she was in big sister mode.

“But I don’t wanna,” Haden argued.

“We’re gonna watch Inside Out,” Kate told them.

“Yay!” Avery shouted.

“Y’all always get to watch that one. I wanna watch Aquaman,” Kade insisted.

“I want you to do me a big favor,” I said before they could start arguing over whose turn it was to pick the movie.

Their eyes followed as I stood tall, peering down at them.

“I want you to promise to stay upstairs until I come get you.”

“Will you come as soon as she gets here?” Kate asked.

“Of course.”

She nodded.

“We pwomise, Pop,” Haden said as he headed for the kitchen.

“Go on,” I told them to get them moving. “Get some popcorn and head upstairs.”

When the room cleared of rugrats, I turned to Joe.

His eyes were rimmed in red, proof that he’d succumbed to his emotions already. “Is it really true?”

I nodded. “I talked to Brantley a few minutes ago. He said Travis and Gage are bringin’ her home now.”

“How the hell did this happen?”

I knew Joe was referring to his daughter disappearing for nearly two years while we all thought she was dead. I didn’t have the whole story, but I knew enough.

“Why don’t we make some coffee and I’ll tell you what I know.”

Kylie

I learned a lot on the drive back to Coyote Ridge. Most disturbing was that I’d only been an hour away from home this entire time.

One hour.

Sixty whole minutes.

A trip so short, it didn’t even require a bathroom break.

As Travis drove through the streets of the small town I’d grown to love, I realized not much had changed in the time I was away. The sun was setting, darkness descending quickly, but even without the sun shining, it looked the same. Mostly. There were a few differences, but nothing that altered the overall architecture.

It wasn’t until Travis pulled into the driveway that my heart began to pound and I felt a strange disorientation. Like I was dreaming and the house in front of me was there but not really. I got the impression I could touch it, but as soon as I did, it would disappear.

“Give me a few minutes,” Gage told Travis before getting out of the truck.

Travis nodded at him, and that was when I saw it. The love and trust I’d once seen on Travis’s handsome face were there, but it was directed at Gage. In fact, there was so much love in that single glance that I was tempted to look away.