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“You are, I’m so happy you’re home.”
God, I’m happy we’re all home. Finally.
“Knock, knock.” A familiar voice comes from where I left the front door ajar, bringing in our things. We’ve barely been home for five minutes. No way.
There is no way…
I round the corner, and my eyes widen with surprise, “Mom? What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t let my favorite grandbaby come home from a month-long stay at the hospital and not be here to welcome her back. What kind of grandma would that make me?”
She follows me back into the kitchen and clasps her hands in front of her body. She looks at me as if she walked across the street to get here, and not across the entire country.
I stand there in shock, my mouth slightly open, unsure of what to say to her.
“There’s my girl.” She says as she looks over my shoulder, completely ignoring me.
“Grandma Patterson!” Astria squeals, wiggling out of Damien’s arms.
She loves my mom, but she doesn’t get to see her as much as I think either of them would like. Our schedules just don’t allow for it. They spend a lot of time talking on the phone and video chatting. My mom’s been teaching her to crochet via video chat while we’ve been living in the hospital. She’s almost completed her first blanket.
“Thank God, we’re about to eat so fucking good.” Damien places his hand on his stomach and rubs circles over his rock-hard abs.
It’s truly unfair that he looks like that and eats like he does. I don’t think he ever even allows himself to get hungry. He better watch it, or I’ll cut off his supply of turkey sandwiches.
“Watch your mouth, Damien Henderson. I can still put you over my knee.” Mama smiles at Damien, as she threatens him.
Like she ever put any of us over her knee, please.
I give Damien a side-eye for the language and then bring my attention back to my mama.
“How did you get here?” I stare at her in confusion. She never flies out to see us. We always go to her.
I don’t miss the way she glances over her shoulder briefly. Her jet-black hair is salted with silver and white strands, all braided together and tied up in a knot on top of her head. She’s wearing a matching two-piece set. A light purple top, with flowy pants that hit at her ankle, just above her brown leather sandals. Time stands still, she’s ageless.
“I flew.” She unclasps and reclasps her hands together again, straightening her shoulders to her full height, which isn’t much taller than Astria.
She’s hiding something.
I narrow my eyes. “By yourself? Is Jeff here? You hate flying, Mom.” I peek around her shoulder just in time to see movement coming from the front entry.
A brief moment of panic flares somewhere in the back of my mind, just in time for my stomach to tumble to the floor.
“I brought her.”
Three words from one man knock me straight on my ass. I’m taken by complete surprise. It feels like I’ve just plummeted from a roller coaster with broken tracks.
The excitement of today curls up and dies in my throat.
What is he doing here?
The last time I saw Tyler was the night I thought I lost Damien. And before that? The night I swore he would never be a part of this family again.
My stomach rolls.
I’m stunned into silence. I stand and stare at him in shock, unable to respond to his presence. It’s so strange, seeing him standing in my kitchen after all these years.
It annoys me that age has been so good to him. He looks older, but not in a bad way. The fact that he and Damien are the same age baffles still me. My brain can’t reconcile it. Tyler will always look older to me. I don’t want to give him authority, but I still feel like he holds that over me.
