Page 96 of Darlin'

"You're welcome?—"

"Caroline!" Daddy hollers from the hallway, his voice cracking, the floorboards creaking as he runs toward my room like an dang elephant. "Caroline!" My mother and I exchange a puzzled look as he stops in the doorframe, holding his chest and panting. "Caro—" He heaves, catching his breath. "There's?—"

"Look at you! I told you that you should use that dang treadmill more often." She clicks her tongue as daddy continues to pant. Momma closes her eyes. "I swear to the Lord Almighty, John, if you have a heart attack two days before Savvy's pageant, Iwillkill you dead." Momma shakes her head as Daddy wipes a sheen of sweat from his forehead. "What are you doing galloping around my house like a horse on steroids?" She lifts an impatient brow. "Well?"

"The door." Daddy gulps, glancing at me skittishly. "There's someone at the door."

My heart races. Jesse? Is Jesse here?

Momma blinks. "And? I know Lucy does a lot around here, but surely you haven't forgotten how to open doors, John."

"Caroline..." Daddy straightens his posture. "It's Beauregard. He's here and..." He clears a tickle in his throat. "He's brought a girl."

Beau?! What is happening? He flew here? And with Marlow?!

"What?" The comb in Momma's hand falls to the floor as silence surrounds us. My parents communicate tacitly through blinks and breaths. "He's...here? Beau...Beauregard is...here?"

"Yes," Daddy confirms, cringing. "And he...well, he looks uh—different."

"He's here?" Momma mumbles to herself. "In our home? My baby...is back?"

What is he doing here? Has he completely lost his mind? No warning? No text message? Does he know what he's walking into?

While my parents process that the prodigal son has returned, I manage to sneak away and bolt downstairs. As I descend the final set of steps, I inhale the familiar scent of Marlow's perfume. They really are here.

"I put 'em in the sitting room, Miss Savannah." I jump as Lucy rounds the corner, startling me. She gives me a cheeky grin. "I think your momma might have a stroke when she sees 'em." Giggling, she waddles away.

Releasing a long breath, I gather my wits and head into the living room, anxiety stirring in my chest. As soon as I step through the threshold, two noodley arms encase me in a suffocating hug.

"I'm sorry!" Marlow exclaims, whipping me side to side. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know you're probably super fucking choked at me, and I get it! I lied, and Beau lied, we all fucking lied to you, and that's horrible and awful, and if you want, you can shoot me. I'd shoot me! Maybe not in avital organ, but in my foot or hand or shoulder. I deserve it! I do, but please, Sav, you need to forgive me, okay? Because you've only been gone a few days, and I miss you like crazy. And I love you like crazy, and I think that people are allowed to makeonemistake. One! Okay? I promise that?—"

"Her face is turning blue, Mar," Beau pipes up.

Marlow releases me instantly and pulls back, still holding my shoulders. The frown on her face pricks my heart. "I'm sorry, Savannah." She looks back at my brother. "We both are."

Beau doesn't let me say a word as he adds without missing a beat, "We know you're upset with us. With all of us." He swallows, looking around our childhood home. "I—I know when I left, I hurt you, and when you showed up in Hawkridge, I swore to myself I'd never do it again." Marlow squeezes his hand as his eyes well up. "But I did, and I'll take responsibility for that. If you—" He closes his eyes. "If you never want to see me again, I'd understand, I do, but..." He sniffles. "I'll always be here for you, Savvy. I'm not...I'm not gonna run away again. I'm here."

Marlow casts me a hopeful smile. "We both are."

I shake my head, gaze darting between the two idiots in front of me, every ounce of pent-up resentment dwindling into nothingness. "Y'all are dumber than a pile of sticks, you know that?" I point a finger at the second floor. "What made you think showing up here unannounced was a good idea? You dang near gave daddy a heart attack, and I'm fairly certain momma might pass out when she sees you."

"You weren't answering any of our calls or textmessages," Beau says, giving me a nonchalant shrug. "Figured this way, you couldn't ignore us."

"Actually,I figured this way you couldn't ignore us," Marlow states proudly. "Told Beau we had to get on the next flight out." She fishes out a folded-up piece of paper from her pocket and hands it to me. "Here. This is for you."

I eye the paper warily before opening it, snorting immediately as colorful scribbles and the words "we're sorry" jump off the page. "Really? Y'all using Iz and Ellie to do your dirty work for you? This is low, even for Pippa."

"But is it working?" Marlow tilts her head. "Is that a smile I see?"

"Idiots," I say, sighing. "I can't believe you flew all the way here."

"We don't want to lose you," Marlow says, grabbing my hand in hers. "You're family, girl. Whether you like it or not, you're our family. And yes, families fight, but families also fight for each other." She tilts her head, catching my gaze. "We love you, Sav. We all do."

"Here—" Beau reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a greeting card. He opens it up. "This is from The Sons. It was Mar's idea, but we all wrote down our favorite memory of you." He points out a message from Poe, and I giggle reading it. He mentions the time he fell asleep in his mac and cheese. "And this one's from Andy." I roll my eyes, stifling a laugh as she writes about the time I kicked her ass in softball. "And this one's from Jo?—"

I read all the fond messages from every person I came in contact with at The Hog, vibrant and happy memoriesflooding my brain and releasing all of them feel-good chemicals. My face falls as I read the last one. I flip the card around, hoping to find one more message, but the back is empty.

"Oh," I hum, disappointed. "I see."

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