Page 104 of Coming Home Country
The woman on the other side arched a curious eyebrow. “Of course I came back. I texted on Saturday to tell you we were coming in today.”
Saturday. Only five days had passed since then, but it felt like a lifetime ago now.
“Right. I remember now. Sorry,” I apologized to my sister.
I dragged a hand down my face as tiny arms wrapped around my leg. On autopilot, I bent down to pick up whichever child it happened to be. A quick glance revealed it to be Hope, the only girl in Evie and Jenner’s trio of toddlers.
“What’s wrong with you?” Evie’s nose wrinkled as she hiked my nephew, Hunter, higher onto her hip. “Have you been day drinking?”
Jenner stepped up beside her, holding Hunter’s twin, Hendrix, his brown eyes full of empathy. “I take it things didn’t go well with Bex?”
Evie’s jaw dropped, and her head swiveled toward her husband before fixing me with a stare. “Wait. Did something happen?”
I heaved a heavy sigh. “It’s a long story.”
My sister turned on the sass. “Might as well spit it out and save yourself the trouble of me badgering you for the next month. The longer it takes to pry it out of you, the more ornery I’ll get, seein’ as that’s time you’re stealing me away from my family during Jenner’s off-season.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, not in the mood to rehash the whole tale but knowing that Evie would make good on her promise to pester it out of me.
She tapped her foot. “So, we doin’ this out here, or are you going to invite us in?”
Rolling my eyes, I stepped aside to allow them entry. “I forgot how demanding you can be.”
Evie pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You’re not fooling anyone, Tuck. You know you missed me.”
Yeah, I really had.
Emotionally exhausted, I collapsed against the backrest of the deck chair after spilling my guts to my big sister while we watched Jenner chase the kids around the yard.
To her credit, she managed to keep her mouth shut, listening without interruption, even when I could tell she was nearly bursting to add her input.
“Well?” I asked expectantly.
Evie blinked at me before promptly smacking me upside the head.
“Ow!” I rubbed the spot where she’d hit me. “What was that for?”
Unapologetically, she replied, “Trying to knock some sense into you. Did it work?”
My gaze shifted to our audience of ankle-biters, and I gestured toward Hope, who had stopped running and was watching us intently. “Nice example you’re setting for the kids.”
“Please.” Evie scoffed. “If you think she hasn’t taken a swing at one of her little brothers when they’ve had it coming, you’re not as smart as all those fancy degrees suggest.”
I pressed a finger to my chest. “You thinkIhad it coming?”
“Are you really this blind?”
My hackles raised. “Maybe you should spell it out for me.”
“Jenner!” My sister hollered to her husband.
The man stopped dead in his tracks. “Yeah, babe?”
She shot me a smug smirk as she asked, “What’s your biggest regret?”
Jenner didn’t hesitate. “Not chasing you down when you left me.”
I stared at him dumbstruck. Could it really be that simple?
