Page 11 of Letting Go
Me
Ok, thanks. When will you be back in town?
Liam
I’ll try to be home sooner than planned, maybe a day or two? I’ll let you know as soon as I know for sure. You can always go stay at Dad’s if you feel safer out there.
Me
I’m safe here, they have an alarm system. I don’t think we need to stay at Daddy’s, Eloise is upstairs giggling right now and I want to do what I can to keep her as happy as possible.
Liam
That’s fine, but just in case, I’ll let the Cavalry know what’s going on.
Of course he’s going to alert our other brothers. Less than ten minutes later, Sheriff Eddie rings Savannah’s doorbell and asks me a few questions before taking the poem and envelope. I don’t have much information to offer him. I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary or anyone watching or following me, and I really have no idea who sent it to me. I give him the contact information for the Chicago detectives, and he says he will be in touch soon as he leaves to take the evidence to the lab.
It took Finn and Ryan less than twenty minutes before they walked through Savannah’s front door, followed by Daddy fifteen minutes later. Jack is out of town for work but has called and texted both Savannah and me. I may be creeped out by the random poem but there is comfort in knowing my family is nearby. The way my family shows up for me reminds me of a memory I haven’t thought of in a long time.
“Do you remember when Tommy Black broke your heart in high school?” I ask Savannah as she sits on the sofa next to me.
“Do I ever! He was no prince charming, more like a total frog. I caught him kissing some girl after the homecoming football game our freshman year. I was devastated!”
“I don’t know if I ever told you but when you were crying in the kitchen to Mama that night and Mama told me to go get ready for bed, I sat at the top of the stairs to eavesdrop,” I admit as my sister knocks my shoulder.
“You sneaky little bird!”
“I know, but I wanted to know all the details!” I say as I defend my younger self.
“You were what, nine years old?”
I nod. “I couldn’t imagine why any dumb boy would pick anyone else over my gorgeous sister,” I admit. “When Daddy got home with the boys, they all flipped out over you crying and demanded to know what happened.”
“I remember that night,” Ryan says from across the room. “We wanted to tan his hide for that.”
“Y’all were livid that some boy hurt her,” I say thinking back to that night. “Mama told you all to calm down and then Daddy gave Mama a look before he took Savannah out to the back porch to talk to her one on one.”
“How do you remember all of this, Viv?” Savannah asks.
“Do you remember what happened after that?” Ryan asks and I nod.
“Yep, after Daddy and Sav were out of the room, Mama sat you boys down at the kitchen island and told you it’s your job to protect your sisters, no matter what.”
“She did what?!” Savannah exclaims. “I never heard this part of the story!”
Finn nods. “Yeah, it wasn’t the only time she told us that. She said as your brothers, we had to look out for you and if necessary, defend you. Mama would tell us it was an honor and privilege as your brothers, and she counted on us to always live up to that expectation.”
“And in life, other men may let you girls down, but she expected us to be better than that. Mama told us her two little girls had their own four fierce protectors, and she knew the Callahan Cavalry would always show up for one another,” Ryan adds.
“Is that where the Callahan Cavalry came from?” I ask.
Daddy hums with a soft smile on his face. “When y’all were much younger, we were watching you kids play in the backyard, and I said it looks like we had created our own little army. Your mama said maybe not an army but maybe a cavalry. She hoped if one of you needed something, that each of you would always come running for one another.”
“Wait a minute. What happened that night I cried after she told you that?” Savannah asks Ryan as our brothers look at each other grinning.
“While you sat on the back porch with Dad, the four of us went out the front door and stopped by the chicken coop before going to Tommy Black’s house and egging his car.” Ryan leans over and clinks Finn’s drink.
“Damn right we did. Tommy came running out after us as we were leaving, but instead of driving away, Liam jumped out of Jack’s truck like some type of ninja and gifted Tommy a black eye,” Finn adds. Savannah’s mouth drops in shock at this revelation.
