Page 9 of Home to You

I lean against the doorway. “That obvious?”

He chuckles. “You’re my brother, man. Of course, it’s obvious. But I don’t get you letting her go so easily.”

“It’s not up to me.”

“Have you told her how you feel?”

I shake my head. “She’s barely been here two days.”

“Two days where you could have told her,” Sawyer says, laughing. “Come on, man. What happened to your game?”

My game? It abandoned me the moment I saw Devyn on the side of the highway, but it’s no use telling that to my brother. But before I can tell him to mind his own damn business, we hear the front door open, followed by the sound of footsteps as Sawyer’s wife Alma and the kids walk in.

“Look who we ran into on our way home,” Alma announces when Sawyer and I step out of the utility room. Alma is one of those women who agrees with life out here. Although she lived mostly in big cities, the moment Sawyer brought her and her son out here a few years ago, it didn’t take long for her to fall in love with the high desert—and my brother. Since then, they’ve added one other kid to the mix, younger sister Drea. “I told the kids they had to ask you, though.”

“Can I play with her dog, Daddy?” Seven-year-old Tyler asks. He’s Alma’s oldest son with Drew Thomas, Sawyer’s best friend and fellow Marine who died before he was born. “Please?”

My breath hitches when I see Devyn standing outside the front door, Sarge’s leash wrapped around her hand. She looks beautiful in a sleeveless lace top, jeans, cowboy boots, and loose shoulder-length hair over her shoulders. “I was letting Sarge explore around the area when I ran into them,” she says sheepishly. “He came straight here.”

“Of course, but only as long as Devyn says it’s okay,” Sawyer says.

“Sure, they can,” Devyn says, laughing. “He loves the attention.”

Within minutes, Sarge is lying on his back in the living room and loving the attention from the kids.

“I was just going to prepare lunch,” Alma tells Devyn. “I hope you can join us.”

“I’d love to, but my manager arranged for me to meet with the festival organizers before tomorrow’s performance,” Devyn replies before turning to face me. “I was wondering if–”

“Just say when and I’ll take you there,” I say before I can stop myself. The last thing I want to do is stop her from being with Harrison.

“Why don’t you leave Sarge here for the rest of the day?” Sawyer says as Devyn looks at him, surprised. “I don’t think pets are going to be allowed at the festival grounds anyway.”

“Are you sure? I’d hate to impose–”

“I think Sarge has pretty much made up his mind to stay.” Sawyer laughs as Sarge happily lets the kids rub his belly before giving me a look that pretty much says, now’s your chance to tell her exactly how you feel.

* * *

Devyn is glowing as we head to town, and as much as I hate that she could be performing with Harrison after all, I can’t wait to see her onstage again. Two years is too long a wait to silence a voice that needs to be heard.

And because of that, I hate Harrison even more. It’s not like I didn’t hear the rumors or saw a photo of her with a black eye that she claimed was from a fall during a run along Runyon Canyon. I tried calling her then, concerned, but she never picked up. Then one day, her phone number changed.

That was all I needed to know she didn’t want to hear from me anymore... or as I convinced myself, maybe someone else had control of her phone. Her management probably thought I was some stalker fan.

Still, maybe I should have pushed it. Maybe I should have tried harder but what’s done is done.

Someone from the festival staff meets us in the parking lot. After giving us wristbands, he leads us behind the stage area where Devyn introduces me to artists I never dreamed of meeting. They all seem to recognize her, even excited to learn she could be performing.

I love watching Devyn come to life, how her face lights up when a fellow artist comes up to her and they discuss music. While Harrison did everything he could to resurrect his career without her to no avail, Devyn’s two-year absence only heightened questions about her return.

And here she is, and I couldn’t be happier.

As we make our way through the backstage area, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride radiating from Devyn. She’s worked hard to get to where she is now, and it shows in the way she carries herself. It’s clear that the other artists respect her, and it’s not hard to see why.

She suddenly squeals in excitement as a woman wearing a dark glasses approaches.

“I can’t believe you actually flew in,” Devyn says as she hugs her friend.

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