A knot I didn’t know I’d been carrying loosens at the base of my spine.
“Seatbelt,” I say, because if I don’t lighten the moment right now, I’m going to lean over and kiss her, and that’s exactly the kind of bad idea I’d enjoy too much.
She rolls her eyes but clicks it into place.We pull out of the parking lot and I turn the truck homeward.
The road between the hospital and the edge of town is a ribbon of asphalt and memory for me.I know every cracked stretch, every dip that rattles the suspension.Houses give way to green, then back to clusters of homes, then to the cul-de-sac where my aunt lives.
It’s evening-soft, the sky that hazy blue purple that means the sun hasn’t gone but the day’s given up.Porch lights glow.Kids’ bikes lie abandoned on lawns.A dog barks twice and gets ignored.
“Full house,” I warn as I park.“Don’t be scared.”
She gives me a look.“I just survived my house trying to eat me.I think I can handle children.”
The front door bursts open before we even hit the walkway.Two small bodies barrel toward me like heat-seeking missiles.
“Dare-bear!”Mia shrieks, launching herself at my hip.She’s seven, missing a front tooth, with her hair in braids with pink beads at the ends.She collides with me and bounces, then clings.
“I told you to stop calling me that,” I groan, scooping her up anyway.
“You love it,” she says with devastating certainty.
The second, Jayden, nine going on forty, grins up from my other side, fist bump already cocked.“We timed you.You’re late.”
“Traffic,” I say solemnly.“And also, I brought a guest.”
They notice Olivia then.Both pairs of little eyes widen.Olivia freezes like a deer caught in two tiny flashlights.
“This is Olivia,” I say gently.“She’s a friend.She’s staying with us for a while.”
Mia gasps.“She’s so pretty.”
Olivia actually startles.“What?”
Jayden nods like he’s assessing architectural integrity.“Yeah.Like a princess, but tired.”
Olivia laughs, a real one, surprised and helpless, and I swear to God, the sound hits me harder than adrenaline ever has.
“Thanks,” she says.“And you must be the welcoming committee.”
“That’s us,” Mia says proudly.“Auntie Dee made spaghetti.And garlic bread.And cake.”
Olivia looks at me like, are you serious?I grin.
“Full house,” I repeat, stripping off my hoodie as I step inside.
Inside, the noise wraps around us immediately.My aunt—short, round, dangerous with a wooden spoon—appears from the kitchen like she’s been conjured.
“Boy,” she says by way of greeting, eyes already narrowing at the bruise blooming on my shoulder where my t-shirt doesn’t cover.“You working or fighting your truck again?”
“Working,” I say, then gesture.“Aunt Dee, this is Olivia.Olivia, my Aunt Denise.She’s the boss.”
Olivia starts to hold out a hand like she’s at a job interview.Aunt Dee ignores it completely and pulls her into a soft, firm hug that smells like cinnamon and laundry detergent.
“Baby, you look like you’ve had a day,” she says near Olivia’s hair.“Bathroom’s down the hall on the left, towels in the cupboard.Spare room is ready.You’re staying as long as you need and then some.”
Olivia makes a small, broken sound I feel in my sternum.“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Sit,” Aunt Dee orders gently.“Eat.Men can carry trash bags.Women sit.”
