Page 74 of Carson

I stop her with a kiss.

“We don’t do what ifs around here; we do what is. And right now, everything is A-OK.”

She smiles at me sadly. “It is. It’s more than okay. All of my babies will be home soon.”

I can’t bring myself to tell her Cole is staying over at the warehouse, so I don’t.

“Carson made it to Chicago. He said he tried calling you.”

“He did?” She pulls her phone out of her purse and there it is … two missed calls from Carson.

I take it from her hands when her eyes begin to well with tears.

“Baby, baby, baby, there’s going to be a learning curve to this, but we’ll figure it out as we go. It was nice Carson checked in with us but it wasn’t necessary.”

“I can’t even take care of my kids.” She cries, not listening to a word I’ve said.

I pull her into my arms, holding her tight.

She has to grieve what she’s losing before she can move forward.

Her sobs wake something inside me.

Something I haven’t felt in a long, long time.

I haven’t felt this helpless since my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

I haven’t missed it.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Luna

Ihug my Ireland journal to my chest after making the final entry. Our trip has come to an end.

“Cole must be staying at the warehouse tonight,” Carson says as he pulls up in front of the cabin.

My heart sinks because I know I’m the reason for that.

I tuck the journal in my backpack and heave it over my shoulder as I get out of the truck. “Hopefully you’ll get a chance to talk to him tomorrow.”

“Yeah, it will work itself out.” He watches me grab my things. “So, um, are you going to stay with me, or …”

We both look at my van, sitting in the dark down by the trees.

“I hadn’t really thought about it, I guess.”

“I’ve kind of gotten used to sleeping with you next to me.”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right, maybe you should talk to your brother first. I mean, it’s his home too.”

Carson’s focus turns to the cabin. It’s dark too.

The wind picks up and I hug myself. There is a chill in the air tonight. I look along the dark tree line, and shiver. Maybe I’ve gotten used to having Carson next to me too. I feel safe when he’s there.

“Maybe you could sleep in the van with me tonight.”

His entire face lights up. “Yeah, that’s a great idea and then I can talk to Cole about it when we go to the warehouse for supper tomorrow.”