“I’m her mother,” I reminded him softly, “and you’re her father.”
He inhaled, shaking his head, but at least this time he kissed my forehead and then hugged me. “Keep her away from the news. I’ll be back later.”
Nodding, he said nothing else to me before leaving. I wasn’t sure if it was because of my hangover or not, but it felt like the world had just shifted off its axis.
It didn’t matter. I had my daughter back…my family was together. There was a knock on the door.
“Hold on.” I softly opened the door. Wyatt stood there, his laptop tucked underneath his hand and a monster-sized bag filled with snacks over his shoulder like Santa Claus. He grinned like a harmless goofball.
“My mom’s pissed. Can I hide out in here for a bit?” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder just to make sure she wasn’t there.
I couldn’t help but smile. “How pissed are we talking about?”
He cringed. “My dad couldn’t even get a word in, and I think she invented some new curse words. I escaped while she was on the phone.”
“WYATT, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!” I heard Melody holler. I dashed into the room so quickly I felt a breeze.
“I don’t know why they are so mad! Everyone is home now,” he muttered once I closed the door.
“Wyatt, you were reckless—”
“Not you, too, Aunt Cora!” He truly looked upset. He grumbled, “I thought you would be on my side.”
“Relax.” I put my hands on his shoulders. “I’m on your side. How could I not be? You’re my hero.”
He grinned, dropping his bag on the ground and lifting his shirt to show me his rib, which was a deep purple and red. “Senator King put up a fight, but I got him good.”
It took me a second to adjust to the coldness, the ruthlessness of his words, which he was somehow able to say with the most innocent smile on his face. He reminded me of a little kid…an infant who laughed while smacking his parents because he didn’t know that what he was doing was wrong.
“Wyatt,” I whispered, looking him in his eyes. “I’m grateful, but you shouldn’t brag about this…this was bad and sad. It was—”
“Aunt Cora,” he whispered back, putting his hands on my shoulders like I’d done to him, mocking me. “It’s kinda hard to take you seriously when you say bad and sad in the same sentence. It sounds like you’re reading Dr. Seuss.”
“Wyatt—”
“I know,” he said, a smile no longer on his face. “I know it was a bad plan. I know it wasn’t a good thing to do, and I swear I didn’t mean for him to die. I know my parents had a plan, and Uncle Declan had a plan. I’m sure even Ethan had a plan. All of their plans were going to be better than mine. I know. But Aunt Cora…I don’t think we should plan for family, right? You think that, too, right? That’s what you said before kind of…how we’re Callahans. Helen is a Callahan. She belongs here. Any plan that makes her wait with some strangers…was worse than my plan. It might make everything go smoothly, and Mom wouldn’t be upset with me, and Uncle Declan wouldn’t have to go see the judge. But it would still be worse. I’m not going to say sorry. I’m not going to feel sad. Because we won. We can figure out everything else later, because a win is a win,” he said, determined, and yet I could see it…in his eyes he was begging for me to be on his side.
“You’re right,” I said with a smile, nodding. “A win is a win. Helen’s home, and that’s all that matters.”
“Right! Thank you!” He let out a big sigh of relief before getting himself comfortable on Declan’s armchair, digging into bag of snacks.
“Wyatt?”
Looking to the door of Declan’s and my bedroom, I watched Helen step out, her curls a mess atop her head.
“Finally, you’re awake!” Wyatt grinned so wide I wasn’t sure how his cheeks didn’t hurt. “I was worried I was going to eat your welcome home party snacks before you had any!”
He lifted all the junk food he could hold up for her to see.
“Twizzlers!” She grinned back, about to rush for them, but then saw me. “Good morning, Mommy, can I have those?!”
Two weeks. I’d been without her for two weeks, and yet the way she spoke it was as if she’d never left.
Fighting back tears, I nodded. “I’ll let it slide since you just came back.”
“Thank you!” She dashed over to me and hugged me tightly before making a b-line for the snacks.
“Me too!” Sedric came out of the room, ignoring me completely, but it was okay. Everything was okay because they were right there. Laughing and giggling and stuffing their faces. I had my daughter. My children were with me. That was all that mattered.