She laughs. “Well, not exactly.”
“It’s not funny.”
“No, it’s not, but I bet he would be happy that you smiled for a few minutes.”
“Jade, please don’t. Not now.”
She reaches over and turns off the light.
?
I slept all night and woke to Jade snoring softly. I sit up and grab a pair of leggings, throwing them on. I brush my teeth and throw my hair up in a sloppy bun, and then I walk out into the kitchen and look outside.
My father, Ryan, Alex, Ben, Zach, Brody, Jake, and Lucas are all there, and so is Luke Lane.
“Jade!” I yell as I run into the bedroom. “Jade! Luke’s here!”
She jumps up and laughs. “My boy’s home safe?”
“He is.”
She smiles, and tears of joy fill her eyes. “My boy’s home.”
She starts walking out of the room, and I call after her, “Hey, Jade!”
“Yeah?”
“Pants.” I laugh and throw her pants at her.
?
I follow Jade out as she runs to her son. As soon as he sees her, he hugs her tight, and she cries.
“Mom, I’m home.” He laughs. “You can stop crying now.”
“Happy tears, joyful tears.” Jade laughs as the tears continue to fall down her face. “It’s all over now, right? You’re done.”
“A couple more months, but it’s stateside.” Luke lets go of Jade and laughs. “I’m almost done, Mom.”
“Eight years”—Jade grabs his face—“of hell. No more. Understand?”
“Yeah, I do.” The sadness in his voice does not go unnoticed.
I look over at Lucas, and his face shows concern. He looks at me and forces a smile.
I smile back and look over at Ann’s house. Ava is coming out, and she stops dead in her tracks when she sees Luke. She’s trying to stop the smile that’s forming. If she only knew that it didn’t matter. Even from a distance, I can see it in her eyes.
“Welcome home, soldier.” She laughs as she quickly walks over to us.
“Hey, Ava.” He tries to look unaffected, but I can see the way he looks at her.
I look at Jade then at Lucas, trying to see if they notice. They don’t. But Lucas looks at me suspiciously. Unable to stop myself, I laugh.
Ava looks at me, and her face turns red. She walks over and nudges me with her shoulder. “Back off, Tessa,” she growls teasingly.
“Ava!” Lucas scolds her.
“Daddy!” Ava scolds back.