Page 22 of Silver Lining Love

Doing my best to shake off that reaction, I read my brother’s text.

Sawyer:We’re throwing Mom a surprise party.

Me:Really? A surprise party?

There was no way that this party was a surprise. Dolly Briggs would sniff this out faster than a police dog in a grow house. I would bet my life savings that my mama knew all about this “surprise” party. I’d double down that she was the one planning it.

Sawyer:Are you coming?

Me:I’ll be there. Just tell me when.

I put my phone away and was actually looking forward to heading to Texas since I’d been missing Wishing Well, and my family a lot. Two sentiments I never thought I would utter.

I’d been feeling homesick even before Whitney got the call that her sister had been in a car accident. But since then, it had been a constant buzz in the background of my head.

Maybe it would have gone away on its own, but seeing how quickly things can change had only amplified my emotions. The realization that one day, people can be here, people that are healthy and in their prime, and the next day they are gone, hit home to me. I couldn’t imagine what Whitney was going through or how I would feel if it had been me who’d gotten the call that one of my brothers or my sister wasn’t here anymore.

And not only did Whitney lose her only sister, but she also didn’t have any other family—no parents to support her, no cousins, no anyone.

Just me, I thought.

And if I went to Wishing Well, I’d have to leave the kids and Whitney. It’s not that I didn’t think they would be able to get along without me, although I did worry about that. The idea of leaving them behind, even for a few days, did not sit well with me.

It was so strange, the one thing I’d been avoiding my entire life was upon me–kids and responsibility–and instead of feeling trapped or like I wanted to get away, I felt the opposite. I never wanted to leave.

After grabbing the pizza and groceries and letting Moose out of my backyard, we made our way up the steps of the front porch. As we reached the top of the steps, there was an eerie quietness that had alarm bells going off inside of me. I looked back and saw that Whitney’s car was in the driveway. She was home.

I realized in the past six months, I’d never walked up these steps and not heard the baby crying, TV or music on, Whitney yelling or Alice or Michael either playing or fighting, sometimes all of the above.

I glanced down at Moose, his tongue was out, and he was wagging his tail, excited to go in and see his kids. He didn’t seem to be sensing any danger, which I guess was a good thing.

When I lifted my hand to knock, I made sure to do it quietly in case Benji was sleeping. After a few seconds, Alice’s little voice came through the wooden barrier.

“Who are you?”

My lips turned up in a grin. She wasn’t allowed to open the door for strangers, but she wasn’t tall enough to look through the peephole. “It’s Wyatt, Alice.”

“Hi, Wyatt! Wait, what’s your dog’s name?”

I loved that she was testing me. “Moose.”

At the sound of his name, Moose’s tail thudded against the wooden deck.

The swoosh of the mail slot opening caught my attention. I looked down to see two little eyes peeking through.

“Hi, Moose!” Alice exclaimed before the lock turned and the door opened.

“Wyatt, I’m hungry!”

“I’ve got pizza.” I was going to cook, but I’d had to stay at work late so instead, I picked up pizza, but I also got some stuff to make a salad with it, so it wasn’t all bad.

“Pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza!” Alice hopped on one foot then the other, her arms flailing in the air, doing her happy dance.

I chuckled as I walked into the kitchen. When I did, I saw Whitney sitting at the table. She was wearing her reading glasses staring at her laptop. Her expression was serious. More serious than I’d ever seen it before.

Benji was bouncing beside her in his walker.

“Hey,” I spoke softly as I set the boxes of pizza and the grocery bags down on the kitchen island.

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