Page 212 of Buried Too Deep

Phin blinked. He’d expected a frenzied welcome of hugs and voices talking over each other. But the kitchen was quiet. Only his mother, sister, and niece.

“I…I did. Hi, Mom.”

Jackie swallowed hard and it was then that he saw the tears in her eyes, the way her hand shook as she stirred. “I’m…” She shook her head, unable to continue.

“We’re glad you’re home,” Scarlett said quietly. “So very glad. But we didn’t want to overwhelm you right away. Everyone was here, but we made them go home for a little while.”

Phin released a relieved breath. “I thought…”

Jackie abandoned the stovetop with a small sob. “I can’t, Scarlett. I can’t be quiet.” She ran to Phin, throwing her arms around him.

Phin swallowed back a small grunt of pain as Cora let go of his hand and stepped back, giving him this moment with his mother. He wrapped his good arm around her, cradling the injured arm at his side.

His mother was crying, and Phin felt worse than shit. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Don’t be,” Jackie said brokenly. “I knew you’d come home when you were ready.”

Phin’s eyes burned. “You did?”

“Of course I did.” She sniffled and pulled back, flinching when she saw his bandaged arm. “I forgot. Did I hurt you?”

“No.” It wasn’t really a lie. “And if you did, I hurt you first. I am sorry, Mama.”

She gripped his chin gently, forcing him to look at her. “I don’t want to hear you apologize again. I’ve been a cop’s wife for a lot of years, Phineas Bishop. I know what PTSD is. Do I wish that you’d let us help you? Yes, of course. But you’re here. You’re staying for a little while, right?”

“As long as I can,” he promised. “At least a week. Maybe two. But Cora has to get back to work.”

Jackie sniffled again, wiping her eyes on her apron as she turned to greet Cora. “Welcome, Cora Jane.”

Cora laughed. “I guess that’s my whole name now.”

“It suits you,” Jackie said, then hugged Cora hard. Cora rolled with it, hugging his mother back. “Thank you, child. Thank you for bringing him home.”

“He was coming back anyway,” Cora told her. “I was just his escort.”

Scarlett wiped her daughter’s messy mouth and slowly rose. “We had a plan. We were going to be suave and chill. We were going to behave like you never left, like this was just another visit. We weren’t going to make you feel bad for staying away.” She came to stand in front of him, her long dark hair in a braid down her back, just as he remembered. She stared at him, her dark eyes intense. “But it’s not just another visit. You were gone for five long years. Five years, Phin. And I’m so pissed off at you for staying gone so long. But I’m still so damn glad that you’re finally home. I missed you.”

Carefully she embraced him, and he breathed her in, his heart seeming to settle in his chest. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.” She clung to him, as if afraid he’d disappear again. Which he supposed was fair. “Just…don’t do it again, okay? Not for five years.”

“I won’t. I…wanted to be…fixed when I came home. Not so messed up.”

She glared up at him. “Like we cared that you were messed up. You don’t need to be fixed. You just need to be here.” Then she softened, understanding flickering in her eyes. “It’s hard to feel like you’re not measuring up. I get that. Just don’t leave again, okay?”

“I won’t.” It felt like a vow. It was a vow.

She patted his good arm. “Good. That’s all I have to say on that. Now…” She turned to Stone and Delores, who still waited in the doorway. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the service dog, Delores. The one you’ve been training for the past eighteen months.”

Delores drew a breath and lifted her chin. “We gave Phin a safe place to come when he needed to decompress.”

“I know,” Scarlett said with a shrug.

Both Stone and Delores stared at her. “You knew?” Stone asked. “How long?”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “For two years. Ever since he met you. Do you think I don’t know what goes on in my own town, Stone O’Bannion? What goes on with my brother and sister-in-law?” She crossed the distance to Delores, bending down to give the smaller woman a gentle hug. “Thank you for watching Phin’s back. For giving him SodaPop. Cora’s told me how much she’s helped him.” She straightened and hugged Stone. “I intended to stay mad at you for a little while, but I’m too happy that he’s home. Thank you, brother.”

Stone only nodded, still looking poleaxed. “I can’t believe you knew all this time. We were so afraid you’d find out.”

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