Page 66 of Found By You
Azalea
We hadn’t even pulled up yet when Damon’s boys, Jason and Trent, came barreling outside toward us. Then the whole family started to pile out of the house.
McCrae turned to me. “I’m sorry. They just care a lot.”
I let out a light laugh, feeling touched. “I love it.”
He parked, and we got out of the car.
Kayla rushed toward my side, pulling me into a long hug. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?” She pulled back and looked me up and down. “We’ve all been so worried. How’s your brother?”
There was no time for me to answer; she took my hand and dragged me toward the house.
I was engulfed in hugs by Ella, and then Isla, and then McCrae’s mom and dad, and then Noah and Canyon. Dylan was there too.
McCrae turned to him. “You still in town, dude?”
Dylan shrugged. “I’m working from home right now, because my brother and this new person who’s in our family are kind of in the middle of some crazy stuff.”
McCrae let out a laugh, and Dylan hugged him.
It was touching to see how this family was so close. I thought of the past couple of days, how they had taken me in with no hesitation. I realized I was crying.
McCrae’s mother stepped forward and gently put her hand on my cheek. “Are you okay?”
I grabbed her hand, then looked at all of them. “I just want to tell all of you how grateful I am that you took me in for the past couple of days, and I’m so sorry for bringing all of this into your lives.”
His mother pulled me in for another hug. “Are you kidding? You gave us something to do in this sleepy town.”
A rumble of laughter went through all of them.
“She’s right,” Canyon said. “We’re grateful to have something interesting.”
His father snorted out a laugh. “That’s right.”
I couldn’t help but feel so grateful for all of them.
Jason and Trent were suddenly at my sides, hugging me. Isla was holding Damon’s new son, and Ella held her own little daughter. The family was so cute.
Jason asked, “Is your brother okay?”
I couldn’t help but smile at him. My vision was swimming, making everything look blurry.
“Why are you crying?” Trent sounded a little alarmed.
“I’m crying because you guys are the best family ever. Thank you for asking about my brother. He’s healing. He’s okay. He’s in the hospital, and he wanted me to come hang out with you guys for a couple of days, if that’s okay.”
Jason looked confused. “Because someone is chasing you? That guy who shot the gun in the hospital?”
I felt nervous that they knew about all of that.
Damon cleared his throat and then let out a light laugh. “Sorry, Azalea. As you can tell, no one is good in this family at keeping secrets.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I pulled you all into this.” I turned to Jason. “Yeah, there was someone shooting at us, and I want you all to be careful, because I don’t know what kind of trouble I brought to your family. I just hope it stops soon.”
Everyone was quiet for a minute.
Damon cleared his throat. “I told you how that van full of people was intercepted, and we’ll wait a couple of days to see how that works out. The FBI is on it. They’re going to be here in the morning, and we’re taking precautions. It’s going to be okay.”
