Page 49 of One Little Kiss
“She’s a little dehydrated, but nothing that requires IV fluids. She needs rest, Colt. And probably someone to talk to. She might have a slight concussion, but head injuries always need to be monitored.”
I nod, a plan already formulating in my head. “Beth, could you help me pack up some of their stuff?”
She glances from me to Winnie and back again. Her concern is apparent. “Where are you taking her?”
“Home. I swear to you, I’m only going to take care of them.”
GG, who has been uncharacteristically quiet, steps forward with a bag I recognize from the airport. “She’ll be in good hands, Beth.”
“B-But what about Weston?”
The little boy wraps his arms tighter around my middle, and my heart explodes with love. For the second time in my life, I believe in love at first sight.
“I’m going to take care of him, too,” I promise. “GG will give you a code to get in the gate on our side of the mountain. My house is number ten on Brookside Trail. You’re welcome to come check on them at any time.”
Winnie mutters something behind us, but she’s fast asleep when I turn. I know my life will never be the same as I watch her. She’s worth growing up for, and I don’t even know her. But then I see it. My T-shirt I placed on her in the airplane. It’s folded neatly, sitting on an egg crate next to the bed.
She’s thought of me.Tears form in the corner of my eyes as I draw Weston closer. It’s the only sign I need. Winnie and Wes are my future.
CHAPTER15
WINNIE
Weston’s giggles wake me from the deepest sleep I’ve had in a long time. My eyelids flutter open, expecting him to be at my side, but nothing is familiar.
Glancing down, I don’t recognize the bed. My clothes. This room.Oh my God. Where are we?
I scramble from the luxurious sheets I’m tangled in and face three doors. I tear at the first and find a bathroom. The second is an enormous walk-in closet that assaults me with a scent my body recognizes.Colton. I run to the third door and exit the room, following my brother’s peals of laughter and feel a pain so visceral in my chest I think I might have a heart attack.
Rounding the corner, I forget how to breathe. People mill about, but the only one making noise is Weston. A woman who looks eerily like Lanie Cross with shorter hair stands with a little girl on her hip. A man I recognize as Colton’s brother, Easton, crosses behind her, carrying a large bin overhead. GG and Beth sit sipping tea on the sofa, and sitting side by side on the ottoman with their heads tilted to the left at identical angles are Colton and my baby brother.
I can’t see what they’re watching, but I can hear the telltale song of his favorite train. A loud whistle comes through the sound system, and that’s when I realize Weston didn’t freak out or cover his ears. My gaze frantically searches his body for signs of discomfort, and then I register bright blue headphones on his head. They look like ones a pilot would wear, but it’s the fact that he nuzzles his face into Colton’s side that has tears spilling from my eyes.
“Colton?” The Lanie look-alike calls his attention to my presence.
Everyone in the room slowly turns toward me. Once again, he’s rendered me speechless and dumbstruck. I can’t move. Tears just cascade down my face until I feel faint.
“Why are you here? I mean, why am I here? Why are we here?” I fumble with my words, each one tripping over the next, trying to catch up to the chaos in my head.
Colton leans down, gently lifts the headphones from Weston’s ears, and whispers so only the two of them can hear. Jealousy curls low in my belly. I’ve spent every waking minute getting close to my baby brother, and he comes in and has him wrapped around his little finger in no time.
Wes turns to face me. Delight and joy radiate off him, and I hate myself for never being able to bring those emotions out in him. He jumps off the ottoman and runs to my side. He slips his little hand into my palm and tugs until my feet move, and he drags me toward the other side of the house. No one stops us, and he’s so excited that I follow.
Glancing over my shoulder, I find Colton watching me with apprehension. But it’s his cheeks blushing the slightest shade of pink that has me concerned.
Weston pulls me through what I assume is Colton’s home until we reach a door that has a giant W on it.
Blood rushes in my ears as he turns the knob and pushes through the door. Easton stands in the center of the room, erecting what can only be described as a small train city. The tracks weave effortlessly around the bed that is three sizes bigger than the one we have at home, along the wall, and back through tunnels, mountains, and tiny wooden buildings.
“What the hell?” I gasp, finding Weston’s name in wooden letters on the far wall.
Easton turns at my words, placing his hands on his hips, and shaking his head. “I told him he was going overboard.”
“What are you doing?” I choke out.
Weston releases my hand and runs to the train depot that houses a large box full of trains. Filling his hands with as many as he can hold, he places them on the round table. Carefully, he puts each one on the track.
“What’s going on?” I repeat.
