Coming Home

Chapter 16

“Kenzi, wait!” Carson called after me.

I continued to walk away, not pausing even though I could hear his running footsteps behind me.

“Kenzi!” he yelled, reaching out and grabbing my arm, spinning me around to face him.

“What Carson?” I asked, sounding tired and exasperated.

“Calm down little one. It’s going to be okay,” he tried to assure me, his hands on my shoulders to keep me in place.

“I want to believe you, Carson, I really do. But I can’t. I just got my life back in order to where I can actually go through the day knowing that I’m happy. Cannon coming back is going to throw everything off balance and I can’t handle that right now,” I responded, shaking my head.

“Okay Kenzi Bear, calm down. Let’s get in the truck and get home. We can talk then, I just need you to get back with everybody else and we can get this under control,” he soothed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and leading me back to his siblings and my brother.

“Kenzi, what’s going on?” Callum asked when we joined the others.

I shook my head, not trusting myself to talk.

Cannon was staring at me, trying to get my attention, but I refused to look at him. I was so angry at him and I didn’t want a confrontation in the middle of the airport. We walked to baggage claim after a minute, Carson’s arm still around my shoulders.

“Hey, I’ll meet you guys at the truck. I need to go do something,” I said, turning from the group.

“Where are you going babe?” Tegan asked, a concerned look on her face.

“I have a phone call to make,” I answered over my shoulder.

She nodded, knowing who I was about to call. She threw her arms around Callum and Brent, laughing, as they walked to baggage claim. I walked out to the parking lot, dreading the phone call I was about to make. I slipped my phone from my pocket, unlocking it and scrolling through my phone book until I got to Mom’s number. I needed to talk to Daddy, but his phone was destroyed and he hadn’t gotten a new one yet. I knew Mom would be with Daddy, though.

“Hey sweetie, have the boys arrived yet?” Mom asked when she answered the phone.

“Yeah they’re here. They’re getting their baggage right now. Can I talk to Daddy? I need to tell him something,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

“Sure honey, he’s right here,” she said and I could hear her pass the phone.

“Hey baby, is everything okay?” Daddy asked as soon as he got on the phone.

“That depends on your definition of ‘okay’,” I answered, sinking down on the bench outside the airport.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice immediately on edge.

“Tegan’s brothers ran into someone on the flight home. Someone none of us thought we’d ever seen again. Daddy, Cannon’s back,” I answered, my voice torn.

Daddy was silent for a minute, probably due to the shock of the situation.

“Is he coming here?” he questioned after a minute.

“I think so. When I saw him, he got a big smile on his face and opened his arms for a hug. I kind of slapped him instead.”

“That’s my girl. We’ll deal with it when you guys get here. Thank you for the heads up,” Daddy said as the guys and Tegan walked out of the airport.