“Go,” I whisper.
Wade is still quite a private person. We both like our solitude when we’re peopled out. We love the quiet, but now, our quiet doesn’t equate to loneliness. For either of us.
He has made more of an effort to be with his brothers, particularly when we spend time as couples. He doesn’t seek out their company, so nothing has really changed there. But he doesn’t spurn their requests for his time as he did when I first met him.
Except for Boone. He still finds excuses most of the time when Boone wants to go on what Boone calls adventures.
Wade doesn’t fill every weekend hour with work now either. That’s perhaps the biggest shock. I’ve yet to get him to be late for anything, but I’ve let that go. You can’t win them all.
According to Boone, Wade has loosened the stick up his ass since he met me. His words, not mine.
Wade nods. He stiffens and forces a tight smile. “All right. Let me know when and I’ll go. Sounds … fun.”
Only Wade can make the word fun sound like torture. But, hey—he’s going. And I think we’ll all take that as progress.
Hollis laughs. He turns to the server with his beer when his hand hits the table so hard that everyone looks his way.
The woman who stands beside him holding the bottle isn’t the same server as before.
This girl, a few years younger than Hollis by all accounts, has brown curly hair. She, too, looks like she’s seen a ghost.
Hollis opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.
She takes a step backward, her brows pulled together.
A half-laugh escapes her throat as she points the bottle toward Hollis.
“You …” she says, shaking the bottle so hard that some of the liquid splashes out and falls onto the floor. “Who are you?”
Hollis stands so quickly that his chair scratches against the floor and then falls over.
No one says a word.
No one moves.
We all watch this strange interaction between Hollis and the bartender girl.
He walks toward her slowly.
I glance at Larissa. She shrugs.
“What is your name?” Hollis asks her.
“Paige.” She sets the bottle down on a table. “Who are you?”
“Hollis.”
Paige tries to grab a chair but misses. She falls to the side, and Hollis reaches out, keeping her from falling at the last minute.
He holds her by her arms and looks at her with … horror? Surprise? Shock?
My blood runs cold.
I look at Larissa again. “Hollis?” She calls to her boyfriend, but he doesn’t turn around.
He stays focused on Paige.
Maybe I’m seeing things, but there’s a strange resemblance between Hollis and Paige. The same color hair. The same strong jaw. The same ridiculous eyelashes and the same athletic build.
It can’t be.
Can it?
Tears stream down Paige’s face. Her hands shake so hard that I wonder if she’s having a seizure.
“My name …” She stops to catch her breath. A sob hiccups from her. “My name is Harlee Paige Carmichael. My last name was Hudson. I was adopted.”
Hollis lunges forward and pulls her into his chest. Their sobs rip through the restaurant as we all watch in disbelief.
His huge arms capture the girl so tightly that I wonder if she can breathe.
Their voices are muffled as they hold each other in embraces so tight that I wonder if they’ll ever separate.
The Mason family looks at one another with a mixture of tears and surprise in their eyes. Wade leans into me and whispers, “Hollis has been looking for his sister for years. He thought she was dead.”
Oh. My. God.
I grab Wade’s hand and hold it tight. Tears flicker in my eyes too.
Hollis’s back shakes until he pulls back and looks Paige in the face.
“Are you serious?” he asks her. “You’re Harlee?” He chokes back a lump. “You’re my Harlee? I’ve been looking for you forever.”
Her lips tremble. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. I have these memories of you, but …” She yelps a sob. “I didn’t even know if you were actually real or if I made you up.”
He grabs her for another quick hug.
“How are you here?” she asks, wiping the river of tears off her face. “Why? How? I’m just …” She laughs. “I’m in shock.”
He runs a hand down his jaw. His hand shakes. “Dennis Egelbert told me you were dead. He said your car ran off into the river years ago. I don’t understand.”
“That’s the story they told people around town,” she says, sniffling. “Our biological mom was looking for me at one point. That’s how I found out I was adopted. My parents—my adoptive parents—had to sit me down and … it was … not a good day. But it was all fine.” She grins. “It’s … I can’t believe it’s you.”
Hollis hugs her yet again. “I have so much to ask you. I … Just … Can we …” He blows out a breath and wipes the tears off his face. “I can’t believe it. I can’t fucking believe this.”