Page 2 of Home Again

As he headed toward the exit on the main concourse he heard a woman yell, “Wait up.”

Sebastian turned and saw the petite soccer mom smiling at him, so he stopped and arched his eyebrow in question.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“Hmmm?”

“You did right back there.” She reached up and squeezed his bicep. “Not enough right in the world, but you did it, so thank you.” She smiled, then turned and left.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Sebastian felt like he might get through the next few weeks.

* * *

Sebastian arched his neck, trying to loosen his muscles. This was the third uncomfortable chair near the third gate he’d been assigned to in the last five hours, and he didn’t know why he was bothering. He looked up at the floor-to-ceiling window in front of him and watched the rain slash sideways. Why they even tried to say the planes were just delayed was a mystery to him. Hurricane Helen was going to cancel everything here at the Atlanta airport, so they might as well just call it.

His phone vibrated, so he pulled it out of his back pocket, hoping it might be one of his teammates. It wasn’t. It was his grandfather, one of the last people on earth he wanted to talk to, so he let the call go to voicemail. It was bad enough he had to see the bastard in the very near future; there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to talk to him anytime beforehand. Just having the old man’s damn letter in his pocket was giving him hives.

“Canceled?” the woman to the right of him screeched. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

Really? She was surprised?

Sebastian picked up his duffel and headed left. He’d already scoped out where the USO was. He probably should have headed there hours ago, but there’d been something soothing about the storm that called to him. The outer turmoil matched what he was feeling inside.

He followed the stream of people toward the Airport Atrium. They were slow, but there was no rush. He’d probably end up sleeping on the floor at the USO, which was a hell of a lot better than where he’d slept on his last mission.

By the time he got to the third floor, he was once again thinking about the old house in Lafourche Parish. When he got to the desk a tall, older woman with a Texas accent was talking to a woman in a combat uniform standing beside a tall man in jeans and a Broncos shirt. The man was holding the woman’s duffel and had his arm around her waist. Both of them wore wedding bands.

“Let me see if I can get you situated with some food.”

“No need, Blessing, this isn’t our first rodeo,” the woman said. “Pete picked me up some barbeque before dropping off the rental car.”

The man held up a white bag with grease stains and the older woman grinned. “Well, y’all know the way back. Remember, don’t get too comfortable,” she teased the young couple.

The Broncos fan let out a big laugh as his wife buried her face into his chest. They wandered down the hall and Blessing turned to Sebastian with a twinkle in her eye. Despite the angst he’d been feeling about going home, he couldn’t help but return her smile.

“Hello, Blessing,” he held out his hand. “I’m Sebastian Durand.”

She took his hand in hers. “Welcome to the Atlanta USO. Do I hear a little of the bayou in your voice?” she asked before walking behind the desk to check him in.

Sebastian nodded. “Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. I’m on leave, heading back for a while.”

Blessing gave a slight frown. “So that’s home?”

“It was where I was raised,” Sebastian qualified.

“Family there?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Some.”

She came around from the back of the desk, put her hand on his bicep, and looked up at him. “How long has it been since you’ve been back to Louisiana?” she asked quietly.

“Twelve years,” he admitted. “Didn’t think I’d ever go back.” Sebastian stopped short, amazed he’d admitted something like that to a stranger.

Her eyes searched his. “You’ll be able to handle this, Sebastian. I know it.”

Sebastian’s head shot up in shock. “I beg your pardon?”

“God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. What’s more, it’s finally your time to go back. You’re going to find that not only will you get the answers you’ve always needed, you’re going to find joy.”