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“Oh, Jude!” Cadence said, raw emotion evident in her voice. “I’ve missed you also. All of you.”
Jude thumped her vigorously on the back. “You’re engrained in our hearts, Cadence.”
Engrained in our hearts. Cadence felt the same way about the Donahue family. She would never be able to tell them how deeply she’d grieved the loss of them. Each and every one of them. She could feel the heat of Parker’s gaze as he studied her. When she looked up he was staring at her in an intense manner. He seemed to be deep in thought. She couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking about. Before she knew it, Jude and Penelope had gotten down on their hands and knees next to Logan. Logan grinned at them and held out a train with his chubby hand. Cadence couldn’t help but notice the satisfied expression etched on Parker’s face as he watched his parents play with his son.
For the next half hour, Jude and Penelope played with Logan while making conversation with her and Parker. They had a lot of questions about the events in Sonoma. Parker and Cadence answered them, being careful not to say anything too revealing in front of Logan. Most of it, Cadence realized, went way over his head. Thank the Lord for sparing him, Cadence thought. She would be forever grateful that Mason’s evil hadn’t robbed Logan of his childhood innocence. He’d taken everything from her with the exception of her son. She hadn’t allowed him to poison Logan’s world. At least she’d done something right over the past three years.
The sound of the front door slamming closed rang out in the living room, quickly followed by heavy footsteps and loud voices. Cadence felt her body freeze up. Parker stood up from the love seat he’d been seated in. It was as if a glass had shattered in utter silence. Everyone’s attention had immediately shifted. Even Logan seemed to sense something was up.
Oh, precious Lord, she prayed. Please give me the strength to handle this situation with grace.
A moment of reckoning was upon her. The Donahue siblings had arrived.
**
Parker had been waiting for the rest of his family to arrive. The moment the front door slammed shut and heralded their arrival, he knew it was important to talk to them before they entered the living room. He wanted to head them off at the pass so they weren’t given the shock of their lives when they saw Logan. He opened the living room door and raced toward the foyer, coming face-to-face with Shayla, who immediately held out her arms for a hug. As usual, she was full of sunshine.
“Hey baby girl,” he said, swinging her up in his arms.
“Hey handsome. Where have you been hiding? You’re a tough person to track down,” she said, her gray-blue eyes blazing with questions. “Jason said the two of you had been out of town, but he wouldn’t give me any details. Was it work-related?”
“It’s a bit complicated,” Parker said in a firm tone meant to prevent his sister from prying any further. She raised her eyebrow at him, but didn’t continue to ask any more questions.
Micah walked up behind her and playfully jabbed her in the side. “In other words, mind your business.”
Shayla let out a squeal of outrage and jabbed Micah back. The two did a little pushing back and forth which Parker knew was comical rather than mean-spirited. Since the two were so close in age, they’d always had an up and down relationship. Although they loved each other tremendously, they also tended to squabble quite a bit.
Daniel rolled his eyes and tried to get past them in the hallway. “You two haven’t changed since you were in diapers.”
Shayla and Micah began making faces behind his back. Jason walked up, shaking his head and laughing. “You two really are goofballs.” Parker looked at Jason. “Caleb just pulled up outside.” As soon as his name rolled off Jason’s lips, Caleb appeared inside the doorway with a big smile on his face. Caleb’s happy-go-lucky personality always lit up the room.
Parker held up his hands and stood so that Daniel couldn’t move toward the living room. Daniel frowned
at him.
“Hey guys. I need to talk to you in the kitchen. Where’s Heath and Nash?” Parker asked, peering around his siblings to see if they were anywhere in sight.
Shayla shrugged. “They were right behind us. Heath’s been acting kind of weird though.”
“How so?” Parker asked. He’d thought the same thing for a while now, but he wanted to hear his sister’s thoughts. He had been praying for Heath ever since he’d returned stateside. Heath wouldn’t talk about his experiences in a war zone, which was troubling to the whole family.
“He’s super moody. And a little jittery. And he broke up with Bella,” Shayla said with wide eyes. Bella Vincente. Heath’s high school sweetheart. They had been together since they were sixteen-years-old. At twenty-six years old, it had seemed to everyone that the two of them were headed toward the altar.
“Seriously?” Jason asked, shaking his head in amazement. “Those two seemed head-over-heels. What happened?”
“They’ve been together since high school,” Parker said, rubbing his hand across his jaw. It made no sense since he knew Heath loved Bella with every fiber of his being. Ever since he’d returned from the Middle East, Heath had been a different man. Something was burning under the surface and Parker needed to figure out what was going on with him before he imploded.
All of a sudden the front door swung open. Nash and Heath walked in, making it a full house.
“Why are you guys standing in the hallway?” Heath asked, his brows knitted together in confusion. Parker took a good look at his brother. He could see the stress and strain etched on his face. He’d lost weight. He didn’t exude a happy vibe. Handsome, blue-eyed and intense, Heath had valiantly served his country as a member of the United States Army. Once everything had settled down with Cadence and Logan, Parker intended to spend some time with Heath in order to figure out what was going on with him. Parker felt for Heath. He’d never served in the military himself. He couldn’t imagine the things Heath had seen and done.
Parker needed to deal with the pressing issue at hand. He couldn’t keep Cadence and Logan out of sight for much longer.
“C’mon, everyone. In the kitchen,” he said, shepherding everyone into the kitchen.
“Hey, what’s up? Is this about Mom and Dad?” Micah asked as they all filed in.
“What’s wrong?” Shayla asked. “You’re scaring me. Did someone die?”
