He only smiled, then walked back into the bar. I waited for the rush of outraged fans to come outside, gushing about how awful I was treated and how they’ll never frequent this place again…but no one came out. Not a single human being checked to see how I was doing. I didn’t want to admit it, but that stung.

Anna was surprised to see me when I got home, since I hadn’t been gone very long. I told her Pete’s was dead and she hadn’t missed much. I wasn’t entirely lying. Pete’s was dead to me now; I couldn’t go back if I wanted to. Not that I wanted to ever go back there. Pete’s could suck it. Matt was dead to me too now, but I didn’t mention that to her either. No point.

I fell asleep wishing I was away from here already, and ended up waking up an hour before the car taking us to the airport was scheduled to arrive. When Anna finally stirred, I had the mountain of bags we were traveling with stacked by the front door, a pot of coffee brewing, and a vodka Red Bull in my hand. Might as well start the day out right.

“You beat me. I don’t think you’ve woken up before me…well, ever.” She yawned and stretched after she said it, and I did the same. I might have woken up before her, but it was still freaking early.

My hip hurt from where that jackass had tossed me on the cement. I inconspicuously rubbed it while I told Anna, “I’m just excited to go. This is going to be so much fun. You’ll see.” She gave me a small, unconvinced smile before getting up to get ready.

The doorbell chimed just as Anna finished getting dressed. Time to go. Wrangling the kids and all our stuff took a surprising amount of time. Gibson cried and refused to leave her purple room. Onnika needed food, then a diaper change, then another outfit. By the time we finally made it to the airport, I was done with this trip. Couldn’t we just be there already?

We needed two carts to hold all our stuff, and even then I was bogged down with bags. When the automatic doors swished open, I spotted something that put me even more on edge. Kellan and Kiera were here. Kellan was dressed in a ball cap and sunglasses, but he still had a group of fans around him. He was smiling, autographing scraps of paper, and posing for a few pictures. Airport security was hovering around the crowd, looking a little uneasy. I figured they’d put a stop to this in about three more seconds.

Readjusting the car seat in my hand, the diaper bag on my back, and the stroller balancing on the cart, I worked my way to Kellan’s circle. He looked up when he noticed me, then gave me a wave. Fans in the crowd turned my way, but if they recognized me, they didn’t show it.

Anna squealed when she noticed her sister. Clutching our daughters tight, she dashed over to where Kiera was standing off to Kellan’s side. They hugged, and Anna’s smile was the brightest I’d seen since I’d told her we were leaving.

Kellan politely brushed through his fans to get to me. Wondering if he was going to chew me out like Matt had, I brusquely asked, “You here to bitch me out too?”

Kellan sighed, so I figured he knew about the incident with Matt at the bar. “No. I’m here to say goodbye. Regardless of…recent events…you’re family, and I can’t let you leave without a send-off.”

I didn’t want to be moved by the fact that Kellan gave a shit, but I was. He extended his hand to me. I hesitated, but eventually took it. His grin under his ball cap had the lingering fans sighing like he’d just asked them to marry him. “Good luck, Griffin. I mean that.”

Nodding, I pumped his hand a few more times, then let go. “Thanks.” I felt like I should add some sappy shit about how I appreciated his encouragement, but the words wouldn’t come out. All I kept hearing in my mind was Not tonight, maybe tomorrow. Well, tomorrow was today.

I had to peel Anna away from Kiera. She had tears in her eyes when she said her final goodbye to her sister. “I’ll call you when I land,” she told her as their fingers finally separated.

“You better,” Kiera said, wiping her eyes.

Even though I didn’t get why this moment was getting so unnecessarily dramatic, I found it hard to swallow; it was like my throat was superglued shut. I started herding my wife toward check-in, then stopped and looked back at Kellan. “Hey, Kell,” I called out. Even though he was wearing dark sunglasses, I could tell his eyes were locked on mine. “Tell…” Tell Matt and Evan I’m sorry. My mouth wouldn’t form those words though. “Thanks for seeing us off.”

Kellan nodded, then held his hand up in a wave. With nothing more to say, I turned my back on him, and Seattle.

Chapter 12

Let the Awesomeness Begin

Anna was near silent on the plane. Holding Onnika in her lap, she stared out the windows like the endless sea of clouds was some all-encompassing book that she couldn’t put down.

I told her that my parents were picking us up from the airport, but all I got was a nod in response. Even the flight attendant didn’t get a verbal answer when she asked Anna if she needed anything. Just a shake of her head while she stared out the window. Whatever funk she’d slipped into, it was so unlike her. It scared me some that she wasn’t snapping out of this. I missed my spunky, carefree wife who didn’t bat an eye at all my outlandish antics. Her ability to accept all my craziness was one of the main reasons we worked so well. If she lost that ability now, I wasn’t sure what that might mean for us. God, I hoped my old Anna returned soon. I needed someone to bounce my excitement off of. I needed her to be stoked about this.