Chapter 25
LANDING AT LAX WAS LIKE reentering the earth’s atmosphere. For one thing, it was warm, and Delaney Masterson hadn’t been truly warm since she’d driven that yellow Volkswagen past the California state line heading toward Michigan. She shoved up the sleeves of the bubblegum-pink sweater Sissy had given her and wished again that she’d had some time at the Memphis airport this morning to buy something a little less vibrant to wear. It was hard to sneak through a crowd in neon-highlighter pink. Sissy had given her some jeans to wear too. They were too tight and too short, but Delaney’s other jeans were in desperate need of washing. She couldn’t stand to wear them one more day.
She made her way through the airport terminal hallway, head down, Louis Vuitton backpack over her shoulder, University of Memphis baseball hat pulled low, wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses that she’d picked up from the Heartbreak Hotel gift shop before leaving.
Her good-byes at the hotel with Clark, Sissy, Sammy, Humphrey, and Finch had left her a little sad, as if she were leaving family behind to take a long voyage to another country. They’d each done the oh, we should keep in touch thing, and she sincerely hoped they would. They’d become her friends over the last few days and shared an experience that no one else would quite understand.
Reggie had even been a little teary eyed as he’d wished her well before sending her through the security line at the Memphis airport. Or he might have just been hungover. Hard to tell.
“Good luck, honeybun,” he’d whispered in her ear as he gave her a fast hug. “You ever need anything, you know who to call, right? Finch. Call Finch. Don’t call me.” Then he’d laughed and hugged her again.
“Thank you, Reggie. For everything. And don’t forget. Come out to California someday and I’ll introduce you to my dad. You two can jam. I promise.”
“It’s a date.” He’d smiled, then turned and walked away before she could say anything else. Of all the Paradise Brothers, she’d miss Reggie most of all.
But nothing compared to how much she missed Grant. That was a gaping hole right through her chest. She could practically feel the wind passing through it, but she didn’t have time for that distress right now. One thing at a time, and right now her focus had to be on getting back to her family and figuring out the rest of her life.
She’d spent her airplane ride planning and pondering and plotting her next steps. Whatever came next, she wanted to be in charge of it. No more letting herself be buffeted about by other peoples’ actions. Being without her phone and wallet and money had made her feel vulnerable, but it had clarified things for her too. The whole experience had given her a chance to realize just how little she actually needed.
At the end of the LAX terminal a cluster of people stood waiting for disembarking passengers. Delaney was nearly face-to-face with her sister before Melody gasped.
“Lane? Oh my God. Is that you?”
“Incognito,” Delaney said and kept on walking. There were always photographers at LAX, and she hoped to get to the car before they spotted her.
But Melody turned and trotted along beside her, and Delaney only made it two more steps before her emotions got the best of her and she pulled her sister in for a big, full hug.
Home. She was home. It wasn’t perfect here, and she wasn’t perfect either, and the next couple of weeks might be ass-sucking awful, but at least she was home. “I’m never running away from home again,” she said breathlessly.
“Good.” Melody was emphatic, her arms tight. “You scared the crap out of everyone. Roxanne read some article that said you’d joined a hillbilly cult or something.”
Delaney loosened her grasp and they started walking toward the exit again. “Hillbilly cult? What would make her say that?”
“I don’t know. Just something she saw online. Who are the Paradise Brothers?”
Delaney chuckled. “Just some friends.” Apparently friends who had scored a little notoriety from this. Reggie would be pleased.
They kept walking, past baggage claim and ticket counters.
“What are you wearing?” Melody asked as they reached the doors and headed out into the California sunshine. “Is that . . . is that polyester?”
Delaney glanced down. “Um, I don’t know. Probably.”
“It looks flammable. It’s an awful color. Are those . . . oh my God. Are those Wranglers?” She may as well have been saying oh my God, do you have cancer?
Delaney stopped and faced her sister. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through in the last several days, Mel? Do you realize how insignificant what I’m wearing is given the circumstances?”
Melody patted her shoulder. “No, I don’t have any idea what you’ve been through because you’ve refused to tell me anything. But you sound like you’ve been brainwashed, and if that’s led to you wearing this, then it must have been harrowing.”