As the car pulled away, the fans smacking it a few final times, Anna murmured, “Jesus. Are you okay, Kiera?”
When I looked over at her, a tear fell down my cheek. I was still shaking from head to toe. Pushing away the confrontation, I nodded at Anna and looked back down at Gibson. “My niece is holding my hand. I’m perfect.”
I felt Anna’s finger drying my cheek. After a moment of silence, she said, “I love you.”
I exhaled a long, low breath, and finally stopped shaking. “I love you too.”
The drive took a lot longer than expected. We had to stop a couple of times for Gibson. Once she needed to be changed, once she needed to be fed. We also hit some heavy traffic along the way—some accident that narrowed the freeway down to one lane. As we passed by the wreckage, I noticed that Anna wouldn’t look at it. Instead, she ceaselessly kissed her daughter’s hand. I could only imagine that she was thanking fate that Gibson was safe beside her . . . and that she hadn’t given her up.
By the time we got to the venue, the concert had already started. Anna and I were beat, so we didn’t go into the arena. Once we got cleared from security, we immediately headed for the busses. I wanted sleep. Badly.
Since all of the guys were inside playing, no fans or photographers were outside to bother us as we emptied the car. A good thing, because I didn’t think I could handle being yelled at again. It felt so good to be back on the bus, like we were coming home. All of the familiar sights and smells were there when we stepped through the doors—leftover beer bottles on the tables, crusty socks in the aisle way, Evan’s giant D trophy hanging from a noose above a window, and a bowl of half-eaten . . . something . . . on the couch. It was the cluttered mess that I had grown to know and love.
Anna looked around with a scowl on her face. “These boys are pigs. They’re going to have to clean up after themselves now that Gibson’s on board.” Her sudden concern over the cleanliness of our bus made me chuckle. Up until today, she’d contributed to the mess just as much as the guys had.
With Gibson still in her car seat, we made our way to the back bedroom. Like an overwhelmed cartoon character, my jaw dropped to my chest. The bedroom was . . . babified. There was a narrow, portable playpen crammed between the bed and the one-way window, and a mobile attached to the top had stuffed musical instruments hanging off of it. A couple of stuffed animals were on the makeshift crib, along with a pink blanket that looked plush enough for a princess.
On the other side of the bed was a slim dresser. The drawers would be impossible to open, but the top of it had a built-in tray that held a curved mattress with a belt, perfect for diaper changes. Attached to the ceiling above the table was a cute, fabric diaper holder, also decorated in musical instruments. As Anna giggled in delight, my eyes settled onto the bed. It was littered with shopping bags, and I saw nothing but pink spilling out of them.
Anna set the car seat down and rummaged through a bag. Squealing as she removed a soft pink, plush guitar, she said, “Don’t I have the best husband ever?”
I was so shocked, I couldn’t even respond.
I helped Anna put away the mountain of clothes that Griffin had picked up for his daughter. Since they’d already bought a bunch of stuff when they’d believed Gibson was a boy, there was nowhere near enough room for everything. We ended up cramming clothes and toys all over the bus. Every available cubby had something stuffed into it. We even stashed some burp rags in the pocket in the bus driver’s door. Once Anna and Gibson were comfortable and crashed, I crawled into the cubby I shared with Kellan. It had never felt so wonderful. I sighed after I inhaled our blanket; it smelled like Kellan. As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered if I smelled like Kellan too.
Chapter 25
On Our Own
Arms wrapping around my body and legs tangling with mine woke me up. The bus was still, silent, but I had no idea if we’d reached our new destination, or if we were still in Jersey. Smiling, I stretched as best as I could, then cuddled into the chest behind me.
“What time is it?”
“Late,” he murmured. “They’re still tearing down the show. We’ll leave sometime tomorrow. I missed you last night. I couldn’t sleep without you next to me.”
I turned around to face him. Due to the confined space, it took some effort. I bumped my elbow against the wall and almost kneed Kellan in the groin again. He was prepared for it this time though and nimbly backed away just in the nick of time. When we were facing each other, we melded back together.
Kellan cupped my cheek. “Hey.”