“Thank you,” I answer, then run after Aaron, who didn’t wait for the clerk to finish speaking before going to look for his sister.

And there she is.

“Callie!” Aaron shouts before starting to run toward his little sister, who’s seated at a table with a small book in front of her. A few heads turn his way, but from the look of relief on Aaron’s face as he drops to his knees and wraps his arms around his sister, I’d say he couldn’t give less of a crap. “You scared the hell out of us!”

“What’s going on?” she says, looking confused, both at her brother’s strong reaction and his tight hug. Large headphones hang around her neck, plugged into an old device that doesn’t look like a phone.

“What’s going on?” he repeats, voice still loud. “We couldn’t find you! You almost gave all of us a heart attack.”

She shrugs, an eyebrow up like she still doesn’t understand why Aaron’s so upset. “Mom wasn’t there to pick me up, so I thought I’d just come here instead of waiting outside.”

He closes his eyes. “Christ, Callie, you can’t do that kind of thing without warning us.”

As much as she tries to keep her bored expression on, I catch her lips tilting downward. “I’m sorry, I guess.”

“It’s okay,” he says, hugging her tight again. “Let’s just bring you home.”

For the first time in the last hour, I think I feel Aaron exhale. I’d be lying if I said I don’t feel equally relieved

* * *

“Oh, mi corazón,” Martina wails into Callie’s hair, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’m okay, Mami,” Callie answers, though I can see she’s shaken. She didn’t expect to have unnerved her family this much.

Aaron and Finn are speaking quietly next to Finn’s pickup truck as Martina talks to Callie in Spanish. She’s still hugging her tighter than ever. Behind them stands Dennis, his eyes watery. He approaches them slowly, his walker dragging in the snow on the driveway before he drapes his left arm around Martina and Callie.

The love everyone in this family shares is palpable.

A knot forms in my throat. I turn around and start walking toward the cabin before it can worsen. I hate when I get like this. I shouldn’t be jealous of a ten-year-old girl. It’s embarrassing.

I’m halfway to the cabin when a deep voice calls, “Hey, wait up!”

Aaron is jogging my way, his demeanor a 180 from how it was thirty minutes ago. I force my face into a small smile. Who the hell would be scowling in this happy situation? I’m so messed up.