Old Fashioned - Becker Brothers

“Who’s that?” Mom asked, but I was already out the door. I didn’t even bother grabbing a jacket, just jogged down the front porch steps and stood there, waiting.

Sydney had barely parked before Paige was out of the car, and she bolted straight to me, crashing into me with a force I never would have expected from the size of her. She wrapped her arms full around my waist and hugged me tight, burying her face in my shirt.

“Hey,” I said, and I knew instantly that something was wrong, because Paige wasn’t spouting off something silly or sarcastic.

She was crying.

She hugged me tighter as her little shoulders shook, and I looked up at Sydney just as she got out of the car.

Her red, blotchy face told me she’d been crying, too.

“Hey,” I said again, softer now, holding Paige tight. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

I heard the screen door open behind me, and I looked up, meeting Mom’s worried gaze. I didn’t have to say anything for her to understand, and she made her way down the steps to join us.

“Hey, sweetie,” she said to Paige, running her fingers through Paige’s wild curls before she reached out her hand. Paige looked at it, and then up at Mom. “Why don’t you come inside with me. We just cut some cake, and I saw an especially big slice with your name on it.

Paige sniffed, rubbing her nose with the back of her sleeve before she looked up at me. I nodded, encouraging her with a confident smile, and she took Mom’s hand, who gave Sydney a soft nod of acknowledgement and me a sympathetic smile before she led Paige inside.

I watched them walk all the way inside, and as soon as Mom shut the wooden door inside the screen one and gave us privacy, I turned back to Sydney.

The sight of her made my knees buckle.

Her hair was tied into a messy nest on top of her head, and her eyes were swollen, bloodshot, the stains of tears still marring her cheeks. She looked so small and meek, so sad and defeated, and her eyes welled with more tears the longer we stood there — which just broke me even more.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered as the first tear slipped from her left eye and down her cheek. Another one followed it as her face crumpled. “To just show up here, after everything… I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head, crossing the distance between us and pulling her into me without another word. She choked on a sob once she was in my arms, and every cell in my body stood at attention, like I’d have to fight to defend her at any moment.

“Don’t apologize,” I told her, holding her so tight in my arms I worried I’d crush her. My lips were right by her ear, and I resisted the urge to kiss the skin beneath it. Instead, I cradled the back of her head and wrapped my other arm full around her, holding her to my chest. “You never have to apologize for coming to me. I will always be here.”

“But, I was so awful to you last weekend,” she cried into my shirt, and her shoulders shook violently before she could speak again. “I was wrong, Jordan. You were right. I was a coward.”

“Shhh,” I tried to tell her, but she shook her head, pulling back from my embrace to swipe the tears from her face and look me in the eyes.

“I was,” she instead again. “It was all just so overwhelming, so sudden, and the last thing I expected. I thought when we went on that walk…” Another wave of emotion flashed on her face, but she rolled her lips together, fighting against it before she whispered, “I wanted to steal you away to tell you that I loved you.”

My shoulders deflated, but my heart swelled with hope.

“And then you told me what you found, and then we were talking about lawyers and testimonies and…” She shook her head again. “It just got so big and real so fast and I didn’t know what to do and I ran,” she confessed on a breath. “And I’m so sorry. But I do, Jordan. I do love you. And I’m not running anymore. I want to fight. I need to fight. With you, with your family, with my family. I’m done with this town and its corrupt powers. And I won’t let you fight them without me.”

I pulled her into me again, this time not fighting it when my heart urged me to kiss her hair. I held my lips there, closing my eyes and breathing her in.

“Sydney, I understand now,” I told her. “Randy… he was waiting for me when I left the field last night. He threatened me, threatened you, and Paige. I understand now why you were scared.” I swallowed. “It scared me, too. He has a lot of power, there’s no denying that. And I don’t want you to put you and your daughter in jeopardy just to—”