Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Back to Reality

Jackie didn’t bother to stop Emma and Grant as they raced squealing toward Blake, who waited just outside the secure area of Terminal 1. Each child wore the personalized Mickey Mouse ears they’d bought with the money their grandparents had given them. They had insisted on a pair for Blake, too, a gift Jackie couldn’t wait to see her burly, six-foot-six brother wearing.

“Here, Uncle Blake, we got some for you, too!” Emma sang.

He smiled at the black hat emblazoned with his name in yellow. “Wow, thanks!”

“Put them on, Uncle Blake!” Grant insisted.

“Yeah, put them on, Uncle Blake,” Jackie laughed as she caught up with the children.

She hugged her brother tightly.

“Welcome home, sis.”

The children chattered eagerly throughout the time they waited for their bags and all the way out to the Suburban. But after only fifteen minutes of driving, they both crashed and burned. Blake and Jackie absorbed the quiet for a while.