Mac stopped in his tracks. Delilah smiled at him and winked. He held out trembling hands. “I’m a wreck. What do I say? How do I greet her? Should I hug her? What if she thinks I’m a crazy person like you said?”
Delilah jumped up from her seat and quickly reached his side. “Baby, I was teasing you. Callie loved you all those years ago. She’ll love you again. I imagine she’s never stopped loving you for a single instant. Just breathe. Close your eyes and remember how it was between you all those years ago. And believe,” she whispered.
Mac closed his eyes as scenes from his childhood danced across his eyelids. Playing hide and seek with Callie. Teaching her to swim. Walking with her to the candy store. Singing her to sleep after she’d had a nightmare. Those memories could never be erased. Till the end of time they would share that unbreakable bond. He just needed to believe in it.
The sound of a door opening caused his eyes to fly open. Nothing in this world had prepared him for this moment. A tall, beautiful woman strode through the door with grace and ease. Her dark red hair hung loosely all about her face and shoulders. She was wearing a long, romantic maxi dress that was the color of a vibrant daffodil. Yellow always had been her favorite color, Mac remembered.
She stopped mid-stride, her eyes glued on Mac. Before he could utter a single word, she let out a wounded cry. Callie took a step backward, fumbling in the process. She was tangled up in her hem. Mac raced to her side and placed his hand on her arm to steady her. Their eyes locked and held.
“No!” she said, shaking her head back and forth. “This isn’t possible. You’re dead. They told me you were dead.”
“I’m not dead, Callie. Feel me,” he said, squeezing her hand tightly. “I’m real. And I’m right here with you. I found you, Callie. After all these years, I found you.”
“Mac!” she sobbed, flinging herself into his arms like a force of nature. “Mac. I’ve spent the last twenty years mourning the loss of you.” Mac hung on tightly to Callie. Having her in his arms made him feel like a super hero. That’s the way she’d always made him feel when he was protecting her from harm. Her shoulders shook with sobs. She was making a keening sound. He rubbed her back to soothe her the same way he’d done all those years ago. There was no way he could put this feeling into words, but suddenly he felt all the weight and responsibility of being Callie’s big brother again. He felt whole.
After a few minutes they released each other and stood for a moment holding hands as they gave one another the once-over.
“You’re beautiful, Caledonia,” Mac said in a low voice. “And I don’t hear a southern twang. Not at all.”
“No one has called me that in forever,” she said with a gasp. “I almost forgot all about it myself,” she tearfully admitted. “How could I have forgotten that? And because I was almost six when I was adopted I never did take on a southern accent.”
“So many years have gotten away from us,” he murmured.
“You look the same!” Callie said in a voice tinged with awe. She reached out and touched his jaw. “Just way more ruggedly handsome and built.” She frowned at him. “You’re not a bodyguard are you?”
“No,” Mac said with a laugh. “I have a woodworking business.”
Her face lit up. “Woodworking? Remember all those animals you used to make for me? I still have one that I took with me that night. The sparrow.”
The sparrow. It had been her favorite. He had whittled it for her because that’s what she had reminded him of. Glorious. Beautiful. And strong. Flying free like a bird. And she still was. He could feel it in his bones.
“I’ll make you dozens more, Callie. I-I thought we were going to be seeing each other at the foster care agency.” He blinked back tears as the memories assailed his senses. He almost felt like a kid again. Vulnerable and aching. “What happened Callie? Who took you away from me?” His voice sounded wounded. It still ached to remember that brutal night and the days that followed Callie’s disappearance. He remembered how hard it had been as the realization hit him that Callie was gone. Taken from him. She had been almost like a ghost who had never existed.
“Mac. I don’t remember much of it. I wanted to go to the hospital with you, but they told me I couldn’t go. A woman in a suit took me by the hand and put me in a car. We drove far away that night and I fell asleep in the car.” She shook her head, allowing dark red tendrils to swirl around her face. Her lips trembled. “It’s so frustrating to admit this, but I don’t remember much except I was taken someplace far away. I stayed at a resort for a few days. It felt tropical...Mexico maybe. There was a pool. They gave me a baby doll. People were speaking different languages. The next thing I solidly remember is coming here to this house and becoming part of the Duvall family.”