Page 70 of Paper Flowers (Stonebrook #1)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

DAYNA

L uke, Sadie, and I arrived at the San Francisco International Airport to pick up Luke’s brother, Liam.

His most recent hearing got pushed back, which gave him extra time for him to visit–and Sadie worked on Liam’s welcome poster the second Luke shared the exciting news yesterday.

She was so excited, we used our personal days and kept her home from school today.

Which is how we ended up here two hours early.

We’ve walked what we’re allowed to at least three times. Luke’s carrying Sadie’s glitter-covered welcome sign, plus a smaller version for Trixie.

“He’s going to love all this glitter! Do you think Uncle Liam will find us in this huge airplane?” Sadie beams, skipping ahead towards the terminal exit where Liam’s flight is due. She’s completely oblivious to the fact that glitter is now stuck all over the front of Luke’s jeans.

“Sadie, there’s a trail of glitter all behind us.

If he follows the sparkle, he’ll find us easily in this huge airport .

” Luke says subtly correcting her, smirking.

He leads us to three open seats just outside the gate.

Around us, other families and friends wait with their own signs, flowers, and restless anticipation .

Sadie squeezes Trixie in her arms, “Dayna, can you hold Trixie? I am so excited–I might burst!” Sadie squeals.

“Hand her over, I’ve got Miss Trixie.” I hold my arms out for the pink triceratops and motion for Sadie to sit down between us. She hesitates for half a second, eyes scanning the hallway, before climbing up and settling in. Her legs dangle just above the floor, swinging gently.

Then we hear it–a voice that’s deep, smooth, and undeniably a Beckett. It carries across the terminal with ease, confident without trying. Like Luke’s, but edged with something a little more polished. A little more commanding as one would a courtroom.

Sadie sits up straighter, craning her neck toward the voice.

The second her eyes lock on her uncle’s familiar blue ones, she freezes for a split second–then bolts.

Out of her seat, across the floor, sprinting full speed toward him, leaving Luke, Trixie, and I behind in a trail of glitter.

Luke stands, holding up both signs high above his head with a grin stretched across his face.

“We missed you beyond a reasonable doubt!”

“Case Closed. Uncle Liam is back!”

“Those are some cool signs, Girlie!” Liam says as he’s walking towards Luke and me with Sadie perched on his hip. She’s clinging to the straps of his backpack, her arms stretched tight across his chest in a full-body hug.

Liam doesn’t even look like he just took a direct, seven–hour flight.

He’s casually put together in a hunter green button-up shirt–completely unbuttoned–over a crisp white undershirt, paired with fitted tan pants and brown sneakers.

Not a wrinkle in sight. His jawline is clean-shaven, not even a hint of stubble, and his hair?

Styled perfectly, like he wasn’t just leaning against a headrest for hours.

These Beckett men…they really do know they’re hot as sin.

Respectfully, of course.

A girl has eyes.

Luke and Liam exchange a hug, something in Luke’s eyes gives just how much he appreciates his brother being here.

When he reaches for Sadie, she immediately takes his arms, and he hoists her up onto his hip with ease.

Then I realize I’m face-to-face to Liam–the closest thing I ever had to a brother.

His eyes are darker than Luke’s, more like a midnight storm than an ocean.

“Dayna Evans,” he says, a big smile breaking across his face.

“God, it is so good to see you again. Come here, Sis. It’s been too long.

” I lean into his embrace, fully taking in the moment.

This is Luke’s only family. Their parents were killed in a boating accident while Luke was in college.

Despite how complicated their relationship with their father, it was still a devastating loss. Especially losing their mom, Claire.

Liam’s hand rubs soft, steady circles on my back.

His cologne smells like sandalwood and cinnamon–warm and grounding.

“You look so grown up compared to the kid I used to look up to when I was little,” I say as we pull apart.

Liam lets out a hearty laugh. “And you grew into a beautiful woman, I can’t believe you finally grew out of that pimple phase.

” I let out a gasp. “Liam! That’s so messed up–but thanks.

” I say laughing as I give his arm a shove.

“What?” He grins. “I’m just saying–your face cleared up nicely. ” I glance at Luke, who rolls his eyes.

“Daddy, what’s pimples?” Sadie asks, inspecting my face from the safety of Luke’s arms.

“Nothing to worry about right now, Sadie Girl.” Luke replies, giving Liam’s arm a shove of his own. Liam just laughs again, full and bright. “It’s good to be here with you three. I like it–a lot.”

Sadie squirms, and Luke sets her down. She walks over to me, eyes on Trixie. “Uncle Liam, this is Trixie. Trixie, this is our Uncle Liam, he’s a lawyer. So if you know any dinosaurs that need help. He’s the guy you call. His number is–”

“Sadie Girl,” Luke cuts in, holding back a smile, “let’s go see if we can find all of Uncle Liam’s luggages.”

“I only brought two this time,” Liam says.

Sadie raises an eyebrow. “Last time, we had to mail a box home because you bought so many new clothes they didn’t fit in your suitcase!” Liam throws his head back laughing again. “Okay, that’s fair.”

It’s been quite the rush at the Beckett household. After getting home from the airport, Liam settled into the downstairs guest room and immediately started unpacking. With the final count of three suitcases and a carry-on–clearly, the man clearly loves his clothes.

Once he was finished, he asked if we could show him around Stonebrook properly this time.

The last visit had been a blur of unpacking and settling Luke and Sadie into their new home.

I offered to stay back so they can have their time together, just the three of them.

When it came time tomorrow to head to work, I promised a tour of the school.

Liam took that promise and asked to be introduced to Mrs. Emily.

With that settled, Luke said he’d bring back home ice cream and kissed me before he left.

Now curled up on the sofa, I bring my phone out and look at the time, I see it’s after four. Cara should be home from work by now. I give Cara a call. It rings a few times before she answers it.

“Dayna–” There’s a pause, just long enough to notice. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Hey, is everything okay?” I ask, sitting up a little.

“Yeah, everything is good. I’m just picking up the basketball jerseys for the game–” There’s some background noise… and I swear I hear Sadie’s voice? “I’ll see you tomorrow, at work–they’re gonna help me load my car. Love you!” And the line cuts off. That was…odd.

I get up from the sofa and head into the home office, flipping open my laptop.

I check the day’s emails, scanning quickly until one from Mrs. Emily catches my eyes.

She’s added a new calendar event. I click on it, frowning as I see it’s a fifteen-minute meeting scheduled right in the middle of the Student & Staff Basketball game.

That sucks. I was really looking forward to playing this year.

With a sigh, I continue sorting through the rest of my inbox, replying to a few that need attention.

The rest can wait until tomorrow. By the time I’m done, I hear the front door open just to the left of the office.

“We’re home! And we got ice cream!” Sadie calls out.

I close my laptop and walk into the kitchen.

Luke’s already on one side of the island, scooping ice cream into bowls.

Liam’s seated on a barstool beside Sadie, who’s perched criss-cross on the counter with Trixie in her lap.

I reach the island and lean down to kiss Sadie’s temple, she leans into me briefly, but doesn’t look up. Her eyes on Trixie.

“Did you have fun with Daddy and Uncle Liam?” I ask, brushing a curl behind her ear.

“Yup. Lots of fun,” she says, her voice is short, like she’s reading off a script. That’s not like her. Normally she’d give me a minute-by-minute breakdown.

“Did you show him your favorite park?”

“Uh-huh.” She nods once, fiddling with the tiny hair clip on Trixie. Luke pushes her bowl of ice cream towards her but she doesn’t reach for it.

“You okay, Sweet Girl?” I ask softly. She doesn’t answer right away. Her fingers keep adjusting Trixie’s hair clip, smoothing her fur, then adjusting again.

“I think I’m gonna go to my room,” she finally says.

“Trixie’s really tired.” She hops down from the counter, still not looking at me.

Not even bothering with her bowl of ice cream in front of her.

I watch her walk upstairs, confused, and then look up at Luke.

He’s suddenly fumbling with the bowls, dropping a scoop that misses the dish entirely. Liam is on his phone unfazed.

“Luke?”

“Yeah, Baby?”

“Is everything okay? Did something happen?”

“Yeah, everything’s great. Why?”

“Sadie didn’t even look at me. Did I do something? Should I have come with you guys? I don’t know, maybe I made her feel–” My voice drops.

“Hey, no.” He rounds the counter and pulls me in, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Nothing like that. I promise. She’s probably just wiped from the day. You know how she gets when she’s holding onto something exciting. It eats her alive. ”

I pull back a little. “Holding onto something?”

He shrugs, not quite meeting my eyes. “You know, maybe she’s just got something on her mind. That’s all.”

Before I can ask more, Liam cuts in.

“What’s your Wi-Fi password? I’ve got zero reception in this house.”