Page 37 of Shadows Relived
He ended the call just as Meaghan turned onto the highway. The sign for Live Oak glowed faintly in the distance, promising shelter. The kids had grown quieter in the backseat, lulled by exhaustion and fast food. Sophie leaned against Willie, and Lucas against the window, all three silent and wide-eyed.
Callen didn’t remember falling asleep. But he woke to the jolt of brakes and Meaghan’s voice whispering his name.
“We’re here.”
As they pulled into town, Sophie pointed out thewindow at the glowing sign of a drive-thru. “Can we get burgers?”
“Please?” Willie added. “With fries?”
“I want chicken nuggets!” Lucas chimed in.
Callen arched a brow. “You three just ran for your lives, and your first request is processed meat?”
“I want a milkshake too,” Sophie added, as if she hadn’t heard a word he said.
Meaghan gave a breathless laugh, shifting lanes. “Fine. But let’s make it fast.”
Callen listened as Meaghan patiently helped wrangle the orders through the speaker, trying not to snap when the children couldn’t make up their minds, changed sauces twice, and started arguing about who got the chocolate milkshake. He turned back to the window, staring out at the afternoon and chuckling as the cashier repeated the total for the third time. It was something so normal, so mundane, amid the chaos of what had become their day
Meaghan patted his leg, and he knew she was trying not to laugh. “You’re doing great, soldier.”
He narrowed his eyes as he took a slow breath. “I’d rather be back in a firefight.”
The Cypress Breeze Inn had seen better days. Tucked behind a gas station and half-shielded by a sagging row of palmettos, the two-story building looked like it catered more to long-haul truckers and couples on the run than anyone seeking comfort.
Willie made a face as they parked. “This place smells likeold socks.”
“I think it’s cool!” Lucas declared, hopping out with his food bag. “Like a secret base!”
Sophie stared up at the flickering neon sign. “Do you think ghosts live here?”
Callen groaned. “Don’t start.”
“Don’t jinx us,” Meaghan whispered, smiling as she touched the top of Sophie’s head.
Their room was at the far end of the first floor. Callen leaned on Meaghan while she opened the door using the app Blaze had sent. It clicked open with a reluctant beep, revealing a slightly musty but mercifully clean two-bed suite. The carpet had faded, and the bedding looked like it hadn’t changed since 1995, but it was safe. That’s all that mattered.
It was clean, at least.
They filed in, and Callen went straight to the bed on the left and dropped onto it with a groan, barely avoiding the French fries flying through the air as the kids stormed in.
“Kitchenette!” Willie yelled.
“Sofaaaaa!” Lucas flopped dramatically onto it.
Sophie peeked behind the curtain on the back wall. “No ghosts. But I see a possum walking into the woods.”
Meaghan turned to Callen. “You okay?”
“Ask me again when I’ve had a nap and a bottle of something stronger than ibuprofen.”
Meaghan handed out food as Callen settled back further on the bed, his breathing shallow. The kids scarfed their food, chattering through bites, exhaustion making them wild and glassy-eyed.
“Eat slowly,” she told them. “Then we’re going to getcleaned up, all right? You can each take turns in the shower.”
They nodded. Too tired to argue.
Once they finished eating and taking showers that left them more wet the harder they tried to dry off, Meaghan finally wrestled them into clean clothes from the emergency bag, brushing teeth with hotel toothbrushes and calming them down with whispered bedtime stories and reminders that they were safe.
