He leaned his forehead gently against hers for a moment, and Mother's hands softened against his chest. The airport around them continued in quiet motion, staff unloading luggage, Brian being lovey-dovey with his women, Maddie watching with a smile she did not bother hiding, but the center of the night belonged to the two of them.
Phei and the woman who shared something deeper than blood. A mother not by birth, perhaps, but in every way that mattered to the heart, which was unfortunately the organ that made most official documents look emotionally bankrupt.
Mother touched his cheek. "You look tired."
"I raced here."
"So I heard."
"Brian started it."
From behind them, Brian shouted, "I absolutely did not!"
Phei did not look away from Mother. "He blocked me."
Brian shouted again, "You drifted around me like a criminal spirit!"
One of Brian's women patted his arm with the grave sympathy like she had already chosen a side and it was not his knowing how mischievous he was.
