Home Front By Kristin Hannah Novels & Stories

She explains. I honestly didn’t give the camera a second thought after I realized that I forgot it at the barn. I was worried about getting Gabe to the packhouse and then I was busy trying to take care of him while he recuperated. “I also hear that you helped my little girl too.” She beamed at me. Then she grabbed my hand to examine my palm. How did she know? “It’s alright Hannah, you can trust Christine”, Gabe tells me seeing that I am anxious about this conversation. Christine goes on to explain that she works as a researcher for a nonprofit that was established by a coalition of packs in the area.

It took me three whole days to finally move all my things out of Cicio’s house. I was in the middle of packing into the car when he suddenly came home. The housekeeper was a very sweet woman called Anna. Seeing Cicio's appearance, she hurried to him. “Don Russo, please, will you talk some sense into our Dani! Couples fight and cold-shoulder each other all the time, and it's supposed to be temporary! I mean, it’s not like you're really breaking up!”

At least that way, it would not be quite so humiliating. I could tell the kids at the group home, "They didn't abandon me. I chose to go back." They probably would not believe me. Still, it would sound better than the truth. I brushed the dust off the suitcase and pulled open the rusty zipper. First, I packed clothes. My favorite blue dress. The sweater Mom knitted for me last year. The red scarf that had started to pill at the edges. I folded everything carefully and placed it inside. I did not dare take too much. I was afraid they would think I was greedy.

I returned home to Azurea alone. My mother opened the door. The moment she saw that there was no one behind me, a look of quiet heartbreak flashed across her face. My father sat on the sofa, his back straight as always, but there was a deep exhaustion in the way he held himself. I could not help but recall what they said to me five years ago. And now I was back–like a soldier who lost the battle and fled home. I turned my phone on and off again. The unread messages and missed calls from Clara Miller almost flooded the screen.