When Reba and Brock walked in the house with Esme the next day, the whole family was waiting in the living room for them.
"There they are!" Barbra Jean announced. "And she better not have a baby with her, 'cause she was supposed to call me!"
Reba smiled, walking out from behind Brock, holding the baby. "Sorry, Barbra Jean."
Barbra Jean forgot about being upset when she saw the tiny little girl in Reba's arms. Everyone let out an Awwww! and wanted to hold her, though Van was first. When Reba placed her newborn in his arms, he cradled her close to him awkwardly.
"She's so small," He said. "What is she to me? My...aunt...?"
Cheyenne rolled her eyes, adjusting Esme's pink hat. "She's my sister so that would make her your sister-in-law."
"Oh. That is so weird. My twenty-four hours old sister-in-law." He looked up. "Can this family get any crazier?"
Cheyenne took the baby from him and smiled down at her. "She's just the cutest thing ever." She talked in a baby voice, touching her little nose and watching as the baby stirred.
"Did anybody tell Kyra?" Jake asked as he looked over Cheyenne's shoulder.
Nobody spoke for a moment.
"Kyra doesn't want to be a part of this family anymore," Cheyenne finally said.
"Cheyenne, that's not true," Reba told her as she relaxed in the chair, eager to let her family take care of her baby for a few moments. "Kyra does too want to be a part of this family. She's just trying to figure some things out right now."
"I left her a message on her phone," Brock said, going to sit down in the other chair. "She hasn't answered back."
"Well," Cheyenne said, passing the baby to Barbra Jean who had her hands held out. "I think that if someone walks out on their own terms, they shouldn't be allowed to come back that way. She's caused a lot of problems. And I don't just mean recently. She's always been dramatic."
"Cheyenne!"
The blonde looked up at her mother whose eyes were wide.
"Well, it's true..."
"No, it is not. Your sister is always welcome back. This is her home, just like it's yours and Van's and Elizabeth and Kasey's. Everybody has a place here if they want it."
"Well, she doesn't want it."
Reba shook her head. "I'm not going to sit here and argue about something so petty. Cheyenne, you're twenty-five years old. Why can't you get along with your sister?"
"Not talking to her for over a year hasn't helped."
"What are y'all talking about?" Barbra Jean asked.
The family looked up at her.
"What do you mean?" Reba asked her.
"Y'all haven't talked to Kyra in over a year?"
"Not since she moved out," Jake said. "That was when Mom and Dad got back together."
Barbra Jean looked around like someone had just told her the sky was about to fall.
"I talk to her all the time. She calls me every week. She even sends me pictures and tells me how y'all are doin'."
"Well, she's lying to you," Brock said, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes.
"What exactly has she told you?" Reba asked.
"Well, she's told me how your pregnancy is going, how Van and Cheyenne and the kids are. She's told me about her music and how she got signed to a major label. Y'all didn't know any of this?"
"She got signed to a record label?" Van asked. "I have a famous sister-in-law now?"
"Barbra Jean, I don't understand." Reba leaned forward. "She hasn't had any contact with us in over a year, like Cheyenne said. Why would she lie?"
"Because that's what she does best," Cheyenne said as she leaned against the couch, arms folded.
"We've never denied her coming back home," Reba explained. "We've left her countless messages, but she's never returned them. I honestly don't understand why she's so angry."
"Maybe she's like me," Jake said. "Maybe all she remembers is you and Dad fighting all the time. Maybe she was afraid to admit she was afraid."
Reba sat back in her chair and reflected on her son's words. Sometimes, she herself was afraid to admit she was afraid. She guessed that's where Kyra got it from. Reba used to run away when things got bad, she used to not talk about how she felt, but Brock helped her with that in the early years of their marriage. And when Brock began doing the same thing, she tried to help him. But Reba guessed Kyra saw how she handled problems, and figured it'd work for her. But Reba knew all too well it wouldn't help. In order to deal with an issue, you had to face it head on. Reba just wished she had gotten the chance to talk with her daughter about that.
"I miss her like heck," Reba said. "I just hope she's happy with whatever she's doing."
"She seems to be," Barbra Jean said quietly.
Reba nodded, sighing. "Good. I'm glad."
A little while later, Van and Cheyenne took Jake and Barbra Jean out to eat so Brock and Reba could lie down and rest. Reba watched as Brock flopped down on the bed, sighing as he buried his head in his pillow.
"Enjoy sleeping," Reba told him.
"Come lay down with me."
"I have to put Esme down, Brock." She walked over to the rocking chair that was by the window and sat down.
Esme was awake now, and crying her head off. Reba rocked her back and forth, patting her back, but nothing was working.
"Feed her or something," Brock begged from the bed, his head under his pillow. "I have to get some sleep. My head is pounding."
"Oh, I thought you liked the sound of a screaming baby. My bad."
Brock rolled over and looked at her.
"Look, I know that you just got home from the hospital, but you're on maternity leave. I'm not. I haven't slept since Thursday night. It's Sunday. Do the math."
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm exhausted, too?"
"I just said it did."
Esme seemed to be getting more upset with her parents raising their voices. Her cries became louder and Reba finally stood to bounce her around the room, ignoring Brock for the moment.
"How do I get through one night without you? If I had to live without you, what kind of life would that be?" When Reba began singing to her little girl, the crying became soft whimpers, and finally, she drifted off to sleep. "Oh, I. I need you in my arms, need you to hold. You're my world, my heart, my soul. If you ever leave, baby you would take away everything good in my life. And tell me now. How do I live without you? I want to know. How do I breathe without you if you ever go? How do I ever, ever survive? How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?"
It seemed as if Esme enjoyed the song that Brock and Reba had always called their own. Her little eyes were closed in sleep, and a soft snoring sound was heard. Reba smiled and kissed her baby's head before turning to Brock. He was konked out on the bed, spread out like a star with his mouth hanging open. Reba couldn't help but laugh quietly.
"You daddy's crazy," She whispered to Esme as she placed the baby in her bassinet.
She stayed there a moment, making sure the little girl was alright before turning to go downstairs. She had been aware of the enormous mess in the house the minute she walked in. It was as if fifty teenagers had been living there instead of one. Jake had obviously been slacking on his chores.
She started to load the dishwasher, humming the tune she had sung her baby to sleep with, when a knock at the front door made her put the task on hold. Jogging to the door so that it wouldn't wake Esme, Reba unlocked it and pulled the door open. What she saw nearly knocked the breath right out of her.
"Kyra."
Her daughter stood before her holding up her phone. Reba saw a picture of Esme that Brock had sent the day before.
"I guess I have a new sister?"
Reba nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "Yes, you do."
"Can I come in?"
Reba nodded once again and held the door open wider for Kyra, shutting it when she stepped in the house.
"Mom," Kyra said, turning to face her mother.
Reba looked up, overwhelmed that she was hearing her daughter say that word to her. It had been so long.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry."
Reba reached forward and brought the girl that looked so much like herself toward her for a hug. They stood there with their arms wrapped around each other for so long, tears streaming down Reba's face.
"I've missed you so much," She whispered.
"I missed you too, mom."
Reba could tell that there were tears in her daughter's voice. When she pulled away, she could see them in her eyes. Her daughter looked so grown up. She still had that long, curly red hair, but she was more womanly now than before. She was nearly twenty.
Reba reached out and touched her daughter's hair before putting her hands on her shoulders.
"I've got you here now. You're not leaving again."
They both smiled before Kyra said, "Can I see my sister?"
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