Callum opened one letter with shaking hands. From upstairs, a door opened somewhere. A girl appeared at the top of the staircase. She stared down at Callum. Neither one of them spoke a single word. Then she ran back upstairs again just as quickly.
Callum’s face crumpled entirely. “I knew it,” he whispered.
But footsteps came thundering back down the stairs immediately afterward. Willa came running back, carrying a battered old stuffed rabbit in both arms. Callum stopped breathing entirely. She held it up toward him. “You gave me Mr. Buttons.”
Callum covered his own mouth with one hand. Willa ran straight into him. He dropped to his knees and wrapped both arms around her tight. I looked away deliberately, and didn’t approach either of them. That particular moment belonged entirely to the two of them alone.
