Drew and I exchanged a look, and in that moment, I knew it was right. We were exactly where all three of us were meant to be at that moment.
"Nothing's wrong," I said, rising to my feet and extending a hand to her. "But Uncle Drew and I would like to talk to you about something important."
Holly set the bakery box on the entryway table, her expression wary. "About my mom?"
"Sort of," Drew said, standing beside me. "But mostly about us. About you."
"About our family," I added softly.
Holly's eyes darted between us, a fragile hope beginning to bloom in her expression. "Our family?"
Drew nodded, his voice steady and sure as he spoke the words that would change all of our lives forever: "Holly, we want you to know that no matter what happens with your mom, you always have a home here with us. We know it must be a challenge to have so much instability in your life right now, and we want to be your soft place to land. We want you to come and live with us. We would love for you to be a Bennett."
Holly looked back and forth between the two of us, but said nothing.
"Honey, are you ok?" I asked. "That was a lot. Drew I think we shorted her out." I was hoping to get a laugh out of her, but her face was getting redder by the second.
She nodded her head once, and the movement shook a tear free.
Ahhh. That was it.
Holly was a lot like me and couldn't speak when she was overcome with emotion.
"Just think about what he said, sweetheart. You don't have to make a decision right now, we just wanted you to know that the option is there for you."
She nodded again, then walked over to Drew and rested her forehead on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight. I stepped toward them and rubbed her back in circles.
"Thank you," she croaked a few moments later. When she stepped back, she looked more relaxed than she had since she arrived.
Drew gently punched her on the shoulder. "We love you, kiddo."
She returned the gesture, then picked up the bakery box again. "I'm going to put these in the kitchen and head to bed if that's ok."
We assured her that was more than fine, and a minute later, after another hug for each of us, she headed for her room.
22
HOLLY
Isat cross-legged on my bed (not the guest bed anymore, justmybed) trying to process what had just happened. Eden had followed me upstairs and now lay with her head in my lap, her warm weight anchoring me when I felt like I might float away.
"They want to adopt me," I whispered to Eden, testing how the words felt in the air. "Like, for real adopt me."
Eden thumped her tail against the comforter, utterly unconcerned with the fact that my entire world had just shifted.
I'd known they were considering it. I'd even brought it up first, in that tentative way of asking without really asking. But hearing them say it out loud, watching their faces as they talked about making me permanently part of their family. It was different. Real in a way that daydreams and maybes never could be.
"What do you think about becoming our daughter, Holly? Not just our niece, but our daughter in every way?" Aunt Elyse had asked, her voice steady but her eyes betraying how much the question meant to her.
Uncle Drew had added, "No pressure. This is completely your choice. But we want you to know that we're all in, no matter what your mom decides about her parental rights."
I traced my fingers over the soft purple throw blanket they'd let me pick out when we repainted the room. My room. When we'd gone shopping that day, I'd been careful not to choose anything too expensive, still half-convinced that this was all temporary. That's how it had always been before—the times when my mom was "getting better," the stays with Grandma and Grandpa that were supposed to be "just until things settle down."
I'd learned not to get attached to places. Not to put holes in walls for pictures. Not to unpack completely.
But here, in this house with its matching towels and fully stocked pantry and family movie nights, I'd started to forget those lessons. I'd started to hope.
And now they wanted to make it official. Permanent. Forever.
