“Will I have to live at your house sometimes? Finn’s mom and dad live in two different houses, and he has two beds and lots of toys.”
Damn it. Bryson and I haven’t discussed this.
Bryson looks at me, but I have no idea. My biggest worry was making sure Bryson wouldn’t try to take Harper back to Colorado with him, or get to know her and then vanish out of our lives again. But of course he’ll want to have her stay with him sometimes. Hell, she’ll probably want to stay with him sometimes, judging by the way she’s bouncing happily in my lap. Though that probably has to do with the idea of double the toys.
I shrug and let Bryson take the lead on this. I honestly don’t know what he’s hoping for.
“How about this?” Bryson says. “How about when I get a house, I make sure there’s a bedroom in it for you with lots of toys? That way, you have a place that’s all yours, and you can decide if you want to play there for an afternoon or even overnight if your mom’s okay with it.”
“I’ll get more toys?” Harper asks.
Bryson laughs. “Sure. You can have whatever you want.”
I try to warn him with my eyes not to promise her that, but his entire focus is on Harper.
“Okay,” she says. “You can be my daddy.”
She hops off my lap and races to the kitchen to finish helping her grandmother with the dishes.
Bryson runs a hand over his face and blows out a breath. “That did not go how I expected.”
“She’s four,” I say. “She doesn’t really understand what any of this means. A couple of years ago, her uncle reappeared in her life, and he’s one of her favorite people. Maybe she just figures that’s how life works.”
He chuckles. “Random men showing up and claiming to be related to her?”
“It’s worked out well for her so far.” I put a hand on his knee. “Look, I know we haven’t talked about her staying with you, but I’d be fine with it, once you two get to know each other better. I don’t want to keep her away from you.” It’s not entirely easy for me to say that. Harper stays over at her grandparents’ house a couple times a month and with Asher every once in a while, but this is different. This means I’m going to have my baby at home with me less often. Assuming Bryson doesn’t fuck this up.
“Can we let Harper lead?” he asks. “I don’t want a formal custody arrangement or even an expectation that she gets to stay with me regularly. I haven’t earned that yet from you or Harper. And I don’t want her to have to go between two houses on a weekly basis. I want to be a part of her life in whatever way she chooses or you need me to be.”
My throat goes tight, and I hug him again, overcome with that damn emotion. “Thank you, Bryson. That would be perfect.”
I sit up and swipe at my eyes. “This is so weird. I’ve hated you for so long and now I’m hugging you like every ten minutes.”
Thankfully, he is also emotional. His voice cracks when he speaks. “I fully expected you and your parents to demand I leave town and never come back. I’m more grateful than I can say that you’ve let me back into your life.”
“We’re going to eat all the pie without you,” Mom calls from the kitchen.
“Keep bringing me pie,” I say. “And it will go a long way toward my forgiving you.”
He makes a mock-outraged face. “I thought you already forgave me.”
“There are depths, layers, and stages to my forgiveness. Pie is the secret key that unlocks it all.”
He follows me to the kitchen, where we eat pie and Harper tells us stories about life in preschool. By the time the last bite is eaten, even Mom has relaxed and is laughing.
“Okay,” I say. “Time for bed, Harper.”
“I want Bryson to read to me,” Harper says. She always wants the guest to read to her. Mostly because she wants more time with the guest, but also to find out who does the best voices.
The look on Bryson’s face, however, suggests he’s reading a lot more into this request than is warranted. I let him have it. It won’t hurt anything.
Mom gives me a look I know all too well. She disapproves.
She probably wants to make Bryson work harder for this, but I’m past that.
If I’d had any remaining doubts, his sister called me after work, caught me just before I stepped inside, and told me what an amazing uncle Bryson has been to her kids. She thinks he was born to be a dad, and I should forgive his four-year abandonment.
She also told me he’s been in therapy to understand why he ran, how to deal with the guilt of running, and how he can make sure he never runs away again.
