Brooklyn nodded eagerly and walked back into the house. She gave Fluffikins a tour of the open family room and kitchen area before heading down the hallway. “In here is our room. It’s so pretty.”
Her luggage was incredibly light. Caden guessed she had the bare minimum of clothing and possessions. He hadn’t seen the contents of all the boxes in her trunk, but he suspected most were shelf-stable foods, household staples like toilet paper, and some cleaning supplies.
He set her bags inside the door. “Would you like help unpacking?” he asked.
“Oh, I can leave everything in there. I’ll pull out what I need.”
“Unpack, little girl. I plan to keep you.”
She stared at him for several seconds. “You mean like forever?”
“I like the sound of that. Perhaps you’ve run for long enough. Maybe it’s time to find a place to call home.”
Brooklyn’s eyes filled with tears. Quickly, they cascaded down her cheeks. Caden’s heart lurched in his chest. He hadn’t meant to upset her. Moving toward her, he wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her close.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he started, not sure what to say to comfort Brooklyn.
He hugged her tighter when she rested her cheek on his chest and leaned against him. Her sobs continued. Caden swept an arm under her legs and picked Brooklyn up. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on like she was afraid he would disappear or drop her. Neither of those things would happen.
Caden sat in the rocker he’d put together a few months ago and cradled Brooklyn on his lap. Her free hand grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt and held on for dear life. Slowly, he rocked her. “Oh, Brookie. You are so upset. What did I say?”
She hid her face on his chest and didn’t answer. Caden pressed a kiss to the top of her head, holding the delectable little girl close. He considered what he had said to her just before the tears started. “Did hearing the word home upset you?”
Brooklyn nodded with her nose still pressed to his chest.
“Do you miss your parents?” he asked, trying to guess what had made her so sad.
She nodded again.
“Are you crying because you haven’t seen them for a while?”
She shook her head.
As Caden considered what he should ask next, Brooklyn whispered, “I miss having a home.”
“Their house or your own?” he asked. Had Brooklyn always lived with her parents?
“I had a really nice apartment. It was small, but I painted the walls blue and hung up a few pictures I rescued from someone’s garbage. It was mine.”
“That sounds amazing, little girl. I bet you loved living there.” Caden stroked her back. To his delight, as he reassured Brooklyn, her breathing settled as her sobs eased.
“It was my happy place.”
“And then you met Brent?” he guessed.
“The worst day ever. I was so stupid,” she told him.
“No talking badly about yourself. That’s my first rule,” Caden said firmly. “I bet he was charming, and you were too young to pick up on his negative traits.”
She leaned back and stared at him in shock. “How did you know?”
“Everyone usually has a love interest that teaches them what’s important and what to avoid. For me, that person was Susan. I thought she was perfect and almost didn’t recognize myself by the time I figured out she had taken over my life in a bad way.”
“What did she do?” Brooklyn asked, focused on his face.
“My friends tried to tell me, but I didn’t listen. Then I returned unexpectedly after being deployed for a couple of months. I surprised her at work. When I showed up at her office, they’d never heard of Susan Zigler. The receptionist called HR to double check.”
“She’d lied to you?”
