Twenty-eight years of loss.
Twenty-eight years of wondering if he’d ever know his grandchildren.
And here she was.
Brave. Brilliant. Beautiful.
His granddaughter.
Lila stepped back, still smiling, and put her hand into her pocket.
She pulled out the front part of the locket, the ruby heart catching the light.
“I thought you might need the microdot beneath the ruby,” she said softly.
David stared at her.
Then he smiled, his vision blurring with tears he didn’t bother to hide.
He took the locket piece and kissed her cheek.
“You are so much like your grandmother,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
Lila’s smile widened. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It’s the highest one I can give,” David told her.
He squeezed her hand once more, then forced himself to let go.
He turned and walked to the vehicle’s door, where he paused and looked back.
Mia, Eve, William, and Julie stood at the edge of the garden with Lila and Brian, all of them watching him.
Mia had her arm around Lila. Eve stood close beside them. William and Julie flanked them like protective sentinels.
His family.
After twenty-eight years, he had a family again.
David raised his hand in a wave.
They all waved back.
Then he climbed into the SUV.
As the vehicle pulled away from the house, David looked out the rear window.
They were still standing there, watching.
Still waiting.
And for the first time in twenty-eight years, David Moore allowed himself to believe that maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be okay.
23
EVE
The air at Circle Pond was filled with music, laughter, and the smell of grilled food.
