It didn’t take long for Avery’s eyes to start closing. She fought off sleep. But then, she always had. Right from when she wasa toddler, she never wanted to fall asleep, because she’d always wanted one more book or one more chapter.
Sadie brushed some hair from Avery’s face and snuggled in beside her, the warmth of her little body through the sheets reassuring.
Eastern was still reading when Avery’s whispered words sounded. “I wish you were my mom, Sadie.”
Eastern paused, and Sadie’s heart cracked. Because Avery deserved a mother who was not only there for her butwantedto be. And Sadie definitely wanted to be there for this little girl.
Tears pressed to her eyes, but she blinked them back. Sadie pressed a kiss to her head. “I’ll always love you like you’re my own, baby girl.”
By the time Eastern was finished, Avery’s eyes were well and truly closed, her chest moving up and down in slow succession as she slept.
Sadie didn’t want to move though. That was always the case. There was something about lying beside a sleeping child, who you loved more than life itself, that just brought so much peace.
Eastern rose, and too soon Sadie knew she needed to get up too. With a small sigh, she pushed up. She wasn’t expecting him to take her hand, but when he did, she didn’t pull away.
He led her straight into the kitchen, where she sat on a stool at the island.
“Are you okay?”
Her gaze flew up at his question. Did she look as emotionally raw as she felt? “I just wish her mother treated her the way she deserves to be treated.”Loved herthe way she deserved to be loved.
“Me too.”
“I don’t understand. Jamie has this beautiful child. Thisgift. And she just walked away from her. How? How did she do that? Did she not realize what she had?”
Eastern’s eyes darkened. “I’ve asked myself that same question a thousand times. She didn’t even show up to the custody hearing to fight for her child. It’s wild to me.”
For the second time that evening, tears pressed at her eyes. “I almost feel sorry for her because I knowexactlywhat she walked away from—and it’s huge.”
“Massive.” He brushed a tear from her cheek. She swallowed as he lifted her hands. “How are the wounds?”
“They’re fine, just small cuts that are healing already.” She’d changed the bandages to Band-Aids, but that was mostly because the bandages had been so bulky and annoying.
“They shouldn’t be there at all.”
There was an edge to his voice that was in complete contrast to the gentleness of his touch.
“Areyouokay?” she asked quietly.
He studied her hands, his thumbs running over the small, covered cuts. “I hate what Jamie did. I hate it so much that I actually hurt when I think about it. And I hate that even before she left, she wasn’t the mother she should have been. But the one thing I’m grateful for…is that she gave Averyyou.”
Sadie met his eyes. There was so much emotion in the blue depths. Pain. Anger. Frustration. But also something else. Something deeper.
Reaching up, she cupped his cheek. “No, it’s the other way around. I was given the gift of Avery. She was taken away from me for a bit. And I think, even though I didn’t acknowledge it at the time, that’s the main reason I left. Because her memory was everywhere, and being here was too hard. But you returned her to me. Thank you, Eastern.”
He inched closer, eliminating the small space between them. “I can see why.”
His breath whispered across her skin, like a warm breeze on a cool day. “Why what?”
“Why she loves you so much.” Her breath hitched. “You’re kind. When you smile, you smile with your eyes. And you love her. Like,reallylove her, and if I can see and feel that, so can she.”
“She’s easy to love.”
The fingers of one hand moved to her wrist, thumb skimming over her pulse, his other hand slipping to her waist. “I shouldn’t do this. But I’m realizing I’m fighting a losing battle.”
“A losing battle?”
“You, Sadie. You’re my biggest battle right now.”
