Grant
Ten Years Later…
The sun isn’t up yet,but my daughter is.
That’s how I know I’m a father and not a soldier anymore, because back when I was still on active duty, the idea of being woken up at four-thirty in the morning would’ve pissed me off. Now? I wouldn’t trade the weight of this tiny, curly-haired tyrant on my chest for all the deployments in the world.
Lily snuffles softly against my shirt, her fist clutching the collar like she thinks I might disappear if she lets go.
Not anymore, baby girl. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.
I tighten my hold around her and lean my head against the porch swing. It creaks under my weight, old wood groaning in the cool Wolf Valley morning air. The mountains in the distance are still silhouettes, the pines nothing but dark brushstrokes. Everything is quiet.
Peaceful.
That word used to sound like a dream. Now it sounds like home.
Lily shifts and sighs, drool wetting through my T-shirt in a warm patch right over my heart. I don’t mind. I rub her tiny back, slow circles, steady like a heartbeat.
“I know,” I murmur into her curls. “You’re tired. You woke up too early again.”
She doesn’t answer, but she makes a little humming sound that kills me. This kid could crush entire armies with one sleepy noise.
The porch light flicks on automatically as the sky glows gray-blue. I tip my head back and breathe in the cool, damp air. The valley always smells clean at this hour, like pine, earth, and a hint of woodsmoke from someone who never turned their stove off last night.
Ten years ago, I woke up in military barracks, sterile hospital rooms, or cramped apartments near bases. Now I wake up to forest and fog and a daughter who thinks I’m the entire universe.
It feels like winning a war I didn’t know I was fighting.
My phone buzzes on the little end table next to me, screen lighting up with a text from Devon.
Devon:We’re bringing muffins. Suri’s making you coffee. Don’t say no.
I snort quietly.
Me:If Lily wakes up fully, I’m blaming you.
Devon:She’s 2. She wakes up because a squirrel sneezes. Don’t pin this on me, old man.
I shakemy head but smile. Some things never change. I knew him before he married Suri, before she turned him into a slightly less grumpy version of himself. They’re just next door now, their house visible through the edge of the woods between our properties. Wolf Valley pulled all of us in like a magnet.
Quiet life. Small town. Good community. The perfect place to raise a family.
Ten years ago, I didn’t think I’d ever get a family.
The screen brightens again.
Devon:We’ll be over in an hour. Prepare your body.
Me:Stop texting me like we’re about to enter combat.
Devon:You have a toddler. It is combat.
I huffout a laugh that’s loud enough to make Lily stir. She shifts, smacks her lips, then settles again. I kiss the top of her head, breathing in the scent of baby shampoo and warm sleep.
The gravel crunches at the end of the driveway. I tense for half a second, old habits, but relax immediately when I see Rowan’s Jeep rolling slowly toward the house.
The sight of her still hits me like a punch every damn time.
