“Are you okay? Is the mean guy gone?”
“Did you cry? Were you scared? I bet you were so brave, like when we lost Mr. Bingley.” Lily’s so matter-of-fact, so certain of Sam.
“What about Mr. Bingley? Is he okay?” Poppy is now approximately two inches from Sam’s face, holding her cheeks and demanding her full attention with zero sense of personal space in true four-year-old style.
Sam’s hand smooths over Poppy’s wild hair while her other rubs a soothing circle on Lily’s arm. “He was so brave! He protected me so well. I think he’s actually a little guard kitty.”
Poppy giggles at this, and Lily cracks a smile.
“I love him. Can we see him?” Poppy has moved enough that Sam can sit up.
“What if I told you Sam and Mr. Bingley will be staying with us for a little while?” I extend a hand to Sam so she can get up off the floor, and Poppy is already gone before I finish the sentence, racing up to her room, no doubt expecting to see the cat perfectly seated on her bed.
Lily is thoughtful, and Sam and I both wait. The familychats in the kitchen, having given us a moment with the girls.
“How long?”
“Just a few days. Then we’ll be out of your hair.” Sam smiles broadly, apparently trying to reassure Lily.
But Lily instantly frowns. “Why can’t you just stay?”
“Oh—” Sam’s lashes flutter.
“We’ll have her for a while, Lil. Don’t worry, okay?”
She nods, clearly unsatisfied, but willing to accept it for now.
“I think Finn brought some treats, if you want to go check them out.”
She jets off to survey her options, and I pull Sam into my arms.
“They love you so much.” What I really want to say is,Yeah, can you just stay forever?But now is not the time.
“I love them, too.” She glances at the bustling kitchen, alive with all but one of my siblings and my parents who’ve set to work making dinner. “I love them all.”
“And I love you. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I’m doing my best not to feel responsible for this. I’ve had a thousand what-ifs run through my head since I got to her, but the pull is there. Maybe for someone like me, it always will be. I know myself enough to know I take on things that aren’t mine to shoulder, so I’m resisting.
As though she can read every sentence in my eyes, she presses her lips to mine. “I love you, too. Iamokay, and one of the reasons is that you came for me. You answered when I called and you brought help.” She winks and grins. “Pretty handy I decided to fall for an ex-soldier cop, huh?”
I lap up her offering, the absolution she might not even mean to give, and steal a kiss. “I am pretty happy about it.”
We indulge in a deeper connection until May clears herthroat. I shoot her a dirty look because how dare she interrupt us? Granted, I wasn’t about to strip Sam down right here in the middle of the living room and make love to her, but isn’t that all the more reason we should get to make out a little?
“Don’t give me that look. You’ll have your alone time when the girls are in bed.”
Sam chuckles and bites her lip, then winks at me. I absolutely receive her promise.
May and Sam embrace, and they both hold each other for a long moment before releasing. Sam’s steady, but it’s May who’s emotional. She’s typically not one to tear up.
“Sorry.” She sniffs, then groans. “Ugh, I’m sorry. You’re okay. I see you’re okay. I was so worried. But the girls kept me entertained.”
May lingers for another twenty minutes, talking us through how the girls handled everything—“amazingly well”—then launching into a discussion about the mobile library and other things she and Sam enjoy.
It’s another hour and a half before everyone has gone, we’ve eaten, and the girls are in bed. We lie nested together in my bed, a rightness permeating every cell in my body.
All I can think is maybe it’s the wrong time, but maybe it’s right.
