Harper’s adorable face wrinkled. “I like the name Riley better. That’s my owl’s name,” she said, pointing to the tiny gray owl on her bed.
Beckett smiled. “I like Riley too. Tell you what, let’s let him decide what you can call him, okay?”
All heads turned in my direction, but only one person held my attention. I was already so in love with this girl, and I’d barely known her for five minutes. Would it really be possible for her to be a part of my life, too? God, I wanted that. I really, really wanted that, even if it meant Tosh was a part of the deal. I couldn’t help but glance at Tosh, who was standing stock-still through the exchange, eyes only for her daughter.
Swallowing past the lump of emotions in my throat, I said, “Ri-Riley. You can call me Riley.”
“Are you gonna stay like Uncle B says you are? He was sad without you.”
I had to hide my smirk at her defensive tone, saying no would surely be cause for punishment. “Yes, sweetie. I was very sad when I had to leave, too, so I’m going to stay around for as long as your uncle wants me.”
She looked to Beckett, who was watching me closely. “Forever and ever, right, Uncle B?”
He never looked away from me. “Forever and ever.”
She flashed me a big, toothy smile. “Good. Can I call you Uncle Riley, then?”
“Harp-“ Tosh started, but Beckett silenced her with a glare.
Harper continued, not noticing any of the tension. “Kinda like Uncle Jake? He’s Uncle B’s friend, too, but not his best friend. Uncle B told me so. He also told me, he would only ever have one best friend, but if that’s you, and you’re an even closer friend than Uncle Jake, then you should be my uncle too, right?”
The room fell silent, and I saw Jake and Beckett share a private look, but it was full of understanding not pain like I’d expect after Harper’s blunt comments. Jake seemed to accept me as easily as Harper had, simply because I was someone important to Beckett.
If only Tosh had been so accepting all those years ago…
Jake forced a laugh to break up the tension. “Hey, Sunshine! You better not be saying I’m not your uncle anymore because there’s no take backs.”
“Of course, you are!” Harper giggled, but her attention remained on me. Those big green eyes were sure to reign over some poor soul’s heart someday, but hopefully that wouldn’t for a long, long time from now. “So, can I call you Uncle Riley?” she pressed.
I gave Harper a smile and nodded, unable to speak. The smile that broke across Beckett’s face made me go weak in the knees.
“Yay! Uncle Riley it is! That means more birthday and Christmas presents!”
Everyone in the room erupted into laughter, including Tosh.
Beckett hugged his niece again, kissing her on the forehead. “You need to take it easy, Rugrat, so you can go home soon, okay? We’ll have to plan that sleepover soon. Maybe you can come to South Carolina with me and visit Uncle Riley. He lives by the ocean, did I tell you that?”
“The ocean!” she squealed. “Now Ihaftago home so I can go there too! It’s sooo boring here!”
“Well, think of a story for me then, okay? You can tell it to me when you stay the night.”
Her eyes lit up with joy. Clearly, that meant something to her. “Okay!”
Jake went around the side of the bed as soon as Beckett stepped away, whispering conspiratorially into Harper’s ear. They both looked at me, then Harper was giggling and nodding intently, her dark curls bouncing slightly. I had a feeling trouble was brewing.
I felt Beckett’s arm go around my shoulder and I leaned in. His lips pressed against my ear as he whispered, “I really like the sound of Uncle Riley.”
I thought about kissing him until I saw Tosh watching us and decided against it, settling on a small smile instead.
When the nurse came to change the dressings on Harper’s incision, we lingered in the hall. Tosh never invited us back into the room after they finished, which nearly broke Beckett’s heart. I wanted to smack her. For all the anger she’d bestowed on him for not being there for Harper, now she was shutting him out.
Ben came out to update us a few times, letting us know when Harper’s doctor would be in for the next check-up. Tosh left at some point mumbling something about the cafeteria, so Beckett and I quickly rushed in the room to check on Harper again. Jake made his way over to the nurses’ desk and began flirting shamelessly. I didn’t give his absence much thought until Tosh returned when I saw him through the window stepping away from a beautiful male nurse mid-conversation to return to our side. No… notourside,Beckett’sside, I realized. From the moment Tosh slapped him, Jake hadn’t been more than a few feet away from him, other than to greet Harper in bed. Otherwise, he’d been within arms-reach of us. I wasn’t sure what to think of that or why he felt the need to stand guard. Had more happened between Beckett and his sister in the past, or was it just the one incident that had him on edge? He was a cop, so maybe he just had strong protective instincts?
“Just a friend,” Beckett whispered low in my ear when he caught me watching Jake. I blushed and let my eyes fall.
Just then, Harper’s doctor stepped in to give us another update. They were monitoring her closely for any other adverse reactions to the medicine, but since her body had processed most of it by now, they believed she was in the clear. He wanted to keep her two more nights for observation but expected her to be home by the end of the week. Everyone let out a big sigh of relief at the news, and Beckett wrapped an arm around my shoulder before kissing my temple. This time, I ignored Tosh’s eyes on me as I wrapped my arms around him.
We all said one final farewell to Harper before we turned to leave. Tosh followed us out of the room to the hall.
