I show her the first picture we ever took as a family—Anna in bed, me looking half-dead, Chloe red-faced and furious at existence.
“What was I mad about?”
“You had to get a shot.”
Her nose wrinkles, and I laugh quietly.
She joins in. “I was really grumpy about it, wasn’t I?”
“You sure were.”
She giggles?—
And that’s when there’s a knock on the door.
I glance up as the wooden panel swings inward, revealing Finn in the hall holding a tray.
My heart kicks hard as she forces a smile, guilt clearly still riding her hard. “I brought you some food,” she says quietly, setting the tray down between us.
It’s filled with all of Chloe’s favorites.
And there my heart goes again.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” she says softly.
But Chloe is already reaching for one of the photos in the box. “Wait, Finn.Look.” She holds out a frame. “That was my mommy.”
The picture is one of my favorites.
It’s of Anna at the beach with Chloe strapped to her chest in a baby carrier. She’s grinning widely as she battles the wind, trying her best to push her hair off her face.
Our picnic aborted by the weather, we’d spent most of that day laughing like lunatics.
Or more likely it was the sleep deprivation.
And also…it was Anna and her patience and her big heart and her uncanny way to always make the best of everything.
Finn’s expression goes gentle as she glances down at the photograph. “Wow, honey. Your mom sure was beautiful,” she says.
And there’s no doubt she means it.
I hear it in every word.
“Do you think I look like her?”
Finn nods. “You have her eyes. And her nose.”
My mouth kicks up. “And her confidence.”
“I’m confident,” Chloe announces.
“You sure are.” Finn ruffles her hair.
“And you’re beautiful too, Finn,” Chloe says, carefully putting the picture back in the box. “Don’t you think so, Daddy?”
Finn freezes, her gaze locking with mine, her cheeks going pink.
“Daddy?” Chloe presses.
