“You’re not going to let that go, are you?” she grumbled.
“Not for a long time. Now, it’s time for a little girl to have a nap.”
“I’m not tired.” She pouted.
Then she yawned.
Well. That sucked. It was like her body was trying to betray her.
Rude.
“I would say that you do.” North drew the curtains while Jared dimmed the lights and put her bed down so she was lying flat.
Then he sat beside her and gently massaged her scalp.
“I really don’t think I can sleep, Daddy,” she complained. “This is pointless.”
“Hmm, what about if Daddy sings you a lullaby?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Do you know any of those?”
“Do I know any of those?” Jared gave her an offended look. “Of course I do.”
He started singing in a surprisingly good voice. To her shock, her eyelids started to close and she snuggled in under the covers.
“That’s it, baby. Just sleep. Good girl.”
She drifted off.
59
“Do you think she’s totally out?” North asked.
“Yeah, seems to be. She’s making that small snuffling noise that she makes when she’s asleep. It’s so cute.”
“You are in deep,” North told him.
“And you’re not?” Jared asked.
“I suppose so. I still don’t really know what love is.”
“It’s when you don’t want to imagine your life without the other person in it. That it would be bleak. And not worth living.”
North nodded. “I suppose I feel that way about both of you.”
“Then I suppose you must love both of us,” Jared told him.
He guessed he must. That was strange. But not unexpected. For a while now he had felt that way. Especially about Jared.
But with Angie, things felt different too. Because she was far more delicate. Vulnerable.
Protecting her had become far more important.
“We cannot allow her to be harmed,” he said.
“She won’t be.” Jared frowned. “Did Sarah say much?”
“She apologized over and over for not telling us that Antony was missing. She was . . . happy, I think. Worried he’d return.Scared about why he wasn’t coming back. And she’s now relieved to learn of his death. I didn’t tell her that we had just learned that he abused her. That we’d intended to take care of him ourselves.”
