Amber looks uncertain. “What if it makes him cry?”
“Then he cries, and that’s okay. Just like you’re crying now,” I say as I reach out and catch another tear with my thumb. “And it’s okay. Maybe he needs to talk to you about her as much as you need to hear about her.”
After a quiet moment, Amber wipes at her eyes with the sleeve of her pajama top.
“I’ll try,” she whispers.
I smile and pull her into a side hug. “I’m really proud of you, you know. It takes guts to talk about the hard things. You’re very strong. Very brave.”
She squeezes me back and I close my eyes, resting my cheek on top of her head. But the guest room door opening freezes both of us in the bed. There stands Eli, with Knox hovering behind him. Knox’s hand is on Eli’s shoulder, squeezing softly, and there’s a glassy look behind both of their eyes.
It doesn’t take a genius to know how long they’ve both been standing there.
“Your mother would be so proud of you, Amber,” Eli says.
Eli
My heart cracks right down the middle.
I stand there in the hallway with Knox behind me, his hand steady on my shoulder while the words from inside the room echo through my chest like a drum in a jungle.
Lia’s answers are beautiful.
Amber should have heard them from me, though.
I came home on my lunch break like I told Amber I would when she told me she wasn’t feeling well. Knox pulled in right behind me, same as he promised. We were halfway down the hallway before we heard them talking.
Before we realized what the conversation was about.
So, we stopped. Not because we wanted to eavesdrop, but because neither of us could bring ourselves to interrupt. Knox’s grip tightens slightly on my shoulder now, grounding me while I watch my daughter curl up in Lia’s arms.
Pickles is stretched across her legs like he belongs there, his big shepherd body acting like some sort of guardrail for the moment.
And Lia.
My god, she’s an angel, holding Amber like she was built for it.
Like she understands exactly what my little girl needed. Like she was sent to us by Gloria herself.
I don’t stop myself when I reach for the door, easing it open just a smidge more.
I also can’t stop myself when the words tumble from my lips. “Your mother would be so proud of you, Amber.”
Both of them freeze before Amber turns her head to look at me first. Her eyes are red from crying, but the second she sees me standing there, her bottom lip trembles.
“Daddy.”
That’s it.
That’s all it takes.
I cross the room in three long strides just as she lifts her arms toward me. I climb right onto the bed without hesitation, pulling her against my chest and out of Lia’s embrace the second she reaches me like she used to do when she was a little girl.
She’s still my little girl.
She’ll always be my little girl.
“Oh, princess,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m so sorry.”
