“You sound peaceful.”
“I am, at the moment. But you. How are you doing with your family?”
“Thanks to Brad’s big shock, I realized family is important to me no matter what they do for a living. I still don’t want to associate with them for that reason, but I can be kinder and more understanding. And, I no longer think it reflects on me.”
Her heart smiled. “Well listen to us. We’ve both made progress.”
“Progress away from our past and on the way to our future together.”
Crying sounded in the phone’s background.
“I have to go. Lucy just woke up from a bad dream.”
“I’m praying for you both.” She disconnected the call and looked around the crime scene.
The ME and her assistant had arrived while El was on the phone. Deputies sat alone in various places. The SWAT vehicle along with squad cars remained parked where they stopped so deputies could race down to the lake and free Lucy.
Everything pointed to something negative that happened tonight. But something positive happened, too. Something big. Little Lucy had been rescued. And, not as important but very significant, she and Gabe had let go of the past and could move forward in a future guided by God’s will.
27
A month later, Gabe tied every color of birthday balloon to the covered picnic structure at Lost Lake Park in downtown. He’d already strung light and dark blue streamers for Lucy’s Bluey-themed fifth party. She loved that character, and Gabe vowed to try to keep things as normal for her as possible.
He’d even bought a professional Bluey costume online and wheedled Jude into wearing it at the party. Gabe would probably owe the guy for the rest of his life, but if it was for Lucy, it was worth anything he had to pay right now.
Satisfied with his work, he stood back and looked at it with a critical eye. His most important question? What would Kenna have thought of it? His most loving, compassionate, and considerate best friend lost to him and Lucy. The day of her funeral flashed into his brain, but whenever that happened, he forced it away to stop his pain from scaring Lucy.
All things considered, she’d handled the loss pretty well. Sure, she was upset a lot of the time and cried often. But she seemed to be able to dig herself out of the sadness by reminding herself that her mother was in heaven.
Gabe couldn’t do that. Yes, he knew she was in heaven. A better place, but he sorely missed her. He and El had spent a lot of time together this past month, and that helped fill the emptiness, but his sadness came upon him at moments when he couldn’t control it. Like right now. Kenna would want to be sharing in this party. She’d be with them in a way, he supposed, when he played her first video message for Lucy.
Could he hold it together for that or would he fall apart? God was with him, and he would do his very best for Lucy. That was all he could promise.
“You did a fantastic job.” El’s voice came from behind.
He spun to look at her. “I’m glad you’re here.”
She shifted a box of Bluey table items to her hip and touched the side of his cheek. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I wish I could hide my sadness from you as well as I hide it from Lucy.” He tried to smile, but couldn’t manage it, so he took the box to distract her.
“You’re thinking of Kenna. Of course you are. She would be here, right by your side. With Lucy.”
“Not here.” He stepped into the pavilion and set the box down. “The party would be at Kenna’s place just for her, Lucy, me, Mrs. Z., and two of Lucy’s friends from preschool.” He looked at the pavilion again. “Maybe I should’ve thought of that. Maybe this is too much for Lucy right now. She already had to change her daycare. Homes. Living in my basic accommodations at the inn, for crying out loud. This might be too much to handle.”
“Hey, hey.” She took his hands. “You’re gonna freak yourself out. She knows about today’s plans, and she’s super excited.”
“You’re right.” He clung to her hands. “This dad thing is really throwing me for a loop. All I know on most days is that I love my little princess, and I’ll do anything not to screw up. Not to screw her up.”
“I get it. I have the same feelings, and I’m not an official guardian. Just someone who loves you and is trying to get to know Lucy. She makes it so easy to love her, and all the fear and misgivings are on me.”
“She really does like you.” He could smile in earnest now as he thought of all the time the three of them had spent together this past month and how happy Lucy had been with El. He let go of her right hand and touched her ring finger. “I don’t think it’ll be long before I can put a ring on this finger.”
“I’m waiting for that day. I really am. More than you know. But being a mother?” She shook her head. “I don’t want to screw up either, but we have God on our side. All we need to do is trust that He wants us to raise this young lady. If we remember to talk to Him first, we’ll succeed.”
“I guess, when my doubts are really bad, I can remember that me being her dad is a far better choice than Sloan, who’s rotting in prison for years.”
Thankfully, he and the others took plea deals, sparing Lucy from testifying and giving up the missing girls’ location so they could be rescued. Tinsley and Ward were also doing lengthy stretches for their part in the terror Lucy suffered, too.
