Page 2
Clearing my throat, I said, “I don’t know what to think.”
“Mom is going to freak, but she will love her. Your name is on the birth certificate. We’ll talk with lawyers and make sure we do everything we’re supposed to so Talia can’t ever take her away from you. We will document everything.”
“Thanks, Flora.”
“Have you held her yet?” she asked. I shook my head. I was terrified to move her. She was so tiny. “Come on, Dean. It’s time to hold your daughter.” She handed Ada to me. “Support her head and neck.”
“Oh, my God.” I moved her to cradle her in my left arm. She was incredible. She was so beautiful. I stared at her and whispered, “No one in this world will love you more than me,” and then I teared up.
Flora looked at me and down at Ada and said, “We’re your family now, Ada Flora Thorne.”
Chapter 2
Dean
Five Years Later
My alarm clock rang and I wanted to smash it into pieces. It was late in the morning, making me think, Where’s Ada? How did I sleep so late? She usually wakes me up with giggles just after sunrise, begging me to make breakfast. I shot up out of bed and tossed on my pants and a clean T-shirt. Ada was giggling with Flora in the living room. I paused at my bedroom door to listen in.
Flora said, “One, two, three, four, five, once I caught a fish alive. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, then I let it go again.” I made my way down the hall to spy on them.
Ada snickered again and asked, “Why come did you let it go?” She still mixes her words up.
“Because it bit my finger so!”
Ada laughed again nervously in anticipation of what was coming next, “What finger did it bite?”
“Thiiiis little finger…on the right!” Flora tickled Ada, sending her into a fit of laughter.
Flora is amazing with her and always has been. Ever since the night Ada arrived on my doorstep, Flora stepped in to help me raise her. As the crew boss of a logging team, I work long hours. No day is ever the same. Sometimes I leave earlier than usual and other times I don’t get home until much later than I want to be. But, no matter what, Flora had always covered the gaps.
Surprising them, I said, “What’s going on down here with all this laughter?”
“Daaaadddy! I thought you were gonna sleep forever.”
My little red-headed girl came running up to me, so I swooped her up in my arms. “Hi, baby,” I said as I kissed her cheek. “I must’ve been tired. Good thing your Auntie Flora was here to keep you company. We sure are lucky to have her, huh?” Genetics are crazy. I don’t have red hair and neither does her mother, but Flora does.
Ada nodded and mimicked me, “We sure are lucky.”
“Hey Flo!”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Hey yourself, sleepy head.”
“Assuming you guys ate, already?” I asked.
Ada wiggled. “Put me down, Daddy.” I let her down onto the floor.
Flora leaned on the counter. “Hmmm... yeah, we ate already. So…?”
Opening the fridge to figure out what I wanted to eat, I said, “So…what?”
“Don’t play games with me, Dean. Are you going to look into hiring a nanny, or what?”
I shrugged and slapped a glob of cream cheese onto a bagel. “Games? Me?”
Ada came running. “What’s a nanny?”
With a raised eyebrow, I looked at Flora. “Happy now?”
