Page 115 of Hero for the Holidays

And right there, something shifted within him. And he realized he could love Fia independently of Lila. He couldn’t want her independently of wanting to make a family for Lila. Yes, that would be great. But it wasn’t why he wanted Fia. He always had.

Because she was everything to him. And she had been for a long damned time. Thoughtful and beautiful and funny, and his whole soul.

This utterly beautiful person who had bewitched him from way back when.

He loved them both separately. He loved them both together. He loved Fia as Lila’s mother. But he loved her as a woman.

And there was something about this that just secured it all. Cemented it in his head, and his heart.

And it made him not so afraid. Not so afraid to trust his love.

Not so afraid he was his dad. Because he would go through hell and back for those women. They were his.

But not his to manipulate. His to care for. His to love.

Lila was crying, holding on to Sunday. And the dog was whimpering too. Her own version of crying, he thought. In pure joy. Happiness. He knew there was something bittersweet in it too.

But life, in his experience, was like that. Where there was love, there was always loss. And where there was restoration, there were always cracks.

Right now, though, he could say with confidence that they made love all the sweeter.

That maybe the bitter had to be there for the sweet to matter.

“Fia... Landry. You found her.”

“We both contacted the shelter trying to find out what became of her. It just so happened that the family who had been taking care of her for the last year had to move. And they couldn’t bring her with them. So she was there. Waiting for you.”

“She was just like me,” said Lila. “Waiting for the two of you to find her.”

“I think it’s about time we headed home,” said Landry. “All of us. Don’t you?”

“Yeah,” said Lila. “Let’s go home.”

So they all loaded up in the car. Father, mother, dog and girl. And they headed back toward Sullivan’s Point.

Because that was their home now. And they were family.

And Landry knew that he wouldn’t let anything shake that.

Not a damn thing.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

SUNDAYWASRAMBUNCTIOUS. Galloping around the house in her excitement. And Landry and Lila had decided to use one of the crochet animals as a toy for her. So a whole lot of rollicking around the Christmas tree was happening while Fia was trying to make dinner.

She didn’t mind.

There was a comfort to their presence.

To Lila’s laughter and Landry’s encouragement of shenanigans.

But there was a pressure building behind her heart. And every time she felt joyful, it pushed. It pushed and pushed, and she wasn’t sure what it was, or why it was trying to break through this moment of happiness.

She focused on finishing dinner. And when she brought the enchiladas and beans to the table, Lila and Landry were already sitting there eating chips. And Landry was feeding some to Sunday.

She slapped at his hand. “Don’t make the dog fat,” she said.

“I, personally, like a fat animal,” said Landry, scratching Sunday behind her ears. “Lends them a stately quality.”

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