Page 32 of Hero for the Holidays

All she knew about mother-daughter relationships were distant at best, sharp at worst. Her sisters had made peace with their mother in some capacity over the years. But Fia never had. Fia was the one who’d had to hold everything together when she’d imploded.

She could never forgive either of her parents for their behavior. They behaved more like toxic teenagers than she and Landry. And that was saying something.

Just remembering that reminded her how it had felt for the world to seem like it was crumbling beneath her feet.

“Fia, I can’t believe you went through that by yourself,” said Rory.

Quinn frowned. “Where was Landry?”

“That’s the kind of complicated thing. He and I had a difference of opinion about what to do. So I decided... I decided that I was going to follow through with what I felt was right. So that’s what happened between us. I ran away, I gave up our baby. He...he couldn’t forgive me and I couldn’t look at him. That’s the story.”

“Wow,” said Alaina. They all just stared at her. And the thing was, there was more, and it didn’t get easier to digest. But at least it got...hopeful. Was this hopeful? This incredible tragedy that had happened to this child?

It was like another impossible thing to sort through. Except it wasn’t a choice. Not for anybody. The adoption, as difficult as it had been, had been a choice. A real, well thought through choice. An accident was simply an accident. No one got to choose whether or not her parents were still here. The only choice that Lila and Fia had at this point was how they moved forward.

“Landry is adopting her. Our daughter.”

And that earned her three open-mouthed, shocked looks.

“Her parents died.” Her throat went tight. “I just found out. I just found out today. He has her. At his house.”

“Fia!” Rory shouted. “Oh my gosh. You have achild. And we have a niece.”

Yes,” said Fia. “And I don’t have any idea how this is going to look or how Landry and I are going to manage this, because we have no practice being civil to one another. Absolutely none at all. But we have to... We have to make this work. And she’s coming over tomorrow. And I want for you all to meet her. But I think I need...time. Tomorrow.”

One thing she knew, she would not let her feelings about him mess this up. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe she’d be a bad mother.

But she wouldn’t behermother.

“Of course,” said Quinn.

“Of course. Whatever you need. I... This is incredible,” said Alaina. She looked at her sister for a long moment. “When you realized I was pregnant, you told me that I could make whatever choice I needed to, and that you would understand.”

Fia looked down. “I meant it. Because I understood. I understood how difficult it was. To face down the prospect of being a single mother. I understood what it was like to feel overwhelmed by that. I... I just understood.”

“I appreciated it, Fia. More than you will ever know. Because that was how I knew that I made the right decision.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

“If I had been as young as you were, I know that I never could’ve done it.”

“Landry doesn’t agree with you.”

“Landry,” said Quinn, shaking her head. “You guys were really... Sneaking around and stuff?”

“Yes. We were.”

“And you hid it from us. Fromeverybody.”

“It wasn’t hard to hide it from you.” Fia let out a breath. “No offense, but you were children.”

“So were you,” said Alaina.

“Well, notas muchas you were,” said Fia. “I didn’t want you guys to know. First of all, I knew that I would get into huge trouble. Second of all, I...I didn’t want to be a bad example. I knew that what we were doing was...not wrong. But it was risky. I was just so... I was so in love with him. I...” Saying it even now made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. But admitting it didn’t make her feel ashamed. The truth was, it had been difficult to recount all this even inside her own mind because it was just so thorny. But Lila was with them now.

And one thing was certain, there had been no shortage of feelings between her and Landry when Lila had been conceived.

That was weird. To recast it that way.

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