Page 94 of I'm Yours

I mouth the words, “I love you.”

And she says out loud in return, “I love you.”

Emmy giggles and looks up at Sadie. “I love you, too.”

Sadie’s eyes dart to Emmy, tears welling up. She bends down and kisses her on top of the head. Emotion wells inside me and I want to break down and cry right here and now. Emmy and Sadie together is my version of heaven.

“Ready to eat?”

“You have to make your own breakfast, Daddy.”

“What if I need help spreading the peanut butter?”

Emmy sighs dramatically, climbing down off my lap. She takes both my and Sadie’s hands in hers and guides us inside. “I can help.”

“Oh, thank you. That’s so generous of you.”

When we get to the kitchen, my parents and Justin are sitting at the table. Mom jumps up and rushes to Sadie’s side, hugging her lightly and guiding her to a chair.

“How are you feeling?”

Sadie smiles and shrugs. She doesn’t want to say it out loud in front of Emmy.

Dad winks when he hands her a mug of warm tea.

Over a light breakfast, we do our best to keep the conversation steered away from all things Sheriff Lee and Bryce McCabe.

“Emmy needs to get a new pair of boots. Mind if your mom and I take her later today to pick some out?” Dad says.

They’re giving Sadie and me space and I couldn’t love them more. Justin will still be here but he’ll keep himself busy. Go for a ride or whatever he’s in the mood for.

“Fine with me.”

Dad, Mom, and Emmy leave not long after we’ve finished and cleaned up breakfast. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of time to rest because Henry and Nell show up. Nell inspects her daughter closely, and the two of them cry and hug for several minutes.

“Reed.” Nell looks up at me and I pull her into a hug.

“Good to see you, Nell.”

“Glad to have you back home. Where you belong.”

“I agree. This is Justin, a good friend of mine.”

“Hi, Justin. Nice to meet you.”

“You, too.”

The five of us move to the living room and have a seat. Henry and Nell take the loveseat while Sadie, Justin, and me sit together on the couch. I can see and feel Sadie’s wariness around Henry. I squeeze her hand lightly and she seems to relax.

“What’d you find out?”

“Bryce was a piece of work,” Henry says, sliding a piece of paper out of the folder he brought with him I just noticed. “Here’s his wife.”

Sadie gasps. “She could be my twin.”

Henry nods. “Yes, she could. He was a bit obsessed. Seems that he found someone to replace you. He abused her, she divorced him and filed a restraining order. Not sure if it brought back memories or what but he turned his sights back on you.”

He pulls out a few more papers and places them on the coffee table.

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