Page 72 of Child of Mine

“Is it financial? I’m happy to help if you need money to get resettled.”

She leans on the counter. “That’s part of it. But—” She blows out a breath. “Oh boy.”

Obviously overwhelmed with emotion again, she slaps her cheeks with both hands. I grab them to stop her, but she resists, so I let loose with, “You know my family isn’t perfect, right? I mean, my parents’ relationship was pretty awesome, but I had nothing to do with that. I’m the black sheep. The only one who doesn’t work in the family business, the only one who left.”

“Hal. Henry, I mean—”

“It’s okay.” I squeeze her hands, which she’s relaxed enough to let me hang onto. “I like it when you call me Hal.”

That has her tugging away. “Sorry, I can’t focus when you…”

“Touch you?”

An impressive grimace taking over her beautiful face, she grits out a “Yes.”

I do my best to squelch a smile. “I’ll try not to take advantage of that.”

“I’m trying to be serious here, Henry.”

“I’m serious. Serious as a heart attack.”

She rolls her eyes, and I take the tiny win. I’ll take any emotion other than deep sorrow.

Facing the counter, she braces her arms and drops her head. “There’s a lot you don’t know still. Things I need to tell you.”

“About Lilah?”

“About me and my past.”

Her tone is so full of self-disgust and self-loathing I can’t stand it. I have to hug her again. This time, I don’t ask. I just wrap her in my arms as gently as I can. It only takes a moment before her stiff posture relents and she melts into my chest.

“One thing at a time, remember?” I whisper. “We’ve all made mistakes. Whatever yours are, you’ve done a great job with Lilah. And we’ll get through the bookstore closing. Together. You can lean on me whenever, however you need to.”

She doesn’t say anything for a long time, but when she finally whispers a wet “Okay” into my shirt, the word touches my heart in a place so deep I didn’t know it existed.

Two people depend on me now. My priorities are clear. I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right for them.

* * *

The next day is Saturday.I have pre-edits to do—combing through the footage of the previous days’ shoots to prep for our editing time Monday—but I have an idea for an adventure that I think will kill a few birds with one stone. No pun intended, but I think a very special tour with a very famous family of ducks might help prove to both Bella and Lilah that I’m a good dad and give both of my girls something to smile about. Luckily, it’s the younger one that answers the phone.

“York residence, Lilah speaking.”

I decide to play along when I respond. “Yes, Miss York, this is Mr. Smith. Is your mother on the premises?”

“She’s sleeping.”

“Excellent. I need an accomplice, and I think you just might fill the bill.”

“For what? Is it a super-secret crime?”

She sounds a little too eager, so I dial it back a bit. “No, no, it’s not illegal, but I think it should be secret. A surprise for your mother.” I doubt that Lilah knows about the bookstore closing, so I don’t want to say that Bella needs cheering up. “I think she deserves a fun day, don’t you?”

“What is the surprise?” she asks.

When I tell her the basic idea, she gasps. “I’ve always wanted to do that!”

“The question is, how do we get your mom to go along?”

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