Page 90 of Crazy Love

“What’s the story there?” he asks softly. “Who did that to her?” He looks back in my office, his shoulders sagging.

He might be overly protective of me, but he’s not coldhearted. He wouldn’t be on board with the way Penn and I are going about this whole situation, but he also would never want to see a child suffer.

“She was in Sam’s foster home and they hurt her the same way they did Sam,” I whisper.

He shakes his head. “Why are people so awful?” His eyes are sorrowful when they meet mine. “You’ve already got a lot on your plate, sweetheart. Between Sam and this…are you sure this isn’t too much?”

“I can handle it,” I say, my voice too sharp.

His eyes darken. “Are you sure? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you could be letting this…situation interfere with your career. I really hope you’re not planning on bailing on the Mustangs so soon.”

I wince. “I’m not bailing.”

He reaches out and puts his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. “Just make sure you’re taking care of yourself too. Okay? At least promise me that.”

“I will, Dad.” I take a deep breath and motion toward my computer. “I need to get to this Zoom meeting.”

“Love you, Adeline. Why don’t you come over for dinner this weekend?”

“I love you too. Me and Penn and the kids?”

His jaw tightens and he slowly nods. “You and Penn and the kids.”

“Okay, I’ll see what we can do. That…that sounds nice, Dad.”

He knocks on the doorjamb. “Bye, Winnie. It was nice to meet you.”

He grins when he sees that she’s just taken a big bite of her sandwich and then walks away.

That went better than I expected.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

THE NEW ME

PENN

The days fly by in a blur of noise and quiet. A strange contradiction that somehow makes sense. The house is always full—full of noise when Sam and Addy and my parents are around, full of silence when Winnie is playing nearby. Sometimes it feels like Addy and I are barely holding it together with Scotch tape and stubborn will, desperate to keep things from unraveling with one wrong move.

Mrs. Murphy let us know that Sam and Winnie can stay with us for now, so we don’t disrupt their routine. It still feels shaky and like the bottom could drop out from beneath us at any time.

We fall into bed each night, exhausted and hollow-eyed. We fall into each other, and it’s always good—more than good. It’s meaningful. Grounding. When everything else disappears and it’s just us. Sometimes we fall asleep before we can escape into each other, and I’ll drift off with her head on my chest, feeling the warmth of her skin against mine, and that alone also feels meaningful and grounding.

Winnie still hasn’t spoken. To any of us. It distresses Sam because he knows what she was like before she was hurt, but we all make note of the improvements, smiling at each other when she sits on the counter while Addy’s cooking and draws with her crayons, or when she comes over and sits next to me on the couch. We all want so badly to make things better for her, but we know we can’t force it. Her nightmares are infrequent now, which is a relief. And her bedspread is lavender with unicorns and teddy bears covering the surface. We might’ve gotten a little carried away. She clicks her rainbow nightlight on every night before we take turns reading her stories.

Addy and I haven’t wanted to overwhelm Winnie, but we also want her to see how great the people in our lives are. Sam wants her to meet the kids too. He tells her about them and how much she’ll like everyone. And our friends are starting to push to get to know her better.

Weston

When do we get to officially meet Winnie?

Henley

I’ve nearly texted that every day this week.

Bowie

We’re trying not to overwhelm you guys, but we’d really like to get to know her.

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