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She glances over her shoulder at me. “My stepdad brought you guys some sodas.”
I make my way over and squat next to her. Jude and Allie sit with their backs against the closet wall, plates on their laps. Jude gives me a dubious look, but Allie grins.
“This is my dad.”
Jude looks over at her and back at me, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Hey, buddy.” I set the drinks on the floor in front of each of them and give him a little half-wave. “I’m Landon. I’m glad you could join us today.”
Allie rests her plate on her legs and grabs her soda. “Thanks, Dad.”
I reach in and ruffle her hair. “You’re welcome, kiddo. You two enjoy.”
Angie smiles. “I’ll bring you pie later.”
She and I both push up to our feet, and Angie slides the doors halfway closed again, sealing the kids back inside but allowing a sliver of light to stay on them. She follows me out into the hallway and pulls the bedroom door shut behind her. We make it a few steps down the hall before she releases a heavy sigh and leans back against the wall, closing her eyes.
I stop in my tracks and take a step back toward her. “Are you all right?”
Her lids flutter open, and she looks up at me with tears shimmering in her eyes. “I don’t know.”
“I saw you talking with Luca earlier.”
She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and nods. “Yeah. He said…” She trails off. “He said Jude’s dad did something to him.”
I grind my jaw to keep the truth from slipping out. Angie may be an adult now. She may be capable of handling and processing what really happened to Jude, but it isn’t really for any of us to be telling it to the kids.
It isn’t fair to him to have everyone know.
Only the adults do because we need to protect him, to ensure that nothing like this can ever happen to him again, so that we make sure we’re careful with him and give him everything he needs.
“I think Jude will be fine. He seems to really enjoy your sister.”
Angie grins. “Yeah. I have a feeling if he sticks around for a while, they’ll be thick as thieves.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders and urge her down the hallway back toward the dining room, where the clank of silverware against plates echoes out to us. “I know this has been an unusual Christmas with everything going on, but I want you to know how much your mom and I appreciate what you’re doing for him and for Allie.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
I pull her to a stop before we hit the dining room. “Yes, you are. Whatever happened to Jude…he needed somewhere safe. And he found it. You’re helping protect that space for him—even if it is in a closet. That means a lot.”
Tears well in her eyes, and she swipes them away. “You gave me that, too.”
A vice tightens around my heart. “What do you mean?”
Her lips tremble. “I know it’s hard for me to show it sometimes because”—she swallows a sob—”I really miss my dad, especially on days like this when I can still remember sitting on his lap and opening presents. But I’ll never forget what you did for my mom and for me. Before you came along, she was broken. And I don’t think she would’ve put herself back together if it hadn’t been for you.”
They’re the words I’ve always wanted to hear, that I’ve spent almost fifteen years hoping were true.
And now, my eyes burn with tears that match hers. I reach out and pull her to me, squeezing her tightly and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you, kiddo, you and Allie and your mom, more than anything.”
She nods. “I know.”
“And you never have to apologize to me for how you feel about your dad. Okay?”
She nods and squeezes me back, then releases me as we both try to wipe away the evidence of our little heart-to-heart.
“Let’s go eat. Okay?”
