Page 187 of My Unfinished Heart

Helen stops by the waiting room again, ready to head back to the house with Kate and Eliza. We congratulate her on her new grandchild, and with tears in her eyes she tells us he’s “just beautiful.”

I give Kate a hug and ask her if she got a chance to hold the baby. “Not yet. West said I have to wait ‘till tomorrow because he isn’t ready to let go of him.”

“I was lucky he gave me thirty seconds before he snatched him back,” Helen tells me.

“How’s Joey?” Connor asks. The two of them have gotten close, especially over the last year. Not too close because Tristan would never allow that, but they’re good friends, and Connor has several new tattoos to show for it. Not to mention the baby’s middle name—Bryan. I doubt it’s a coincidence, no matter how good it sounds with Ezra.

“She’s doing fine. Blessed and happy.”

A firm tug moves my hand, and I look down at Eliza. “Congratulations,” I say to her with a smile.

She doesn’t smile back. “Can I ask you something?”

I nod.

“Not here.” She pulls at my shirt and takes me to Connor’s former corner of the waiting room. She sits and waits for me to do the same.

“What’s up?” I ask, concerned by the serious look on her face.

She puts her hands on her knees, drawing her back straight with a deep breath. “When did you first know you loved Connor?”

Eliza’s never been much for small talk. I give her a sincere look. “The first time I saw him.”

“When he was a baby?” she asks.

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t know if I would,” she says, her eyes searching mine. “I’ve been really afraid that I didn’t have any love left over.”

I think I see where she’s going with this, and if there’s anything I’ve learned since meeting Joey and the girls it’s this: “There’s always some left over.”

“And I didn’t know… I mean, he’s only my half-brother.”

“Still counts,” I say.

“What if my mom loves him more? What if West does?”

I take a breath to buy myself some time to choose my words. Eliza is special to me. Precious. My words have to equal that.

“It only matters how much you love him.” I begin. “You got a great mom, Eliza. And she found a great man. You know West isn’t actually my brother, right?”

She rolls her eyes and nods.

“I had a terrible mom. Helen was the one who loved me because she knew my mother couldn’t do it. Helen chose me. She didn’t have to, but I’ll never stop being glad she did. We’re all here today because one way or another we all chose each other. And we have to keep on doing it even on the days we’re sick of each other. That’s what families do. West is as much my brother as Connor is. And he’s as much your dad as he is Ezra’s. Love isn’t quantifiable. You can’t define it. It just is.”

“Like art?”

“I was thinking more like air or water, but sure. Art works,” I say.

“Air and water are quantifiable.”

“You’re too smart.”

A blush rises in her cheeks. “Thanks, Archer. You always make the world make more sense.”

I laugh. “I don’t know if everyone would agree with that.”

“No, it’s true. You do. I hope one day I’m as lucky as Tristan…to marry a boy like you.”