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His previous shout, however, had startled his baby girl who chose that moment to start screaming.
"Here," he said with some desperation, and he thrust the baby into Maddy's surprised arms. "See if you can work your magic on her. She's been cranky all morning."
Maddy raised the baby to her shoulder and rubbed her back in soothing circles. Cara almost immediately stopped crying.
“Oh, thank God,” Cal muttered. “Of all the mornings for Sara to get called into the store, my little angel turned into a devil.”
Maddy glared at him and moved away from us, singsonging words of disapproval for Cara’s father and his description.
My mom also came rushing out. "Why was the baby crying?" She stopped when she saw Maddy swaying and humming. "Oh."
She ground to a halt watching as Maddy bounced and swayed her way over to a window, tuning all of us out as she whispered and cooed at the baby, all of us watching her. Cal's hand clasped my shoulder. I knew exactly what was on his mind and why he'd shifted the baby to Maddy. I wanted to be angry, but his plan had worked. I could easily see Maddy as a mother some day. What I wasn't expecting was the mental image of her cradling our baby. A stab of pain pierced my heart.
"Forever is still there, Son," Mom whispered in my ear before heading back into the kitchen.
26
Holt
A short while later I sat in my dad's chair in his study that overlooked the backyard. I thought about my mom’s words as I watched Maddy play with my niece and nephews outside in the fall leaves. Andrew had been trying to chase his older siblings, but of course, his little toddler legs were no match for them. Maddy swept in and scooped him up and ran in whatever direction he pointed, becoming a longer set of legs for him. I could hear his shrieks of laughter and shouts of 'faster' even through the window. All of them had huge grins on their faces. I felt my own smile play about my lips.
"She's a nice girl," my dad commented from the door.
I nodded, never taking my eyes off Maddy.
My dad moved into the room until he was standing at the window. "You're thinking about Claire, also, aren't you?"
My dad was a little too perceptive. I didn't bother answering.
He, too, watched the antics outside. After a few minutes, he turned to face me, sliding his hands into his pockets. "You know, Son, I think we men are instinctively protective. In some ways, it's sort of cavemanesque.
"Did you just create a new word?" I laughed, wondering where he was going with his thought process. Christopher Andrews was a relatively quiet man, but he was insightful, and I’d learned long ago to listen when he had something to say.
He chuckled. "Merriam-Webster would be proud." He grew serious again. "We like to protect what we think is ours; it doesn't matter the species. We piss on fire hydrants, we bang our tusks, we bare our teeth, and flash our muscles. We all do it, especially when it comes to our mate."
I rolled my eyes and finally looked at him. "Is there a point to this little nature lesson, Dad?"
"There is." He settled into the leather chair across from his desk. "We can only protect what is real, like flesh and blood. We can't protect memories, Holt. You can treasure them, share them, or even keep them secret, but you can’t protect them."
"You're talking about Claire."
It was his turn to nod.
I sighed and rubbed my face in my hands as I leaned my elbows on his desk. My father always looked so strong and capable of anything si
tting behind this desk. Sitting in his chair, I felt weak and inefficient. "I didn't protect Claire like I should have when she was alive, Dad. I didn't live up to my promise to her."
"You couldn't have stopped her death, Holt. That doesn't mean you didn't protect her."
"No." I shook my head vehemently.
"Holt--"
"She was pregnant, Dad." The secret fell from my lips before I could stop it.
My dad froze. I closed my eyes; I couldn't look at him as he processed that if things had gone differently, there would be another almost five-year-old running around his back yard right now.
"Oh, Son." I felt his strong hands grasp my shoulders. "Why didn't you tell us?"
