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“Oh, I wanted to hear about how her last day of school went.” I felt oddly disappointed. Coming home to Holt and Lily was the best part of my day. Well, one of them. Waking up in Holt’s arms every morning was also tops.
It was hard to believe that three months ago the three of us moved into our own house. We had spent the months before letting Lily get to know both of us. We knew the worst thing we could do was to abruptly pull her away from the people she loved and trusted. She thought of Vic and Francine Barnes as her grandparents and Misty as another aunt. We weren’t willing to take that away from her. Misty and I would never be friends, but we managed to get along well enough for Lily’s sake.
We’d searched for a house in Lily’s school zone so that would remain consistent for her as well. The first house we walked in, we knew was it. It had almost everything we were looking for: a bright gourmet kitchen, large family rooms, plenty of bedrooms, a very private master bedroom, and a huge yard that Buddy loved. It even had a white picket fence. The only thing it was missing that Lily really wanted was a stable, not that Holt and I were sorry. Holt promised her we’d look into riding lessons over the summer.
Holt guided me to the couch. “We’ll pick her up tomorrow. Maybe this will make up for it. Sit. I have something for you, sweetheart.”
“You do?” I sing-songed as I curled up next to him on the couch.
Holt had spoiled me in all kinds of ways to make up for all the little things that I missed growing up, a huge family Thanksgiving, going overboard decorating for Christmas, big Easter baskets; even little things like having breakfast cooked for me when I woke up. Or moments like this when he surprised me out of the blue with a gift.
He placed a black velvet box in my hands. I looked at him in surprise. “What is it?”
“Open it and find out.”
As soon as I flipped the lid up, my hand flew to my mouth, and I almost dropped the box. Nestled on a bed of black velvet was a gold locket, almost identical to the one I’d lost the night of the fire.
“Holt, it’s beautiful!” With shaky fingers, I removed the piece of jewelry from the box and released the catch that held it closed. What I saw inside would have brought me to my knees if I hadn’t already been sitting.
“Wh…how…is that my mom? And Charly?” Each side held a picture of one of them.
Holt nodded. “While we were investigating the fire, I also asked Dave if he would try to find out anything he could about your mom. I don’t know how he did it, but somehow he was able to dig up a few pictures of her. I think he was able to find some people who knew her.”
“I don’t know what to say.” I was simply stunned.
“Here, let’s put it on.” He lifted the locket from the box, hooked it around my neck, and smoothed my hair over the chain.
I captured his hands and kissed each of his palms before pulling his head down to mine. “Thank you,” I whispered after I thanked him with a sweet kiss.
He held up a finger. “I have something else.” He reached behind him and pulled out a flat square package wrapped in gold foil paper.
I tore the paper to reveal a brand new Little Golden Book copy of Bambi. Now, tears started to flow. This man had not only given me my future, he was, in his own way, giving me back my past.
“I get why you loved this book, sweetheart. But I think you focused too much on the beginning of it, where Bambi lost his mother and felt so alone.” He held my hands that were holding the book and rubbed the backs of them with his thumbs. “I’m giving you this book to have again, only this time, I want you to focus on the end where Bambi’s life is full of friends who love and care about him. You have the same, Maddy. I know it’s been a hard journey, but you are loved by a lot of people, sweetheart. And nobody loves you more than I do. You’re my life.”
I was crying for real now. “It’s perfect. I love it, and I love you.”
He brushed the tears from my cheeks. “In that case, I have one more thing.”
I couldn’t imagine what else he could possibly surprise me with. He reached behind the couch once more and withdrew another flat square box, only this one was bigger and thicker. It was wrapped in glossy white paper and decorated in purple ribbon.
“Holt,” I sniffled. “This is just too much.”
He placed the box on my lap. “Never. Now open it.” He sounded nervous.
I slid a plain white box from the paper and lifted the lid. Underneath was more tissue paper, which when folded back, revealed another book. This one had a pale pink cover with an embossed darker pink ribbon entwined around the title, “Princess Madelyn.”
I looked up in amazement as I pulled the book from the box. He gently took the book from my hands. “I’d like to read a story to you.” He pulled me on his lap and opened the book. Once again, I gasped as I saw real photos on the title page. I immediately recognized a picture of my dad, Charly, and a pregnant woman who looked a lot like me.
Running a finger lightly over their images, I exclaimed, “Oh, my God! That’s…that’s my family.”
Holt nodded. “The picture in the locket wasn’t the only picture Dave found. Now sit back and listen.” I rested my head against his chest.
“Once upon a time, a king and queen and an older princess awaited the birth of a new baby princess.”
He turned the page, and there was picture of me as a little girl. “Finally, a beautiful baby girl named Madelyn Grace was born. But the queen died, and the family grew very sad. The King and Princess Charlotte tried their best, but one day a wicked sorcerer turned the King into a toad, and he wasn’t able to help his family anymore, so one day he hopped off and was never heard from again.”
I couldn’t contain the giggle looking at the illustration of a frog that somehow had contained some of my father’s features. I loved how after the first page, the rest of the pages had been illustrated with matching pastel watercolor pictures that looked like me and Charly.
