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“What the hell’s going on here?”
They regarded each other as if they weren’t quite sure where to begin.
“We’ve done some talking,” Sadie said. “About you. About us.”
Tears appeared in Camilla’s eyes.
“Baby,” I said. “Don’t cry. Da’s alright.”
Without a word, she rushed over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. It hurt, sure, but the pain was nothing compared to the joy of having my little girl in my arms.
“I love you, baby girl,” I said. “So much.”
She stepped back. “When…when I heard the news, all I could think about was the last conversation we’d had, how awful I was to you…”
I shook my head. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’m right here. I’m OK.”
“And the way I treated you both. I took it too far. I held too much of a grudge. It doesn’t matter what happened to get us to this point – we’re all family.”
My throat tightened at her words. They’d been what I’d been longing to hear since the day Sadie, and I had told her the news.
“I love you, Da,” she said, slipping into the brogue that came out whenever emotion got the better of her. “And you, Sadie. And my little brother and sister.”
I had no words. It took all the restraint I had not to let a tear trickle out.
“Where are the little ones?” I asked.
“With my mom and dad out in the waiting room. I wanted to talk to you a bit first before they came in.”
“Sure. Of course.”
Camilla smiled. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
She squeezed my hand one more time before leaving. Then it was just me and Sadie.
Sadie grabbed a nearby chair and brought it over, sitting down next to the bed.
She opened her mouth to speak, but I wasn’t about to let her go first.
“I love you.”
She furrowed her brow a bit, but her mouth stayed closed.
“Sorry to cut off what you were about to say. Everything was fuzzy before the accident. But the moment you stepped in here, I realized what I was thinking about when that car hit me. I was thinking about how much I love you, how damn lucky I am to have you and Camilla and the twins in my life. And I was thinking about how damn stupid I was to not tell you this sooner.”
I continued on. “I don’t know what you were about to say. But whatever it is, I needed to get this out first. I love you, and if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my damned life with you, gorgeous.”
She said nothing, a smile forming on her face and a tear streaming down her cheek.
“Are you done yet, old man?”
I laughed, and she did too.
“Sorry, you know us old-timers get a little long in the tooth now and then.”
“Don’t I know it.” She looked away for a moment, then turned her eyes back to me. “Cammy came over today. She was actually with me when we got the news.”
“Cripes. How’s that for timing?”
