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“Okay.” We make a pit stop in the kitchen for an apple juice box, and I have an inkling that I’m getting played. But when she looks up at me with pitiful green eyes, I don’t really care. Let her play me if it means she’ll feel better.
I stop by the security feed in the kitchen, make sure it’s armed, and then grab the apple juice and Tylenol before following Brynlee upstairs. It doesn’t take long for us to find a new movie to turn on. We’ve moved on from animation to live action. Only now she’s picked one of my favorites—Beauty and the Beast.
The two of us lie snuggled up in the center of Cade’s king-sized bed, the soft gray blanket that typically lies draped across the foot wrapped around us. Brynlee is playing with my hair while her head lays against my shoulder. “Scarlet... When my baby sister comes, are you going to live with Daddy and me?”
My brain is screaming, “It’s a trap.”
There’s no easy way to answer this question.
And it’s not something Cade and I have discussed yet. He’s brought it up, but I backpedaled a bit and changed the subject. He needs to know the truth about the past before we plan for the future.
“I’m not sure what we’re going to do yet. Your daddy and I are still figuring that out.” Okay. Good. That was good. Noncommittal. But still good.
“Oh.” Disappointment laces her tone. “I like when you’re here. I never had a mommy before.”
Oh, my... That’s not playing fair. “Oh, honey.” I wrap my arm around her tightly, not sure what to say. “I love you, Brynlee.” I press my lips against her head.
“I love you too, Scarlet.”
I would have never thought the first time I said those words to someone outside of my family, it would be to this little girl who stole my heart.
I never stood a chance.
