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Jason came in and picked up his daughter when she ran to him. “Meg, he needs to talk to her.”
“No, it’s his fault this happened. Just stay away.”
Josh scrubbed his face with his hands and glared at her. She couldn’t possibly be blaming him for this. “I’m not going to do this with you, Meg. I love her and I have every intention of seeing her.”
He turned and walked toward the stairs. Meg dashed in front of him and within seconds she was standing spread-eagle, blocking the steps.
“Let me go to her Meg.” He tried to go around, and he was getting frustrated with her crazy dance. “I’ll pick you right up and move you. Try me.”
“Megan,” her mother called. “Let him go. What’s gotten into you?”
“MOM!” Meg dug her hands into the railing, more determined that Josh wouldn’t pass. When he reached for her waist, she yelled. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” She was behaving like a small child throwing a tantrum. Josh looked over at Jason for some help. “Dude, this is your wife. Can you talk with her?”
“When she’s like this? Hell no.”
“Caroline needs to see him, Meg,” Mrs. Rossi called. “Let him up.”
“How can you say that, Mom? It’s Caroline!”
“Oh, Megan. Calm down. Joshua loves her. That’s enough for me.”
“It’s not okay with me, though.” Meg sat on a step. “He, he...”
Her mother sat on the stair next to her and took her older daughter’s hand. “What has he done? Josh has worked hard. Gotten an education that is world-class. He’s kind. Generous.”
“No…”
“Yes. Your problem with him has always been that he has a relationship with his parents.”
“Had,”Josh said. “No more.” But Meg didn’t seem to hear him through her anger.Was it anger?
“She’s my baby sister. And Daddy wanted me to watch out for her.”
Now her mother was surprised. “What are you talking about?”
“When Dad had his heart attack, I was with him.”
“I know, honey,” her mother said. “Did Daddy say something before he died? You never told me.”
“He said there was someone special for her. A boy she loves. A boy who cares about his family. Who does the right thing even when it’s hard. And I should make sure she found him.”
“Meg?” They all looked up and Caroline stood on the landing. She was in her crappy Cornell pants and a T-shirt. Her feet were bare and her golden hair framed her face like an angel. She was so pretty Josh’s heart skipped a beat.
He saw everything when he looked at her. He saw who he wanted to be. He saw family.
“Meg, Daddy was talking about Josh.” Caroline took two steps down and stopped.
“What?” Her sister, so emotional, so powerfully loyal, thought she she’d been tasked to help Caroline find her soulmate.
“Josh was the one. Daddy knew I loved him.”
“Caroline,” her mother said. “You were only thirteen when Dad died.”
“I know.” She walked down the remaining stairs and Josh came over to the railing, where she reached over and hugged him. “I feel like I’ve loved you forever. I never wanted to be with anyone else because it wasn’t you.”
“Caroline,” her mother asked, “what about Dad?”
“Josh used to spend time with Daddy. He knew the kind of boy he was and the kind of man he would become. Daddy also knew about my crush on him.”
