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“You hugged me sometimes.”
“I bet you remember every single time because those times were so rare.”
“You really were a bastard,” Amber breathed.
George flinched. “Yes. I was and I thank God, Ellie never gave up on me. I’ve seen the error of my ways. I want to make up for them. I think we can build a family now. All of us, if you’re willing.”
“I won’t leave my mom out.”
“Like Ellie, I would appreciate the chance to get to know her, too.”
At that Helen pulled out of his arms, wiping her face. She looked ravaged, but at peace and just a little bemused. “I’ve been so terrified for years. I can’t believe things are happening this way.”
Ellie’s dad grimaced. “They wouldn’t have…a few weeks ago.”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t find me then,” Amber quipped.
Ellie agreed, but said nothing. The visit continued on a more positive note from there. Strangely, though, Ellie felt herself pulling into the background, listening to her dad talk with Amber and Helen. She soaked up everything they all said and enjoyed hearing it, but she couldn’t participate.
If Amber felt stunned and traumatized by events, so did Ellie. She still wasn’t used to having a dad that wanted to be a dad and now she had a sister and that just blew her away. She’d been alone so long, she wasn’t sure how to be part of a family and she wondered in a distant part of her mind if that was one of the reasons she’d put off talking about her relationship with Sandor.
She was scared of giving in and becoming part of a family and having it all taken away again. It was the kind of fear only someone who’d lived so long on the fringes of other people’s happiness could understand. Her mind worked out the disturbing thoughts as she listened to the others talk.
She learned that Amber was in town for a shoot and planned to meet back up with Miguel afterward. She was very animated when she talked about him and that made both Ellie and her dad smile. At some point, Sandor ordered dinner to be delivered. They all ate, still talking.
It was late when Sandor stood and said, “Ellie needs rest. It has been a very traumatic few weeks for her. Perhaps this visit can continue tomorrow?”
Amber looked at Ellie and bit her lip in a gesture Ellie recognized. “You haven’t been talking much.”
“I’m soaking it all in. I’m um…not used to being part of a family,” she said, exposing one of her inner revelations.
“Our dad seems so wonderful now, it’s hard to believe he raised you the way he did.”
Ellie smiled. “He’s not as bad as everyone is painting him.”
“Yes, I was.”
She shrugged. “Then it doesn’t matter. You’re my dad and I love you. I always have and I always will, but this family thing…it’s going to take some getting used to. I like it a lot, though.” She smiled again, hoping they could all read her sincerity.
Amber nodded. “I have a feeling I’m going to like you a lot, too.”
“You are going to love her, just as she will love you,” Sandor corrected with a warm smile. “She is infinitely lovable and it is clear you are a very special woman, too.”
Ellie felt faint. Okay, that was the second oblique reference and that meant she wasn’t imagining them.
Her dad cleared his throat. “I would like to stay here a while longer…to talk out what I learned from my legal counsel with Helen in regard to the kidnapping and the statute of limitations and such.”
“Is everything going to be okay?” Ellie asked. “She won’t go to jail?”
“She will not. I have already put efforts into motion to assure that Helen suffers no more from the tragedy of her past.”
“You did that before you even met us?” Amber asked with awe in her voice.
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” She jumped up and hugged him.
Ellie felt a twinge…not of envy, but of sadness. She did love her dad, but she wondered if she would ever have the easy relationship with him that her sister was already developing. Even if she didn’t, what they had was so much better than what she’d known growing up, she wouldn’t ever moan for things to be different. She felt truly blessed. Overwhelmed, but blessed.
“Then you all don’t mind if I go to the hotel?”
“No, of course not. I am very glad you have someone to take care of you like Sandor,” Helen said, just as if she was Ellie’s mom, too.
It was nice.
