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Mr. Tanner smiles. “I’m sure you are. Will you be going straight to Hilliard’s?”
Hilliard’s is the name of the group home where Erica is living.
“Yes,” I say. “Erica doesn’t know yet, so we can’t wait to tell her the good news.”
“I’ll give Mrs. Miller a call and let her know to expect you.”
“Thank you again, Mr. Tanner,” Trent says.
Mr. Tanner leads us out of his office and to the door. With a final goodbye, I practically skip out of the office. Trent pulls me to a stop just outside the door.
“You ready for this?” Trent asks, grinning down at me.
My hand unconsciously moves to my stomach. “I’ve been ready for this my whole life,” I answer honestly. For years I’ve wanted kids, and now that dream is finally coming true.
“Then let’s go meet our daughter.”
* * *
It only takesKate a moment to answer the door after Trent’s knock. Her smile is already in place when she finds us on the other side.
“I heard the good news this morning. I’m so happy for you both.”
Stepping forward, I give the startled woman a hug. When I pull back, I open my mouth to thank her when I notice something in her eyes. She may be smiling, but there’s a hint of sadness in her expression.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, a feeling of dread replacing some of my happiness.
She pats my hand. “We’ll talk afterward. Erica is waiting in the living room for you both. I thought I’d let you two tell her the wonderful news.”
Anxious at whatever has her worried, but impatient to get to Erica, I give her a nod. Trent and I share a concerned look as we follow her to the living room. All my worries evaporate when we see Erica sitting on the couch waiting for us. The moment we step into the room, her eyes find us, and she smiles.
Her radiation treatments started a month ago, and I can already see the differences in her. It’s been a week since we saw her last, but even in that short time, her cheeks have filled out more and the dark circles around her eyes aren’t as pronounced. Her face has a slightly red hue to it, which I know is from the radiation.
Letting go of Trent’s hand, I hurriedly walk over to Erica and take a seat beside her. I grab her hand.
“How are you feeling today?”
Her eyes leave mine to follow Trent as he walks across the room to the couch before she brings them back to me. “I’m okay. Just a little tired and out of breath.”
My brows pucker when I notice a yellowed mark on her upper arm. “What happened here?” I ask, lightly grazing the bruised flesh.
She looks down, and from her expression, she’s just as surprised as I am to see the mark.
“I don’t know. It wasn’t there yesterday.”
My eyes move to Trent, then up to Mrs. Miller, who has her hands clasped together in front of her. The worry I saw on her face at the door has grown.
I paste on a smile and face Erica again. I refuse to let whatever is going on ruin the happiness of the day.
“Trent and I received some good news today,” I inform Erica. “And we wanted to share it with you.”
Erica smiles, her pretty eyes lighting up. “What is it?”
All of a sudden, doubt starts to creep in. What if Erica doesn’t want us to adopt her? Maybe we were wrong, and we should have asked her first. I know living in a group home must be hard on her, but what if she prefers that over living with us?
“Ally?” Erica’s uncertain tone pulls me from my thoughts.
Before I can say anything, Trent, sensing my struggling thoughts, gets up and slides the coffee table back a couple of feet. He takes a seat on the edge in front of Erica and takes her hand before picking up mine.
