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“Always.”
I heard my father’s voice first in response to Hope’s welcome. “It’s so good to meet you.”
Then a softer voice, one I didn’t know anymore.
God.
Please.
“No problem. I’ll wait in the kitchen,” my father murmured.
My time ran out.
Hope entered the room first, her fingers intertwined with someone else’s. Someone who clung to them tightly as she followed, caught in Hope’s shadow.
Hope stepped back, leaving Viola framed by the doorway.
She looked at me, her heart in her eyes.
I couldn’t speak.
Sia toddled over, a worn purple bear hugged close to her tiny chest.
Viola gasped with delight when she saw Sia. Half a thought later, she noticed the bear and her smile dropped. She cupped her hands over her mouth and stared at me, the echo of her words in her eyes.
Ares, I love you.
“Flower,” I whispered.
The love I held for my little sister, the love I’d buried under the mountain of loss, surged to the surface.
I cautiously opened my arms.
With a sob, she barreled into me. All five feet of her nearly bowling me over. “Ares,” she cried. “I missed you so much.”
I wrapped my arms around her. She wasn’t much bigger than she was back then. Without thinking, I picked her up.
She laughed out loud, her arms tight around my neck as I clung to her.
I had no words.
None that could fit past the sob caught in my throat.
I held her close, the memory of a thousand smiles flicking through my mind in the space of a heartbeat.
I exhaled, my breath stuttering.
An unladylike sound, a cross between a snort and a buffalo’s mating call, came from across the room.
Viola drew back sharply, surprise and alarm broadcasting from her pixie face.
I laughed out loud.
My Hope.
My hope.
I jerked my head in Hope’s direction.
