According to his dad, most of the paparazzi didn’t show up until later in the day. Will wasn’t looking forward to seeing what that looked like. He imagined his neighbors weren’t exactly thrilled by all the extra traffic and attention either.
As his dad had instructed, Will pulled into the space he’d left in the garage. After closing the overhead door, he got out of the truck and used his key to enter the house through the side door. He kicked off his shoes in the laundry-slash-mudroom off the garage before walking into the kitchen, where he found Ryan standing and waiting for him. The security specialist looked like he had been sitting at the table in the eating area drinking a cup of coffee. He must have gotten to his feet at the sound of the garage door opening.
Will had talked to Ryan a couple times since the specialist’s arrival. Ryan had wanted to give him some general information about himself and the company he worked for, and he asked a bunch of routine questions to get to know more about Will and Katie and their typical routines.
Despite that, he still extended a hand of greeting now. “Good morning,” he said. “Welcome back.”
Will accepted the handshake. “Thanks.”
It was strange knowing a highly trained security specialist was standing in his dad’s kitchen. Ryan wore jeans and a striped cotton shirt with a two-button collar, nothing that said he worked in security. He had explained that he’d be dressing casually to keep Katie more comfortable. Will still thought he looked like he could kick anyone’s ass. Maybe it was the faint scar running along his jaw or the self-assured way he stood.
“Katie’s still sleeping,” Ryan said. “It was a late night for her. She had trouble getting to sleep because she knew you were coming home.”
“Thanks. I’m going to check in on her and then get some sleep myself.”
“All right. We can catch up later.”
“Sure.”
Will’s steps as he climbed the stairs were heavy as the lure of sleep tried to override his brain. He opened the door to the guest room and smiled when he saw Katie curled up into a ball under the comforter on one corner of the full-sized mattress. Her arms were wrapped around her favorite stuffed animal, a pink hippo named JoJo. He moved to the side of the bed and leaned down to gently smooth her hair from her sweet face.
Her eyes fluttered open. She gave him a soft, sleepy smile.
“Hi, Daddy.”
He would never, ever get tired of hearing that.
He brushed a kiss over her forehead. “Hi there. I wanted to let you know I’m home. I’m gonna go hit the couch and sleep for a bit.”
She reached behind her and patted the mattress, indicating she wanted him to sleep there. He realized that was why she was scrunched into such a tight ball. The simple gesture lifted the heaviness he had carried with him the entire road trip.
Damn, it was good to be home.
He tugged off his socks and climbed onto the bed. Katie scooted back until she was pressed against his side. He leaned over and placed another kiss on her cheek.
“Love you, kiddo.”
“Love you too.”
He went still. It was the first time she had ever said the words.
Her breathing had already evened back out into sleep, so she didn’t see how powerfully she had affected him. That was probably for the best. She wouldn’t understand.
Thinking he was the luckiest dad in the world, he settled back down and closed his eyes.
He was asleep in seconds.
Chapter Twenty-Six
For the first time since February, Jasmine went with May to their father’s house without any lingering resentment toward him. It was a big breakthrough that had come on the heels of an even bigger one…one she’d had thanks in large part to Alima and a couple more sessions with Dr. Smythe.
“You said your friend’s comment about redefining your definition of success resonated with you,” Dr. Smythe had said in their last session. “What have you done with that?”
“A lot of serious thinking,” Jasmine replied. “I had to ask myself why getting a job as a dancer was so important to me. At first it was because it’s been my goal since I was a child. Every step I’ve taken since then has been in pursuit of that goal. The years of work I’ve put into that, the many sacrifices I made…I couldn’t imagine turning from all that to pursue something else. It would feel like conceding that everything