Driftwood Bay (Hope Harbor #5) - Irene Hannon Page 0,99
the woman loved her deeply, it wasn’t the same as a father’s love—and Thomma, for whatever reason, had closed himself off emotionally. Rejection by your own father would be devastating . . . and nothing could make up for that—even the love of a doting grandmother.
As for Molly—she’d lost everyone she loved, and the conversation she’d overheard in San Francisco had convinced her she was an unwanted intruder in her uncle’s life.
It was no wonder the two girls had run away.
In hindsight, the bigger surprise was why they’d waited so long.
His niece burrowed closer, emitting a contented sigh, and he swallowed past the lump in his throat.
Running away hadn’t been the latest transgression in a litany of stunts from two ill-behaved children.
It had been an act of desperation—and despair.
But based on Molly’s behavior since the rescue—and since he’d verbalized his love for her—the two of them might finally be on the road to the kind of relationship he’d envisioned for them.
Perhaps they didn’t have to talk about her running away or— “We were going to Missouri.”
Molly’s soft comment pulled him back to the moment.
Apparently they did need to talk about this.
“That’s far away.”
“It didn’t take very long to get here.”
“But we were on an airplane.” Not that the different speeds between modes of transportation would mean much to a child. Better to ferret out her reason for that destination. His mom was gone, and they had no other relatives in the town. “Why did you want to go back there?”
“It was my happy place.”
A simple answer that summed up everything.
Everyone wanted to find their happy place—and his mom would have created that for Molly.
“It was my happy place once too.” He finger-combed a few tangled strands of her hair. “Thinking about it makes me smile.”
“Me too. That’s why I wanted to go back. I told Elisa about it, and she wanted to go too.”
Careful how you phrase your response, West.
“Sometimes I wish I could go back there too. But it wouldn’t be the same as I remember. What usually makes a place happy is the people who are there.”
Her shoulders drooped. “I know. And Nana isn’t in Missouri anymore. She’s in heaven.”
“And in your heart. No matter where you go, she’ll always be there.”
“But I can’t sit on her lap anymore.”
“No.” That was reality, and trying to sugarcoat it wasn’t going to help. “But sometimes, after people we love go to heaven, God gives us new people to love—and new laps to sit on.”
Several beats of silence ticked by.
“I like sitting on your lap.”
At the shy admission, pressure built behind his eyes. “I like holding you on my lap.”
She played with a button on his shirt. “Maybe . . . maybe you and me can stay together so we don’t get lonesome anymore.”
“I’d like that.”
“If you get sad at night again, it’s okay if you come sleep with me.”
“Thank you. I’ll remember that.”
She twisted in his arms to search his face, tiny creases denting her smooth brow. “Do you really love me?”
“With all my heart.”
“You didn’t at first.”
“Yes, I did—but I never had a little girl live with me before, and I was scared I wouldn’t know what to do or how to make you happy. I had to figure it out.”
“That’s what ’Nette said.”
God bless his neighbor!
“She was right.”
“I like her.”
“Me too.”
“I think she’s lonesome, like us.” Molly continued to watch him.
“She might be.”
“Do you think she could live with us? At night, we could all sleep together.”
Logan snuffed out the mental image of Jeannette in his bed and cleared his throat. “I don’t know if that would work. She has her own house. And usually people who live together are married.”
Her eyes lit up. “If you married ’Nette, would she be my mommy?”
“Yes.” Change the subject. Now. “Aren’t you getting hungry? I hear some growls. Unless you’re hiding a bear inside there.” He tickled her tummy.
She giggled . . . and his lungs locked.
That was the sound he’d been waiting to hear for months.
“Yes. Mrs. Shabo cooks good. Better than you.”
“That wouldn’t be hard.” He stood, balancing her on his hip as he smothered a yawn. The long, traumatic day was catching up with him.
“Are you sleepy?” She held on tight as he bent to scratch behind Toby’s ear.
“Getting there. After we eat, I think we both should go to bed.”
“Do you want to stay with me tonight, so you won’t be lonesome?”