“She’s mine,” he says. “No matter what. I don’t want to take a paternity test. It doesn’t change anything. She’s mine.”
“We should have a test to be certain. We need to be certain.”
“I am certain.” The pain in his eyes, the vulnerability on his face cuts through me, lays my soul wide open. I step up to him and put my hand on his heart.
“I want her to be yours more than anything in my entire life. But if she’s not, if someone else is the father, that person needs to know.”
“No, Ella. No.” Grief rips across his face, and more tears pour down my cheeks. I want to make this better for him, want to take his pain but I don’t know how.
“Just think about it,” I say trying to get the words out past a raw throat. “If she’s someone else’s daughter, and I don’t think she is, then she’ll have twice the amount of love.”
He hugs his little girl tighter. “I can’t lose her. I can’t.”
My heart explodes with the love I have for this good man, and I’m beyond thankful that we found our way back to each other. Landon is a true hero, a man of integrity, a man who stands up for what he believes in, and never shirks responsibility. A man who loves with all his heart, and I can’t believe I’m in his orbit, and a recipient of all that goodness. A part of him cares for my sister too, of that I’m sure and he most definitely loves his child.
“You won’t lose her,” Ivy assures him. “You’ll always be in her life, as a dad or an uncle.”
A big hiccupping sob catches in my throat. I turn to my sister, and pull her back into my arms. “Thank you,” I say, the weight on my shoulders eases as she accepts my love for Landon and his for me.
“Thank you for not hating me, Ella.” We hug and cry and Mom and Dad just cling to one another. After a long moment, Landon breaks the quiet.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I need coffee, and presents and lots and lots of snuggles with my daughter.”
We all laugh at that, the air in the room lighter as we sniff and wipe our noses. “I’ll help you,” I say as Landon hands his daughter back to Ivy. We step away, and in the kitchen, he turns to me, and our eyes meet and lock. No words need to be said, so instead we hold one another for a long moment, and I revel in his strong heart pounding against my chest as I go up on my toes and kiss him.
“Merry Christmas.” I smile. “I’m pretty sure this is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”
He gives me a mischievous wink. “Not yet.”
I eye him. “What are you up to?”
“Let’s get the coffee, get back in there and find out.”
“Landon, what have you done?”
He whistles innocently as he grabs the milk from the fridge, and I put the mugs filled with coffee onto a tray. In the living room, Ivy, Mom and Dad are playing with Piper, and my heart misses a beat as they all smile up at me. I glance at the glistening tree, the little white flashing lights, and that’s when I notice a present nestled in the branches.
“It’s for you,” Landon says, stepping up behind me, his hands on my arms, rubbing up and down to keep me warm.
Ivy stands, picks up the present and hands it to me. “This was a joint effort,” she says, and I glance back at Landon.
“Is this what all those private texts were about?”
“Maybe,” he says and I shake my head at my foolish insecurities, thinking this man might be leaving.
Present in hand, I drop down onto the sofa, and I glance at Mom and Dad who are smiling. “Thank you,” I say to them, and Mom takes Ivy’s hand and pulls her down next to them. With every set of eyes in the room staring at me, including Piper’s, I rip into the package. A loud laugh bubbles up from the depths of my throat when I set eyes on the gift.
“I can’t believe this,” I say, through a sob. “You guys got me a Furby.”
“You don’t like it?” Landon asks, worry in his voice.
“I love it.” More tears fall. “How did you know?”
“I’ve never forgotten about the lipstick, Ella,” Ivy says quietly. “That was so sweet