“Yes. You have your Uncle’s and Mommy’s blue eyes.” Lily’s were very close to Jack’s, but his had deep blue flecks.
“Daddy has muddy brown eyes. I like blue ones better. Yours are pretty. They’re the same color as grass.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s Sally behind you. I named her when I was one. Uncle said it wasn’t fair Mommy got a baby and he didn’t, so he got a puppy. She used to lick my face and I would call her silly, but Uncle Jack thought I called her Sally, so that’s what he called her, Silly Sally. Isn’t that funny? Silly Sally.”
Lily burst into laughter over her own joke. Jenna couldn’t help but smile and giggle with her.
Lily turned very serious. “Do you have a big owie?”
The sheet covered her, but one bandage high on her right shoulder wasn’t hidden. Just a white bandage, no blood, she didn’t think it would frighten Lily.
“I got a bad sore and your Uncle Jack put the bandage on to help it get better.”
“That’s a big owie.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Did you go to the doctor? I don’t like the doctor. They give you pokey shots. I get a lollipop, so it’s not so bad. Mommy kisses it better.”
“I didn’t go to the doctor, but your Uncle Jack gave me lots of pokey shots right in the butt. I didn’t get even one lollipop from him. Can you believe that?”
“You should at least get a lollipop.”
“Yeah. Well, he’s coming back in here later and try to give me another shot. I’m not letting him if I don’t get a lollipop this time.”
“Yeah. That’s not nice that you didn’t get one.”
“It’s okay. I bet your Uncle doesn’t have lollipops anyway,” Jenna giggled.
“He might. He hides candy in a special jar for me in the pantry.”
“You know what I like to have for breakfast sometimes? Chocolate covered peanut butter cups. They’re really good with a cup of coffee.”
“You get to eat candy for breakfast. Mommy won’t let me. She says I have to have cereal or fruit or something.”
“That’s the good thing about growing up. You can have anything you want. Sometimes I eat rocky road ice cream for breakfast.”
“I can’t wait to grow up,” Lily said with an exasperated sigh.
“Well, that’s the problem. In order to grow up you need to eat good things for breakfast. But once you do grow up, all the ice cream and candy you want.”
“I like you.”
“I like you, too, sweetie.” Her voice shook. The loss of the last two years grew heavy in her heart, though Lily’s sweet presence went a long way toward making things better. It felt wonderful to be around a family after years of running and living on her own.
CALEB GLARED AT Jack. “You hide candy in the kitchen for her.”
Jack shrugged. “What good is having a niece if I can’t spoil her?”
Time to get Lily. Caleb and Jack entered the room. Jack gazed down at the two beauties in bed, lying face to face. They sure made a pretty picture, the two of them talking about pokey shots, lollipops, and ice cream for breakfast. For just an instant, his mind and heart showed him a picture of a bright future he once thought would be cold and lonely. His Jenna. Their daughter. He shook off the thought, but acknowledged this sense of wanting a family had really settled inside him. He waited for the nerves, the sound of shackles clamping down. Nothing. Just the same sense of ease he always felt around her.
Lily launched herself off the bed into her dad’s arms. Caleb scooped her up and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.
“You must be Daddy with the muddy brown eyes.” The sad look in her eyes vanished with the smile she gave Caleb.
Caleb chuckled. “Yes. Caleb. And you’re Jenna?”
“Yes. Your daughter is wonderful. Thank you for sharing her with me. She’s the best medicine.”
If Jack hadn’t already been amazed by the sweetness of this woman after listening to her talk with Lily, her thanking Caleb for sharing Lily with her clinched it. He couldn’t take his eyes from the deep pools of green, awestruck.
Warm hearts shine through, his mother’s voice whispered in his mind.
Summer walked in and tickled Lily’s ribs. “You can stop staring at her now. You’re married, for God’s sake.” She elbowed Caleb in the ribs, grabbed her daughter, and planted a kiss on her chubby cheek.
Jenna laughed and it did Jack’s heart good to hear the lighthearted sound from her.