Her eyes sparkle. 揇efinitely.?
As we eat, I continue to ask Seda questions to get to know her. I can抰 help but smile when she starts turning questions around on me.
揧ou have a treehouse.?She pushes her empty plate away. 揅an I play in it??
Salem looks at me, worried about how I might react to this question. It doesn抰 upset me. If anything, it makes me happy. I think Forrest would like knowing his little sister is as excited about it as he was. 揝ure. Yeah. Let抯 clean the dishes and you can come over and check it out.?
揜eally??Her eyes light up.
揑 want you to see it,?I insist. Beneath the table, Salem抯 hand finds my knee, giving it a light squeeze.
Seda can抰 clean things quick enough then. She jumps up, helping to clear the table and even tries to do the dishes but Salem helps her when water starts immediately sloshing on the floor. She does let her load the dishwasher on her own.
When the door closes on the dishwasher she starts jumping up and down. 揟reehouse now??Her eyes bounce between Salem and me. I helped get Allie settled in her bed while they cleaned up.
I look at my daughter, never wanting to take my eyes off her. 揥e can go now.?
揝weet.?She grins up at me, grabbing my hand. I look down in surprise at her small one wrapped around my larger one.
Seda is so open and loving. She doesn抰 hesitate with her affection. I expected her to be shy, maybe even to be intimidated by me. But she抯 not. Kids are so much more resilient and accepting than we give them credit for.
Salem turns away, but not before I see the tears in her eyes. I hope they抮e good tears.
The three of us walk next door to my house and into the backyard. Seda looks around, taking in all the details. Her eyes grow round with excitement at the pool. 揑 love swimming!?
Salem senses the fear sliding through my veins.
揝he抯 had extensive lessons since she was a baby and understands water safety. It was important to me.?
Taking Salem抯 hand I give it a small squeeze, silently acknowledging my thanks. She smiles back, but it抯 a bit wobbly, and I know she抯 thinking about Forrest. That day left a scar on more people than just Krista and me.
Seda runs ahead of us to the treehouse. Her blonde hair is wavy, hanging halfway down her back. I see myself in her, but mostly she抯 a mini Salem. Looking at the woman beside me, my heart warms. She抯 been through more in her life than most people endure in a lifetime. She抯 strong and fierce梐 fighter through and through. As much as I wish I could抳e been there for her when she was pregnant, been the man she needed, I think she was right in knowing that I wasn抰 capable of it. Not truly, anyway. I imagine I could抳e pretended for a while, but I was so checked out from myself, from life, for a long while after Forrest抯 passing. I hate that someone else had to step up to the plate that should抳e been mine, but I抦 also so fucking glad she wasn抰 alone.
揅an I climb up??Seda grabs onto the ladder that抯 secured to the treehouse and cemented into the ground.
揋o for it.?I let her climb up on her own, but hover behind her in case she slips.
I抣l be there to catch her梖rom now on that抯 where I抣l belong, at my daughter抯 side guiding her through life.
She reaches the top and gasps. 揗om! There are bean bag chairs in here!?
Salem laughs, her hands in the back pockets of her shorts. The sun is almost completely set, behind her fireflies start to glow sporadically.
揝he loves bean bag chairs.?
I arch a brow. 揟hat so??
揧eah.?She shakes her head, smiling at a memory. 揝he begged for one for her bedroom. I kept saying no, but I ended up giving in. She has a reading nook and so I put it there.?
Seda pokes her head out of the entrance. 揂re you guys coming up??
揑t抯 big enough,?I tell Salem, in case she wants to go up.
揂ll right.?She starts her climb, and I don抰 mean to, but I can抰 look away from her ass. It抯 perfect and round. I want to grab it and pull her back down, kiss her long and slow and make love to her. My body aches with the need, it抯 been too fucking long梥ix years too long梑ut I want to take things slow with her.
Once Salem is inside ,I climb up.
With the three of us it抯 crowded, but there抯 enough space for me to rest my back against the wall and spread my legs out.
Salem looks around taking it all in. It took a while to get it built since I took my time with every detail, but I抦 proud of how it turned out. 揟his is really nice.?
揟hanks.?
揊orrest would love it.?
揊orrest??Seda asks curiously. 揑s this his treehouse? Can I say hi??
Salem brushes her fingers through Seda抯 blonde hair. 揊orrest is your brother.?
揙h. So, he抯 ?gone??
Salem nods sadly. 揧eah, baby, he抯 gone.?
Seda turns her intelligent brown eyes to me. 揅an I see a picture of my brother? Mommy didn抰 have any.?
揝ure.?I sit up, pulling my phone from my pocket and flip through my photos. 揌ere he is.?
Seda studies the picture. 揇o you think he would抳e liked me??She addresses me, not Salem.
揑 know he would have. He always wanted a sibling and a dog.?
Her eyes light up. 揇o you have a dog? We have a cat. He抯 kind of old though and sleeps a lot. His name is Binx.?
My eyes find Salem抯。 She still has Binx. She gives a half-smile and shrugs.
揑 have a dog. Her name is Winnie.?
揟hat抯 cute. Can I meet her??
揝ure.?
Salem watches our interaction with a smile, tears shimmering in her eyes. I抦 sure this is as emotional for her as it is for me.
揅an we go now??
揑f you want.?
揑 do.?
She starts to move to climb out, but I shake my head. 揕et me go first.?
That way if she has any trouble I can help.
揙kay.?She waits for me to crawl梱eah I have to fucking crawl梩o the opening and climb out. As soon as my feet touch the ground she抯 already on the second rung. She handles it like a champ, never needing my help. 揅ome on, Mommy. We抮e waiting for you.?
Salem starts down the ladder, her foot catching on the second to last step.
揙h,?she cries, losing her balance.
I抦 right there though, wrapping her in my arms and helping her down before she falls. She turns in my arms, her hands on my chest. Her big eyes look up at me and I see the desire in them桰抦 sure she can see the same in mine.
I抳e wanted this woman ever since she brought me cupcakes and rambled her way into my heart. When I look at her like this, it feels like no time at all has passed, like we were never separated. I think that抯 how you know a person is yours梬hen not time, or distance, can lessen the love between you.
揂re you okay??I ask, brushing a stray hair back from her forehead.
揧-Yeah,?she stutters, breathless.
The urge to kiss her is almost too much to bear. I think I抎 give in if it weren抰 for Seda.
揌urry up you guys. I want to meet the doggy.?
I set Salem fully on her feet. 揙ur daughter beckons,?she says, her eyes never wavering from mine.
揑 love the sound of that.?
She wrinkles her nose in confusion. 揙f her beckoning us??
I shake my head. 揙ur daughter.?
CHAPTER 27
SALEM
I wake up with a mouthful of Seda抯 hair.
揈w,?I gag, trying to get away from the wild tangle of hair in front of my face.
I put her in Georgia抯 room for the night, but at some point she climbed into bed with me and I let her. Soon, times like these where she comes to me for comfort will be long gone. I want to cherish them while I have them.
Rolling over, I pick up my phone from the nightstand and peer at the screen. There抯 a text from Thayer and Caleb. I open Caleb抯 first.