Page 135 of Shades of Loyalty
Mary shifts in my arms before she looks at me with sleepy eyes. “Daddy?”
I finally smiled “Yes, sweetheart?”
“Can we go home?”
I nod. “Just a few more minutes, sweetheart. I’ll bring you to your bed when we arrive home, okay? You can sleep on my arms for now.”
She giggles quietly. “Okie dada!”
Mary lights up my heart the way nobody ever could. I’ve never had a child of my own, but… She? She’s wonderful. I know she’s not mine biologically. But even when Jennifer and I give her a sibling, it won’t matter.
Because she’s still as important to me as if she were really mine.
“I love you, sweetheart. I love your mommy and you so, so much.” I whisper into her hair. When I take a glance at Vicky next to me, she gives me a knowing smile.
“You finally found your family?” She asks.
I nod. “Definitely.”
Chapter Fifty
Daniel
The peace after the storm is always the quietest.
However, it doesn’t feel that way. Even when I’m sitting here, playing with Mary while her mother takes care of someone in the medical room, I don’t feel peace.
My body is still the same as it has been for the last few weeks. The stress is still there, even though it’s all over. It just… doesn’t feel like it.
I mean, of course, playing with this little girl gives me some sense of quiet. It’s comforting. But is this really the end? I should feel like it is. He’s gone.
Obviously, there’s still business to take care of. But my body? It hasn’t realized yet what’s happened in the last few days.
Mary climbs onto my lap, looking up at me with bright eyes. I hold her gently. “Do you like the new toy I got you?” I ask.
She nods immediately. “Yes, Daddy!”
My smile widens. I wonder if she truly sees me as her dad, or if she just likes calling me that.
I know she’s been looking for someone to fill the gap that’s been there since she was born. And honestly? I’d be more than glad to be that person. To be there for her. To take care of her and protect her.
I want to protect both her and her mother. It’s what I’ve been doing all this time already, and I’m not going to stop.
“Sweetheart, listen…”
She tilts her head; eyes filled with curiosity. She looks so much like her mother. I wonder if Jennifer looked like this as a child. Did she look like her own mother, too?
… I certainly looked like mine.
“I need to ask you something,” I say gently, though my tone is serious. She nods, but I can tell she’s a little intimidated. That’s not what I wanted.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, it’s nothing bad,” I whisper, brushing my fingers through her hair to comfort her. “I just need to ask your permission for something.”
She frowns, confused. “Permission? But… don’t adults never need permission?”
Her words make me chuckle. “It depends. Usually, kids need their parents’ permission, that’s true. But not this time. I need yours now.”
Her confusion only deepens. “But what do you need permission for?”
