Page 68 of Tracking the Taken Child
How could he know that he had been on her mind so much? There was a bond between them that was about more than what they had been through together.
“Yes, actually.”
They sat down at the table and ate.
Elsie finished her last bite of pizza. “Can Frankie and I go outside?”
Lydia glanced over at River. “Do you need to get going?”
“No. I cleared my day to come over here.” The look in his eyes, the warmth of his voice, made her want to melt. Something had shifted for him.
When they stepped outside, the spring sun warmed her skin. River and Lydia sat on lawn chairs, watching Elsie play with Frankie.
Her gaze wandered to the trees behind her house. Her breath caught when the memory surfaced of the attacker, who’d turned out to be Gregory, had run there.
River reached over, resting his hand on hers. “You and Elsie are safe now.”
“How could you tell I was thinking about that?”
He shrugged. “No one is going to hurt that little girl with Frankie around.”
“Yes, but you and Frankie—”
He leaned close to her. “Frankie and I would like to spend more time with you and Elsie.”
She turned to face him, searching his eyes, which filled with warm light. “What are you saying?”
“I want to be in your life. We need to give Elsie time to get used to me. You mean more to me than anyone ever has. Lydia, I want to marry you.”
Lydia let out a heavy breath. “Oh, River. Ever since you drove away, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. It’s just an adjustment. I thought I would be raising Elsie alone. I just never thought I’d meet someone like you.”
“So, what do you say? We’ll make it a long engagement so Elsie can get used to the idea and I can get to know her better. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” She reached up to touch his cheek. He leaned in and kissed her.
Frankie and Elsie ran toward them, and she gathered them all into a hug, realizing that she had the family she had longed for since childhood.
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