Page 121 of Lost Lake
Gabe started the video playing. Kenna came on the screen, and he pressed a hand over his mouth.
El had never seen Kenna alive. She was a beautiful woman with a vibrant personality as she spoke to Lucy, affirming her love for the child. Kenna told her she didn’t want to leave her, but she was happy that she was with Gabe. But then, she took a turn and told her that someday he would get married, and Lucy would have a new mommy, and she wanted Lucy to love her new mommy.
Lucy whipped her head around to look at Gabe. “Stop the video, Gabe. Stop it! Stop it!”
He quickly pushed pause and took her hand. “What is it, princess?”
“Are you going to marry El?” She sounded so terrified by the idea that El was certain a steamroller had run over her heart.
Gabe glanced at El for a moment then back at Lucy. “I hope to someday.”
Lucy started breathing quickly, her little chest rising and falling under her blue dress. “And she’ll be my new mommy like my mommy said?”
“If you let her.”
“But I wantmymommy. Not a new one.”
“Remember, sweetie, your mommy is in heaven, and she can’t come back.”
She flung herself at Gabe and clutched onto his shirt, sobbing.
Gabe flashed a look of confusion at El, then returned his attention to Lucy. “What’s the matter, sweetie?”
“I’ve only ever had a mommy, and she just said that El would be my mommy. So that means you would go away and just come to visit me like you used to do. But I don’t want that to happen.” She started crying again.
Gabe snuggled her close. “I’ll never leave you. Never. Always remember that, sweetie. I’ll be with you forever. So will El.”
El couldn’t stand it any longer, and she placed her hand on Lucy’s back.
The child looked up at her and gave her a wobbly smile. “I want to love you as my new mommy,” she said, “but you win at Trouble a lot, and I like to win.”
El held back a snort at the logic of a child. “What if we spend more time together, and I teach you some things to help you win?”
“Would you?”
“Of course, I would.”
She squirmed out of Gabe’s arms, and when she was on the ground, she threw her arms around El. “Okay. Now can we go home so I can ride my new bike?”
“Absolutely.” Gabe smiled.
Lucy jumped up and down.
Gabe took the child’s hand, his broad smile displaying his contentment. He clasped El’s hand too. “We can watch the rest of the video when we get home.”
“C’mon.” Lucy tugged Gabe to his feet, and the three of them started for his truck.
El moved closer to him. “Crisis averted one more time.”
He put his arm around her and used the remote to unlock the truck door. Lucy raced ahead to climb into her seat in the extended cab.
“I know her doctor said this was typical behavior,” El said now that Lucy was out of earshot. “To be unsure of me. To be happy one moment and withdrawn the next. All while she processes the loss of her mother, but I have to say my heart was crushed there for a while.”
“I can imagine, and I hope you’re still up for getting married and becoming a mom.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. God’s given me a chance to get rid of that awful guilt that’s plagued me for so long, so I can be a mother to this child without feeling anything but love.”
Gabe swung her around and into his arms. “And what about me? Can you love me after all these years you’ve avoided a relationship?”
