Page 141 of Fighting Chance

“Please,” he whispers.

A beat passes.

Then two.

And then I find my lips parting, and before my self-control can catch up, I’m whispering, “Okay.”

The memory of Kieran on his knees for me flashes across my mind, the very image that has plagued me at every waking moment.

Chapter 29

Kieran

KIERAN

she’s officially stolen my heart

*picture attachment*

BROTHER FROM ANOTHER MOTHER

are those matching golden retriever Oodies?

KIERAN

look past it

BROTHER FROM ANOTHER MOTHER

she did a cereal spread and Gilmore Girls???

how far deep are you in now?

KIERAN

I’m never coming up for air

Trying to move a sleeping toddler into their bed is what I imagine it feels like to move a bomb. One wrong move and those little eyelids will pop open and they’ll never go back to sleep.

Yet this time instead of my heart pounding out of nerves, I find that it’s full, heavy with love. I’ve spent the entirety of my time since I stepped through my front doorbeing grateful.

Beyond grateful.

The day I met Layla was the best day of my life and I have no idea what I did to be deserving of her kind heart.

There was a moment on the couch where I was fighting off tears that the thought even so much as crossed her mind to cheer me up. She had no idea that I was suffering tonight, that my thoughts were spiraling down the drain, and now she probably thinks I’m a big mushy idiot. Maybe I am, but tonight was the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.

Allie was always the one to comfort me through my panic attacks but in the back of my mind, I thought that maybe she felt obligated to, like she would be a bad person if she ignored her son’s friend. She’d give me a good scolding if she knew I thought this way.

But I can see Layla did this because that’s just who she is. She’s practically an angel with how pure her heart is, and it feels good for someone to care about me.

I’m so close, at the homestretch. I just need to get one arm out?—

Emmy’s eyes flutter open. Those long black lashes lifting as her honey-brown eyes lock on mine. She’s slightly disoriented before she peers around her room, the thumb she fell asleep sucking on popping from her mouth as she nestles further into her bed.

Leaning down, I place a small kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

I step back but a small, timid voice stops me in my tracks.