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“Then I guess that’s your answer.”

“What?”

“Why did I finally get help? Because I’d never had a reason to doubt your mother’s or your love. I doubted my manliness, my bravery, my sanity, but I never doubted I had people who loved me. I got help not because of any one thing, but because you and your mother never gave up on me, and eventually that built and built and built until I trusted it more than I trusted my pain.”

“Daddy…that’s…I think the most words you’ve ever said to me at once.” And they made her teary.

“Don’t get used to it,” he said sternly. But no matter how stern his words were, he’d softened. A great deal. With love and time.

“A man with scars needs a woman like you,” he murmured.

She swallowed at her tight throat. “And what does a woman like me need?”

“A man who’ll want to treat her like a queen,” Dad replied as if it was obvious.

She wrinkled her nose, hugging herself against the cold air. “I don’t want to be treated like a queen.”

“Of course not, but a good man willwantto treat you that way.”

She wished it didn’t make any sense, but in a strange way, it did. She wanted a man who wanted to try, that was for sure.

“Now, before that monster of yours comes tearing out here, I’ve got one more thing to say.”

“What’s that?” she replied with a smile, expecting some sarcastic joke.

Instead, he turned to face her, making eye contact. “Thank you.”

She stared at him for what felt like the longest time. “F-for what?”

“The years.”

“I-I don’t understand.” And her father’s uncharacteristic emotional forthrightness scared her down to her bones.

“The years you hounded me to get help. The years you begged me not to give up. I resented hearing all those things from my daughter, and I wasn’t always kind about it. But I needed it. And I thank you.”

She didn’t have words. Even if she did, she wouldn’t have been able to speak them. He reached out and brushed the tears from her cheeks.

“None of that.” Then he pulled her into a hug.

Her stoic, military father had thanked her, was hugging her.

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart. You’re a good mom, and the best daughter, and I imagine the second strongest woman I know. Your mother only wins because she’s older, but if you beat some sense into that idiot SEAL, you’ll be damn close.”

She laughed and cried into his shoulder. “Got any tips on how to do it?”

“When a sledgehammer fails, just be the rock.”

She thought about that the whole flight home, and she came to the conclusion that both her parents were right. Love was the river and love was the rock, and somehow, she had to be both.

Chapter 25

In the end, Gabe hadn’t been able to find a puppy. Or a dog of any kind. He’d even asked around for a few cats. He could wait, he supposed. But he wanted some kind of gesture. A “we’re in this together” kind of gesture. Partnerships. Foundations.

Built on a llama, apparently.

Because, somehow, that’s what was sitting in the back seat. A llama. An actual llama. It had been Rose’s idea, and Becca had jumped on board so fast his head had spun. She’d said it was unique, and she’d done that horrible squealing thing she did when she got really excited.

Jack and Alex had expressed some concerns, but Becca, she of the goat and the rooster and apparently plans for a pig, had shot down every single one of their reasonable concerns.