Page 110 of The Lilac River

She shrugged her little shoulders. “I don’t know, you visit him a lot so maybe he’s your friend.”

“Well, it’s not him.” I laughed at the idea of it. “And I need a lot of hardware, so sue me.”

She folded her arms and sighed dramatically. “Oh, I don’t know, Daddy. I’mtoo tiredto guess.”

I let the moment linger a little longer, the butterflies in my stomach starting to stir again.

“What would you think,” I said slowly, “about Miss. Gray coming for dinner?”

She blinked once. Then again. And then sheexploded, bouncing on my lap like she’d just been launched out of a cannon.

“Iknewit!” she squealed. “YoulikeMiss. Gray! That’s why you keep her picture in your drawer!”

The air in my lungs vanished. “What picture?”

Bertie clapped both hands over her mouth, eyes wide with horror that she’d let it slip. “I didn’t mean to snoop, Daddy. I just… I opened the drawer and there it was.”

My stomach flipped. She’d found it. The old photo of Lily by the Lilac River, the one I hadn’t been able to throw away, no matter how many times I’d tried to move on.

“The Lilac River,” I murmured.

Bertie nodded solemnly. “Are you mad at me?”

I pulled her in and squeezed her tight. “No, munchkin. Not mad. But next time you’re not sure whether something is private just ask, okay?”

“I promise.” Her face was so earnest, so small. My heart felt like it might crack right in half.

Then, like only a child can, her guilt vanished in an instant and she was bouncing again.

“Bertie!” I groaned. “Careful, it’s delicate down there.”

She gave me a look. “Did I hurt your fun sacks, Daddy?”

I choked out a laugh, adjusting her on my lap. “Yep. Thanks for that.”

“Sorry,” she said, grinning like a gremlin. “I’m justso excitedMiss. Gray is coming!”

“Okay, okay. You can say hi when she gets here. But after that it’s bedtime. Grown-up time, remember?”

“Grown-up time with just you and Miss. Gray?” she asked with mock innocence.

“Nope. With your uncles too. We’re catching up. Like old friends.”

She tilted her head. “Because you missed her? Like I’d miss Elodie if she went away forever?”

I blinked back the sting in my eyes. “Yeah, sweetheart. Just like that.”

She beamed, then launched off my lap like a firecracker. “I’m gonna put on my PJ’sright now!Then I get waaay more time with her!”

As she barreled toward the screen door, bare feet thudding against the boards, I chased after her.

“Whoa there, munchkin,” I called, scooping her up mid-run. She squealed and kicked her legs like a tiny rodeo queen.

“But I gotta get ready!” she insisted. “You’re getting ready, too, right, Daddy?”

“That’s the plan,” I said, carrying her down the hall. “Gotta make sure I’m looking good.”

She cupped my cheeks with both hands, deadly serious. “You need a shave. And don’t forget the smell-good spray.”