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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A WHOLE NEW WAY OF LIFE

ADELINE

I’m on my knees, searching for Sam’s missing sneaker under the couch, when I hear Penn say softly, “Hey there, sweetheart.”

I sit back on my heels and turn toward the door. And there she is.

Winnie.

She’s so small, delicate as a bird, with pale blonde curls that frame her face and wide green eyes that don’t blink enough. Her expression is a mix of uncertainty and quiet bravery, like she’s scared but determined not to show it.

“Hi, Winnie,” I say softly.

Her gaze darts from Penn to me to Sam, and when she sees Sam, she runs to him. He catches her in his arms and lifts her up, hugging her tight. Even Mrs. Murphy looks emotional when she sees the two of them interact with each other.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he says. “You’ll love it here. Penn and Addy are the best and you’ll have a nice bed with warm clothes…and Addy makes the best food you’ve ever tasted. Penn’s parents are great, and Addy’s are super nice too.”

She looks up at him and nods, not speaking. And then she turns back and looks at Penn and me and swallows hard.

“Trust me,” Sam says. “This is the best possible place to be.”

“We’re really happy you’re here too,” Penn says. “Would you like to take a look around? Are you hungry?”

She nods and lifts the blanket she’s been holding up to her face. I want to give it—and her—a good washing, but first things first.

“Sam and I can show you around. And I was thinking about having breakfast for dinner,” I tell her. “Do you like pancakes or waffles?”

She stares at me, unblinking, then looks at Sam and nods.

“Great,” I say, grinning. “Maybe you and Sam can help me in the kitchen while Penn talks with Mrs. Murphy.”

I’m not sure if Mrs. Murphy will be agreeable to that or not, or if she’ll want me to be part of the conversation, but I want to surround these kids with normality as quickly as possible.

The last thing they need to hear is the adults talking about all the horrible things they’ve been enduring in the foster home.

Sam tries to get Winnie talking and she smiles a few times at him, but otherwise, she’s quiet and doesn’t leave his side. We walk upstairs and I show her the room next to Sam’s.

“Look at this big bed!” Sam says. “And my room is just next door. Penn and Addy are in that room there.” He points to the room at the end of the hall. “You even have a bathroom in your room. Crazy, right?”

She takes it all in. By now, Sam has set her down and she’s holding his hand as we walk through the rooms.

“If you tell me what color you like, we can fix your bedroom to look more like you,” I tell her. “Something fun. When I was little, I had a bunch of rainbow pillows on my bed. I also really loved unicorns and Belle from Beauty and the Beast .”

Her eyes flicker with interest, but I still haven’t heard her make a peep.

Sam points at her and grins, “You love Beauty and the Beast too, right? And Elsa.” He looks at me and nods. “She loves Elsa.”

“Oh, I love Elsa too and Anna and Olaf…maybe we can turn on that movie after dinner.” I lift my shoulder and her eyes brighten, but she sticks her thumb into her mouth and looks at Sam.

“I think she’d like that,” he says quietly.

“Great. You can pick out another movie if you’re not feeling that tonight, but let’s get started on dinner. I’m hungry. How about you?”

“So hungry!” Sam says.

We go back downstairs and I can hear Penn and Mrs. Murphy still talking in the living room.

We move into the kitchen and I pull out the ingredients.

I hadn’t really planned on this for dinner, but it feels like a safe bet for tonight.

I’ll cut up lots of fruit and focus on more vegetables tomorrow.

Tonight, we just want to make this little girl comfortable.

“Sam, can you get the turkey bacon out of the fridge too?” I ask.

I start whipping up the batter and then show Winnie all the toppings. Sam tries to figure out what she wants. She nods yes to chocolate chips in her pancakes and also to whipped cream on top. And she looks the most excited when she sees strawberries and bananas.

Penn walks in about fifteen minutes later and I have a huge pile of pancakes ready. Still flipping another batch of some without the chocolate chips.

“I’m excited about this. Didn’t know I was getting your pancakes tonight,” he says, coming over to kiss me on the cheek.

Then he walks over to where Winnie and Sam are sitting on stools near me and leans on the island next to Winnie.

She tenses and Penn shifts so he’s closer to Sam.

She takes it in when Sam tilts his head over on Penn’s chest and Penn ruffles Sam’s hair.

Her thumb goes back into her mouth. She’s the absolute cutest.

“Okay, let’s get these in our bellies!” I say.

I place the platter of pancakes near the toppings and Sam has already set the plates nearby.

“How about we put whatever we want on top and then eat them over there.” I point at the table behind us.

“Sounds good. Thank you, Addy,” Sam says.

“Yes, thank you,” Penn whispers. He puts his hands on my hips and nuzzles into my neck, and when he pulls away, his eyes are searching mine, trying to assess if I’m really okay with all of this.

I smile at him and then move closer to the island to see if Winnie needs help with her plate.

Sam has put a couple pancakes on there and lifts each topping, waiting to see if she’ll nod or not. So far, she’s got a pretty great combo going.

“I asked my parents to come meet Winnie too,” Penn says. “And then we can talk to them after the kids go to bed,” he adds softly. “Has she said anything yet?”

I shake my head.

We keep up the chatter during dinner, especially Sam.

A few times, there’s a twitch of a smile from Winnie and it bolsters Sam up to keep going.

He’s doing an amazing job of helping her relax.

And the little thing can put away the pancakes.

She finishes up her plate and I ask her if she wants more.

This time, she doesn’t look at Sam but nods at me. It feels like a win.

Margo and Jeremy come and meet her and I can tell they’re just as taken with her as we are. There’s something so fragile about her.

After dinner, we turn on Frozen and Winnie falls asleep watching it. When it’s time for Sam to go to bed, he carries her upstairs and we go with him, tucking her in.

“Tomorrow, we’ll tackle a bath,” I say.

“She’s normally really chatty,” Sam says sadly.

“It might take time for her to get used to us,” Penn says.

Sam nods, and I leave the bathroom light on so the glow is faint in her bedroom. We leave her bedroom door slightly ajar and hug Sam goodnight in the hall.

“Thank you for doing this,” he says, before he goes into his room. “Um, you guys…I’m big and I’ll be okay. If you’re only able to keep one of us…I think you should keep her.”

Penn and I are struck speechless at first and then we both surround him again.

“I’m not sure yet what’s going to happen with Winnie, Sam,” Penn says.

“The little Addy and I have been able to talk about it, we’ve agreed that as long as the court allows us to keep her, we will.

I have some calls to make tonight, and we need to talk to my parents, just to make sure we can cover all the bases. But Sam, you are still our priority.”

Sam looks down at his feet. “I just think it’s more important that she’s taken care of. You see how small she is. Pretty soon, I’ll be old enough to live on my own. I can handle a few more years doing what I’ve been doing.” His shoulders straighten and he looks at us. “I’ll be okay.”

Penn puts his hands on his shoulders and ducks to meet his eyes.

“How about you let me worry about all this, okay? I’m not abandoning you, buddy.

Not a chance. It’s important to me that you’re taken care of, and now that I’ve met Winnie, I want to make sure she is too. ” He studies Sam for a moment. “Okay?”

“Yeah.” Sam swallows. He nods when Penn lifts his eyebrows, checking that he means it. “Okay.”

He sounds tired and I reach over and hug him again. “Get some sleep. We’ll be working on all this. Don’t worry.”

He nods and goes into his room.

“He’s too young to carry all of this on his shoulders,” Penn says.

“I completely agree.” I sigh.

We go downstairs and sit with Penn’s parents, trying to figure out a plan.

They are so in, it’s almost overwhelming.

Margo starts talking about helping with meal prep and then goes into school drops-off and even bedtime routines.

Jeremy offers to be part of all that too, adding that he can look into some fun after-school activities for them to do together.

“This is a big deal, you guys,” Jeremy says. “You’ve jumped from marriage to a preteen and a five-year-old practically overnight. Are you sure you’re not taking on too much?”

“Well…it’s why we really need your help too,” Penn says sheepishly. “But I feel like I’m asking way too much from all of you.”

“We’re all in, Penn,” Margo says. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t believe this is what we should be doing.

I encourage you and Addy to really discuss it, though, because the first year of marriage is already an adjustment.

It doesn’t help that we’re going into football season, and Addy, you’re also adjusting to a new job.

I don’t want you to get burned out and your relationship to suffer. ”

“It is a lot,” I agree, “but this is where I want to be.”

I look at Penn when I say it and he exhales and then reaches out to take my hand.

“Thank you,” he says. “Seriously, all of you…I know this is a lot, and well, I’m just so grateful.”