Page 59 of Paper Flowers (Stonebrook #1)

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

LUKE

I t had been a full week since I last held my daughter.

The longest I’ve gone without her since Juliette’s death.

The moment she spotted me from the Andersons’ walkway, she sprinted so fast I barely had time to squat down and brace myself before she slammed into my chest. The impact sent me stumbling on my ass, but I didn’t care.

Locking my arms around her tiny frame, breathing her in. Warm, safe, and home in my arms.

“Daddy! Dayna! I’ve missed you so so so much!

Like this much!” She stretches her arms out as wide as they can go, her hazel eyes shining with excitement.

God, I fucking missed her. “Come look at the presents Grandma and Grandpa got us all!” She says as we walk onto the Anderson’s porch.

Nina and William behind her, wiping their unshed tears.

Nina rolled out the tiny luggage for Sadie, “I washed all her clothes and packed away the gifts from the boys inside her luggage.” She says as she hands off the handle to Dayna.

“Was there any room for it because I think I may have over packed for her.” Dayna says curiously.

“Honey, there were plenty of clothes. She did a fashion show for us the first morning and I kept asking if she had a closet inside that suitcase!” We all let out a chuckle.

“We got you guys something, we talked to Sadie, and she said she wants us to wait for Christmas morning to open our gifts.” William tells us as he hands me a Costco size box filled with gifts.

When he said they got us something did he mean the literal warehouse?

This family had already given me everything.

Welcoming me as a son-in-law, their unwavering support, their unconditional love, their trust, their love for Sadie and now, they gave me a box of gifts not only for me and Sadie but for my girlfriend.

I don’t know what I did to have such amazing people in my life.

“Thank you, William, I appreciate the thought that went into our gifts.” He tugs me into a hug and I return the back pat.

“Well you three better get going before the weather changes. It’s a cold one out. The sky has been so gloomy.” Nina says as she wraps her cardigan around her frame.

“We’ll let you know when we’re home. Tell the boys I said thank you for me.” I lean in and give them both a hug. “Merry Christmas, I love you both deeply.”

“Daddy?” Sadie’s voice came from the backseat. I already know what she’s going to ask. I felt it in my chest before she even said it.

“Can we go see Mommy?”

I exhaled, gripping the steering wheel. I hated this part. Not because I didn’t want to take her, but because I’ll never feel ready. It never got easier. But this wasn’t about me, it’s about Sadie.

“Yes, princess, always.”

Pulling into the cemetery, I park in the familiar spot at the entrance.

The sun has been playing peekaboo all afternoon, slipping behind the clouds.

A sharp chill lingering in the air as I stepped out.

Once Sadie unbuckles her seatbelt, I round the truck and open Sadie’s door.

Dayna was already waiting with the gift bag in her hands, the carefully crafted paper flowers wrapped in the delicate ribbon.

Ready for my daughter to give her mother a Christmas bouquet.

“Come meet my mommy, Dayna! She’s going to love these flowers, I just know it!” She skips ahead, the handles of the bag swinging, her curls bouncing with each eager step.

Dayna hesitates, lingering by the truck, her hands gripping the hem of her cable-knit sweater, uncertainty shadowing her features.

“I—I don’t want to intrude on your time. Maybe I should stay by the truck.” Her voice was careful, unsure. I reached for her hand, threading my fingers through hers. Rubbing small, slow circles along the back of her knuckles. A reassurance. A promise.

“Come on, Love,” I gave her fingers a squeeze. Once. Twice. Three times. “Sadie wants you here and so do I.”

The cold seeped into my bones, but I barely noticed it. Sadie crouched beside her mother’s headstone, carefully arranging the paper flowers Dayna made, her small hands smoothing the petals like they were the real thing. Her soft whisper carried on the winter breeze.

“She loves me, Mommy.”

Next to me, Dayna’s exhaled sharply tiny, shattered sound. She turned into me, pressing herself into my side, her body small but shaking slightly. I curled an arm around her waist, pulling her in. Holding her still. Holding her together.

The clouds shifted, parting just enough to let a streak of sunlight cut through the branches above us.

It spilled over the grass, warming the cold stone, casting a golden light over Sadie’s small frame as she wiped her hands on her coat.

The warmth was sudden, almost unexpected— like an unseen presence wrapping around us.

“She takes care of my heart, mommy because she knows that’s where you live now. She helps me when I am sad and she is kind to me on the days I need more snuggles.”

Sadie rose from the spot next to the headstone and dusted her bottom from debris.

“Merry Christmas Mommy, I miss you and I love you.” She turns back to us, a small sad smile on her face.

I reached out my hand, and she took it. Her tiny fingers curled into mine, I bent down, pressing a kiss to the top of Sadie’s head.

Dayna shifts beside me, her fingers tightening around the hem of her cable-knit sweater.

She’s biting her lip, glancing at me. Then at Sadie.

Then back at me again. Like maybe she shouldn’t be the one standing here, speaking to the woman who once held the life she now holds in her hands.

Her lips part, but no words come out. Instead, her eyes plead with me— a silent request. A question she doesn’t know how to ask.

I nod, just once.

That’s all she needs.

Slowly, she steps forward, her boots crunching against the fallen leaves.

She kneels next to Sadie, fingers trembling as she reaches out— but stops just shy of touching the headstone.

Her throat bobs as she swallows hard. Almost as she’s about to say something, she doesn’t.

Instead, she exhales sharply and presses her palms together like she’s holding something fragile between them.

Her shoulders rise with a deep breath, but the words— whatever they are, whatever she needs to say— won’t come.

The wind picks up, rustling through the trees, carrying her silence like a whisper. Sadie watches her closely, as if she somehow understands. As if she knows Dayna is trying, but the words won’t form.

Dayna blinks rapidly, looking up at the sky like she’s searching for permission from something greater than herself.

Then she shifts, pressing her hand to her heart.

Then, softly, barely above a breath, “I’m trying.

” Silence stretches between us. It should feel empty, but it doesn’t.

She exhales again— long, slow, like she’s letting go of something she’s been holding for too long.

Her fingers graze the paper flowers Sadie laid down.

The trembling in her hands settles. She closes her eyes, and finally, she speaks.

“I don’t know if there’s a right way to do this…

but I need you to know— I am forever indebted to you.

” Dayna exhales and clasps her hands in front of her, fingers twisting together.

“You have blessed this world with the most precious gift— Sadie Grace. She is bright and kind, and fierce in ways I can only imagine came from you. Luke…God, he loves so deeply.” Her voice falters slightly, but she pushes through.

“I won’t pretend I did everything right in the past.” She hesitates, fingers brushing against the paper petals.

“I walked away from Luke once, and in that space, he found you. You were his home. He built a life with you. You made him a father, and because of you, I get to love two of the most incredible people in this world.”

My throat tightens as I listen to her words.

“You live on in their hearts, in the way he holds her when she cries, in the way she laughs when she sings in the car. I see your love in them every single day.” Dayna smooths her sweater down, trying to compose herself.

She squares her shoulders, looking at Sadie before she speaks aloud to Juliette again.

“I promise you, Juliette, I will love them with everything I have. I will protect them, cherish them, and make sure they always know how much you loved them.” She pauses, swallowing thickly, shifting her eyes as her fingers graze the cool stone.

A gust of wind rustles through the trees, the dry leaves whispering against the ground.

Sadie squeezes my hand tightly. I give her a soft squeeze back, my other hand clenched at my side, because-fuck-I don’t know what to do with all this.

The weight of it.

The gratitude.

The grief.

My past and my present colliding in a single moment.

Dayna’s voice lowers, just above a whisper.

“Merry Christmas, Juliette. I promise you— they’re safe with me.

” The wind carries her words, like they belonged to something greater than just this moment.

I run my thumb over Sadie’s knuckles, the same way I used to with Juliette.

The same way I do with Dayna. Some habits never change.

Some loves never fade. Somehow, I know she hears me.

I clear my throat, swallowing hard, forcing down the ache in my throat. My voice is barely a breath.

“Merry Christmas, Jules.”

I glance at Sadie, her tiny fingers still curled in mine. Her warmth, so small, so real, keeps me grounded. Keeps me here. I bend down, pressing a kiss to her curls, my voice breaking just slightly.

“You’ll forever be our angel. ”

As we turn to leave, Sadie squeezes my hand again, her tiny fingers latching onto mine like an anchor. I give her three squeezes back.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.