Page 26 of New Hope

“Yes?”

“Do you think Hannah’s daddy will come back?”

“What?” I whispered.

“Hannah says he’ll be back soon, that he only went away for his job, but he works here. So why would he need to go away?” My heart splintered when I saw her eyes, brimming with tears. “I don’t want him to go away. I don’t want Hannah to be sad.”

“No, no, baby. That’s not going to happen,” I said, pulling her into my arms. She nuzzled her face in my chest, her tears spilling over and wetting my shirt. “Shhh. It’s okay.” I rocked her gently until she’d calmed down and then I leaned back so I could see her face. My thumbs brushed over her soft cheeks, wiping the wetness away.

“Look at me, sweetheart. You know I will always tell you the truth, right?” She nodded, sniffling, her green eyes swimming with worry for her friend. “Remember how Hannah’s daddy is your doctor? Well, being a doctor is very important. There are always new things to learn about how to help people. Sometimes, he goes away to take classes to learn those new things.”

Ellie’s body slowly began to uncoil. She sat up straighter, eyeing me curiously. “Like school?”

“Sort of like school. Only he doesn’t have to stay there all year. He just goes away for a few days, learns what he needs to know, then he comes back home.”

I could see her running my words through her head, weighing each of them carefully. “So, he will come back to Hannah? For real?”

“For real. I promise you, River will be back soon. In fact, he was just texting me and he doesn’t seem to be having a very good time. I think he misses home.”

Her face scrunched adorably. “I don’t want Dr. Adams to be sad either.”

My mouth lifted in a soft smile. “He won’t be as soon as he gets back to his little girl. He loves Hannah almost as much as I love you.”

“That’s a lot.”

“It sure is,” I said, chuckling as she let out a jaw popping yawn. “Okay, time for bed, munchkin.”

Her eyes were heavy as she curled back under the covers. I made sure she was all tucked in again, then kissed her on the forehead. “Love you, Daddy,” she murmured sleepily as I walked towards the door.

“I love you too, Boo. Sweet dreams.” I was pretty sure she’d already fallen asleep by the time I switched the light off.

My conversation with Ellie weighed heavily on my mind as I walked out of her room. Trust was a fragile thing and I hated that hers had been broken so spectacularly and at such a young age. Did Connie have any clue the amount of wreckage she’d left behind? Did she care? Did she even think about her daughter at all?

I shook my head, forcing myself to stop. Following that particular train of thought would only lead me down a bitter path. We didn’t need Connie anymore. Our lives were good. We’d started over and found happiness in New Hope. Every day, I saw more of the old Ellie coming back to life. She’d been horribly hurt, and it would take time, but eventually, hopefully, she’d learn to trust again. Starting with River returning home.

The game was over by the time I got back to the living room, but I had no idea which team had won. A roundtable discussion was currently playing out on the screen as the sportscasters dissected each and every moment of play. Mike and Ben both stood when they saw me. “Sorry, guys. Ellie was having a rough night. It took a little while to get her settled down.”

“That’s okay. We need to get going, but we wanted to talk to you first,” Mike said.

I held my hands up, stopping them. “I have something I need to say first. I know I’ve been acting like a complete asshole the last few days, to you and to Gene and Layla. I’ll apologize to them tomorrow, but I want you both to know now how sorry I am. You guys have been good to me. You’ve treated me well. You’re good friends and you deserve better.”

Ben smiled nervously. “Uh, thanks. That’s not what we were going to talk about, but we appreciate it.”

“It’s not? Then what’s this about?” I glanced back and forth, confused by the apprehensive look shared between the two of them.

Mike gave Ben an almost imperceptible nod and the younger man stepped forward, holding out my phone. I looked down at it then back at my friends. “What’s going on?”

Ben swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “You, uh, got another text.”

“Okaaaay.” I reached out, taking my phone from him. I swiped the screen and looked. Another text had come through from River, but all it said was that he was tired and was going to get to bed early. Nothing that would explain why they were acting so strangely. “I don’t get it. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Ben nearly shrieked.

Mike scowled at the deputy. “You’re making this weird and that’s the last thing we wanted.”

“Making what weird? Will one of you please tell me what the hell is going on?” I demanded, pinning them with a stern look.

Mike huffed out a breath. “Look, Ben picked up your phone because you dropped it on the floor when you ran out and he didn’t want it to get stepped on. But then you got another text.”

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