Page 89 of Rescued by the Single Dad

Brooke smiled gently. “Thank you.”

“I just ...” she sat up and shuddered, “I’m forgetting my mom. And that worries me. It’s not my first Mother’s Day without her, but it’s the first one where I’m having a hard time remembering her face without looking at a picture.” Her throat rolled on a swallow. “Emme and Aya feel the same. So do the boys. We’re all forgetting our moms.”

“Ah. I see.”

“I don’t want to forget her.”

Brooke ran her hand down Talia’s head again. “Of course not, sweetheart. I know that. And your mom knows that, too.” She glanced around the room, her eyes settling on a bookshelf against the wall. But she couldn’t find what she was looking for. “Do you have any photo albums of when you were a baby?”

Talia’s eyes brightened, and she nodded, sliding off her mattress onto the purple microfiber loop rug on the floor. She reached under her bed and pulled out a clear, shallow bin on wheels. Lifting the lid just a smidge, she reached inside and hauled out two thick photo albums, handing them to Brooke. “My mom was a picture taker. Like she had one of those big fancy cameras that she brought everywhere.”

“That’s awesome,” Brooke said with enthusiasm, welcoming Talia back onto the bed. The little girl didn’t hesitate and snuggled in next to Brooke as she opened one of the albums on the bed. They both giggled immediately. It was a naked baby Talia on a furry white rug with her butt in the air. She was looking back at the camera behind her with a cheeky smile on her face.

The first few pages were just of Talia in various poses. She couldn’t have been more than a few months old. Old enough to hold her head up, but still pretty new.

After the fourth page, there were more candid shots that included Clint and his wife.

Talia’s mother had been beautiful.

Mahogany colored hair with subtle caramel highlights, a slim face, bright eyes and high cheekbones. Her smile was electric, and you could tell she loved being a mother, the way her eyes practically glowed amber when she was with Talia. Brooke could feel the love and bond between mother and daughter.

“She’s so pretty.” Brooke stoked Talia’s head again. “You’re just like her.”

Talia glanced behind her at Brooke, a smile in her eyes but a wrinkle to her nose and a frown on her lips. “But I have dark hair and blue eyes like my dad.”

“Yes, but you have your mom’s nose.” She bopped Talia’s nose with her fingertip. “And her cheekbones.” Then she bopped her cheeks. “And her smile.” That made the little girl light up. “And unlike your dad, whose eyes are blue with white flecks, your eyes are blue with gold swirls—which is like your mom’s amber eyes.”

Talia leaned forward to get a better look at her mother’s eyes, then she hopped off the bed and went to check out her own eyes in the long mirror beside her nightstand. “You’re right. I do have gold in my eyes.” Her smile made the entire room get brighter. She returned to the bed and snuggled into Brooke before turning the page.

They both started to laugh again at the picture of Talia, naked on Clint’s bare chest. The first photo was sweet, the second one, not so much. Talia must have pooped. The look of horror on Clint’s face was priceless as an orangy-brown smear covered his torso from the bottom of his ribs, down past his belly button.

“I pooped on him!” Talia exclaimed.

“And he loves you anyway,” Brooke said with a chuckle.

They continued to look through the photo album, and with each turn of the page, Brooke could feel Talia’s pain soften.

They reached the end of the first album, which ended on Talia’s second birthday, then moved on to the next one. But it was only halfway full. It covered her third birthday, and a few months after that, the pages were empty. Which was probably because Jacqueline had died.

Talia exhaled deeply when they reached the last page of photos. “She died after this, I think.”

They were quiet for a moment, staring at the wide smile of Talia’s mother as she hugged Talia tight down on the beach, buckets and sand toys surrounding them as gulls swooped on the breeze in the background.

“My mom passed away when I was fifteen,” Brooke whispered.

Talia turned her head to glance at Brooke over her shoulder.

Brooke nodded. “I was older than you when she died, and I still remember a lot of her, but the memories are fuzzy in some places. And just because I was older when she passed doesn’t mean I don’t miss her any less. She was a wonderful mom. And it really sucks that she died.”

Talia swallowed. “I’m sorry she died.”

“I’m sorry your mom died.”

She held the little girl’s gaze for a long moment, memorizing every freckle, every angle of her face. She was such a beautiful mix of her parents.

“H-how did your mom die?” Talia whispered.

Brooke’s heart did a heavy thud against her ribs as the image of her mother’s death flashed through her mind. It was something she’d never forget. Hearing the crack and watching her mother’s lifeless form crumple to the kitchen floor at her father’s feet.

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