Page 30 of In All My Dreams

Auden being his daughter.

My role in his sister’s death.

The fact that I’m still in love with him.

That last one might not be as big of a secret after the last few nights we’ve spent together. His phantom touch still lingers on my body when I remember how we fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms last night.

I’ve never been able to hide my heart from him. It’s pointless for me to try now when I have relied on his strength so much since coming back here.

“Do you want me to go in with you?” Ian asks as he pulls the car into the employee parking lot behind the hospital. “It’s okay if you don’t. I know you and Lincoln haven’t had much alone time since you came home.”

Part of me wants to tell him no because I want to hear more about my father’s theories about my mother. Another part of me doesn’t want to leave Ian’s sight because his presence is such a comfort to me, and I feel like I can conquer anything with him by my side.

“Come with me, please?” I finally say, twirling my fingers in the hem of the flannel shirt I changed into before we left.

He places his hand over my anxious fingers, squeezing softly. “Always, Georgie.”

I glance down at his hands, and my eyes catch on the leather band under his sleeve. I tug on his sleeve and notice it’s the same watch my father wore for years. It was a gift from my grandfather to my father when he married my mother. My mother had a matching locket, and their initials were carved onto the back of both.

“Where did you get this watch?” I ask him, running my fingers over the band and watch face.

I look up at him as he runs his other hand through his dark curls nervously while gnawing at his lip. “I found it with your mother’s diary in her desk,” he answers.

My eyebrows shoot up. “And you just decided to start wearing it?”

“Jesus, no, Georgie. I’m not a thief,” he stammers. “I gave it to your dad after I gave you the diary. Your dad told me I should keep it.”

I don’t miss the hint of pride in his voice as I run my fingers over the band again. The leather is aged but still in good shape for sitting in a desk drawer for who knows how many years.

“What else did he say when he gave it to you?” I can’t wrap my head around the idea of my father just tossing something so precious to him away.

Ian pulls his hand out of my grasp, looking down at the watch with a small smile on his lips before he finally answers. “He told me that he and Caroline wanted to give this watch to their son one day.” He glances at me nervously, still chewing on his lip before he reaches across me and opens the glove box and pulls out a small green velvet bag. “And he said they had always planned on giving this to you once you were older.” He grabs my hand and turns it so my palm is facing up. I watch him open the bag carefully, turning it upside down before the small golden locket falls into my hand.

I stare down at the oval locket in shock. I thought for sure my mother was buried with it. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to see it again. Turning it over, I see my parents initials still intact, but there’s more than just their initials carved on it. I run my fingers gently over the new engravings: GLH and ACH.

Georgia Lynn Harris and Auden Caroline Harris.

“When did you do this?” I ask him in a strained voice. I’m trying desperately not to cry again. Today has been full of too many tears. “How did you know Auden’s middle name?” I look up, and he smilesmysmile at me. The galaxy in his eyes shining brightly tonight, just for me.

“Well, first, I asked Auden what her name was and when her birthday was. Not because I was being creepy or whatever. I honestly wanted to know.” I raise my eyebrow at him. “Now thatI said it like that, it sounds creepy. But I can’t help but want to know all about her. She’s your favorite person in this world, and you’re mine so...” His voice trails off, and I know if the lights were on, I’d see that hint of a blush creeping over his cheeks.

“Anyways, not the point. After I showed your father the watch and locket, he told me to keep the watch because I was the closest thing to a son he’ll ever have.” He looks down at the watch again, running his fingers across the band like I was moments ago. “He also asked me to get the locket cleaned up and to give it to you whenever I felt the moment was ‘right.’ His words, I swear.” He holds his hands up in defense as I roll my eyes. “Then I asked him if it was okay if I took it and got your’s and Auden’s initials added to it, and he said he loved the idea of the whole family being together somewhere, even if it was just on the back of this locket. I dropped it off at the jeweler in town yesterday after lunch and picked it up while you were visiting your dad earlier today.”

I pull the locket to my chest, holding it close. “Thank you, Ian. Really. It’s perfect.”

“There’s more,” he says nervously, holding his hand out for the locket.

I don’t want to part with it now that I have it in my possession, but Ian’s eager and nervous puppy dog eyes make it hard to resist.

Handing him the locket, he leans on the center console. I lean closer to him so I can watch him open the small clasp on the side with a delicate touch. He opens the oval locket, revealing a photo inside, his thumb covering the empty side of the locket.

The photograph is an old, worn photo of my mother and I sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of my parents’ room. I’m sitting on her lap as she reads a story to me. I move in closer to get a better look. I must have been about Auden’s age in this photo.

“Your dad said he put this photo of you two in there for her birthday one year, replacing the one of the two of them,” Ian says softly. He shifts his thumb from the other side of the locket, and I hold back a gasp. “I took this of you and Auden the other day while you were in the library. I figured you might like to have one of you and your daughter in there as well.”

The photo of Auden and I is obviously newer. We are sitting side by side on one of the couches in the library. I’m reading her a passage from my favorite story as a child,The Little Mermaid. Not that I can see the book clearly in this thumb-sized photo, but I remember this moment from the other day. She found my copy ofThe Little Mermaidin my old bedroom and asked me to read it to her.

“Here, turn so I can help you put it on,” Ian suggests.

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