Page 2 of Choose You

“I know, Daddy.” She pulls back and rests her little hands on my shoulders. She looks up at me like she’s about to scold me, and I have to fight back my smile. The seriousness of her expression is too cute. “You can’t keep me little forever.”

My smile grows, and I can’t help but chuckle. “Now you sound like your Aunt Leann. I think she’s a bad influence on you.” I poke her in the sides and make her giggle. “It’s time for bed. We’ll talk more tomorrow about a treehouse, okay.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

She slides off my lap and runs upstairs. I start to clear the table when there’s a knock on the door. Checking the time, it’s almost eight o’clock. We never get visitors this late unannounced and my heart rate kicks up several notches with worry.

When I open the front door, I’m surprised to see Uncle Jimmy’s attorney standing on the other side. “Richard, what are you doing here so late?”

“Hey, Matt. Sorry to call upon you like this, but I have some news that couldn’t wait.”

I nod and open the door wider to let him in. “Why don’t you wait for me in the kitchen? I need to get Emmie in bed. Then we can talk.”

I watch him walk into my house—shoulders slumped, tired eyes, and a tense jaw. He’s not here with good news.

I stare after him until he disappears around the corner, then I rush upstairs to get Emmie in bed. If Uncle Jimmy changed his mind, I swear I’ll kill him. I’ve kept this from Emmie for months because I didn’t want to get her hopes up. The last thing I want to do is disrupt her life any more than it already has been.

Emmie never knew her mother—Emily died in childbirth—but the absence of a mom has had a huge impact on her. I do my best as a single dad, but there are some roles I’m incapable of filling. Not having a mother in her life has left a gaping hole in her heart that I can’t fill. When Emmie is around other kids and their parents, I see the longing in her eyes. It breaks me every time. Mainly because there isn’t anything I can do to fix that loss for her.

From the moment I found out Emily was pregnant, I tried to do the right thing to make sure my child would never experience anything remotely close to the pain I’d felt as a kid. I never knew my father, and my mother died when I was young. Not knowing or losing a parent is some hard shit. I never wanted that for my kids.

All I’ve ever wanted was to spare any child of mine of that kind of pain. I failed at that on day one. Not that I could control what happened to Emily, but it still makes me feel like a failure as a parent. Despite my efforts, Emmie still experiences my greatest pain every day.

At least she’ll always have me and the family that adopted me. If the Langdons hadn’t taken me in and given me a home when they did, I’ve no doubt I wouldn’t be the man I am today. Thanks to them, I know how to be a father to Emmie. That’s a gift I’ll never be able to repay.

By the time I make it upstairs, Emmie is in the bathroom brushing her teeth. Her little arm stretches to its limit to reach the faucet to turn off the water. I shake my head and hide my smile. Sherefuses to use the step stool I got her. Using it is an admission that she’s little and that’s the last thing she wants to be.

She turns to me and smiles. “All ready.”

She bounces across the room and hops into my arms. At least she hasn’t decided she’s too little to let me carry her. I dread that day.

With a kiss on the forehead, I tuck her in bed. I stand at the doorway for a moment and smile. My life may not have turned out the way I expected, but with this kid in my life, everything feels all right. “I love you, kiddo.”

“Love you, too, Daddy.”

I leave the door cracked and head back downstairs. A heaviness falls over me as I get closer to the kitchen. Richard is on one of the island barstools with his elbows on the counter and his head buried in his hands. This isn’t a good visit.

I open the refrigerator and grab a beer. “Do you want one?”

He shakes his head no. He drops his arms but still doesn’t look up at me.

“Please tell me Uncle Jimmy didn’t change his mind.”

He looks up at me, his eyes red and swollen. “I wish it were as simple as a changed mind. I’m afraid we’ve got bigger issues than that, Matt.”

The sinking feeling in my gut turns to nausea. I’ve known Richard since I was a kid, and I’ve never seen him look so weak and emotional. He’s known for being a cold, emotionless asshole. But he’s a damn good attorney and does right by all his clients, so we keep him around. “Well, get on with it then.”

He takes a deep breath and looks down at his hands clasped in front of him. “Jimmy was found dead in his bunk earlier this evening.”

My eyes immediately well up with tears, and I almost drop my beer. Uncle Jimmy’s been a permanent fixture in my life—everyone’s life for that matter. Watercress Falls won’t be the same without him.

“How did …” My voice cracks and I swallow back my tears. “How did he die?”

“We don’t know for sure, but they think a heart attack. The farmhand that found him said he wasn’t feeling well, so he’d gone to rest. When he checked on Jimmy a few hours later, he foundhim unconscious. By the time the paramedics arrived, it was too late.”

“Well, shit.” I fall into the chair opposite Richard and stare at the empty space in front of me. I quickly wipe away the tears that run down my cheek.

“Matt, I need to tell you,” Richard pauses. When I look in his direction, he refuses to make eye contact. I lift my beer to take a drink when he starts again. “Jimmy never signed the papers.”

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