Page 107 of Starting Over

I heard those around us, the women saying variations ofaww, andthat’s so sweet. The men regaling us with grunts and congratulations.

Me? I was speechless. Nothing came to me as I stared at my daughter. The daughter I’d just met. The one I was still getting to know, still bonding with. The daughter I loved the moment I knew about her. The daughter I grieved when I thought she would never get the chance to take her first breath.

“Daddy?” she quietly whispered. Asking me an unspoken question. I cleared my throat, the emotion so thick I wasn’t sure I could answer. I just pulled her into my arms.

“Thank you,” I croaked. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

Looking over her head, I caught Maureen watching us. A tear slipping down her cheek unbidden. She smiled at me, and I smiled back, hugging my daughter tighter. I never wanted to let her go.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Maureen

Watching Declan with his daughter made me miss my own something fierce. Needing to hear her voice, I slipped outside with Tucker and called her.

“Hello, Mother.”

“Hello, Daughter.”

“What’s wrong? You sound like you’ve been crying.”

“Happy tears, well, mostly. One of the girls at the clubhouse found out she’s having a boy, and she told her dad she was naming the baby after him. It just had me missing you.”

“Well, you could come home,” she said with a hopeful tone.

I barked out a laugh. “Not a chance. I love it here, Colleen. I want you to come visit as soon as spring hits.”

“I’d love that. So, are you making friends?”

“I am. I went to a book club earlier in the week with the mayor.”

“Is the mayor a woman?”

“She is.” I laughed.

“Oh good. I was wondering what kind of book club lets men in.”

“Colleen Darcy, are you being sexist?”

“No, it’s just that most book clubs are about smutty books these days. I can’t see my mother discussing a dirty book with a man.”

She was right. That wouldn’t interest me at all.

“Ok, you have a point. Hey, Uncle Duncan will probably be coming by in a few days. He asked about the stuff from your dad’s office. We don’t need any of that, so he’ll be by to pick up those boxes. They’re all labeled, so you won’t have to dig.”

“When did you talk to him?”

“Actually, he was here. Sal, Tyran, Duncan, Cian, and Mac were all here.”

“Mom, I didn’t tell him.”

“It’s ok, sweetheart. They were here for a different reason.”

“How did it go?”

Sitting down on the steps, Tucker laid down beside me.

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