Page 58 of You're My Person - For Always

"Did you miss us at all?" she whispered desperately.

"Every fucking second," he whispered back.

"Then, let us have this time with you." River swiped at her face. "Let's forget everything that happened. You're our dad. We don't have to talk about the past. We just want to see you and sit with you."

Kenna nodded. "We can come whenever they let us."

"You don't have to be alone," whispered River.

Her dad worked his lips and gruffly said, "I never wanted this for my girls. I tried to protect you."

"We know," they whispered together.

A break in the pained expression came with a mask of indifference she had never seen before on her father's face. "You're both okay?"

"I live with Kingsley." She looked at her sister. "River lives with Zane. We're all in the same house. Together."

Her dad shook his head. "You were so young. I didn't know what to do."

This was what she wanted. What happened in the past was no longer important. That was between her dad and the state. All she wanted was to share her life with her dad and remember the love she once received from him.

Until coming to prison, she had no idea how important it was that she got to tell him that she loved Kingsley and that he was her future.

Her dad looked at River. "You're happy?"

"I'm loved, and I love living in Gem Haven." River paused. "Have you ever been there?"

"Once, a long time ago."

River started crying again. Kenna straightened her neck. There was so much she didn't know about her dad. She had a child's remembrance of her parents and wanted to get to know her dad as an adult before it was too late.

Today could be the last time she gets to see him, and everything she'd wanted to tell him would be lost. Panic set in.

"Is mom buried in St. Maries?" she asked.

There was no funeral. No time to mourn or question or miss her before she was informed her dad had died and she was ripped out of the house. She needed to see where her mom rested. She needed to see that someone had taken care of her mom.

Her dad bowed his head. No longer able to hold the phone in her aching hand, she passed River the receiver to hold between them. She had no idea what she'd do if he kept the information to himself.

"There's a package. Find it." He lifted his troubled gaze. " All the answers you need are in there." He cleared his throat. "You need to forget about me."

"I want to come back," said Kenna. "I want to be here until the end."

"I'm trying to protect—"

"We don't need protection," River continually wiped her cheeks. We just need you. We love you."

"Pooksie." Her dad gazed at River and then her. "Precious."

At the mention of their childhood nicknames, she swallowed repeatedly. The guard beside their dad picked up his phone and spoke. Her dad glanced over at him. They couldn't hear what was said but could see the tension set into their dad's shoulders.

He swung a desperate gaze at them. "Listen to me carefully."

She and River scooted closer as if that would help them hear him better. River held the phone between them. Their heads pressed almost painfully together, trying to get as close to the receiver as possible.

"In the packet, there's a key. It goes to a safe deposit box at Bancock Bank in St. Mar—"

The guard ripped the phone out of his hand, hanging up on them. Kenna cried out at the sudden silence, standing up in the chair.

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