Page 18 of Daddy's Christmas Rescue
He exhaled slowly. “The state said her family was ready for her to go home. Her mom had done her classes, her dad had a job again. They said we’d done our part.”
The words came quiet, deliberate.
“Wasn’t long after that Dad got the call. Said there’d been…an accident.” His jaw tightened. “She didn’t make it. They’d been in the car and her dad was high. Ran three red lights, the third killed them all outright.”
The room went still. Even Biscuit, lying on the rug, lifted his head at the silence that followed.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
He nodded once. “Yeah. Me too.”
He didn’t look at me then, just stared at the steam rising from his mug. “After that, Mom and Dad stopped taking placements. Figured we weren’t built for losing people.”
I wanted to say something that would make it better, but nothing seemed big enough. So I just held Banjo closer.
“She must have loved you a lot,” I said finally.
His shoulders shifted like he wasn’t sure what to do with that. “Maybe,” he said. “But I think I was the lucky one.”
We sat in quiet for a bit after that. The kind of quiet that felt full, not empty. The fire popped softly in the stove. Biscuit’s breathing went slow and deep.
I looked down at Banjo. His button eye caught the light, shining faintly. “I think she’d like that someone still takes care of him.”
Blake glanced at me then—really looked—and something unreadable flickered in his expression. Not pity. Not sadness. Something steadier.
“She’d like you,” he said.
The words made my throat ache.
“She was fearless, but took joy in the little things. She loved making cookies, coloring. The fridge was full of her stuff."
I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just nodded. He set his empty mug down and rubbed the back of his neck. “I have to leave for a while.”
“Okay,” I said automatically.
I stood, still clutching the bunny, and he reached over to switch off the lamp beside the couch. The room fell into soft shadows.
As I walked past him toward the hallway, I heard him add quietly, “He’s a good guard bunny, that one. Keep him close.”
I smiled before I could stop it. “I will.”
Chapter seven
Blake
I was in the kitchen wiping down the counter before turning in when I heard her behind me, so quiet I almost missed it. She was standing in the doorway, bare feet and that ridiculous yellow blanket wrapped all the way around her shoulders, trailing at the sides like wings. The bunny was clutched in her arms, tight enough I thought she’d strangle it.
She wouldn’t look at me directly. Just watched the floor, chewing on her bottom lip, hair half in her face.
I dried my hands, slow and deliberate.
“You need something?” I kept my voice even. Gentle.
She didn’t answer at first. I expected her to ask for cocoa, or maybe another blanket. But she just stood there, knees knocking together, shifting her weight like she was trying to root herself to the floor.
I waited. I was good at waiting.
She finally whispered it, so soft I almost didn’t catch it. “I…can’t sleep.”
