Page 16 of Finn

I’m stopped in my tracks, just as I’m about to pass Maddie’s room, when I hear them talking about me.

“Uncle Finn?”

“Yeah, princess?”

“I like Cara, she’s pretty. Do you think she’s pretty?”

“Ah, princess, I think she’s beautiful. Inside and out.”

There is silence for a minute, and I think the conversation is over, until I hear Maddie mention me again.

“Do you think she would be okay if I called her Aunty Cara?”

“I think she’d love it. She’s been pretty sad since moving here.”

“Sad? But why?”

“Because she left her family back in Ireland to come and live here with me. She misses them, a lot.”

I hear movement in the room, but it seems far away from the door, so I take a chance and wait a little longer, placing my head on the door frame. If only Finn knew the truth. l miss my brother, but I’m not sure I’ll ever miss my Da again. I feel a sadness wash over me, and I find myself wishing I had a friend to talk to.

“What are you doing, princess?” Finn questioning Maddie pulls me from my self-pity moment.

“Looking for unicorn, I don’t want Aunty Cara to be sad and unicorn will make her happy and she can sleep with him.”

“You know what? That’s a brilliant idea. Why don’t we go find her and you can give it to her?”

I quickly rush away from the door, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping on them, and rush down to the kitchen.

I’m getting the pot ready for coffee a few seconds later, when they both walk into the kitchen. I don’t turn around, but I can feel Finn’s eyes boring into my back.

I feel Maddie’s hand touch the top of my thigh. “Cara, can I call you Aunt Cara?”

I look down at her, her bright blue eyes filled with hope. I kneel down to her level, so we are face to face. “I would love that, beautiful.”

I go to give her a hug when she grins and pulls the unicorn out from behind her back. “This is for you.”

“Aww, honey, no, I can’t take your unicorn from you.”

“Please… he will make you happy, I promise.” I take the unicorn from her, and she throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I feel my eyes fill with tears, and when I look up, I see Finn staring at us, a massive smile across his face.

“Thank you, beautiful. I promise I’ll take care of him.”

She squeezes me tighter and whispers in my ear, “I love you, Aunt Cara… coz Uncle Finn does.”

Her statement throws me a little, and I look up to see if Finn heard, but he’s making coffee, decaf I notice, and gives no indication he heard what Maddie has said.

The three of us spend the rest of the night curled up on the sofa, watching movies and playing games. It’s a comfortable feeling being here with them both and feeling accepted. Watching Finn with Maddie makes my heart swell. He has so much love for her. Knowing Maddie isn’t blood makes their bond even more incredible.

We carry her up to bed around eleven p.m., thinking she’s asleep, but just as Finn is about to tuck her in, her eyes shoot open, looking at us both. “Sleep with you two?”

Finn glances over at me. “Err, maybe not tonight, princess.”

“Please?” she begs in a sleepy voice, pulling herself off her bed and walking off to Finn’s room. We follow and watch as she climbs into his bed and gets comfortable right in the middle. She looks at us sleepily and pats the bed either side of her. “Please?”

I smile at her then look over to Finn to find him watching me. I nod, letting him know that I’m okay with staying with them tonight.

We climb in either side of her and she turns, curling into me, but reaches her hand behind her, grabbing Finn’s and pulling it around her front, placing both hers and his on my arm, and that right there is how we all fall asleep.

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