“Daddy, how do airplanes fly?”

He and Caroline were sitting at their gate at the airport, waiting for their flight to Pennsylvania to see Michael’s parents. He’d been planning to take her later in the month, but between his mood and a couple of really hard days of her missing her Papa, Blake thought the best thing to do was go ahead and make the trip.

“You know, I don’t know how they do it, Mouse. Let’s look it up and see.”

They passed a few minutes on a child-friendly site explaining aviation before she grew bored and wanted to read one of the books Micah had given her for the trip. Fortunately, before the books lost their appeal, they were invited to board their flight.

The flight passed quickly. He’d allowed Caroline to watch one of her movies on her tablet while he’d leaned back in his seat and relaxed. Donald and Rosa had bought them first class tickets, even though Blake had tried to protest against the extra money. Rosa scoffed and explained that Donald would be using his airline miles so he wasn’t to argue. He’d never won an argument with the woman. Neither had her son.

They were waiting in front of baggage claim for Blake and Caroline. She immediately began to share every tiny detail of the flight with her grandparents while Blake waited for their suitcase and Caroline’s car seat to emerge. Once he retrieved their belongings, Donald led the way to short-term parking. Rosa climbed into the back with Caroline so Blake took the front passenger seat.

With Caroline regaling her grandma with stories in the backseat, Blake relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. He’d always loved fall colors, and he couldn’t think of anything more beautiful than the Pennsylvania mountains when they were bursting with orange, yellow, and red leaves.

“You hanging in there?” Donald asked after several miles of quiet driving.

“I am. It’s weird, but I’m glad to have my family close. I wouldn’t want to do this on my own.”

“I don’t blame you. You have everything you need?”

“Yes, sir. Our new house is just right for the two of us. My mom and aunt are spending extra time with Caroline. We’re going to put her in daycare in the spring, but I thought she needed a little more adjustment time before we changed things for her again.”

“Makes sense. You’ll let us know if you need anything? I don’t want you to be too proud to ask for help.”

“Michael took good care of us, sir. You know he did. You made sure of it.”

“Plan for the worst and hope for the best.” Donald’s breath hitched. Blake reached over and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. The worst had definitely happened.

They drove another few miles before Donald spoke again. “If it’s okay with you, Rosa and I would like to come down to Florida for Christmas.”

“Absolutely. We’d love that. Would you like to stay with us? I have a guest room.”

“We wouldn’t want to put you out,” Donald said.

“You aren’t. I’m sure Caroline will love it and I know I’d like the company.”

He’d always gotten along well with Michael’s parents. At the beginning, Blake had wondered if they thought he was after Michael’s money. Once they realized he wasn’t, that in fact, he was much more practical than Michael, they’d welcomed him fully into the fold. When they’d shared that they were planning on having a child through a surrogate, Blake could still remember how thrilled Donald and Rosa had been.

They loved their only grandchild fiercely. Blake had already promised himself that he would give them every opportunity to spend time with her.

“Well, if you don’t mind, we’ll take you up on that offer. I’d like to be there when she wakes up Christmas morning.”

“That can be arranged. You realize she’s the only grandchild on both sides, right? I’m going to have to put a limit on the number of presents.”

“You can try,” Donald said with a smirk.

“If everyone gets her one thing to open, she’ll have more than enough.”

“You need a spreadsheet so we don’t duplicate,” Rosa added from the backseat.

Blake groaned again. “A spreadsheet for gifts. Crazy talk.”

Donald laughed. “We’ve always loved doing stockings the most. Rosa, how would you feel about us handling that part of her Christmas?”

“I’d love that. As long as I can be in charge of buying the stocking. They make supersized ones, don’t they?”

Donald laughed again. “This will be fun.”

Their teasing made him realize that this would be all of their first Christmas without Michael. Last year, he and Michael had still spent the day together, even though they’d been separated for a few months by that point. They’d both agreed to be there for their daughter, no matter how awkward it felt at times. He was glad Michael’s parents would be there for them both this year.

Blake smiled and looked out the window again. They’d teased them every Christmas about how extravagant they planned to be, but they always tried to keep things within reason. Blake hadn’t grown up receiving everything he wanted. He’d had to do chores and earn money for special things and he wanted to instill those same values in his daughter. It might be a challenge considering that all she had to do was tear up a bit and she had a half dozen relatives jumping to see what they could do to make her happy again.

He’d have to remember to show Rosa the pictures from Abe and Caroline’s tea party earlier that week. Aunt Paula had turned the event into an early cooking lesson for Caroline. They’d mixed up tuna salad for sandwiches that they’d then cut into cute shapes using cookie cutters. They’d then made some thumbprint cookies with strawberry jam.

Even though Blake’s mood had been dark for several days, seeing the pride on her face when she’d shown him her treats had made everything a little better. Add to that watching his giant teddy bear of a cousin sitting on the floor wearing a crown and holding a tiny purple tea cup in his hands… well, it was hard to remain sad when he had so much good in his life.

It didn’t really ease the ache of missing Linc, though. Blake had wanted him there, too. Wanted to see him playing tea party with Caroline and wondering if he’d let her paint his toenails or stick bows in his hair. Blake thought he would, and knowing he’d never have a chance to see it brought another wave of sadness.

The week away would do him some good. He didn’t have to cringe every time the door to the office opened, wondering if it would be Linc. He hadn’t seen him at all since he’d ended things, which reinforced Blake’s notion that it was better to end it early than risk damaging Linc’s job. If he couldn’t bring himself to come into the office after the beginnings of their romance had ended, what would he have done if they’d been further along and decided things weren’t meant to be?

By the time they made it to Donald and Rosa’s house, he and Caroline were both ready to be out of the car. She desperately needed to run off some of her energy. Fortunately for him, Donald and Rosa’s Goldendoodle, Cocoa, decided that Caroline was her new favorite human. They ran around the fenced-in backyard for over an hour before they both collapsed in a heap in the living room. Blake snapped more photos of his daughter using the dog for a pillow.

They had a fun few days exploring the area. Caroline and Rosa had picked out her Halloween costume after much debate. They’d settled on a butterfly fairy princess that required wings, a magic wand, a tiara, and a multi-colored tutu. Blake had no idea how he was going to fit it all in their luggage.

With Caroline worn out from their afternoon shopping, Blake was able to get her to bed early on their last night. Donald handed him a glass of wine, and the three adults sat down in front of the fire.

“Blake?” Rosa said after several minutes of quiet. “Can we talk to you about something?”

He sat up, sitting his glass to the side. “Of course.”

Donald reached over and held his wife’s hand. “We just want you to know that we’re okay with you moving on with your life.”

“Not that you need our permission,” Rosa hurried to add. “But we want you to be happy, Blake. Michael would have wanted you to be happy, too.”

Blake blinked back tears and nodded. “I know.”

“He really loved you and Caroline. Never doubt that. Even though things didn’t work out, he loved you both so much. It broke his heart to break yours.”

“He was a good man.”

“Yes, he was,” Donald said. “So are you. And you’re a wonderful father. Never doubt that for a minute. I know things are hard right now, but we adore you and want you to be happy.”

“Thank you,” Blake said. “When the time is right, someone new will come along.”

They shared a quick look, then Rosa turned back to him with a small smile.

“So those sad sighs you’ve been making all week aren’t due to someone new in your life?”

Blake blinked and started to deny it, but then shrugged. “Nothing came of it. It was nice to go out again, though. I know I’ll be ready for a new romance someday.”

“Just don’t let the past hold you back. You will make someone very happy someday.”

“Thank you,” Blake said. He moved over to them and enveloped them both in a hug. Rosa broke down and started crying and he held her tight.