“Daddy!” His little girl’s voice pierced through his foggy brain, and he smiled when Sophie rushed into his hospital room, running toward his bed. He sat up straighter, wincing a little but opening his arms all the same. All he wanted was to hug his daughter and celebrate the fact he wasn’t dead. That he hadn’t left his baby all alone.
“Come here, baby girl.” He looked up from Sophie when movement at the door caught his eye. His face brightened up at the vision.
“Hey.” He smiled when Ellie approached his bed and picked up Sophie.
“Remember what the doctor said,” Ellie told Sophie in a serious tone, before letting her get into Adam’s embrace. Adam frowned when his little girl stared at him and didn’t hug him.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Daddy.”
“You could never hurt me.” Adam shook his head and smiled. “Actually, I think your hug would make me feel better. Way better.”
Sophie’s eyes widened. “Weally?”
He nodded, and when her tiny arms went around his neck and her head rested against his chest, he resisted the urge to wince. He’d ask the nurse for more painkillers later; right now, he only wanted to spend a little time with his daughter and reassure her he was fine.
With Sophie snuggled against him, he looked at Ellie, who was standing by his bed with a worried frown and green eyes glistening with tears begging to spill. He stuck out his hand, and his heart soared when she took it. A hot spark of something he couldn’t name shot from his hand and traveled across his chest straight to his heart.
“I’m sorry about the other night. I was an idiot. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did.” He tugged on her hand a little, pulling her closer so that her thigh was pressed against the side of the bed.
Ellie shook her head. “Don’t worry about that, it’s—”
“No, please don’t find an excuse for my behavior. You were right: I was more preoccupied about a stupid mug than about hurting Sophie’s feelings.” He looked up from their joined hands to her pretty face. “And yours.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is that you’re safe, now.” A sweet smile brightened her face, dissipating the frown that had pulled her brows together only a moment before. Comforting warmth and a sense of peace pervaded him.
“No. All that matters is that I’ve finally realized something I’ve been pretending not to see.” He intertwined his fingers with hers, bringing her hand to his lips. “I love you, Ellie. I don’t want to deny my feelings anymore.”
Ellie let out a soft gasp, and when he looked up at her, her eyes were sparkling. She smiled. “I love you, too. I thought my heart was going to break when I didn’t know if you were going to be okay. I… I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose me anytime soon. I’ll be fine,” he told her, smiling even as his shoulder throbbed with pain. He kissed Sophie’s head and inhaled her sweet baby scent. He’d thought he’d never see his little girl again. When the bullet pierced his flesh and pain shot through him, clouding his mind, all he’d been able to think of was who would take care of his baby; who’d tuck her in and read her stories; who’d cuddle her when she had a bad dream or when she was sick. He was glad he’d been given another shot at life, that he could still be the one to raise Sophie.
“You scared me Daddy.” Sophie spoke against his chest, bringing him back from his memory of the shooting. She hugged him a little tighter. This time he couldn’t hide his wince. Ellie frowned and squeezed his hand. “I don’t want you to go to heaven wif Mommy.”
He shifted her so that she was sitting in his lap, not touching his shoulder, then kissed her head.
“I’m not going anywhere, baby girl. I love you too much.” Tears welled in his eyes as he realized what must have gone through her young mind when she’d seen him on the gurney. “You know what would make me feel even better than a hug? A big kiss, right here on my cheek.” He tapped his finger on the right side of his face, and Sophie nodded.
“I’ll kiss your boo-boo away, so you can come home.” She took his face with both her tiny hands and gave him an exaggerated, loud kiss.
He looked from his daughter to Ellie and grinned. “How about you, Miss Ellie? Aren’t you going to give me a kiss to help me feel better?”
Sophie clapped her hands. “Yes, give Daddy a kiss, so his boo-boo goes away more faster, and he can come home.”
“Um, I…” A pretty shade of pink bloomed on Ellie’s cheeks; she was so cute he wished he could get out of bed and pull her into his arms. And kiss her senseless, too.
“Please, Miss Ellie. I want Daddy to come home wif me.”
“Please, Miss Ellie.” Adam mimicked Sophie’s pleading tone. Ellie rolled her eyes and shook her head, failing to fight a smile. His grin turned mischievous, and he tugged a little more on her hand, forcing her to sit on his bed when she lost her balance.
He closed his eyes and puckered his lips, making funny kissy noises. Sophie giggled, and he squinted one eye open. Ellie had her head tilted to the side and was smiling.
“All right, all right.” She let out an exasperated sigh and bent so that her head was only inches from him. He squeezed his eyes shut, and when her lips brushed his softly he leaned into her, only to be let down when she pulled back. His eyes fluttered open and he frowned.
“Is that it?”
Ellie shrugged. “You wanted a kiss, I gave you one. You feeling better now?”
Adam slanted a glance at Sophie. “Did that look like true love’s kiss to you?” Sophie grinned and shook her head, her curls bouncing wildly. “Sorry Miss Ellie, but unless you give me a proper fairy-tale kiss my boo-boo won’t go away.”
“You should give him true love’s kiss so you can live happily ever after like Cindewella and her pwince.”
Ellie chuckled. “I think I forgot my glass slippers at home. Would that be a problem?”
“Nah, your shoes are fine. Go ahead, I’m waiting.” Adam puckered his lips again, eliciting another giggle from Sophie. Ellie’s lips touched his a moment later, but this time she didn’t pull back. She lingered for a couple of seconds, and he savored the softness he’d missed since he last kissed her on Saturday night, before he’d turned into Idiot Of The Year and sent her away. He still hadn’t had time to speak to Sophie about his feelings for Ellie, and he didn’t know whether she’d be okay with it, but today he’d almost lost it all. He was sure his daughter wouldn’t be shocked if he kissed her teacher now.
His right hand went up to cup Ellie’s cheek to make sure she wouldn’t pull back until he’d had the chance to have a proper kiss, but a squeal from Sophie had Ellie pull back.
“Daddy, you squishing me!”
Adam laughed and kissed her forehead. “Sorry, baby girl.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled. “You feeling better now? Can you come home?” Her innocent blue eyes glittered with hope.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to be in the hospital tonight, but you can stay with Grammy, maybe even have a slumber party with Uncle Kean.”
Sophie scrunched up her nose. “Uncle Kean is a boy—stumber parties are for girls!”
“Well, I’m sure Uncle Kean would be happy to wear Grammy’s nightie for one night and pretend to be a girl.” Adam winked, and Sophie giggled. “And I’m pretty sure he’d like to get his nails painted hot pink.”
Ellie laughed, and the sound was like music to his ears. Over the monotonous, steady beep of the machines at the side of his bed, and the hospital sounds coming from outside his room, her laughter was like the melodious sound of wind chimes on a warm summer day. He closed his eyes for a second, imagining lounging on a deck chair on a sunny day, Sophie giggling as she played with Meatball, and Ellie sitting next to him, holding his hand and laughing at something Sophie had done, while the sound of wind chimes carried on the air. It was pure bliss.
“Maybe we should go now. You must be still recovering from the anesthesia.” Ellie’s soft voice drifted through his daydream, and he opened his eyes, squeezing her hand.
“Don’t go yet. I’m okay. I was just…” He pondered telling her about the vision he’d just had, then decided against it. “Please, stay a little longer.”
“Do you like Daddy’s tabboo?” Sophie’s penchant for always finding a new topic when there happened to be a lull in conversation made him smile. Ellie frowned, and Sophie pointed at Adam’s right bicep, where his tattoo was. “I can’t have one because I’m little, but when I’m gwon-up I can have one, too. Do you have a tabboo, Miss Ellie?”
Ellie shook her head and stared at Adam’s arm, her gaze lingering a little on his bare chest. He smirked when her eyes met his, and she blushed when she realized she’d been caught ogling him.
She cleared her throat. “No, I don’t have a tattoo. But I like your daddy’s.” She met his eyes again. “Teenage rebellion?”
Adam chuckled. “No, it’s a family tattoo. Kean’s idea, actually. At some point after high school he decided that every Cavanagh should get a Celtic cross tattooed upon turning twenty-one. It was a sort of initiation rite into manhood or something. He picked the Celtic cross to honor our Irish roots. Leprechauns and banshees wouldn’t look nice on big, tough guys like us.”
Ellie laughed. “I think a fairy would’ve looked nice on your bicep.”
“I like faiwies! Yes, Daddy, you should paint a faiwy on your arm. And when I’m gwon-up I can have the same tabboo.”
“We’ll see about that when you’re older,” he said in his sternest tone, which Sophie totally ignored as she grinned and clapped her hands, probably thinking she could have a fairy tattoo in the next week or so. The concept of time and age was still a little blurry in her mind, but he didn’t mind. He was willing to buy her some of those washable kid tattoos if it made her happy, if it made up for him giving her a scare that could’ve left her traumatized forever if he hadn’t survived.
A knock on the door made the three of them look up. His family stood outside the door; his mother had one foot inside, although her hand was still half-way in the air after she’d knocked.
“The doctor said we should let you rest, but we wanted to say hi.” She smiled tentatively, as if she wasn’t sure she could walk in. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and the worry lines on her forehead were etched deeper than he remembered.
He waved her in. “Who cares what the doctor said. I’m not on my death bed; come in.”
Her smile brightened, and she walked briskly toward his bed, her hands automatically going up to hug him. She stopped when she realized she’d probably hurt him if she did and let her arms fall back to her side.
“I think it’s time to let Daddy rest, sweet pea.” Enya stroked Sophie’s head and opened her arms. Sophie looked at Adam, then at his mother, and back at Adam. He nodded, and Sophie gave him one last hug before letting her grandmother help her to the floor.
“Uncle Kean, Daddy said we can have a stumber party, and I can paint your nails pink!” She ran toward his brother, who looked at Adam with a quirked eyebrow.
“He did?” He laughed as he picked her up. “Know what? I think your dad would love getting his nails painted cherry red when he gets home.”
“Yay!” She clapped her hands and turned to wave at Adam. “Auntie Lauwen has red nail polish. She can give it to us when you come home.”
“Can’t wait,” Adam said with a smile so wide it made his cheeks hurt, knowing deep down that, if it made his little girl happy, he’d gladly let her put lipstick and eye-shadow on him. Not that he was going to tell Kean that.