Chapter 5
Year 4…
“Lila, have you seen my other shoe?” I asked, holding up my one running shoe.
She bounced Jackson in her arms, rubbing his back to get him to burp. “No.”
There was a little giggle coming from under the bed, and we both looked in the direction of the sound.
I smiled and gestured with my head to the bed. “Oh, I wonder where it could be. Maybe it’s in the closet.”
Another giggle.
“In the bathroom?” Lila suggested with a wide smile and a shake of her head as she tried not to laugh at our toddler.
A loud laugh—my daughter thought she was so sneaky.
“Maybe…” I laid down on the floor and reached. “It’s under the bed!” Screeches of laughter as I grabbed hold of a toddler leg. “Gotcha!”
She wasn’t very far under, and I was able to pull her out. I tickled her sides, making her squeal before reaching back under for my shoe.
Anna smiled wide, little giggles coming from her. “Again!”
I stood and pulled Jackson from Lila’s arms so she could finish getting dressed.
“Why don’t you help me get Jackson changed and dressed?”
She nodded and smiled, following me down the hall to Jackson’s room. We had a crib set up in our room to help with nighttime feedings, but everything else was in his room.
“All right, little man.” I set him down on the changing pad and unbuttoned his onesie, tickling his little round Buddha belly and getting the cutest little laugh. “Time to see what you’re hiding in here.”
In his first few months, he was exhibiting a personality opposite of his big sister. Calm and quiet, he’d been an easy baby, thus far.
Blue eyes and blond hair, he had signs of my nose and Lila’s lips. Another beautiful combination of us.
My stomach turned as I opened the diaper up.
“Eew!” Anna said, holding her nose and stepping back.
Eew was right.
It took a minute to clean him up and get a new diaper on his squirming butt before I could button up his onesie again.
As soon as I was done, his little face scrunched up and a screech came out of his mouth, big fat tears falling from his eyes. I cooed at him as I picked him up and help him to my chest.
“Shh, it’s okay.” I kissed the top of his head as I bounced in place, a technique I perfected with Anna.
Grabbing his diaper bag, I checked to make sure everything was inside, restocking diapers, wipes, and another set of clothes. Then I walked across the hall to Anna’s room and loaded her bag with diapers and another set of clothes.
I slung one bag over my shoulder, then patted my pockets to make sure I had my phone and wallet before picking up the second one. Lila came out of the bedroom, and I couldn’t help my tongue wetting my lips. A little sundress and strappy sandals, her hair back in a ponytail—beautiful as always.
“We need to get the pool floats,” she said before stopping in front of me and reaching up, her lips pressing against mine.
My hand rested on her hip, keeping her close.
Affection was something we craved. Neither of us could go long without it. Touch was much needed for survival.
We headed downstairs where Lila found the floats and put them into the bag she had prepared, complete with towels, sunscreen, and snacks.
Kids in car seats, bags in back, and we were off to my parents for a cookout.
It was only a fifteen-minute drive, but after five, Lila was already asleep. Life with an infant and a toddler was draining, especially since she’d returned to work a week ago.
Work was a subject we hadn’t really broached. She loved to work, but I worried it was going to be too much. The minute details of the written law gave her structure in our chaotic lives, and a zone to be herself. But the toll it put on her physically concerned me.
As we pulled into my parents’ driveway, Anna yelled in excitement, startling Lila awake.
“I think I need another coffee,” she said as she opened the door.
“There you are,” Mom said as we unloaded our crew.
She immediately zoomed in on Jackson, picking him up from his car seat as Lila pulled the bags out. Erin was right behind her, tickling Anna’s belly and giving Lila a hug as she took some of the bags from her.
The smile on Lila’s face, the family we’d become, was more than I ever thought I’d have after the accident.
My own personal heaven.
Constant, incessant ringing filled my ears, but I couldn’t find the source.
Ring.
Ring.
My eyes popped open, and I slapped my hand down on the phone and brought it closer. The name on the screen was familiar, and I swiped across.
“Hello?”
“Nathan?”
I cleared my throat. “Yes.”
“It’s Lawrence.”
The prosecutor from Adam’s case.
I peered over at the clock. “It’s three in the morning.”
“Sorry to wake you, but I just got the call.”
Lila stirred beside me, pushing up into a seated position. I put the phone on speaker and placed it between us.
“Lila’s here. What call?”
“Adam picked a fight with another inmate.”
We looked at each other in the glow of my cell phone. “He’s never been able to get over his anger issues.”
“True. He’s been getting beaten for the last few months because of his hot head.”
“What now? Another hearing?” Lila’s voice shook a little, and I reached out for her hand.
“No.”
“No?” We stared down at the phone in shock.
“Adam is dead.”
Lila let out a gasp.
“What?” I needed clarification. We needed to know the details.
If he was truly dead, Lila would be free from the fear that followed her.
“The guy had a shiv. They found him in his cell, face down in a pool of his own blood.”
There was no stopping the excitement of the news. It was the justice he truly deserved after everything he’d done to Lila.
The monsters that haunted her were all gone. Dead. Her father died two years prior of a heart attack, and his protégé was rotting in hell with him.
Tears streamed down Lila’s eyes and she smiled at me.
For the first time since I met her, she looked lighter than air. No longer weighed down.
Free to spread her wings and fly.