A few days passed. On each of them, Isabel came by the cabin, pounding and screaming at the door. Lauren had half a mind to set the dogs loose on her, but each time, she let herself out instead, calmly explaining that Shane would file his response shortly, and that Isabel would be the first to know when it had happened.
This was not news Isabel wanted to hear, which is probably why she continued to harass Shane through the door, day after day. And as much as she hated to see it, Lauren could tell that Shane was crumbling.
“Maybe I should just sign,” he said after Isabel had paid them a visit that day.
“If you give up now, then you’re just as crazy as she is. Maybe even more.” Lauren plopped into his lap and looked him straight in the eye, which was especially easy considering their faces lined up perfectly in this position. “Shane, this is your daughter.”
“I know. That’s why I’m considering signing.” He ran his fingers through her hair, not removing his gaze from hers for even a second. “What if Rosie actually loves this new guy? What if he’ll be a good father to her, and I’m ruining that? I wasn’t there for her when I had the chance, and now it’s too late.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Remember how my mom and I reconciled after more than twenty years apart? Good thing she’s coming over tonight. She can remind you herself and tell you how stupid it would be to walk away from that relationship.” Lauren gave him a quick kiss and left Shane alone to his thoughts.
Sure enough, Barb came early for dinner that night, eagerly offering to help with the prep work. “I worked as a cook for many years,” she explained while expertly julienning a carrot. “The moment I was no longer pretty enough to bring in the really big tips, they moved me to the back of the house. Lucky for me, I liked it there. And so that’s where I stayed until I decided it was time to move back to my home state.”
“Lauren’s a great cook, too,” Shane said, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she washed the lettuce for their salad. “I bet you have lots of things in common and don’t even realize it yet.”
Lauren turned her face to the side and accepted a kiss on the cheek from Shane. “I bet it’s that way with you and Rosie, too.”
At hearing the little girl’s name, Briar’s ears perked up and she let out a low whine.
“See?” Lauren said, shaking him off and scrambling over to comfort the poor dog. “She hasn’t given up yet, and neither should you.”
“Giving up?” Barb asked, washing her hands and drying them on a plain white tea towel. “Do you have a daughter, Shane?”
“Her name is Rosie, and she’s seven,” he explained. “I haven’t seen her for more than three years.”
“Well, why on earth not?”
Shane looked to Lauren. “You haven’t told her yet?” he asked, referring to the fact that Barb and Lauren had talked on the phone every night that week.
Lauren returned to the other side of the kitchen and poked Shane in the chest, standing on tiptoe to look more authoritative despite her small stature. “Why should I tell her your business? That’s your job.”
“She’s not wrong,” Barb said with a chuckle, turning on the gas over the stove and adding some butter to a cast iron skillet. “So, Shane, tell me about your daughter,” she said as she shifted the melting butter to and fro to cover the entire surface of the pan.
Shane’s eyes lit up as he told the women about Rose’s obsession with all things pink, the way she jumped into his arms every night when he came in from working the dogs, and how her favorite bedtime story was about Clifford, the Big Red Dog. “That’s how she was three years ago,” he finished. “I don’t know what she’s like now. We only just learned that I still have partial custody.”
Barb nodded along as he shared each memory. When he’d finished sharing, she said, “Now, tell me why you’re willing to give up the chance to find out.”
He shrugged and shrunk back from the stove. “Because I messed up. I don’t deserve the chance to know her now.”
“But you deserve to have your arms wrapped around my daughter, here in this kitchen?” Barb said with a wink.
“Trust me,” Lauren said, dragging her fingers through Shane’s hair. “That took a lot of convincing.”
“Honey, listen to this washed up has-been. No reason out there is good enough to give up your little girl. Not a single one.” The butter in the pan crackled and began to turn brown. Barb reached for the onions Lauren had chopped earlier and dumped them into the skillet.
Shane sighed and walked toward the table with the aid of his cane. “Maybe, but—”
“But nothing! If you play it stupid now, you could find yourself one day not-so-slowly dying from cancer and wondering if your girl has forgiven you enough to take a chance on meeting you.”
“If you’re not there,” Lauren said softly. “Isabel can tell Rosie anything she wants, and Rosie will believe her, just like I believed my dad.”
Barb nodded as she grabbed a hunk of ginger from the fridge. “Is that what you want? For your daughter to know you only through what someone else has to say? Or would you rather have a real relationship?”
Shane carefully lowered himself into the wooden chair. “But how?”
“Just like I did: give her the chance. Don’t decide for your daughter whether or not she wants you in your life. She’s far too young for that. Just be there. Show her it’s never too late to apologize for your mistakes. Show her what a strong man looks like and what a good man does for his family.”
He nodded as if suddenly the things Lauren had been telling him for days made perfect sense when explained by someone with a bit more experience on the matter. “And then?”
“Then the rest is up to her, my dear.”