The sweet smell of strawberry mixed with cotton candy was the first indication that I wasn’t where I should have been.

The tiny furnace-like body I was currently cuddling to my front was my second.

And the third—a big third—was the fact that I had a large boiler tucked against my back, his muscular arms wrapped around me, tightening ever so slightly the more I came to.

Shane’s lips met the back of my neck, pressing lightly. “Good morning,” he rasped.

My heart was beating out of my chest with the reality of where I was and who I was with.

Lifting my head slowly, I peered down. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t on the verge of freaking out.

Shane’s arms gave me a brief squeeze. “Relax,” he whispered. “She came in and saw you. I explained that you were having work done to your place and it wasn’t safe to stay there.”

“I shouldn’t be in here!” I whisper-yelled. “You said you’d wake me.”

“Shhh.”

“Don’t shhh me!”

His body shook against mine in silent laughter. “She thought that I was cuddling you because of a nightmare. She asked if she could help me chase your bad dream away, like I do with hers.”

My body lost its sudden rigidity as I melted back into the bed, into the two Peters I was sandwiched between. My heart warmed. I found myself leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to Lana Rose’s crown.

“I hope you’re not mad.” Shane’s words tickled the back of my neck.

“I was.” What was the point in lying? “But I’m not now.”

“Ember?” Little Rosie mumbled as she began to stir.

“Right here, sweetie,” I said softly.

“Did the bad dream go away?” She had yet to open her eyes, instead she simply cuddled in closer to me.

“It did.” I pressed another kiss to the top of her head. “Thank you.”

“Good.” I couldn’t see her mouth, with her tight position against me, but I could hear the smile in her singular word. “Daddy said you’ll be staying with us for a few days. Can we have a sleepover in Daddy’s room again tonight?”

Shane snorted, his body shaking once more with laughter.

This had me smiling.

Was this what a real family felt like? The reality of the moment had an imaginary deadweight lifting off of the pit of my gut. I’d been robbed of this dream. Suddenly, the fleeting thought of losing what was right there surrounding me this morning, my arms tightened around the little girl as I snuggled her, much like my mother used to. This set off a chain reaction because no sooner than my grip grew, so did Shane’s on me.

Nora had left a little over an hour before to join a few friends for coffee, as well as run errands for the family. Shane had gone into work after briefly, allowing me to escort him to my little cottage to bring back some supplies, as well as packaging materials, so I could finalize a few orders at some point during the day.

So far, Rosie and I have managed to perform facials on each other and paint our toenails. I had to admit, my feet looked as if a bubble gum machine puked all over them after the girl was done with them, but I would wear that messy job with pride. It was things like that, which one would never think they’d missed out on until they were faced with it. My sudden bout of melancholy, at never having this with a daughter of my own, faded quickly because Lana Rose had given that to me.

We were in the middle of watching the first of the Harry Potter movies when I realized that we needed extra ribbon.

“Sweets, I need to run back over to the cottage for a few minutes,” I told her.

“But you promised Daddy that you wouldn’t go there by yourself.” She bit her lip.

I escorted her to the front door, pointing out the window to Stan’s van sitting in my driveway. As promised, the man had shown up bright and early to get started on my deluxe security system.

“You see? Stan is there. I’ll be quick.” I cupped her cheek. “Promise.”

She nodded hesitantly. “Okay, but be super fast, Ember. I don’t want us to get in trouble.”

I couldn’t help the smile. It was cute that she was trying to protect me from her father’s wrath. I’d deal with Shane when, or if, the time came.

Sliding on my flip-flops, I kissed Lana Rose’s forehead and made my way out the door. I could feel the girl’s eyes on my back. Once I crossed the street, I peered toward the Peters’ house before turning the corner for the backyard, seeing her still watching from the window at the side of the front door.

I had just locked the cottage’s door when I was shoved forcefully against it, my face slamming nose first into its frame.

What the fuck?

The force of the blow had me seeing stars and my world began to spin like a tilt-a-whirl.

“Stay away from the cop, if you know what’s good for you,” a husky voice I didn’t recognize spat into my ear. The stench of stale liquor on his breath had me forcing back bile. “You’re not her. You’ll never be her. The bastard deserves all the misery he gets. No one fucks with me.”

As quick as he appeared, he was gone, leaving me to collapse onto the ground—frozen in fear—ribbons and tags scattered all around me. I tried to calm myself and assess the situation at hand, but it was no use, my lungs wouldn’t have it. Black spots crowded my vision, and darkness blanketed me as my breath grew shorter and shorter, until all I saw was darkness.

A child sobbing nearby was the first thing I heard when I came to.

“It’s okay, Rosie.” Stan’s voice was soft. “She’s waking up, see?” A sniffle. “Emberlyn, can you hear me?”

My head pounded the moment I cracked my eyes open. With the fact that I was the one in charge of Lana Rose, and the poor thing was in a panic, I pushed through the pain, lifting my hand up to my forehead to shield my eyes from some of the sudden brightness.

“I’m okay,” I mumbled, then tried to sit up with Stan’s help. “Just a bump, Sweets.” I reached for my nose, wincing at the immediate tenderness that made my eyes water, and groaned, “Ouch.”

“The ambulance is on the way,” Stan informed me. “And so is Shane.”

Shit.

Well now I’ve gone and done it.