Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34690 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 139(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
I’ll never forget the look on her face when Kennedy told her we were taking her home with us. It hadn't taken much to get her birth mom to sign over her rights. Having her sign off made the process go faster. Faith’s father had died of an overdose a few years back so nothing was needed on that end..
“Are we going to Ace’s house?” Faith puts her book down.
“No. Not today, but he’s not far from where we’re going.” I take a right into the driveway. The gate is already open. My security is already locking this place down like Fort Knox. I know I’m going overboard, but I don’t fucking care.
Kennedy glances over at me curiously as I pull up in front of the house. It’s a bit of overkill for what we need, but its location and the fact it has a stone wall that surrounds the property was my selling point.
“Welcome home,” I tell my girls.
“Wait, what?” Kennedy says.
“Our home?” Faith wrings her little hands together.
“Yes, sweetheart. You’re our daughter. Where we go, you go. Always.” A smile lights up her face. Kennedy wipes a tear from her cheek.
“Let’s go see what kind of room you’ve got, Faith.”
“My own room?” She unclips her seatbelt, ready to get out of the car.
“Your own room.” We all get out together. I unlock the front door, pushing the double doors open.
“Is this place a museum?” Kennedy teases, her eyes everywhere. I’d bought the place as is with the furniture. I only changed a few things so far. I replaced all the beds and stripped down one of the master bedroom closets to make it a nursery for our little jelly bean. Plus, I had Faith’s room redecorated.
“You can change anything you like.” I take her hand, looking forward to fucking my wife on our new bed.
“No. This is wonderful,” she protests.
“That might be so, but I want your input and touches in our home. We could also start building if you don’t love this place.”
“I love it.” Faith chimes in, settling that for now. I can tell my wife is fighting tears knowing her crying upsets both Faith and me.
“I say we go see Faith’s room first,” I suggest.
“I agree!” She is bouncing up and down.
“Follow me.” I take both their hands, leading them up the stairs and to Faith’s room. “It’s right here,” I tell her. She clenches her little nose in confusion, staring at a bookcase in the wide hallway. “Push here.” I show her the button.
She pushes it, causing the custom door I had installed to slide over, revealing her bedroom.
“My room is behind a bookcase!” she shouts as she runs inside. One wall is made up of a bookshelf all the way across from floor to ceiling. There is a ladder you can move back and forth in order to reach the higher books. She won’t be using that for a few years. I can get them for now or supervise her getting them.
“Dane. This is amazing,” Kennedy says. I pull her into my arms.
“I’m a princess,” Faith declares, jumping on her bed that indeed looks like it belongs to a princess. The whole room does. “Is that my own bathroom?” She’s off the bed, running toward me through the door. I hear her gasp inside the closet. She runs back out wearing a crown.
“That’s the bathroom, sweetheart.” I point to another door. She takes off again.
“I love you so damn much. I don’t know what I did in this life to get you,” Kennedy says.
“I love you too.” She’s wrong. I’m the one who is lucky. She showed me what life was actually about. She changed my whole world.
“I love it, Mom and Dad.”
Both Kennedy and I still. That was the first time she called us that. When we told her we’d adopted her, she asked if we were her mom and dad now. We’d told her yes. Then she asked if she should call us that. Kennedy told her she could call us whatever she wanted.
She runs toward us. I bend down and scoop her into my arms, pulling my wife into my side. As fucked up as this has all been, I know neither Kennedy nor I would change it. As scary as it was, in the end we got Faith.
Faith was the one thing I’d held on to when Kennedy disappeared. I’d held on to it knowing she was out there somewhere and I’d find her. Nothing was going to stop me.
Everyone needs a little faith in their lives.
Epilogue
Kennedy
“I’m going to have to put a tracker on you.” I glance up from the papers that are spread out in front of me to see my husband. I’ve pretty much taken over his office. It’s now more mine than his at this point. He’s pretty much retired at this point. His office runs itself. He does do some projects here locally from time to time.