Chapter 21 #2
After two days of staying close to home, she’d taken her daughter on their first outing, a short hike on a trail in town.
Though she was worried that a hike would bring back bad memories for Elsie, her daughter had insisted that she wanted to pick some flowers and chase some butterflies.
Being connected to nature was the most healing thing for her little girl.
Her rational mind told her that Norm, Sheryl and Gregory were all in jail and couldn’t hurt them anymore.
But that didn’t make the fear of being out in the open from going away.
Elsie’s enthusiasm about getting to go outside had quelled much of her own fears.
All the same, it was going to take a while for both of them to feel like things were back to normal.
Though Elsie seemed okay, she knew there might be a delayed effect for what she had been through.
She’d look into finding a counselor for both of them.
The whole time they were hiking, she’d been thinking of how nice it would be if River and Frankie were with them.
Not just because of the sense of safety she felt when the officer and K-9 were close, but because she missed their company.
Not having them around would be an adjustment after being in such close proximity.
Elsie had asked several times if River and Frankie could come visit.
The child seemed to have bonded with both the dog and River. Lydia had answered that she didn’t know. “River and Frankie have an important job to do.”
While Elsie removed her boots, Lydia stared into an open cupboard, trying to decide what to make for lunch.
She’d gotten a new stove, but the rest of the repairs would take some time.
She really needed to go to the store. As much as Elsie would like to, they couldn’t live on macaroni and cheese forever.
The doorbell rang.
Lydia ran ahead of her daughter. “Elsie, let me get it.” She still felt protective of the three-year-old.
Even letting Elsie out of her sight for a second or putting her down to sleep made her nervous.
For sure, the healing over what had happened was going to take time.
There was loss, too. She’d thought of Norm and Sheryl as family.
They’d both been arrested and were awaiting trial for several crimes.
Debbie had been devasted to learn about her parents and had promised to reconnect with Sloane.
When she’d called Sloane to let him know Elsie was okay, he apologized saying he hoped that someday he could be in Elsie’s life even though he knew he’d done too much damage for him and Lydia to get back together.
She opened the door. River stood with a pizza box in his hand and Frankie at his feet. He offered her a bright smile. “I thought you might be hungry.”
Her heart fluttered as she looked into his blue eyes. Hadn’t she just been thinking about him?
Behind her, Elsie jumped up and down. “Yeah, Frankie’s here. Come on in, Frankie.”
The dog wagged her tail then looked up at River. “Go, girl.” Frankie bounded into the living room as Elsie laughed and danced around her.
He held the pizza toward Lydia. “So, are you hungry?”
How could he know that he had been on her mind so much? There was a bond between them that was about more than what they had been through together.
“Yes, actually.”
They sat down at the table and ate.
Elsie finished her last bite of pizza. “Can Frankie and I go outside?”
Lydia glanced over at River. “Do you need to get going?”
“No. I cleared my day to come over here.” The look in his eyes, the warmth of his voice, made her want to melt. Something had shifted for him.
When they stepped outside, the spring sun warmed her skin. River and Lydia sat on lawn chairs, watching Elsie play with Frankie.
Her gaze wandered to the trees behind her house. Her breath caught when the memory surfaced of the attacker, who’d turned out to be Gregory, had run there.
River reached over, resting his hand on hers. “You and Elsie are safe now.”
“How could you tell I was thinking about that?”
He shrugged. “No one is going to hurt that little girl with Frankie around.”
“Yes, but you and Frankie—”
He leaned close to her. “Frankie and I would like to spend more time with you and Elsie.”
She turned to face him, searching his eyes, which filled with warm light. “What are you saying?”
“I want to be in your life. We need to give Elsie time to get used to me. You mean more to me than anyone ever has. Lydia, I want to marry you.”
Lydia let out a heavy breath. “Oh, River. Ever since you drove away, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. It’s just an adjustment. I thought I would be raising Elsie alone. I just never thought I’d meet someone like you.”
“So, what do you say? We’ll make it a long engagement so Elsie can get used to the idea and I can get to know her better. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” She reached up to touch his cheek. He leaned in and kissed her.
Frankie and Elsie ran toward them, and she gathered them all into a hug, realizing that she had the family she had longed for since childhood.
* * * * *