Skylar shrieked when Hannah came down in her new blue dress. The three of them fell into that hurricane of hugging and squealing that only teenage girls can produce.
I stood in the doorway watching, arms folded, trying to memorize every second.
« Presents! » Ailani declared, pointing at the pile on the coffee table. « Let’s open them now while the other guests are outside. »
« Bossy, » Hannah said, laughing.
« Correct! »
Skylar shrieked when Hannah came down.
The girls arranged themselves cross-legged on the rug. Hannah started sorting through the gifts. I leaned against the doorframe and let myself smile.
For 13 years, I’d raised that girl mostly alone, ever since we lost Luke. Her father had walked out long before that, when Luke was still a teenager, and Hannah was barely more than a toddler.
I’d stopped waiting for him to return a long time ago.
Her father had walked out.
