bChapter /bb149 /b

    Julian’s POV

    Even the addition of the bear at the dinner table could not ruin the otherwise perfect evening that I spent

    with Alice and Amber.

    We gorged ourselves on pizza, then watched a movie. On the couch, Amber and I sat on the ends with Alice between us. Halfway through, Alice started to doze, eventually falling asleep on my arm.

    When she started snoring, Amber stopped. “We should get her to bed,i” /ishe whispered.

    Having never tucked my daughter in before, I was thrilled to oblige and iscooped /iher up into my arms, with her head resting against my shoulder. She so easily curled into me, her little hands gripping my shirt. My heart ached with how precious she was, my treasure sleeping soundly.

    I followed Amber down the hallway to Alice’s room. While Amber moved to the wall to plug in the nightlight, I carried Alice to the bed. The bed was made, so it took some shuffling to get the covers drawn back, but once they were, I gently lowered Alice down.

    Even with her legs kicked under the nkets, her back resting on the bed, and her head on the pillow, she didn’t want to let me go, her little fists still holding onto my shirt like her life depended on it.

    Gently, I brushed my fingers through her hair. “Shh,” I told her. “It’s okay. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be on

    our trip, and you will see me every day.”

    I didn’t know how asleep she was, if she was caught somewhere between dreaming and wakefulness, or

    if she was in full–sleep mode yet still somehow able to hear me. Regardless, my words seemed to reach

    her and she calmed.

    With a sigh, she turned her face more fully into the pillow. At the same time, she released me, cradling the pillow instead.

    With her eyes closed, she looked so peaceful, yet at the same time, so helpless. It was incredibly difficult

    to force myself back, ito /inot sit beside her bed and keep watch in case the monsters tried to enter her

    dreams.

    Her dad would protect her. She could depend on me.

    I didn’t know if she knew that yet, and that broke me. Someday, she would see me as her champion.

    But, today, Amber was waiting for me at the door. I had to trust the nightlight to keep the monsters away in my stead.

    I touched Alice’s cheek. “Goodnight, princessb,/b” I told her. Then I forced myself away and walked out of the room. Amber gently closed the door behind us, as we moved out into the hallway.

    Chooter 149

    “We bcould /bbfinish /bthe movie?” I asked her, somewhat hopeful, though I knew better than to get my hopes bentirely /braised.

    I had a long way to go yet earning Amber’s trust. It was bstill /btoo soon.

    I could tell from her look alone, the way she was side–eyeing the door that she was trying to think of a

    way to get me to leave.

    Not wanting to overstay my wee, I quickly amended, “Actually, I better get a good night’s sleep before tomorrow and our trip. I’m not sure how well I’ll rest on the road.”

    I could sleep anywhere, if I was tired enough. But this was the excuse I gave and she seemed relieved for having heard bit/b.

    She showed me to the door. I had to drag myself through it, not wanting to leave my family.

    But I had to. I couldn’t argue with Amber to make her want to be my wife again. That kind of finesse needed a softer touch, and over the next few months, I would put the effort in. I would spend the time to romance her properly, showing her the attention and love I should have shown her from the beginning.

    “Thank you for tonight,” I told her, once I was out on the porch.

    bChapter /b150