He slid an arm around his daughter’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “Thank goodness for small favors, huh?”
“Yes, but I think we need Julia here. She makes things so much better.”
He smiled at his daughter’s love for Julia. “I agree. But you and me…we can do pretty good on our own, right? We did for years.”
Sierra laid her head on his shoulder. “Yeah, we did.” She lifted her head with a wrinkled nose. “Oh, no.”
“What?” His heart skipped a beat, wondering what bothered her now.
“I’m not really your daughter. But Kyle is really your son. What kind of cruel joke has the world played on us?”
Grant clicked his tongue. “I don’t know. If I could change this, baby, I would.”
She settled her head on him again. “I know how you can make it better.”
“Yeah?” he asked, craning his neck to glance down at her.
“Popcorn, chocolate, wine, Julia. Oh, and…Kyle,” she grumbled.
“I can do the first four. But, baby, if you don’t want Kyle here, I’m not inviting him.”
She lifted her head, rolling her eyes with a sigh. “He’s my brother…sort of. I guess the silver lining here is that I’m not actually related to him at all.”
“Thanks,” he murmured sarcastically. “I am.”
“Sorry, Daddy. I can’t do anything about that. But…we’re a family. And we should all be together.”
Grant kissed the top of her head. “Okay. I’ll go get all of this. Pick a good movie.”
“I’ll pick the one that’ll annoy Kyle the most,” she said with a grin as she flopped onto her stomach and grabbed her remote.
A chuckle escaped him as he rose and strode from the room, amazed at his daughter’s resilience. He credited it all to Julia. Sierra would have crumbled if she hadn’t been here. She also never would have invited her brother to their family time without his wife’s influence.
He wound through the halls to Kyle’s room, finding it empty. His forehead creased, wondering if something was wrong. Did Julia not tell him because of everything that happened?
He couldn’t stop the panic rising inside him after the day’s events, but he forced himself to remain calm. He’d check her office. Or call James to see if her car was here.
With a hard swallow, he forced himself to move toward her office. As he turned the corner, he nearly ran into Alicia.
“Oh, hey,” she said with a half-smile.
“Hi. Hey, have you seen Julia?” His features pinched as the words escaped him before he could stop them. She’d probably lecture him on how controlling he was.
“Yeah, she’s in her office with Kyle. I’m sorry, I held her up. Girl talk.” Alicia shifted her weight as she flicked her gaze away from him.
“Oh, no, that’s…fine. That’s okay. I’m glad you’re here. She really enjoys having you close.”
“Yeah, I’m enjoying that, too.” She snapped her eyes up to his. “Oh, uh, but I won’t overstay my welcome.”
He shook his head and waved a hand at her. “Not going to happen. Anyway, sorry to rush off, but I need to find Julia.”
“Yeah, of course. Have a good night.”
“Thanks,” he said as he left her behind. Alicia wasn’t too bad when she wasn’t trying to break them up or convince Julia that she should leave him. And at least Julia was still here. She must have just gotten sidetracked with Alicia. After the two tumultuous years, every separation from her twisted his stomach into knots.
He arrived at her door and knocked, his gaze shifting between Julia and Kyle.
“I was just heading back,” Julia said as she rose.
