“They had to bring someone who knows what they’re doing.” He winks at me, and I grin at the only other person in the group who does renovations for a living.
“Ah, that makes sense.” I open the door wider to let everyone in. Bailey greets each of them in turn. Butterscotch joins her, and Bailey’s tail wags at supersonic speed.
Troy enters last. The kiss he gives me is long and deep and turns my blood to a simmer.
I smile against his mouth. “Thank you.”
“Noah gets all the credit for this. He asked me if he and Avery could help with the renovations.”
“We know you’re starting your life over, and having the safe haven you’ve been dreaming about is part of that,” Noah says from the hallway, clearly having heard the kiss and what Troy said to me.
Troy kisses my brow and smiles at me. “And maybe once we’ve finished the renovations, your brother-in-law and his wife will be open to the idea of Amelia being in your life.”
Oh, God.That’s my dream. A dream I’m getting closer to achieving. I turn to the group. “Thank you. There aren’t enough words to tell you how grateful I am.”
Silly tears prick my eyes. After what happened with Anne’s neighbor yesterday, I needed this. I needed to be reminded that once more people piece together the truth about my past, not everyone will despise me. I have friends who believe in me—like Granny did.
* * *
“Do I get to see it?”I ask Troy three hours later and peer up the stairs to Amelia’s bedroom. Everyone left a few minutes ago. Troy, Noah, and Kellan were working on the second floor the entire time, while the girls and I were downstairs, painting the walls and floor moldings. Lucas and Garrett were busy with the laundry room under the guidance of Lance, who was tearing out the cabinetry in the washroom next to where they were.
“You can see the bathroom, but you’ll have to wait to see the guest bedroom.” Troy kisses the end of my nose.
“Why?”
The smile that spreads across his face is one of my favorites—amused and incredibly sexy. “You’re like a kid who’s been told they have to wait until bedtime to open their birthday presents.”
I fake a horrified gasp and clutch at my chest. “What kind of monster would make a kid wait that long? And can you blame me?” I drop my hand away and push my lips into a pout. Troy chuckles.
“No. Especially when I know how important that room is to you.” Troy’s eyes cloud, the teasing glow robbed from them. The moment vanishes as quickly as it came.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, surprised at the sudden change in him.
“There’s nothing wrong.”
“Are you sure?” Did he find the secret room? But so what if he did? Sure, I haven’t told him about what I found there, but I don’t think me hiding something from him would cause Troy to react like this. The journals, medal, and pendant aren’t a big secret like I was keeping before—a secret about me. They’re Iris’s secret.
He shakes his head. “It’s nothing.”
“Really? Then telling me shouldn’t be a big deal. What has you so frowny?” The corners of my mouth twitch up a tiny amount.
“I’m not frowny.”
I run my thumb over the grooves in his forehead. “Could have fooled me. Just tell me.” My arms encircle his waist. He’s beginning to make me nervous.
His chest swells with a lengthened breath. A soft sigh blows over his parted lips. “What if your brother-in-law refuses to let you see Amelia? Even after everything you’re doing? The house. The job. Therapy. Great friends. A boyfriend who loves you.” The optimism in his voice from earlier—when he suggested Craig and Grace might now be more open to the idea of Amelia being in my life—has fizzled. In its place is worry and doubt.
My head droops forward. I don’t want to think of that possibility but know it’s looming in the shadows, ready to strike me down.
I don’t know what I’ll do if they never let me see her. Just thinking about it has new fissures spreading through my heart, large chunks of it threatening to fall off.
Troy lifts my chin with his finger. “I’m sorry, Jess. I don’t want you to let go of your goal of having her in your life again, but I’m also worried about what will happen if they keep refusing you.”
I don’t have an answer for him, especially not the one he’ll want to hear. Surely at some point they’ll realize I’m not a threat to be feared. Realize I’m not going to destroy what they have with my daughter—no matter how much it hurts me not being her mother.
“Jess?”
“I don’t know what I’ll do…mainly because there’s nothing I can do. There is no legal path I can take to undo the choice I made. No time machine I can use to prevent myself from signing away my rights.”
