by Jillian Neal
“I think he was a nice man. He used to bring me suckers whenever he came to get the money from Daddy, but he did kind of make my tummy feel funny, so I’m not sure if he was a nice man.” She sighed dejectedly as she read the newspaper with ease. “How did he get killed?”
“Aida.” Emily moved to sit beside her. “Sweetheart, he wasn’t a nice man. He’s who hurt Fionna.”
Aida looked confused as Fionna began to sob. “He told me that as long as Daddy kept paying him, he would make sure nothing bad would happen, but then Daddy couldn't pay him one time, and that's when the mine collapsed. If Daddy had kept paying him, I wouldn't have to live in the orphanage.”
There wasn't a dry eye in the entire crowd. Dan wrapped Fionna up in his massive arms as she wept convulsively.
~Dan Vindico~
Feeling like his heart simply couldn’t accept the harrowing truth of Aida’s horrifying tale, Dan tried to soothe Fionna. He couldn’t stand for her to cry anymore. She’d been hurt so much, and it was all his fault.
Mrs. Haydenshire lifted Aida into her arms and gazed at her adoringly as she wiped tears from her eyes. “Aida, sweetheart, you can stay here on the farm with us for as long as you like. You don’t have to live in the orphanage anymore.” The Crown Governor wiped his eyes and nodded his adamant agreement.
“Fi?” Having no idea if he was ready to be a father to a seven year old, or what might be in store for them down the road, Dan met Fionna’s desperate gaze.
“Oh, please Dan. Please!” Fionna begged.
He wiped away a few of her tears and turned to the Haydenshires. “Or she could stay with us.”
He wondered momentarily if they should talk it over more or spend more time with Aida, but as he stared at the precious little girl that everything had been taken from, he knew that she was the answer to prayers sobbed fervently from the hospital operating room, from the walls of their far too empty house, and from the island of Kauai.
“Stephen, that’s perfect,” Mrs. Haydenshire gasped. She set Aida down and directed her towards Dan and Fionna.
Fionna moved to Aida beaming through her tears. “Aida would you like for Dan and I to adopt you, so you could live here with us, and never go back to the orphanage?”
Elation cast Aida’s timid eyes. “And I could stay with you, and you would take care of me?” She quizzed in disbelief.
Fionna nodded. Her chin trembled as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “Yes, you can stay in our house. You can even pick your own room, and be with us until you’re all grown up.”
“I promise I’ll be good, and I won’t make noise when I’m not supposed to, and I won’t bother, and I will help you do anything you need help with.” Aida’s promises unleashed more tears that Dan could no longer hold back. He felt his heart ache physically as he gazed at his wife and his little girl.
“Does he want me to?” She eyed Dan speculatively with fear shadowing her precious face once again.
Moving beside Fionna, he leaned down and took Aida’s hands in his own. “More than you will ever know, sweetheart.” Tears poured down his face now.
Garrett squeezed his eyes shut in what appeared to be utter relief. Everyone stared at the formation of a beautiful family.
A hesitant smile was just beginning on Aida’s features. She was still nervous about the abrupt change in her life. “Do you know about little girls?” She made Dan laugh through his tears.
“Well, I have lots of little sisters, and I've gotten pretty good with Fionna, but you can teach me the rest, deal?”
“Deal,” Aida giggled.
In a move that melted through the remnants of terror and anger that still occasionally permeated his soul, the ones that Fionna was working on but that Dan hadn’t yet been able to release, Aida reached and took his hand in her left and Fionna’s in her right as a broad beam spread across her face.
Aida
Aida stood up on her tiptoes, and Dan noted the holes in her tennis shoes.
His stomach knotted uncomfortably. She tugged on Fionna’s hand. She wanted to ask her something.
Fionna leaned her head down beside Aida’s mouth. Aida cupped her hand and whispered in her ear. Whatever she’d asked had more tears returning to Fionna’s eyes.
“Yes,” she assured Aida as she gazed up at Dan. “Dan gives the best hugs.”
Aida seemed to have to will courage as she studied him, but then she extended her arms upwards. Drawing a stuttered breath and blinking back more of his own tears, Dan leaned and hoisted her up into his arms holding her tightly.
Aida’s tiny frame melted into Dan’s as she laid her head tenderly on his shoulder turning her face to his neck just the way Fionna did when she needed Dan to make her feel safe.
“Okay, you have to stop.” Mrs. Haydenshire mopped tears from her eyes and face. Dan cradled Aida to his chest and felt his ragged soul begin to mend. She didn’t seem to want to let go, and he wanted to hold onto her forever.
“Could we get a little help with this, Governor Haydenshire?” Desperation perforated his plea.
Governor Haydenshire chuckled as he nodded. “Don’t know how often I cast and seal a marriage certificate and adoption papers in one week’s time for the same couple, but for you two, this somehow seems appropriate.” He slapped Dan on the back. “Let me go make a few phone calls.”
“Thank you,” Fionna called but she was unable to take her eyes off of Dan and Aida.
Garrett joined them. Dan tried not to mind when Aida exuberantly exchanged his arms for Garrett’s. “Hey, this is pretty cool right? If you go live with Dan and Fionna, I’ll get to visit you all the time.”
As he made his vow to Aida, he kept his eyes locked on Dan and Fionna. They both nodded their agreement. Dan was certain that having Garrett around would help her adjust, and she clearly adored him.
“This is the best day ever!” Aida exclaimed.
“I think you’re right, Aida Mae!” Garrett lifted his eyes back to Dan. “Just remember that both of them are still my girls, but I guess I’ll share them.”
Dan wasn’t certain he cared for that, but he could never thank Garrett enough for everything he’d done for both he and Fionna. As Garrett had just delivered them Aida, he supposed he would always be deeply indebted.
~Rainer Lawson~
The rest of the afternoon went by in a dizzying blur. As Rainer watched the aisle being constructed, his energy tensed. Another rise of excitement and nerves worked through his body.
He let his mind reel as he took a moment to recall images of Emily from the past. Memories formed in his mind of Mrs. Haydenshire picking he and Logan up from first grade when his father was out of town. Emily seated in the back of the minivan with her hair pulled up pig tails. She shared her jellybeans with Rainer but refused Logan any.
“Betcha won’t kiss me Rainer.” He could still hear her challenge. He could still feel his nerves. He could hear Logan and Connor’s derisive groans and gags as he’d brushed his lips across her cheek.
He saw her long auburn hair whipped out behind her as she raced him on her bike. He always let her win.
“Will you push me on the tire swing?” He would have done anything if she’d just keep holding his hand. Rainer recalled the feeling. He heard her terror-filled scream as she saw the copperhead, and he felt his shield attempt to emerge from his body though he hadn’t understood what it yet was. His all encompassing fervor to protect her as he’d held her, to put his body between her and the snake washed through his mind.
Sitting down on the dock beside her wishing there was something he could do to make her stop crying. “Please, Em, don’t be embarrassed. Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen?” His confused plea echoed in his mind. He wasn’t certain how to talk to her about starting her period. He just knew he didn’t want her to cry and run away from him anymore.
Sitting in her loft trying to hide the effect she was having on his body. “I know what you want to do.” He could still hear her sassy decla
ration.
“No you don’t.” He could still feel the fevered burn in his face.
“You’ve been staring at them for two weeks straight.” He’d wanted to melt into the floor right up to the point that she grabbed his hands and placed them on her breasts. After that, he’d only wanted to melt into her.
Walks on the beach, formals at the Academy, mixed with games of hide-and-seek as they flew through his mind. He landed on Emily dressed in a low cut hunter green t-shirt, the exact color of her eyes, and a pair of tight blue jeans sitting in his Mustang in a hidden away cove at Great Falls Park.
His tongue in her mouth. His hands groping her breasts. Her grinding against him. Her jeans pulling away from her as he unbuttoned them.
Backing her up to the pier fixing on Virginia Beach, the fragrance of her and of sex mixed with redwood in the humid salty air.
“Touch me Rainer please.” He could still feel her whispered plea as it caressed his neck, the emerging wet heat on his fingers as he traced her, as his cock pulsing in her hands.
“Rainer, would you help them hang those lanterns in the cherry trees?” Emily’s request jerked him back to the present. He gazed at her completely overwhelmed by how much he loved her and the fact that the next day she was going to be his wife.
“Sure, baby.” He helped her unpack the rectangular lanterns that she’d ordered to be hung throughout the blooming cherry trees on the farm.
Levi, Patrick, Dan, and Garrett hung the hanging bubble lights inside the tents for the reception while Logan, Connor, and Will listened to Emily explain how the dance floor should be situated.
Everyone paused when Fionna asked Aida if she’d like to try on her dress so that the hem could be pinned. They emerged from the house with Aida dressed in the deep purple gown Fionna had created. It was fitted to her waist and then flared out into a long skirt. Fionna tied the large lavender sash into a bow at her back.
“It’s the most beautiful dress ever, and purple is my favorite color!” Aida was exuberant. Dan beamed.
Rainer was certain there would be complications and issues as Aida grew used to the idea of living with Dan and Fionna, but at that moment, all three of them looked like they’d never been happier.
“I know,” Fionna assured her as she leaned down to pin the hem. “That’s why I made it for you, and my dress is purple too so we’ll match.”
“You remembered that my favorite color is purple?” Aida couldn’t quite seem to understand how much she was already loved.
“I remembered.” Fionna promised.
Once the hem was pinned, Aida spun around making the skirt flare out. “Fionna says I get to keep it forever. I want to wear it everyday. I feel like a princess!” She raced towards Dan.
“I think you look like a beautiful princess,” he assured her. She beamed up at him and it was apparent to everyone watching them that he made her feel safe. She was aware of the power of his shield and she wanted to be near him.
“And here’s your crown, my little princess.” Fionna handed Dan the circle of purple and light pink flowers that Fionna had made to match the bridesmaid’s bouquets.
Dan leaned down and placed it tenderly on Aida’s hair.
“Do you know what that’s called?” Fionna adjusted it slightly.
Aida shook her head and reached to grasp Dan’s hand.
“It’s called a Haku, and we wear them for very special things and special dances in Hawaii.” Fionna explained.
Dan carefully lifted Aida back into his arms making certain that the pins didn’t scratch her calves. “Fionna wore a beautiful Haku when we got married.”
Aida’s eyes lit as she beamed at Fionna. “And then she was the most beautiful princess ever!”
“She definitely was.” Dan’s vow strangled in his throat.
~Dan Vindico~
Holding Aida seemed almost as natural as holding Fionna. He could feel the light traces of her burgeoning energy soothe when she was near him.
“When do I get to go home with you?” Aida asked timidly. She sounded afraid she would get in trouble for being curious. Fionna gazed at Aida in Dan’s arms. The smiles she kept giving him made him feel like maybe her world had finally settled into perfect accord.
“Well, we thought we would take you home now and I can finish sewing your dress, and then you can pick out your room. But then we’re going to come back here because tonight Emily is having a slumber party with you, and me, and Chloe, and Adeline at the farmhouse. No boys allowed!” Fionna tempted her.
Aida’s eyes lit in delight, but Dan was concerned. “But if you’d rather stay in your new room tonight, you and Fionna could stay at home.” He wanted Aida to know that she didn’t have to stay over night if she didn’t want to.
Garrett, Logan, and Rainer all chuckled. Suddenly aware that they were being watched, Dan assumed that they knew he didn’t want to sleep without Fionna. He wanted to take his girls home and start working on becoming a family.
Aida looked concerned as she studied Dan and Fionna. “Won’t you miss Dan?”
Fionna swooned. “I will miss Dan, but we’ll see him in the morning while we get ready for Emily to marry Rainer. Tonight, he’s going to a party with the boys.”
Aida drew her mouth to the side. “Slumber parties are a lot of fun. I think maybe even more fun than boy parties.” She was afraid she was hurting Dan’s feelings.
He was certain that she was the cutest child that had ever existed in the history of the world. “I have no doubt,” he assured her. “But I need you to do something for me tonight, okay?”
“Anything,” Aida vowed.
“I need you to take care of Fionna for me tonight, and to remember that she still has a hurt tummy, okay?”
“I promise I will.”
Her little head hit Fionna’s abdomen in the approximate place that she’d been shot, and Dan was well aware that with each exuberant hug Fionna twinged in pain.
“Dan, Fionna,” Governor Haydenshire called from the back deck. He was holding up a stack of paperwork. “Why don’t you let Aida play with the boys?”
Dan hoped against hope that nothing had gone wrong with Aida’s paperwork.
Emily moved in. “Actually why don’t I help you take off your dress so the pins don’t stick you and then you can help me with a very important job for the wedding.”
Dan set Aida back on the ground. “But you’ll be right back?” Her voice shook and she clung to Fionna’s hand.
“We’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” she nodded at Emily. “Sister Tabitha says I’m a very good helper.”
Emily smiled. “You’re an excellent helper!”
Fionna clung to Dan’s arm drawing from his ample energy reserves. He supplied her with strength and soothed her as they made their way into the farmhouse.
They followed the Governor and Mrs. Haydenshire into the office. “All right, you two have a seat.” The Governor’s grin put Dan at ease. He certainly didn’t appear to have bad news.
Dan and Fionna seated themselves and waited with baited breath.
“Here are the papers establishing you as Aida’s guardians and stating that someone from the Axillary office of the Senate will check on her occasionally to make certain that you’re caring for her properly. As I have no doubt that she will be both adored and thoroughly spoiled rotten, that won’t actually be happening, but just sign them anyway.” Governor Haydenshire set a stack of paperwork down in front of them.
“Says the man that allowed a six-year-old Emily eleven gumballs out of the machine at the grocery store because, and I quote, she wanted a pink one, and that has already purchased Abigail a tricycle.” Mrs. Haydenshire chastised.
Dan and Fionna laughed heartily as the Governor gave her a goading smirk.
“Now,” he went on. “She has no known living relatives left, so when these papers are signed she becomes a Vindico. She gives up the last name of Santos and her family crest the very same way Fionna did when she marri
ed you, Dan.”
“But Stephen and I just wanted to suggest, if you don’t mind,” Mrs. Haydenshire stepped in. Dan and Fionna nodded adamantly. “You might not want to bring up the change of her name for a few weeks still. Let her get used to being taken care of and relying on you for what she needs.”
The Governor nodded his agreement. “It’s not something she’s accustomed to. I’m certain you’ve noticed her ragged clothing and the fact that she probably hasn’t been eating enough food. You’re going to have to work slowly and methodically to make sure that she eats foods that her little body clearly needs.”
The pain of it being stated out loud made Dan’s heart ache.
“It was only three years ago that Pravus killed her parents and her older brothers.” Disgust leaked into the Governor’s tone. “She was only four when it happened. According to the nuns at the orphanage she remembers snippets of her family but not the events surrounding their death.”
Mrs. Haydenshire gave Fionna a sorrowful gaze. “She might not ever really feel comfortable calling you mom and dad.”
“Rainer never did. Of course he was much older when Joseph was killed and I would never have allowed him to give up Joseph’s name or his crest.” The governor pointed out.
“That’s completely fine,” Fionna vowed. “I don’t want her to forget her parents. I want them to stay with her in her heart forever. They’ll always be a part of her.”
Dan swallowed harshly as he squeezed Fionna’s hand. No one else in the room was aware of the depth of knowledge from which she spoke. She’d buried her mother when she was barely 13.
“All right, get these signed.” The Governor handed over the next stack of papers before he continued. “There are a few allowances the Realm gives with international adoptions. Because there are really only five weeks of the school year left, Aida won’t be expected to begin attending elementary school until the next fall.”
When he’d awoken that morning with Fionna tucked up contentedly on his chest, Dan had no idea that by that afternoon he would have become a father. He tried to locate panic about that fact within his body or his mind but found none. He hadn’t allowed himself to think through the radical changes this was going to bring about. It was truly going to be a trial by fire, but he was more than ready.