by Thomas, C. M
“Mommy, me have granny and papa?” Alana looked at me. I stood behind them.
“You do, baby girl. That’s daddy’s mom and dad.” Liam looked at me with a question in his eyes. “I will tell you later,” I told him. Alana didn’t know my parents as her grandparents, but as Renee and Owen.
“Would you like to meet them?” Liam asked Alana. She just looked at the picture with a huge smile on her face. Guess that’s a yes. Liam walked over to the next picture. It was Gia and Amy.
“Amy.” Alana pointed at the picture.
“That’s right. That is Amy and the other girl is Gia. They are your aunties.” I looked at Alana. She looked like she was full of joy. So many new people for her to meet. Her family.
“And this—” Liam pointed at a picture of him and the band.
“Daddy,” Alana interrupted him and pointed at the picture. I couldn’t help but laugh when she said that.
“Right. That’s dad, but the others, you want to know who they are?” I asked her, trying not to laugh.
“Hmm, okay,” she said, still looking at the picture.
“That is Zane, Caleb, and Cole.” I pointed at each one of them when I told her what their names were. She looked at Liam and then at me.
“They are your uncles,” Liam said, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. What he didn’t know was that when I did that to her, she sometimes rewarded me with a big kiss right on the mouth. And she did just that, gave her dad a big open-mouthed kiss. I laughed at both of them. Alana was enjoying herself, and Liam looked very surprised. I stood behind him, resting my chin on his shoulder.
“She does that. If you kiss her on the cheek she gives a big kiss back sometimes. Should have warned you, sorry.” I laughed at him.
“No, you’re not.” Liam moved around so he had an arm around my waist, holding Alana with the other arm.
“You’re right. I’m not. The expression on your face was priceless.” I grinned. He pulled me close and gave me a small kiss on the cheek.
“Glad to see you laugh, Sunshine,” he whispered.
“Mommy, kiss.” Alana leaned over to me. I give her a small kiss on the mouth. “Daddy, kiss.” She looked at Liam. This time he was prepared, so he gave her a small kiss on the mouth. “Daddy, Mommy, kiss.” Alana looked at both of us.
I looked up at Liam, and before I knew it, he kissed me. Just a small kiss, but the feeling I got was just like last night. I wanted more. I wanted to kiss him all the time. Be inside the bubble, just me and him. Alana grinned, and looked so excited. I looked up at Liam; he winked at me before he let me go.
“You two ready to go up to Grandma and Grandpa’s house?” Liam asked. I nodded and looked at our daughter. She tried to get down on the floor. Liam put her down. The moment she was standing on the floor, she started running over to the front door. “Guess she is ready too. Do you think she can walk up to the house, or should we take the car?”
“I have her stroller in the back of my car. I think we should walk.” I could use some fresh air before meeting the rest of the Camdens for the first time in three years.
“Then let’s go. She seems very excited, doesn’t she?” He looked at Alana before looking back at me.
“She really does. I think she will sleep well tonight. She will be so exhausted when we get home.” I smiled.
We got ready, and Liam locked up the house. Alana jumped around in the driveway, and Bear was right beside her. I got her stroller out of my car and lifted her up in it, hoping she would save some of her energy for when we got to her grandparents’ house. Bear walked in front of us, leading the way. Liam took the stroller, and I walked beside him. He held his hand out to me. I walked over to him, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close.
“It will be fine. Don’t worry,” he whispered.
“I know, just nervous to see everyone again.” We walked like this all the way up to the house.
Chapter 10:
Liam
We stood outside my parents’ house. I lifted Alana up from the stroller and looked at Evie. She was nervous; I could feel her body shaking when we walked from my house.
“You ready?” I asked her, taking her hand in mine.
“As ready as I will ever be.” She shrugged. We walked up on the front porch. I opened the door and walked in. When we all were in, I heard Alana gasp. She looked down at both Bear and Buddy. I grinned.
“That is Buddy, he is Bear’s friend,” I said to her.
“Mommy, see, Bear has a friend!” Alana looked over my shoulder at her mom. Evie walked forward and stood beside us. Alana was holding on to my shirt, but she smiled down at the two dogs. Buddy came over to us, and Evie petted his head.
“I see them, baby girl. They are big, right?” Evie smiled at our daughter. I took her hand again, and she shot me a smile too.
“You guys ready to go inside? Want to meet Grandma and Grandpa?” I asked Alana.
“’Kay.” She had a big smile on her face. I just hoped the smile would be there when she met my family. I looked over to the door into the living room. Amy was standing, looking at us. I walked over to her, and when Alana saw her, she smiled even more. “Amy, my aunt?” she asked me, looking between me and Amy.
“That’s right, girly. I’m your aunt.” Amy came over and gave me and Alana a hug. Then she gave Evie a hug. “You going to be okay?” I heard her ask Evie.
“I think so. I’m just nervous,” Evie said.
“Well, come on, the rest of them are waiting for you guys.” Amy walked back into the living room. We walked right behind her.
When we entered the living room, everybody was looking at us. Alana held on tight to me and hid her head against my chest. I gave her a small kiss on her head and held her close. Evie was squeezing my hand hard. I looked at her and smiled. She looked at me then at Alana. I didn’t think she had seen Alana this shy before. She looked surprised about Alana hiding from everybody.
I looked at my mom. She had tears in her eyes. I walked over to her, but before I got to her, my dad came over to us from the other side of the room. I didn’t even see him before he was hugging Evie.
“Good to see you, girl. You okay?” he asked Evie.
“I’m getting there.” She shrugged. My dad nodded and then looked at Alana.
“And who is this pretty girl?” He looked at me, then Evie, and back to Alana. He carefully took Alana’s hand. She turned a little in my arms to look at her grandfather.
“Papa?” she asked, looking up at me.
“Yes, baby girl. You remember the picture I showed you,” I said. She looked at my father one more time, and this time she had a big smile on her face. My mom came over to us, and Alana gasped.
“Picture too, Daddy.” She pointed at my mom.
“That’s right. This is your grandma,” Evie said beside us.
“Hello, honey. Nice to meet you.” My mom took Alana’s hand and gave us a hug. She turned around and looked at Evie. “Evie, it’s so good to see you. You look great.”
“Thanks. It’s good to see you too.” Evie gave my mom a hug. Cole and Caleb came over next. Cole gave Evie a big hug and whispered something in her ear. Whatever he said made her smile. For that, I was grateful. I wanted her to feel welcome here.
“Hi, girl. I’m Cole.” Cole made a funny face at Alana and she started laughing. Apparently, Cole knew how to make my girls laugh. Wait, my girls. I knew Alana was, but Evie? We still had a long way. But the sound of her being my girl again was warming my heart.
“Looking good, Evie.” Caleb gave her a small hug. He was still not all in on just looking the other way for Evie leaving. I could see it in his eyes. He said a quick hello to Alana before stepping aside so Gia, Zane, and Anna could come meet my baby girl.
“Missed you, girl.” Zane gave Evie a hug. “If he gives you trouble, let me know,” he told he
r.
“I will do that.” She smiled back at him.
“This is Anna, our PA and my girlfriend,” Zane told Evie.
“Nice to meet you,” Evie said to Anna.
“You too. Pretty girl you guys have there.” Anna smiled at Evie and then at me.
“Zay?” Alana looked at Zane and smiled.
“That’s right. I’m Zane, and I’m your cool uncle.” He gave her a small hug and a kiss on the cheek. Alana grinned and looked at Anna. “This is Anna,” Zane told Alana. Alana looked at Anna and then at her mom.
“Mommy, me meet new people.”
“I know. That’s a lot of new people. You like them?”
“Yeah.” She clapped her small hands together. “Ia aunt too?” I looked at her, a little confused, before I saw Gia coming over to us.
“Hey, little girl. I’m Gia, your aunt.” Gia gave Alana and me a hug.
“You guys did good,” she said, and then looked at Evie. “Great seeing you again. If you need a nanny, just say so.”
“Thanks. Great seeing you again too.” Evie gave Gia a hug. Then she looked at me. “I will just go outside for a minute. I need some air.”
“Of course. You okay?” I asked. She nodded and let go of my hand. She walked out of the living room, Bear right behind her, as if he knew that she needed some comfort. I walked over to the couch and sat down with Alana on my lap.
“Is she okay?” Amy asked me. She came over to sit down beside me.
“I hope so. But I think this is a big deal for her. I’ve never seen her this nervous before,” I said.
“Go outside and make sure she is okay. Alana will be fine,” my mom said. She came over to us and squatted down in front of me and Alana. “You want to come with Grandma?” She held her arms out to Alana. First, I wasn’t sure Alana was going to let my mom lift her up, but then she moved out of my lap and into my mom’s arms.
“Go out, boy, we will take care of your girl. You take care of her mom.” My dad came over to my mom, and they both talked to Alana. She looked like she was happy, so I walked outside to Evie.
When I went outside, I didn’t see her anywhere. But then I heard her crying. I looked over to the swing in the yard. She was sitting there with her face hidden in her hands. I walked over to her and stood in front of her.
“Sunshine. What’s the matter?” I asked, and moved her hands from her face.
“I don’t know. This is just so much. She has this whole family who she never had a chance of meeting. What if they never died, then what? Would I just have stayed in that awful place?” she cried.
“I don’t know. But you’re here now. We can’t change the past, okay? And our girl is happy and with family now.” I took her hand and we walked over to the bench nearby and sat down. I pulled her close to me. She rested her head on my shoulder.
“I know. And it’s just me being emotional. I could see how happy she is. But she was shy in the beginning, did you see that?” She smiled. Her eyes were all red, but beautiful as always.
“I did. But it didn’t last long. She let my mom lift her from my arms before I came out to you.” I kissed her on the forehead.
“She did?” Evie gasped.
“Yes. I wasn’t sure what to do. If I should take her outside with me or let her be inside. But when she did that, I was sure she was comfortable. And really, isn’t that all that matters?”
“You’re right. It is. I’m sorry about this.” She tried to move away, but I just held her close to me.
“Don’t be. I understand that this is a lot. And just know that I will do everything to help.”
“You know you say that a lot?” She looked up at me with a smile on her face.
“I know. But I need to be sure that you know it. You’re not alone in this,” I told her as she looked at me. Then her hand came up and cupped my cheek. She pulled me down to her, and before I knew it, she kissed me.
“Thank you,” she said when she broke the kiss. “I just needed to feel you again. Sorry.”
“I’m not,” I said, and kissed her again. “Never be sorry for kissing me. I know we have a long road ahead of us. But if you need a kiss, or for me to hold you, just say so.” I kissed her on her nose.
“I feel safe, you know? I haven’t felt safe since I left.” She looked so sad. I couldn’t do anything but hold her close and reassure her that she would be safe and that she was not alone.
“I’m happy you feel that way, Sunshine. Ready to go inside again? We might have to save our baby from my crazy family.”
“I think you’re right. Especially Zane. He will teach her so many bad things for sure.” She chuckled. I took her hand and we walked inside again.
Back inside, we walked into the kitchen. I just assumed that Alana was in there with my mom. But it was only my mom and Amy who were in the kitchen.
“Where is Alana?” I asked my mom.
“She is in the living room. Don’t worry, she is fine.” My mom looked over her shoulder while talking to me. “Food will be ready soon. You mind telling the others to go to the table?”
“Sure, Mom.” Evie and I walked into the living room. Everyone was talking like this was just a normal dinner, and this wasn’t the first time Alana was here with us. It just felt so normal.
I heard Evie gasp a little and she squeezed my hand hard. I followed her gaze to the other side of the room.
“She looks happy, doesn’t she?” Evie whispered. She rested her head on my shoulder. I gave her a small kiss on the top of her head.
“She does. She’s amazing, Sunshine. You know that, right?” Evie just nodded and kept looking at our daughter.
Alana was sitting on Zane’s lap, talking to him. Her dolly was in Gia’s hands and Buddy was lying beside them. Alana reached out for her dolly and Gia said something to her before she gave her the dolly. Zane was smiling and grinning. As if he felt us staring at them, he looked up. He smiled at us and said something to Alana. She looked up at us, and grinned. She got up from Zane’s lap and ran over to us. I reached down and lifted her up.
“You have fun?” I gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Yay. Me love Buddy and Bear,” she said. I looked down and saw that both dogs were sitting just in front of us.
“I think they love you too,” Evie said. “By the way, Coleen said that dinner is ready,” she said so everybody could hear it.
We all went into the dining room and sat down.
The rest of the night just flew by. Alana was having fun, and Evie looked more relaxed after our talk. We ate and talked. After dinner, my mom took Alana with her to look at some of the toys. My dad soon followed behind them. Evie and I stayed at the table talking to Anna and Zane while the rest cleaned up after dinner.
“I heard from Logan’s assistant. I though you two might want to talk about the suggestions in private before we talk to Logan again tomorrow,” Anna said. I could feel Evie tense up beside me. I moved my arm around her and pulled her closer to me.
“I think that would be great. Are the suggestions reasonable, or what do you think?” I asked Anna. She knew a lot about this and I trusted her to give us the best advice on how to handle the press.
“I think two of the suggestions are okay. But the last one is the best in my opinion.” She walked over to get her iPad from her purse before she joined us back at the table. “The one I think is the best is that you guys, the band, make a statement together. That Liam has a three-year-old daughter whom he didn’t know about.” I tried to interrupt her, but she held her hand up before she continued. “The reason why is personal, and you will give a full interview within the next couple of months telling the story. Or as much as the two of you decide you want to share with the world. I know that it might result in some shit against you, Evie. But at the same time, I hope that if we promise that you will do an interview later, that they will giv
e you the time to get to know each other again.”
“I think it’s a good idea, if you ask me. And not just because Anna says so.” Zane put his arm around Anna before continuing, “I really do think that the four of us as a band have to stand up together on this. To let the world know that we support you. I know that you know that, but I think it’s important that our fans know it too. That we support you and Evie together.”
“Can you keep my name out of it?” Evie asked Anna.
“Sure. And I think that would be best for now. That way, you and Alana can move around town without cameras behind you all the time. But just so you know, we will have security here. More than we have now. And if you want, at your house too.”
“What do you think?” Evie looked up at me.
“I think it might be for the best. And for now, no pictures. I don’t want Alana’s face all over the tabloids. Not until we decide that we want to share her with the world. That’s my condition. No pictures of Alana,” I said.
“I agree. She is just getting to know all of you guys. I know that it might not affect her as much as me. But she is still my baby,” Evie said. I could see the tears in her eyes.
“I know, and Dax will do everything to keep her safe, okay? If you want, we can have him meet us at your house tomorrow?” I gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Call Logan and tell him that we will make a statement in the morning. Do you mind writing it?” I looked at Anna. She nodded and smiled before she and Zane walked out of the room, leaving Evie and me alone. “Are you sure you are okay with this?” I put a finger under her chin and made her look at me.
“I don’t know. This is a whole new world for me. I know you guys are famous. But all of this is just a little too much. I want her to be a normal kid, you know.”
“I know. And she will be. She will also have a big family who all loves her and supports her. We can’t keep her totally out of the tabloids’ eyes. But we do this our way and we do it together. I want you to be okay with this. I know we have to make a statement soon. But if you have any doubts, then we wait.”