Chapter 1

1

Tyrion (Tee-ree-uhn) Lewis

T en Years Later

I smiled as my baby girl posed for mirror selfies in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom. I couldn’t believe she was almost eleven years old. Today was her first day of fifth grade, and my heart couldn’t take it. One minute, I was holding her in my arms, and now she was entering her last year before middle school. I couldn’t pretend like I hadn’t cried this morning.

I had to get it out of my system before I got her up and ready.

Time had moved so fast yet slow the last ten years. After the disappearance of my wife, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I harbored so much guilt. If I’d just gotten up and insisted on going to the store for her, she’d still be here. She wouldn’t have missed so much of Summer Rose’s life—her first time sitting up, her first word, her first crawl, her first walk and run.

There were so many milestones I wished she could have been a part of, and it killed me every day that she was gone. My first thought when the police found her car in the woods was maybe someone had found her. Maybe she was hurt, and they were nursing her back to health. Clearly, I’d watched too many movies.

If she was hurt, any good person would have called the police or at least took her to the hospital. For months, I waited for her to walk through the front door. I waited by the phone to hear that she’d been rescued safely. Then months turned into years. Instead of a rescue, I waited to hear that her body had been recovered.

I heard nothing.

It was like she’d disappeared without a trace.

For years, we lived with the agony of not knowing where she was. If she was dead, we at least wanted to give her a proper burial. She needed to be where we could fully mourn her loss. All we had were memories now.

“Don’t I look pretty, Daddy?” Summer Rose asked, twirling around.

“You look beautiful, baby girl.”

She walked over to the picture of her mother and tiptoed to kiss it. I made sure my baby knew who she was and how much she loved her. Though she’d only known her for six months, I would never let her memory disappear along with her. I told Summer Rose stories of how we met and our life together before we had her. I also shared pictures and videos of her. The older she got, the more it comforted her since she didn’t have her mother here in the physical form.

“It’s the first day of school, Mommy. I’m going to fifth grade, and I’m so excited. Me and Daddy already met my teachers, and they’re all really nice. Daddy said since I kept my grades up last year, I can go out for cheerleading this year!”

I smiled weakly as she continued to talk. Since she was about five, she would sit in front of Evenie’s picture and tell her all about her day. The first time I heard her, I thought I was tripping. I was walking past her bedroom door. She was supposed to be asleep, but when I stuck my head in, she was standing in front of the picture, talking to it.

“What are you doing, baby?” I asked, stepping into the room.

“Talking to Mommy.”

She said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Well, for me, it was. I talked to my wife every night at that point. Maybe she overheard me and decided to do it too. I stood there, watching, my heart tightening in my chest. When she kissed her good night, I almost lost it. The moment I left the room and made it to mine, I broke down.

I missed Evenie terribly. The first few years were the worst. I’d committed to holding on to hope, and it was drowning me. Eventually, I opened my heart to love again, and the good Lord saw fit to send me an angel.

Iona Cambridge.

She stood five feet four with a Coke bottle figure. Her long, auburn hair reached the middle of her back. Those beautiful brown eyes and full, pouty lips were my favorite features. She was beautiful… stunning even.

She was a counselor at Summer Rose’s school. I met her in the front office four years ago. Summer loved her, and she loved Summer. She’d become a big part of our lives. My family agreed that it was okay to move on. They all liked her and thought she was a good fit for me and my baby. A few months ago, I took the biggest step and asked her to marry me. Finally, I felt like we were getting a new happy ending.

“What are you slow pokes doing?” I heard behind us.

I turned to see Iona standing with her hands on her hips. I reached for her, pulling her into my side. She smiled when my lips landed on hers.

“Don’t try to butter me up, sir. You two are gonna have us late for school.”

“I was just talking to Mommy,” Summer explained, grabbing her backpack.

Iona smiled. “I’m sure she’s wishing you the happiest first day of school. Breakfast is on the table. Go on and eat so we can head out.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Summer trotted past us and headed for the kitchen. Iona wrapped her arms around me and leaned in for a kiss.

“You ready for today?” I asked.

“I’m always happy to see my little ones. I have my fingers crossed that they had a good summer and don’t come in on bullshit.” She grew quiet and poked her lip out.

“What’s wrong?”

“This is the last year I have with Summer.”

“Awww, baby. You get to come home to her, though.”

“I know. It’s not the same as riding to work with her. We have our own little routine. We get our drinks, we listen to music, and dance it out before we pull into the parking lot. She wants to ride the bus next year. Who am I gonna get my Starbucks with now?”

I chuckled, but I could tell she was serious. While she wasn’t her mother, she’d taken on the motherly role and took it very seriously. Summer Rose was very respectful toward her and listened when she gave her instruction.

“Why don’t you make drinks with her in the morning? She can put it in her tumbler and take it with her to school. And I won’t even complain about y’all’s loud singing and horrible dancing.”

She playfully slapped my chest. “Don’t come for us.”

“What! I think that’s a reasonable compromise. Admit it. Neither of you were blessed with the gift of song.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. We’re bonding. That’s all that matters.”

“You’re right.” I pecked her lips. “Come on. Let’s go eat before you blame me for making y’all late again.”

She walked up ahead of me, and I gave her butt a light slap, causing her to squeal.

“Tyrion!”

I grinned. “You know I love when you wear these pants.”

She laughed. “What am I gonna do with you?”

In the kitchen, she grabbed two plates loaded with bacon, eggs, toast, and fresh fruit. I grabbed the cups of juice and carried them to the table. Summer Rose was already tearing hers up. Iona and I joined hands for a quick prayer before digging into our food.

“You remember where your class is, baby?” I asked Summer.

She nodded. “Yes, sir. Jersey is gonna wait for me so we can walk in together.”

I smiled. Jersey was her best friend and had been since birth. Her mother, Nina, was one of my and Evenie’s close friends. She was also Summer’s godmother. When my wife disappeared, Nina made sure she stepped in, along with our parents, to help me take care of her. She said she felt like she owed it to Evenie to see to it her baby girl was well taken care of.

Days when I needed a break, she’d come right over and pick her up, no questions asked. Summer had a bedroom at her house and a whole wardrobe that I didn’t have to pay for. She showed up for every major event and milestone in her life. Evenie would be happy to know that she had that kind of support.

“Is Jersey in your class this year?” Iona asked.

“Yes, ma’am. She wants to make sure we get a seat beside each other. Well, if we don’t have assigned seats.”

“All right now,” I said. “Don’t y’all sit by each other and be a distraction.”

“We pay attention, Daddy. It’s the boys that try to distract us. They distract the whole class being clowns. I don’t like them.”

Iona giggled. “That will change.”

“It doesn’t need to change,” I answered quickly. “You can not like boys for as long as possible. Your old man ain’t ready for you to think about boys yet.”

Summer giggled. “I know, Daddy. You said I can’t have a boyfriend until I get a husband.”

Iona smacked my arm. “How does that work, Tyrion?”

“Exactly how it’s supposed to.”

We shared a laugh as Summer’s phone rang with a FaceTime call. It was my mother-in-law, Cheryl. She was probably calling to wish Summer a happy first day.

“Hey, Nana!” she answered excitedly.

“Hey, Nana’s baby! You look so pretty!”

“Thank you. Where’s Paw Paw?”

“Right here, suga,” my father in-law, David, said. “Let me see my pretty girl.”

I smiled. Mama and Papa Long were the best grandparents. Evenie was their only child, so they were extremely close to Summer Rose. She was literally all they had left of her. Any time they wanted her, I didn’t put up a fight. I knew she’d be well taken care of. She loved going to their house because not only did they spoil her with love, they spoiled her with gifts.

It was like everyone tried to make up for her mother’s absence. I was so glad that even as a spoiled child, she wasn’t entitled. She understood that she had to work hard to get ahead in this world. Nothing was going to be given to her.

She talked for a while before handing the phone to me. I knew it was about to be an emotional exchange, so I excused myself from the table and went out onto the front porch. I decided to take a short walk so we could talk in private.

“Hey, Ma.”

“Hey, Tyrion. How are you this morning, baby?”

“I’m okay. A little overwhelmed. My baby will officially be a middle schooler next year.”

“I know. Time went by so fast. God, I wish Evenie was here to see it.”

I sighed. “Me too, Ma. Me too.”

“I can’t stop thinking about her, Tyrion. The anniversary of her disappearance is coming up, and the closer it gets, the more I just wish she would walk through the front door and say I’m home.”

“I know what you mean. I can’t believe it’s been this long. Part of me still has hope. I don’t even feel like I can fully have that. Iona is great. She’s great with Summer Rose, and she’s good to me. I love her, but part of me will always love and mourn Evenie.”

She nodded. “I understand, baby. It’s hard loving two people for two different reasons.”

“It is.”

Iona said she understood my feelings, but I knew deep inside, she held some doubt. She outright asked me one night what I would do if Evenie walked back through that door. I couldn’t give her an answer because I honestly didn’t know. I tried not to think about that possibility because it was slim to none… heavy on the none.

It took me a long time to move myself out of the mindset of expecting her return. After all this time, I couldn’t torture myself with what ifs. I couldn’t live in the past or rewrite history. All I had was today, and I had to live for that. I had to live for my baby because she deserved the best version of me.

“I just pray she’s at peace, Ma. If she’s gone, I pray she didn’t suffer.”

“Me too, baby.” She swiped at the tears spilling from her eyes. “Let me get myself together. I wanna be in a good mood when Summer Rose calls us to tell us about her day. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

We disconnected the call, and I took the short walk back to the house. By the time I was turning in the driveway, Iona and Summer were coming down the front steps. I opened my arms to baby girl, and she didn’t hesitate to come right into them.

“I hope you have an amazing first day, baby,” I said, kissing her temple.

“Thank you, Daddy. Have a good day at work.”

“I will. I love you, princess.”

“I love you too.”

I gave her a squeeze before releasing her and handing her the phone. She skipped off to get into Iona’s car. Iona made her way over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“How’s she doing?” she asked, referring to Mama Cheryl.

“She’s okay. A little emotional, but that’s to be expected.”

She nodded as she adjusted my tie. “Don’t call my phone all day looking for check-ins.”

I grinned. “I’ll try not to.” Cupping her face, I softly kissed her lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Tyrion. More than you know.”

She pecked my lips once more. I opened the driver’s side door to let her in. Once she was safely secured with her seat belt, I closed it and headed up the front steps. I watched and waved as they backed out of the driveway and headed down the road.

Looking up at the morning sky, I closed my eyes. “Our girl is growing up, Ev. Wherever you are, I hope you know I love you and I’m doing my best.”

I stood there for a moment, as I always did when I spoke to her, waiting for a sign that she heard me. Like always, it never came. With a heavy sigh of disappointment, I headed back into the house to finish getting ready for work.