Vincent stared at him.
The young man shifted uncomfortably.
“Should I take it back?”
“No.”
Vincent took the dinosaur and placed it on the couch.
“Leave it.”
That evening, the Harpers ate dinner surrounded by people who had once seemed like strangers and now felt like an unlikely extension of their family.
Walter raised his glass of water.
“I don't know what to say.”
Hector grinned.
“Try thank you. It's a good place to start.”
Walter laughed.
“Thank you.”
Vincent looked around the table.
For once, the Iron Wolves were not celebrating a victory on the road or the resolution of a dispute.
They were celebrating a child who would soon sleep in her own room.
A child who would know that the people she loved had not stopped trying.
And for Vincent Maddox, that was worth more than any victory he had ever won.
Rosie arrived on a Friday afternoon.
The first overnight visit had gone well, and the transition plan allowed her to move into the Harpers' apartment with continued support from the county.
Daniel and Susan brought her belongings in two suitcases and a cardboard box.
Rosie stood in the doorway, holding Susan's hand.
She looked nervous.
Evelyn knelt in front of her.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
Rosie stared at her.
“Am I staying?”
Evelyn's eyes filled.
“If that's what you want, darling. The grown-ups have made a plan, and we're going to help you settle in.”
Rosie looked toward Walter.
He nodded.
“You have your own room. Your books are ready. And I bought pancake mix.”
Rosie's mouth opened.
“Really?”
“Really.”
She dropped Susan's hand and ran into the apartment.
Walter followed her down the hallway.
Rosie stopped at the bedroom door.
For several seconds, she did not move.
The room was small, with cream-colored walls and a window overlooking the garden. Her books stood on the shelf. The knitted rabbit sat on the pillow. The stuffed dinosaur waited beside the bed.
Rosie walked inside slowly.
She touched the blanket.
Then she turned toward Evelyn.
“Is this mine?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“Can I keep my things here?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I have to go somewhere else sometimes?”
Evelyn's expression softened.
“You can keep your things here.”
Rosie looked at the bed.
Then she began to cry.
Walter knelt beside her.
“What's wrong?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
He gathered her into his arms.
“That's all right.”
Rosie clung to him.
“I thought you forgot me.”
Walter closed his eyes.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
He held her tightly.
“We never forgot you. Not for one day.”
She sobbed against his shoulder.
“I thought you didn't want me anymore.”
Evelyn knelt beside them.
“Never,” she whispered. “Not ever.”
For several minutes, the three of them held one another.
Daniel and Susan waited quietly in the hallway.
When Rosie finally calmed, she looked toward them.
“Are you coming back?”
Susan knelt.
“We're going to keep seeing you, Rosie. We'll visit, and you'll be able to call us.”
Rosie studied her face.
“Promise?”
Susan smiled through her tears.
“We promise to keep working with your grandparents so we can stay in your life.”
Rosie nodded.
Then she hugged Susan.
Daniel turned away, wiping his eyes.
He had known this day might come.
He had prepared himself for it.
But knowing that Rosie was going to live with her grandparents did not make the goodbye easy.
Walter approached him.
“I want you to know something.”
Daniel looked up.
“What is it?”
“You helped take care of her when we couldn't. We'll never forget that.”
Daniel's eyes filled.
“We love her.”
“I know.”
Walter held out his hand.
Daniel shook it.
For a moment, the two men stood together without knowing what else to say.
Then Daniel glanced toward Rosie, who was already showing Evelyn how she planned to arrange her toys.
“She looks happy,” he said.
Walter smiled.
“She does.”
After the Whitmores left, Rosie explored every corner of the apartment.
She examined the kitchen, the living room, and the small garden outside the window.
She placed her books on the shelf and arranged her toys beside the bed.
Then she found the photograph of her mother.
Evelyn had placed it on the nightstand.
Rosie picked it up.
“Can this stay here?”
“Of course.”
Rosie sat on the bed, holding the frame.
“Will Mommy know I'm home?”
Walter sat beside her.
He took a breath.
“I don't know exactly how that works, sweetheart. But I know she wanted you to be loved and cared for. And that's what we're going to do.”
Rosie leaned against him.
“I miss her.”
“I know.”
“Sometimes I forget what her voice sounded like.”
Walter felt the pain of that confession settle deep inside him.
He reached for the laptop on the dresser.
“There's something we have that might help.”
He opened Emily's recording.
Rosie watched the screen.
When her mother's face appeared, she stopped breathing.
“Mommy.”
The word came out as a whisper.
Emily's voice filled the room.
Rosie listened without moving, her fingers gripping the edge of the blanket.
When the video ended, she asked to watch it again.
Walter played it a second time.
Then a third.
By the fourth, Rosie had curled against Evelyn's side, her eyes heavy with exhaustion.
“Can we watch it tomorrow?” she whispered.
“Whenever you want,” Evelyn replied.
That night, Walter tucked Rosie into bed.
He adjusted the blanket and placed the knitted rabbit beside her.
“Do you need anything else?”
Rosie shook her head.
Then she caught his hand.
“Grandpa?”
“Yes?”
“Will you be here in the morning?”
Walter felt something break open inside him.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“Promise?”