“I made Eli your guardian because I knew one day you’d belong to him. I also knew he’d do anything for you, including ripping himself in two if he thought it was best for you. You have my blessing. I won’t be something else that keeps you apart or puts a sad look on your face.” My eyes water. “That said, a ring and a wedding better be in the near future.”

“Closer than you know, Major.”

I turn to look at Eli. He leans in and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek. I bite my lip as excitement takes over. This couldn’t be more perfect. But there is one more thing I want to know.

“No more secrets,” I say, turning to look back at my dad, and his body goes still.

“I never wanted to keep it a secret. She wouldn’t let me tell anyone,” my dad says.

“Who wouldn’t let you tell me I was adopted?” I ask in confusion.

My dad’s jaw drops, and he looks shocked. His mouth falls open, but then he turns angry.

“You’re my daughter,” he says through clenched teeth.

His words sound final, and I meet his eyes, giving him the same look he’s giving me. Hell, he taught me the look.

He runs his hand through his hair and lets out a breath as if coming to a decision.

“When I found out my brother and his wife were pregnant and due any day, I dropped everything and took off to go see them.” He leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “Ethan and I were never alike. We grew up in the same house, but you’d never have thought it. Yeah, we had crappy parents, and we took care of ourselves. Well, I took care of him more than he did me. Which was backwards seeing as I’m the younger one. But he was my brother, and I couldn’t help myself.”

I can see a splash of pain flash across my dad’s face as he recounts.

“The thing is, you can only help someone for so long. Helping Ethan was a daily battle. It was like fighting a flood. The water wouldn’t stop pouring in. I knew I was the only one who was going to get me somewhere in life, and Ethan thought life should hand him things. I got tired of fighting the fight for him. So when I was eighteen I enlisted and left.”

Even as he tells me the story about my birth father, I feel nothing. I only feel sadness for my dad.

“I kept in touch here and there. Knew he was getting mixed up in drugs and doing odd jobs for money. I even sent money every month to him, though I probably shouldn’t have. It likely enabled him, but he was my brother.” My dad sits back up and looks at me. “When I got to the hospital, his wife was already in labor. You took no time coming out. Came out ready for the world.”

“Lighting it up,” Eli whispers in my ear. A tear slide down my cheek, and Eli kisses me right below the ear.

“Took one look at you and knew I wouldn’t leave that hospital without you. I knew it that very second. I never really had a family, but I knew you and I—” He points at me and back to him. “—you and I were going to start one. You were my little girl.”

I smile, more tears flowing down my face. “How did you make it happen?”

“I should be ashamed, but I’m not. I’m not even going to fake it. I paid them off, gave them some money and threats of not wanting to fight me for custody. They weren’t fit. They didn’t have a home or anything. I wasn’t going to let them raise you like my parents raised us. I don’t think Ethan wanted that either, deep down. He knew.”

Eli pulls me closer to him, and I take comfort from his warmth.

“I know things were hard around here, having to move so much, but I tried. I—”

“Dad, stop. Please don’t do that. Things were perfect. I didn’t care we moved around. I was happy we were always together,” I tell him. I knew why we moved so much. He did it so he had a job that always kept him stateside. He did it for me.

I pull from Eli’s hold, and my dad meets me in the middle, giving me a hug. “Do you want to know more about them?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper to him. I don’t need to know unless he wants me to.

“They passed away when you were two. Drunk driving.”

He holds me tighter, and I hug him back just as hard. I didn’t lose something. He did. He lost a brother. I don’t know the people he spoke of, and they aren’t my parents. The only thing I can thank them for is giving me to my dad. Where I belong.

“I love you.”

“Love you, too, Maggie.” We finally pull back, and I yawn. My sleepiness is kicking in.

“You going to tell us where you’ve been, Major?” I get out behind another yawn.

“Been a long day and night. How about a rain check?”

“Deal.” Eli comes up behind me again, pulling me toward him in a tight hold.

My dad glances over at the clock on the fireplace. It’s a little past 4 a.m. now.

“Alice?”

“She’s left,” I answer.

My dad’s face snaps back to mine. His face changes, and I’ve never seen him look like this before.

“What do you mean she left?” His voice is hard and edged with anger.

“You being gone was hard on her. She didn’t take it well. And she has other stuff going on. The stress was getting to her.”

“She left.” My dad repeats the words as if he’s not understanding them.

“Yeah, I tried to stop her, but she wanted space. I’m really worried about her, Dad. I think that maybe—”