Chapter 310

Carly met my eyes, and she sniffled. “What will you call me?”

I froze. “Well, I haven’t thought about it. I’ve called you a few names, but that isn’t fair to you either.” I looked around the table. “What would you like us to call you?”

She looked at her hands. “Daddy called me pup. Or baby girl.” I nodded when she looked up, but she worried at her lip.

“We can call you other things,” I offered.

She shot up, raising her hands and waving them. “No, no, no, no.” She whipped her head back and forth.

I grabbed for her hands, worried that she would slip from the chair. “Sweet pea, it’s okay.” I slid my hand to her cheek. “If you want us to call you pup or baby girl so it helps you remember your daddy, we will. If you want us to come up with different nicknames so that only your dad called you those two, we can do that too. Whatever you want, we will do.”

Toya stood and came over to her chair, kneeling. “If you want Amy to call you certain names, and the rest of us something else, we can do that too.” She reached for her hand. “We will do whatever makes you feel more comfortable with us. We are going to be here with you and Amy as long as you need help.” She smiled up at her. “Tell us what you would like, little one. You don’t have to worry about our feelings.”

Carly looked around the table and then settled on me. “Do I have to decide right now?”

I shook my head. “No baby, you don’t. But if at any time what we say makes you feel bad or uncomfortable, talk to us…okay?” She nodded, and I leaned over and kissed her temple.

Toya stood and kissed her other side. “Eat, cub. Then we can say goodbye to your father.” She turned and went back to her chair as Carly settled back into her own. She dug back into her food as I turned to look at the girls.

“Is your place packed up?” I asked Toya. Wendy nodded.

“Yeah, we finished it the other day.” She picked up her plate to carry it out to the kitchen. “My stuff was sent back to my mom’s, but Toya’s is still waiting there.” I nodded. “But I will need some of my stuff.” She came back into the room.

Hanna and Micca looked at each other. “Our stuff was sent back to our packs.”

I nodded. “Most of my stuff was sent back to my pack, but I have my presents and some stuff left in the penthouse.” I sighed. “Trying to get our stuff here is going to take magic.” I grabbed my plate and brought it to the kitchen.

“We will figure it out.” Toya followed me in. Carly was right behind her. “Let Wendy and I figure out some things. Take our girl to say goodbye.”

I nodded and grabbed a paper towel and got it wet. I turned to face Carly and wiped her face down. “There.”

“What?” She looked up at me with big brown eyes.

“You are perfect.” I pinched her cheek, earning a smile. “Now, let’s go see daddy.” I held out my hand, and together we slipped out the back door. We walked down the porch, then Carly slipped her hand out of mine and ran to the side of the house. “What are you doing?” I followed.

“I’m picking daddy flowers.” She crouched over some lilac bushes. There were clusters of buds, but not one bloom. “These are his favorites. He said mommy smelled like them.” She trailed her fingers over the closed buds. “I wish they were open.” She looked at me and I smiled.

Chapter 310

I pulled my power to my fingers, and I trailed my hands over the bush, awakening it, making it grow, bloom, and thrive. I snapped full stalks off and pushed my power into the ends.

“What are you doing?” Carly watched with wide eyes.

“You said you wanted to plant flowers with your dad, right? Do you think he will like these?” I waved the bundle in my hands, and her face lit up.

“He can sleep under the moon and smell mommy every day.” I nodded with a smile. “It’s perfect.” She held her hands open, and I placed the stalks of lilac in them.

“You have to be careful. We want them to have the best chance to grow.” I held my hand open for her and she slipped her hand in mine. Together, we walked to the big elm at the back of the property.

“Daddy loved it here. We used to have picnics here while we built the cabin,” Carly mumbled as her eyes fell on the freshly dug dirt. I walked up next to the grave and knelt down. I dug my fingers down and created a small hole for the lilac to rest, and turned to Carly.

“Hey Carl. I brought Carly to say goodbye.” I took the lilac from her and planted it. “She thought these would be the best choice.” Her sniffles broke my heart.

“Hi Daddy.” Her tiny voice broke me.

“Hey baby girl.”