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Paige shrugged and headed to the kitchen, reaching up into a high cabinet and taking doo ne flute and a clear wine goblet Then she opened up the fridge and bent down, dispensing wine from the plastic tap that was jammed into the cardboard box, into the cups

She kicked her shoes off and pushed thelasses in her hands “I haven’t had anyone over in a long time You know, other than the social worker” She handed hilass and moved to a chair that was positioned next to the couch She sat down on her knees, her feet tucked up under her

“In how long?”

Paige looked down into her wine “Since Shyla died”

“That must have been difficult” It was hard for him to find the words you were supposed to say when people were grieving Hard to knohat they wanted to hear He had experience dealing with death, and yet, he couldn’t re

Paige took a sip of her wine and nodded “Yes She was ether shortly after we graduated”

“Why here?”

She shrugged “It’s sunny? I don’t know A chance to start over, I guess Be new people She ot here, and she ended up nant and he freaked out And I had her reat And then…and then Ana was born and it was so fun to have her here So a on her lashes like shattered crystal “We wereit work The three of us”

“How old are you, Paige?” he asked She looked young Beneath all the irl who could still be in school Her skin was s, dark lashes Her lips were full and pink, turned down at the corners, giving the illusion of a slight pout

“Twenty-two”

“You’re only twenty-two?” Ten years younger than he was And yet she illing to take on raising a child by herself “Then why do you want to raise a child right now? You have so et married?”

She shrugged “Not really And anyway, I guess…no this isn’t the ideal time for o if I was ready to have a baby, I would have told you no But that would be a hypothetical baby And Ana isn’t hypothetical She’s here And she doesn’t have anyone Her birth mother is dead, my friend, my best friend is dead The line on the birth certificate that should have a father’s name on it is blank She needs me”

“She needs anyone ill care for her It doesn’t have to be you” She flinched when he said the words

“It does,” she said, her voice thin

“Why?”

“I don’t know for sure if anyone else will love her like I do And I…I knew Shyla I knew her better than anyone, and she knew e’s throat convulsed “And Shyla asked me to She asked me to take care of her”

That answer hit hi away from the moment they’d picked Ana up at the nursery crowded in, too fast and forceful for him to hold back anymore He’d been much older than Ana when he’d lost his mother, so he remembered a lot on his own Memories that he often wished he didn’t have Of soft lullabies, gentle hands…and blood In the end…so much blood

He blinked and shook off the lass of wine to his lips and griue There was no buzz on earth worth that He set it back down on the table

“I understand that”

“It’s not just for her It’s for me, too I love her Like…like she really is my baby I saw her come into the world I cared for her fros and visits to the doctor I can’t…I can’t just let her go Let her go to soht not love her like I do How could anyone love her like I do? I love her so much that sometimes it overwhelms me”