Southern Sunshine (Southern 8)

Reed walks to me now. “It’s going to be fine,” he says, trying to reassure me, but we didn’t even talk about how they reacted to the news.

I don’t have a chance to say anything because the knock on the door fills the room. "I don’t even have fresh baked cookies," I whisper to Reed. The two big tears are ready to run over my eyelids.

He puts his hand on my face. "I promise you," he whispers, “it’s going to be okay."

The knock comes again, and this time, Sofia pushes away from us and walks to the door. "Is it a killer?" she asks, and I close my eyes and roll my lips.

"No," I hear Casey say. “It’s just Casey and Olivia."

Sofia turns back to look at us. “It’s not a killer."

"I don’t even know where she heard that word," I mumble under my breath as the door opens, and I see Casey standing there with Olivia beside him.

"Hi," Sofia says. “I know you,” she says to Casey. “You said shit." She points at him, and Olivia gasps out and hits his arm.

"It was an accident, and I said I was sorry," he tells Olivia and then looks at Sofia. “Can we come in?"

"Okay," Sofia says, moving away from the door. “Momma didn’t bake cookies." She tells them what I just said. “And Uncle Daddy Reed is my daddy," she informs them, and I close my eyes.

"And this," Reed says, going down beside her, “is my mom and dad. Your grandma and grandpa."

Olivia kneels in front of her now. “You are the most beautiful girl in the world,” she says to her, smiling through her tears. “And you have your daddy’s smile." Then she holds her little hand in hers. “Can I get a little hug?"

"Okay," Sofia says, not understanding anything that is going on. She puts her arms around Olivia, who closes her eyes and cries silently. I put my hand to my own mouth, trying to stop the sobs from coming up. My girl has so much more love than she will ever know. She will never go without it for a minute in her whole life. That, to me, is everything. Reed puts his arm around me, and I turn to cry into his shoulder. “You smell good," Sofia now says. “Momma.” She turns around. “She smells like a princess.”

“That’s because she is one.” I wipe my cheeks with the palm of my hands.

“Can I get into this hug giving?” Casey says, getting down and putting his arms around her waist. "I think we need to get you fitted for some riding gear," he says. She nods her head, and I have to wonder if she even knows what he’s saying.

"Momma, can I get a cookie?" She looks over at me, and I just nod as she hops over to the kitchen, not even interested in what is going on. I am a little thankful for that when I look over and see Olivia stand and come to me. Her eyes fill with tears as she walks over to me. I expect her to be angry for keeping Sofia a secret, and she has every right to be. But I can tell from the way she looks at me that she isn’t angry.

"I don’t even know where to start." Her voice comes out with a quiver. My insides start to shake, and I feel like my teeth are going to clatter. Reed puts his hand on my lower back. “First, I want to say thank you." Her voice cracks. “For giving us Sofia." She wipes away a tear from the corner of her eye. “There are no words I can say that will tell you what you mean to us. What you both mean to us." I blink back my tears, and she comes forward to give me the biggest hug. "Thank you for giving me my boy back," she whispers in my ear.

"Shall we sit?" Reed says, and Olivia lets me go.

"Yes,” she says. “I want to get to know my grandbaby,” she says, turning to Casey. “I get to take her shopping."

Reed and Casey both groan. “I’m sorry," Reed says to me. “She is going to go overboard."

"I don’t know what that means." I turn to Reed again, hoping he can fill in the blanks.

"Oh, you will," Casey says, laughing and then stopping in front of me. “You gave us a gift that we can’t ever repay you for,” he says. I can hear the tremble of his voice and see this big man fight back his tears. "This is for you,” he says, handing me the manila envelope.

My hand comes out to grab it, and I look at Reed, who just stares at it. His eyebrows pinch together while I turn the envelope over, flipping open the flap, and pull out the papers. "What is this?" I ask as my eyes scan the papers, not sure what I’m reading. My eyes are so full of tears that everything is blurry.