When he knocked on the door and let himself in, Ellie came out of the kitchen, and stared at him with surprise. “What are you doing here? I thought the girls were spending the night. Brooke’s sleeping already.”

“Amy called me,” he told her. “Wanted to come home. I figured she’d told you.”

Ellie shook her head. “She and Kylie have been holed up in the basement since we got home. She seemed okay, Cage.”

He shrugged. “Well, she called, so I came. Not like she interupted anything.”

“How was your meeting? Everything alright?”

He gestured her into the kitchen, where it was less likely that the girls could overhear from the basement. “Apparently Amy’s been having a tough time settling in. She hasn’t said a word to me, but the teacher said she cries a lot, and doesn’t talk all that much.”

“It’s a hard week for her, Cage,” Ellie reminded him.

He glared at her. “You think I don’t know that?” he asked heavily.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said gently.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry. It’s been a rough night. I just wish she had told me. I could have kept her home today at least.”

Ellie smiled, playfully shoving her hip into his. “You know she doesn’t like to worry anyone. That’s probably why she didn’t tell me you were coming.”

Cage smiled. “Probably. Let her know I’m here, will you? I’ll put the water on for tea. Want some?”

When she shook her head, he reached for the red kettle that was resting on the stove top and filled it.

It was only another minute before Amy came running in. She launched herself at him, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“You okay, Ames? Why didn’t you tell Aunt Ellie you wanted to go home?”

She shrugged, her face buried against his neck.

“Amy,” he murmured.

“I just want to be home, Daddy. With you. Please?”

“Of course,” he told her. “All you ever have to do is ask.”

“Did you meet my teacher?”

He pulled back and raised an eyebrow.

“I heard Aunt Ellie tell Uncle Kyle when I went to use the bathroom. I wasn’t trying to listen, Daddy. Did you see Miss Jamison?”

“Yes. She was worried about you. She told me you’ve been crying in class.”

Amy’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t have any friends, Daddy. I miss my old school.”

“Amy, you wanted to be in this school. You’ve been asking if you could go here for years.”

“I know,” she muttered. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“Give it a couple weeks, angel. If you still don’t like it, we can talk about it again, okay?”

“Can we go home now?”

Cage hesitated as he took a sip of his tea. “Get your stuff, put it in the car. I’ll get your sister and we can head home.”

Twenty minutes later, Cage carried a sleeping Brooke up to her room, and settled her under the covers. Amy disappeared into the bathroom, and he could hear her brushing her teeth. He poked his head in. “Need anything, angel?”

She spat, and shook her head. “Thanks for bringing me home.”

“Anytime, Amy, you know that. I’m always just a phone call away. Sleep tight, okay?”

“Night.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and left her alone.

--

“Daddy?”

“Yeah, angel?” he murmured, looking up from his book. Amy was standing in the doorway in her jammies.

“Can you tell me a story? About Momma?”

Cage nodded, holding back a sigh. He and Bethany really hadn’t been together all that long, so he found it hard to keep coming up with new stories for Amy. He didn’t want to make anything up, but he knew she didn’t want to hear the same stories over and over again.

“You know who would be a good person to ask?”

Amy shook her head as they headed into her bedroom.

“Next time we go visit Aunt Catherine, you’ll have to ask her. She used to tell me stories when I was your age, and she and Momma were very close.”

“Can you tell me a story now though?”

“Of course, Ames. How about from your birthday, when you turned six?” He smiled at the memory. That had been his first birthday with his daughter.

“When you woke up,” he told her, “Your Momma told you that I was your Daddy.”

Suddenly, Amy giggled, staring over her mother’s shoulder. Bethany turned, and saw Cage standing in the doorway. “I told her,” Bethany said softly.

“Told her…?” he asked in confusion. Then, comprehension dawned in his face. “That I’m—?”

Bethany nodded, and Amy giggled gain.

Cage stood in the doorway, unsure what to do. His gaze locked on Amy’s. Hesitantly, he crouched down and opened his arms.

His eyes filled with tears as his daughter ran over to give him a hug.

He stood with her wrapped in his arms, fighting not to cry.

Bethany took a step closer, and he realized that she was crying too. Supporting Amy on his hip, he held out his other arm to Bethany. She stepped into the embrace, and he lovingly kissed the top of her head.

Cage could have stayed like that all day, but it wasn’t long before Amy began to squirm, full of pent-up energy because it was her birthday.

“Why didn’t I know before?” she interrupted.

“Because when you were a tiny baby, your Momma moved away, so we could never see eachother. So then, I came over, and you ran into my arms and gave me a big hug. Momma was there too, only while she was hugging us, she was crying because she was so happy.”

“Then what, Daddy?”

“Then I gave Daisy to you, and you went downstairs to play for a bit while Momma and I talked.”

“What did you talk about?”

“A lot about how wonderful our daughter was,” he said with a smile. “We had invited lots of your friends over, so they started coming soon, and the whole house was filled with laughter and noise. We had crafts, and Disney movies, and I cooked on the grill for everyone. Then, when you went to bed, your Momma gave you your necklace.” He reached out to lift the necklace off her skin for a second before letting it drop back down. “It was snowing that day, too, just like it was the night you were born, and we were all very happy to be a family.”

Amy smiled. “Thanks, Daddy. I miss her.”

“I know, Ames. I do too. But every day, I’m so glad that I have you and your sister. I love you two more than anything in this world.”

“I like having just the three of us sometimes,” Amy murmured sleepily. “I wish Momma was here but I like our family,” she told him.

“I do too. Love you, angel.” He bent, and lovingly kissed the top of her head. “Night night.”

“Night night.”

She rolled over, and he tucked the blankets more closely around her before leaving the room.

He stopped to check in on Brooke before quietly entering his own room.

He readied himself for bed, and then settled himself on the big mattress. The big lonely mattress, he thought to himself. Reaching out, he brushed a picture of Bethany with the tip of his index finger. “I can’t believe you’ve been gone for four years now,” he whispered. “I guess in some ways it has gotten easier, but it still hurts when I think about you, and I still miss you.”

September 3rd dawned a beautiful, sunny day. It was wasted on the Hayden family, as they remembered Bethany.

Cage spent a quiet day with his two daughters. They went through all the old photo albums, just like they had for the past three years. Rather, Cage and Amy went through the pictures. Brooke bounced back and forth between what they were doing and playing in her room. Cage knew that she still didn’t really understand. She couldn’t possibly remember her mother. All she knew was the three of them.

That night, something woke Cage around three am. He cocked his head to the side, and realized that one of the girls was crying.

Immediately, he was out of bed and heading down the hallway. He paused at Brooke’s door, but heard only silence.

He knocked lightly on Amy’s door before letting himself in.

“Hi, angel,” he murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Bad dream?”

“I miss my Momma,” she cried. She sobbed as Cage gathered her into his lap and rocked her back and forth.

“I do too, Amy, more than anything in the whole world. But she would want us to be happy. You know that, right? Your Momma would never, ever want you to be sad.”

“But I want her here,” Amy said brokenly. “Why’d she hafta leave?”

“She didn’t leave you on purpose, Ames. The angels took her up to heaven.”

“But why? Why couldn’t they take someone else’s Momma?”

“Don’t say that, Ames. You don’t want anybody’s mother to pass away. I know it still hurts, baby, but she loves you very much, she just can’t be here with us. If you talk to her, she can hear you.”

“I want her to talk back.”

“Me too, baby girl.” He brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. “Want to come sleep in the big bed tonight?”

When the girl nodded, Cage picked her up and carried her down the hallway.

The next day was better, as it always was, and Cage knew that each day would continue to be a little easier.

He made pancakes for the girls, with chocolate chips at Brooke’s request. He stuck a candle in Brooke’s stack, and he and Amy sang happy birthday to her.

The past two years, her birthday had fallen over a weekend, and instead of having a birth-day, they celebrated her birth-weekend.

It gave Amy a day to miss her mother, and the next day, Brooke could have all of the celebration she wanted. It had been working well so far, and Cage hoped that it would continue to.

After breakfast, Cage kissed Brooke on the forehead and sent her upstairs to pick out her outfit for the day.

When she was gone, Amy turned to her father.

“Daddy? Can we take the doggies to my game?”

“Why?” he asked in surprise.

“My friends want to meet them. I thought since we were gonna walk to the field anyway…”

“We won’t be able to sit down and get icecream after,” he warned her.

“But we can get it to go, right?” she said with an angelic grin.

He laughed, and gave in. “Right. Looks like Duke and Daisy are coming to the game. Go find their leashes, okay?”

A half hour later, they were walking out the door. Cage handed Duke’s leash to Brooke, since she would pout if she didn’t get to hold one of the dogs, and Amy took Daisy’s leash.

A few people glanced at Duke in surprise as they walked. He walked docilely beside the little girl, and it was blatantly obvious that if he had wanted to run, there was nothing stopping him. Brooke was barely holding the leash, and spent more time swinging it around than she did anything else. Duke was used to her though, and stayed glued to her side. One thing was for certain, Cage never had to worry about his daughters getting lost while Duke was around. Daisy was another story. The little lab mix was constantly finding new things to sniff and eat, and bark at. She was a terror on the leash, even after Cage’s extensive efforts to teach her some manners.

When they reached the soccer field, Amy ran over to her team, while Brooke and Cage headed over to the bleachers.

“Uncle Cage!” he heard someone call. Turning, Cage shaded his eyes as he looked up the bleachers.

He grinned when he saw Davie sitting with his parents and little sister. “Hey kiddo. Come down here and give me a hug,” Cage told him.

With a laugh, Davie clambered down the metal steps and hugged his uncle. “You guys are here early, huh?” Cage asked, waving up at Jack and Autumn.

“Mom and Dad wanted to watch Amy’s game too, since it’s right before mine, so we decided to come early,” the twelve year old boy told him. A minute later, his family came down the bleachers as well. Autumn bent and kissed Cage’s cheek before taking a seat. Jack shook his hand, and then swung Brooke up in his arms.

“Hey, kiddo,” he greeted her, with a big kiss.

Cage took their daughter, Delilah, into his arms. The little girl was only two, and she was the cutest thing Cage had seen in a long time.

“Uncle Cage, can I take Duke for a walk?” Davie asked, fidgeting impatiently on the bench. “We won’t go far.”

Cage nodded his permission, and with a grin, Davie took Duke’s leash, and the two of them went running off.

Amy scored two goals in her game, which they won, and she was ecstatic as they headed to the ice cream shop.

“Can I get three scoops, Daddy? Please?” she asked.

“Me too, me too!” Brooke exclaimed.

He shook his head with a grin. “Not today, girls. Remember, we’re going out to eat tonight, and Brookie’s going to have a cake.”

Brooke cheered for a brief second. “And I get to blow out the candles all by myself!”

Amy pushed her sister. “You won’t be able to. Babies can’t blow out all the candles by themselves.” Instantly, Brooke started to pout.

Cage grabbed Amy by the back of her soccer jersey and pulled her up against his side. “That wasn’t nice, Amy. What do you say?”

Amy huffed. “Sorry.”

“Nicely,” he warned.

“I’m sorry, Brookie.”

Instantly, the pout was gone, and Cage hid a grin. He swept Brooke up in his arms, and swung her around for a brief minute.

When their ice creams were ready, each of the girls took their cup. Cage walked them to the nearest bench and sat them there so they could eat without making too much of a mess. He tied Daisy’s leash around the bench, and simply dropped Duke’s. The big dog wouldn’t go anywhere.

--

AN: Not to jinx myself or anything, but I've really been on a roll with writing the past couple days. Must go hand in hand with insomnia. but I'm very happy with the way both this and Cowboy Boots are coming along! I'm glad all you are enjoying JH so much! I know we're just getting warmed up, and you don't know much about Jersey yet, but I'm glad you all seem to be looking forward to more!

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and PMs,

Ashley