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exhausted, and Liam was getting
nervous. What if…
    “Hey, Dad,”
Abby said, slipping an arm around Liam’s waist. “How’s Alisa?”
    Liam had just
stepped outside for a breath of fresh air while Sierra and Lena sat
by her bedside, helping her to breathe through the endless
contractions.
    “She’s getting
tired.” He kissed his daughter on the top of her head. “It’s been a
long night, for all of us. Why don’t you and your nana head on
home? We’ll call you later.”
    “No way! I
wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
    Liam slipped
his jacket off and wrapped it around his daughter. It was cold,
with a rare snowfall gracing the ground, but he barely felt the
chill. He felt numb. “You’re really excited about becoming a big
sister, honey?”
    It was just
the two of them for so long, until Alisa came into their lives. Now
his wife and daughter were as close as any mother and daughter he’d
ever known and Abby finally had the female role model she’d craved
her whole life. Liam was grateful they formed a strong bond, but he
worried about all of the changes he forced on his daughter during a
tumultuous time in her young life.
    “Are you
kidding? I can’t wait.”
    Liam pulled
her into his side and rested his chin on the top of her head.
    “I’m so glad
you have Alisa in your life now. I was so worried about you… you
know, being alone when I went away to college.” She tipped her head
up and smiled. “Now I don’t have to worry. You have Alisa to take
care of you and a new baby to spoil.”
    “You’ll always
be my baby.” He brushed her hair off her forehead and his heart
ached with the knowledge she was growing up. The day would come
when some other man would become the center of her world and he
would be relegated to the background as she began a new life with
him. “You know that, don’t you?”
    She smiled as
she turned to look at the trees capped with snow and clear lights.
“I know.”
    “Have you
spoken to Colin lately?”
    Colin’s family
owned the property next to their vacation home in Barbados and Liam
suspected his daughter’s relationship with him was evolving faster
than he wanted it to. She was too young to get serious with anyone,
even a kid they’d known for years. He wasn’t ready to let her go.
Alisa reminded him that he didn’t have a choice; his daughter was
growing up. But for a man who dominated boardrooms and brokered
multi-million dollar deals, complacency wasn’t an option,
especially when it came to the people he loved.
    “Yeah, he
called earlier to wish me a merry Christmas. He was wondering
whether we would make it to Barbados over the holidays. They’re
going to be there in a few days.”
    “Are you
disappointed that we won’t make it this year?” That was their
tradition when Liam was single, one of the rare times he was able
to take a few consecutive days off and spend some quality time with
his daughter.
    She shrugged.
“Not really. Things are different now. I get that.”
    He sensed the
hesitation in her voice, and he knew this conversation was long
overdue, though he didn’t know how to broach the subject or prepare
himself for the potential fallout. The last thing he wanted was to
create a rift between them, especially with Abby living so far
away.
    “Come here,”
he said, taking her hand and leading her back into the house. He
led her down the back hallway to Trey’s empty study. “There’s
something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” He sat down on
the leather couch in front of the fireplace and invited her to join
him. Turning toward her, he asked, “Honey, I need you to be honest
with me about something. Do you have any resentment about me giving
up so much to build a life here with Alisa?”
    “What are you
talking about? Why would I be resentful? I want you to be
happy.”
    He reached for
her hand. “I wish I could have been there for you growing up so
many times, but I had the company to run and…” He sighed.