“I'll have to ask her about that.”
Lily sat beside him.
After a few seconds, she asked:
“Are you my dad?”
Mason looked at her.
He had faced angry men.
He had ridden through storms.
He had survived things he never talked about.
But nothing had ever frightened him like that question.
“I think so.”
“You don't know?”
“No.”
Lily looked disappointed.
Mason quickly added:
“But I'm going to find out.”
She nodded.
“And if you are?”
Mason smiled.
“Then I'll be very lucky.”
Lily leaned against his arm.
Mason froze.
He didn't move.
He was afraid that if he moved, the moment would disappear.
Finally, he gently rested his hand on her shoulder.
For the first time in nine years, he felt like something he thought he had lost forever had been returned to him.
The DNA test confirmed it.
Mason Callahan was Lily's biological father.
When the doctor gave him the result, Mason simply stared at the paper.
Caleb, his oldest friend, stood beside him.
“Well?”
Mason handed him the page.
Caleb read it.
Then smiled.
“Congratulations.”
Mason shook his head.
“On what?”
“You have a daughter.”
Mason looked toward the window.
“I missed everything.”
“You can't change that.”
“I should have been there.”
“You didn't know.”
“That doesn't make it hurt less.”
“No.”
Caleb placed a hand on his shoulder.
“But you know now.”
Mason looked at him.
“So what do I do?”
Caleb smiled.
“Show up tomorrow.”
Mason frowned.
“That's it?”
“That's the job.”
Rose slowly began rebuilding her life.
With legal protection in place, Darren could no longer approach her or Lily.
But fear doesn't disappear because a judge signs a document.
Rose still woke from nightmares.
Lily still jumped at loud voices.
And Mason still struggled with the guilt of nine lost years.
So he did the only thing he knew how to do.
He showed up.
He brought Lily breakfast.
He helped her with homework.
He taught her how to ride a bicycle.
He learned that she hated broccoli.
He learned that she loved astronomy.
He discovered she was terrified of thunderstorms.
And he discovered she laughed whenever he pretended to be frightened by her stuffed animals.
One afternoon, Lily asked him:
“Why do people call you Wolf?”
Mason looked at his vest.
“Because of the patch.”
“Why did you choose a wolf?”
He thought about it.
“Because wolves protect their pack.”
Lily looked at him.
“Are we your pack?”
Mason's eyes became wet.
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Good.”
But Darren wasn't finished.
A few weeks later, Mason received a message.
A photograph.
It showed Lily walking into school.