THE GIRL ETHAN COLE COULDN’T LEAVE BEHIND
CHAPTER 8
The final hearing came on a cold morning.
Lily wore the blue sweater.
The one she had told Ethan about months earlier.
She sat beside him in the courthouse waiting area, swinging her feet nervously.
“You look scared,” Ethan said.
“So do you.”
“I am.”
“Good.”
He smiled.
“You learned that from Sarah.”
“Yes.”
The hearing itself was quiet.
There was no dramatic speech.
No audience.
Just questions.
The judge asked Lily if she understood what was happening.
She nodded.
She was asked whether she wanted to live with Ethan.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lily looked at Ethan.
“Because he comes back.”
The words hit Ethan harder than anything else that morning.
The judge looked at him.
“And you?”
Ethan’s voice was steady.
“I want to be her father.”
Not rescuer.
Not guardian.
Not visitor.
Father.
The judge nodded.
The final papers were signed.
It was done.
Outside the courthouse, Lily stood on the steps holding the folder.
“So that’s it?”
Ethan smiled.
“That’s it.”
She looked at him.
“I’m really yours?”
Ethan crouched.
“If you still want me.”
She threw her arms around his neck.
He caught her.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Lily whispered,
“I think I do.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Good.”
They drove back to Greyhaven that afternoon.
When they reached the harbor, people were waiting.
June.
Ben.
Martha.
Sarah.
Half the town.
Someone had put a small banner across the diner.
Lily stopped.
“You knew?”
Ethan shook his head.
“I swear I didn’t.”
Martha came forward.
She handed Lily a small box.
Inside was a key.
Lily looked confused.
“For what?”
Martha smiled.
“Your room.”
Lily looked at Ethan.
He nodded.
“Your room.”
She ran toward the house.
Everyone laughed.
Ethan stayed behind for a moment.
June put a hand on his shoulder.
“You okay?”
He watched Lily disappear through the front door.
“No.”
June smiled.
“Good no or bad no?”
Ethan’s eyes filled.
“Good.”
