daughter. “We left her with Jenna. I assume they are down at the beach. That’s where we usually can find Jenna since she and Drew arrived. Danika hasn’t left her side.” She says pulling him toward a room. “Come on, visit with me first. Everyone’s in here. We’ve all been anxious to see you.” She says. We follow her into a great room where all the parents and Drew sit around talking. Once we share hugs and I introduce Ashley to the family, Drew excuses himself from the room and asks me to take a walk with him. With a deep breath, I excuse myself from the room and follow him out the back door. We walk in silence for about ten minutes along the wooden pathway that separates the beach and the property lines, but also keeps the estates linked together so you don’t have to walk in the sand if you don’t want to. “How is she?” I finally ask, not able to take the silence any longer. “Fine.” Is all he says causing me stop. “Fine?” I ask. “Drew, don’t fuck with me. How is she?” I ask more forcefully. “Did you say anything to her?” “Nope. Sure didn’t.” He sighs. “I should have, but it’s not my place. And as I promised, I wouldn’t say anything. But it’s not going to stop me from sharing my thoughts with you about this whole thing.” He walks toward a short dock. “You really did a number back there didn’t you?” He asks. I have no choice but to follow, knowing that I have to hear him out. “I know man. I made a mistake. I should have said something back when I first met them, but…” He cuts me off. “But what? There’s no buts Gabe. You fucked up. Simple. You had a chance. No, you had several chances to tell the truth, but you didn’t did you?” He yells. “None of this would have happened if you would have just come clean long ago.” He points across the water toward the beach that sits behind the house. “Look at her man.” He yells. “She shines brighter than anyone I’ve ever seen. And even with all the shit she’s dealing with, she still finds a way to pull through.” I look across the water toward the beach and see her pulling Danika up in her arms and kissing her tenderly. She looks as if she is completely at ease. I’ve imagined her like this with our children. Playing in the sand making sand castles with our kids and burying me under the ground to my neck with sand. “I know Drew, I’m sorry. I just figured since the kid wasn’t mine, it wouldn’t make a difference. What would you do?” “I would have said something to her.” My shoulders drop in defeat. “Now what?” I ask, not able to take my eyes off of her. “You need to talk to her. Tell her the truth. She deserves it.” He says more calmly. “She has gone through hell this past week. Worse than I’ve ever seen her. And then finding out her dad has been here this whole time.” He shakes his head. “I could have sworn she would have been pushed over the edge again, but she didn’t. She kept her focus on you this whole time.” “Seriously?” I ask. He chuckles and nods. “Not gonna lie Gabe. If I were her, I would have given you at least a good month to grovel. But I get it man.” “Get what?” Not sure what he’s talking about. “I don’t want to sound like a sap or anything, but dude.” He laughs to himself. “You two have something I’ve never seen. You guys have done a complete turnaround from what I hear. I know I haven’t been around very long, but from what I’ve seen, you two are meant to be together. Just give her time. And don’t argue when she goes bat shit crazy on you. Because you deserve to take whatever she dishes.” “I know that. And I’m ready to take whatever she gives me. I just need her to forgive me.” I watch her as she sits under an umbrella watching Danika. “I love her Drew. With everything I have in me. I promise you I won’t mess this up again.” He laughs as he pushes me. “Don’t lie Gabe. We both know that