Some reason this chapter was hard to write, that is why it's not too long. Chapter 3 will be longer and will probably be up by tomorrow! Thank you for the reviews!
Chapter 2
It had taken Ryan two weeks to even look at his daughter after Sadie died. Two weeks for him to realize it wasn't Claire's fault. Looking into his daughters innocent blue eyes he fell in love. He promised himself that was the last time he would ever fall in love again. He would go through hell to keep this girl safe, no matter what.
So why exactly was he sitting here thinking about Taylor Townsend of all people. He hadn't even seen the girl in ten years so why now did he have a sudden attraction to her.
"Daddy, are you ready?" He was pushed from his thoughts by his daughter. April 14th, the day he took his daughter to Sadie's grave. It happened every April 14th since the day he actually started taking care of Claire. It was something he did with Claire. He took Noah on a different day but this day was special for him and Claire. "Yeah, where's your brother?" Ryan grabbed his keys from the table next to the door.
"Being stupid." Claire giggled. "Don't say stupid, Claire." Ryan looked at her sternly but it didn't work.
"Uncle Sethy said it!" She folded her arms around her chest giving Ryan her cute pout.
"Come on." He laughed walking towards Noah's room. Ryan walked into the familiar bedroom. The room that Sadie insisted Ryan paint before they even knew they were having a son.
"So what color?" Ryan asked his wife. "Dark blue, he'll grow out of light blue before he even gets to be two." Sadie said resting her hand on her stomach. "What if it isn't a boy?" Ryan asked of her after they left the hardware store with the paint. "It is, trust me."
"Noah are you ready?" "Yeah, let me get my bag." The little boy told Ryan. Ryan just nodded taking Claire's hand as they walked to the front door.
"Was mommy pretty?" Ryan and Claire had just arrived at the cemetery after dropping Noah off at Seth and Summer's. Ryan crouched down to be closer to his daughter as he pulled her into a hug.
"Beautiful, just like you." He kissed her small cheek before staring at Sadie's tombstone. "Will I ever get to meet her?" The innocent brunette asked. "One day, a long long time from now." He whispered to her.
"Ryan?" Claire and Ryan both turned around. Ryan still at eye level with his daughter looked up to find Taylor Townsend standing in front of them. Somehow Ryan fell speechless just looking at Taylor.
"You were at my birthday!" Claire giggled detaching herself from Ryan. "I was. It was a very nice birthday, too." Taylor smiled.
"What are you doing here?" Ryan asked standing up. He wasn't sure what to think exactly. Ever since that Claire's birthday party Ryan hadn't been able to get Taylor out of his mind. Every time he had any alone time it was spent dreaming about Taylor and he wasn't even sure why.
"Same reason you are, except for a different person." She gave him a half smile.
"We are visiting my mommy, she died. Noah said I did it but daddy told me that I didn't." Claire shared. Ryan looked down at his little girl who was now shuffling her feet with a frown on her little face. "Claire-bear, what's wrong?" Ryan asked picking the girl up. "I want a mommy." She whispered. Ryan pulled her close to his him.
"Claire, you have a mommy. Even though she might not be here right now, she's watching you from Heaven." He said oblivious to the fact that Taylor was still standing there. "Really?" She asked him. "Really." He kissed her forehead. The little girl got down to the ground content with Ryan's answer, at least for now.
"Sorry" Ryan felt himself blush when he realized Taylor was still there. "It's fine." Taylor gave him a wide smile which in turn made his body shiver. He wasn't sure how just a simple smile could do that to him.
"We were just going to get some lunch if you want to join us, that is if Claire doesn't mind." Ryan asked Taylor before looking down at a beaming Claire. "I don't mind!" Claire yelled.
"I would love to." Ryan watched as Taylor turned around and walked towards her car. "I can meet you there. Where are we going?" She asked over her shoulder. Ryan explained to her the restaurant before walking to his own vehicle.
"Since mommy isn't really here, can Taylor be my new mommy?" With Claire's newest question Ryan started regretting asking Taylor to lunch. As his heart dropped he clutched the steering wheel without answering his little girl in the backseat.
