Life is weird. I had Hollie back, and it was a nice afternoon hanging with the girls, but I was still wishing for something else to get my mind off of Zee's impending arrival. With the pool too chilly to swim in, we were all indoors watching movies with the kittens and eating the brownies that Gracie had made, and my mind kept slipping to thoughts of the Cuban beauty.

Luckily, like there was some sort of strange karmic deity that wanted to make my mind and life even more frazzled, I got a text from Elizabeth asking if she could join us for dinner, as she had something important to discuss with me.

That didn't sound good at all, and my mind went to trying to figure out what the hell Elliot was up to, because I couldn't think of what else we could be discussing. Unless she was moving? I mean, Florida is a messed up state, and I could see that as a possibility, but I didn't think she would leave us, she adored her granddaughters too much. No, it had to be Elliot.

And I was right, just not in the way that I would have ever expected. But he was the gift that kept on giving.

Just before dinner, the doorbell rang, and I hurried to get it. Elizabeth stood there with a nervous smile, six large pizzas, and an adorable young Hispanic girl who looked to be under ten years old and who had her gaze trained down at the ground nervously. Yeah, I had to stifle my confusion really quickly.

I took the pizzas from Elizabeth and stepped to the side. "Hey, good evening. Come on in." I brought the pizza boxes into the kitchen, keeping an eye on our new visitors. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'll take a red wine," Elizabeth answered. "And some water would be good. But how about we do some introductions first." It was good timing, since the other girls had already stood up and walked closer. The younger girl was nervously leaning into Elizabeth, and I hoped we could put her at ease, so she wasn't scared.

I stopped, then smiled at her companion. "That sounds like a great idea. I can't wait to meet your new friend." And I couldn't wait to hear what was happening.

Elizabeth put her arm around the girl's shoulder. "Everyone, this is Daniela, though she prefers Dani. She's your sister." My mouth dropped open, but then it started to make sense. This was the child that Elliot had fathered ten years ago! Though, what was she doing here? I'd thought her mother had moved away.

"It's great to meet you Dani," I said quickly. "This is Hollie, Jashanna and Gracie." I pointed to each of them in turn, and they all waved at her with big smiles. "Are you down here visiting?"

Dani shook her head, as did Elizabeth who spoke up again. "She just moved down here. Maybe we can talk while the girls eat?"

"Of course." I nodded, knowing that something was up, and this was better done in private. "Come on everyone, let's get some food, and we can put on another movie. Dani, would you like to pick one out?"

She lifted her eyes to me as a smile spread over her face. She really was adorable, and I liked her right away. She nodded then tentatively headed for the couch. Jashanna didn't hesitate to take her hand and pull her along, and soon she was flipping through the movie options while I led Elizabeth away from the noise.

"Is everything okay?"

Elizabeth shook her head and took a shuddering breath. "No. Dani's mother pretty much gave her to me. She is dating a new man, and he doesn't want to be a father to Dani. I guess her mother is choosing him over her kid. She asked Elliot if he wanted her, and he just laughed at her. He just reminded her that he'd signed away all his parental rights to Dani before she was even born and that she was her problem now. He's never even met her, and after everything he's done here it's probably good that he isn't in her life."

I couldn't believe my ex, what an ass! Though Elizabeth was right about him not being the best parent. "He was just here telling me about wanting his girls and family and all that crap, and he turned his back on his other child? What the hell is wrong with him?"

"I have no idea anymore," she sighed and shrugged. "I've been keeping in touch with Dani's mom since she was born, and sending her Christmas and birthday presents and all, but I never thought that she'd leave Dani on my doorstep. She's a lovely child, but I don't have the energy to take care of her."

I could see what she was going to ask a mile away, so I decided to beat her to the punch. Dani didn't have my DNA, but neither did Jashanna. She was Gracie and Hollie's half sister though, and this might be the best chance at a stable life that she would get. "I'll take her. I can put her in Jashanna's room, since she is always sleeping in with Gracie anyway. That gives her two sisters right across the hall plus Hollie not much further, and it will hopefully make it easier to adapt. Do I need to adopt her too?"

"It might make it easier. Her mother already gave me a letter signing guardianship over to me, so I can help with that. I'm so sorry to surprise you with this, I can't imagine you were expecting to have so many new daughters coming to live here. If I was ten years younger I could do it."

"No, don't worry about it, you'll still see her a lot, and I'm sure she'll like that. She's in the right place. Jashanna's mother gave her up too, so she'll be able to empathize with her. Maybe knowing that we love Jashanna, even if she wasn't our kid originally, will make her understand that we will all learn to love her and take care of her too. I can't imagine she's having a good time knowing her mother picked the guy over her."

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "I'm so glad I can call you family. You're a wonderful human, and I'm so happy that you and the girls can help Dani. I agree, too. I can't understand how a mother can choose a new man over such a sweet child."

"Does she know what is happening?"

"She knows I was going to talk to you about it. She has some stuff in the trunk, so she can move in if you're sure about it. She'll need more though." Elizabeth was nervous, but there was no reason to be.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's go give her some good news. I think she could use some."

"I could too!"

The girls were all watching Encanto when we got out to the living room, and Dani was looking happy as she had Gracie and Jashanna on either side of her all bundled up under a blanket with Swiftie and Karma. "Hey, can we pause the movie for a bit? I wanted to share a little news," I announced to everyone. Hollie grabbed the remote, and paused the movie while I took a deep breath. "So, as you know, Dani is your sister. I was talking with Nana, and we thought it would be a great idea if she lived here with us, so she could have a bunch of family to lean on and spend time with. What do you think, do we all want a new sister?"

Jashanna was nodding before I finished, and I wasn't surprised. It was like she knew we should bring her into the family too, just like we'd done with her. "Yes! She is awesome so far, and I think she'll love it here."

"Me too!" agreed Gracie. "We'll have a blast."

"I won't be around as much, but I'm happy to have another sister too." Hollie gave Dani a smile, putting the ball in her court. 

"Thanks everyone. I'll be happy to live here too," she replied in a quiet and relieved voice. Her accent was thicker than Zee's and I instantly missed her again. But that could wait until later, right now I needed food.

"Well, how about Nana and I join you with some of that pizza, and then we can finish the movie. Our first family feast!"

We went through the pizza fast, with everyone grabbing a few more slices before heading back to the couches for more of Encanto. Did we all sing about Bruno? Of course. I wasn't going to say that Dani was instantly feeling like she was in a real family, but I think we made a good first impression. She was certainly smiling a lot, and there was a quick bond between her and the younger girls. There was a long way to go, and we all had a lot to learn about each other, but I could tell that she would fit in here.

And then I was missing Zee yet again because I'd thought the same about her, and I was worried that she was driving all alone out there in the dark. I really wanted her to get here quickly. Fuck, I really needed my heart and head to get on the same damn page!

As the night wound down, and we showed Dani where she'd be staying, she got a little more nervous. Evidently her mother had just dropped her off this morning, and she hadn't even spent a day away from her yet, so this was going to be a big move for her. Up the stairs, there was a little bonus room before you got to all the bedrooms. That was where the girls had set up the PS5, and did most of their gaming, and it turned out to be the perfect place for all four of them to make a giant pillow fort and crash while watching movies.

"I have her enrolled in school already," Elizabeth told me before she headed home. "It's the same middle school the girls went to. And I have her last school's information, as well as her old doctor, so we can get medical files and grade transcripts. I know this is a lot, but I also know that you're the best person for the job."

"I'll take care of it." I gave her a hug, squeezing tight and making sure she knew that Dani was in good hands. It had come out of the blue, but I didn't have any problems taking in another family member. The girls had a sister, so who was I to turn her away? I'd been an only child, and always wanted a big family like this. Dani was the innocent one that was caught up in her parents' selfishness and deserved to have a good home just like Zee and Jashanna.

But if anyone else showed up I might need more bedrooms!

"I know you will. I'll be back tomorrow, and maybe we can take her shopping. I know you'll probably spoil her too, but I'm her Nana and I get first dibs on that!" She gave me a soft smile at that, but I knew she was serious. She loved spoiling the kids.

"I figured. Go home and sleep, I've got this handled." When she left, I closed the door, then turned around, and leaned back on it. Everything was moving so fast. Jashanna moving in, Hollie off to college, Elliot out of my life, the big contract at work, Zee in and then out, and now Dani joining our family. I still had things under control, but for how much longer? I was going to have to rely on Elizabeth more when I went on the trip to Norway now that Dani was here, but she could just stay here for a few weeks while I was gone. The rest of our lives were still going well though, and I thought that maybe I could manage.

With a sigh, I stood back up and moved to the couch. The cats were up with the girls in the pillow fort, so I just relaxed with another glass of wine and waited for Zee while scrolling on my phone. Once she was home and safe, I could sleep peacefully.

And then, a little after 1:30am, I heard the muted rumble of a motorcycle outside, and I smiled in relief. Maybe now I could finally sleep!