My heart pounded in my chest and my palms grew clammy, knowing that at any minute, Ayla would stop looking at me as her teacher and start seeing me as her father. I had no idea what her reaction would be, and the anticipation nearly crippled me. Excitement fluttered inside, while at the same time, fear gripped my throat, causing my breathing to turn shallow and ragged.

“Ayla, sweetheart, did you have fun tonight at the dance?” Bree asked while Ayla nodded with excitement. “Did you like having Mr. Taylor there as your daddy?” Once again, she nodded eagerly with a bright smile on her face, eyeing me as she regarded her mother. “Do you remember everything I’ve told you about your daddy?”

“Yeah. You said that even though he doesn’t know me, he still loves me like I love him. You said if he knew me, he would want me in hims life.”

“His life, Ayla. His,” Bree corrected with a straight face, even though I couldn’t quiet my chuckle. “Don’t encourage her. Otherwise, she’ll grow up speaking like you.”

I turned to my daughter and nodded, leaning forward on the couch cushion to get closer to where she sat on the coffee table. “Yes, Ayla. He wants you in hims life. Very much so.”

Bree slapped my bicep with the back of her hand and rolled her eyes at me. “Anyway…how would you feel if your daddy was here? Would you want to meet him? Do you want to know who he is?”

“Will he sing me his songs?” Ayla asked with wide eyes and a giant grin.

I turned to Bree, questioning her with a stare and a raised brow. But she didn’t look my way, only kept her eyes on the little girl in front of her while failing at hiding her own grin.

“Sweetheart, we’ve talked about this. Your daddy was only named after that man on the CD. Those aren’t his songs. He can’t sing to save his life. Completely tone deaf.” Humor filled her words as her lips curled up.

I felt bad for Ayla. She probably had no idea what we were talking about, the joke going right over her head. But the corners of her mouth lifted and she nodded as if everything made perfect sense to her.

“Is he here? Can I meet him? Can I hug him?”

Bree glanced at me out of the corner of her eyes. I could tell she needed help, but I had no idea what to do. This news couldn’t come from me. It had to come from her mother. Bree was the only one that could do this.

“Mommy! Where is he?” Ayla bounced on the table, her excitement escalating. “I want to see him! Does he know about me?”

“Yes, sweetheart, he knows about you. And he’s just as excited about you as you are about him. I just want to make sure you’re ready. Because if you’re scared, or you need time, now is when you should tell me. Okay?”

Ayla nodded, clapping her hands in front of her.

I swallowed, locking eyes with Aubrey—hers were wide with fear. Nerves attacked my stomach, causing me to become nauseated. I’d never felt such anxiety in my life. But it was what I wanted. I just needed to get through it.

“I can’t do it,” Bree whispered to me, her inhalations short and panicked.

I moved to sit next to her on the couch, directly in front of Ayla. I placed my hand over Bree’s and smiled through my own fear, hoping to offer some support and courage. “I love you,” I whispered back, barely heard at all. It came out as more of a breath across her face than actual words. But I knew she heard me. She felt me.

She turned back to Ayla, who sat patiently waiting with eager eyes. “How would you feel if Mr. Taylor was your daddy?” The apprehension was evident in her tone.

Ayla’s gaze moved to mine as she tilted her head to the side in thought. “I like him. He’s nice to me. And he’s handsome like my daddy. But he’s my teacher, silly. He can’t be my daddy.”

“But he is, sweetheart. Mr. Taylor is your father. Mommy knew him a long time ago, and fell in love with him. Like the way the princess falls in love with the prince.”

Her eyes grew even larger in awe and excitement. “You kissed my mommy and woke her up?”

“I did,” I said with a confidence I didn’t even know I had. “She was sleeping. The evil queen had her under a spell. And then I came in”—I glanced over at Bree—“on my white horse all decked out in shiny armor”—I winked and turned my attention back to Ayla—“and I kissed her, waking her up. But what the fairy tales don’t tell you is, the princess also wakes up the prince. Because before your mommy came around, before I ever met her, I was sleepwalking. And then she came and saved me. And we made you. And you’ve saved us both. So you’re a superhero princess, too.”

“How did you make me?” she asked with an inquisitive and curious tone.

My mind went blank, and all I could do was stare at her while sucking on my teeth and blinking. No words came to mind, no thoughts or creative explanations unfolded. Nothing.

Luckily, Bree saved me as she humorously answered, “When he woke me up, the fairy godmother waved her magic wand and gave you to me. And I’ve been waiting all this time for your daddy to ride back in on his horse”—she cut her eyes to me—“and all of his shiny armor”—with a grin, she turned back to Ayla—“and sweep us off our feet.”

“I like that story, Mommy,” she said with a giggle. “So what do I call you now? All of my friends call their daddies ‘Daddy,’ but I can’t call my teacher that.” Her hands began to fidget in her lap. She glanced down and studied them with a wrinkled forehead, deep in thought.

“You can call me whatever you want. But in school, you can keep calling me Mr. Taylor like the other kids.”

She perked up and her pretty little face relaxed. “So I can call you Daddy and Mr. Taylor? You have two names?”

“Yes, Ayla. If that’s what you want to call me. But since we’re talking about names…right now your last name is Bailey. Mine is Taylor. It’s up to you which name you want.”

Bree nudged my shoulder. “What he’s trying to say, sweetheart, is you get to choose your last name. How cool is that? You don’t have to change it if you don’t want to. Mommy picked your last name especially for you.”

“I can be McKayla Taylor?” she asked, and we both nodded. “So if I get in trouble…and you use my whole name…”

“I will say whatever name you choose, Ayla,” Bree answered with a laugh.

“Can I think about it?”

“Take all the time you need,” we both said in unison.

Ayla smiled but grew quiet.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Bree asked, worry setting in her tone.

Ayla stood and whispered in Bree’s ear, though it was something I couldn’t hear. But then Bree smirked and nodded, flicking her head in my direction. With bright eyes, the color directly between mine and Bree’s, Ayla moved to me and wrapped her tiny arms around my neck.

“I knew you’d find me,” she said softly in my ear.

And for the second time in my adult life, tears flooded my eyes, blurring my vision. But I didn’t stop them. I let them flow, feeling everything in that moment. The love, the loss, the missed time, but more importantly, the bright future that lay ahead for all of us.

Right up until bedtime, Ayla asked more questions about me, which we answered as best as we could, considering her age. Bree tucked her in while I waited on the couch. I wanted to go back there with her, kiss her forehead, and tell her goodnight, but I knew she was probably overwhelmed as it was. There was time to work that in later. I had all the time in the world.

When Bree came back, her shoulders fell as she made her way to the couch next to me. Her body slumped into the cushion and her head fell to my shoulder. My hand immediately reached for hers.

“I want to know everything. Start with the first time you heard her heartbeat, and end with this morning,” I said into her hair as I pressed my lips to her head.

She sighed, wrapping her arms around my torso and settling into me deeper as she told me everything I’d missed. Aside from horrible morning sickness, she had an easy pregnancy. After moving in with her dad, she attended a school for teen mothers, which allowed her to take Ayla with her once she was born. She went into labor two weeks early, and it scared her that something was wrong, but Ayla came out perfect, and was the happiest, easiest baby. Apparently, everyone thought so. She became the light in everyone’s eyes—that didn’t come as a surprise to me at all. Bree ended up graduating on time, despite taking time off after the delivery. She only missed six days of school. Her dad and stepmom—which Bree called “Mom” most of the time—didn’t want her to move out, but she was determined to do it on her own. Once she graduated high school, Bree and Sarah found an apartment close to their parents and moved out together. Bree admitted that it was hard, but the struggles were worth it in the end.