He got her out of the car and tried not to notice how she clung to him, one hand tight on his shirt as she sucked her thumb frantically. He took her to the classroom where he’d met the teacher once before, and inside was chaos. Instead of the quiet classroom from before, the room seemed to be filled with parents, all talking over one another as children ran around the room screaming. Miss Mckinney immediately headed in his direction, a beaming smile on her face. She wore a bright green dress and her hair was pulled back in a bun, glasses on her face, and she looked very much like a teacher.

Hank had no idea why Caleb was so in love with her.

“Hello there! You must be Libby,” Miss Mckinney said, beaming at the two of them before her gaze focused on Libby. “Miss Becca has told me so much about you. I can’t wait for you to be in my class.”

His bold, fearless daughter made a sound of distress, sucked her thumb harder, and then buried her face against his neck.

The teacher just smiled. “Everyone has a bit of nerves on the first day. It’s totally fine. Just let me know when she’s ready and I’ll take her.”

He nodded.

The teacher moved away to greet one of the other parents, and Hank was alone with his daughter. She clung to him like a burr, quiet, and he gave her back an awkward pat. “It’s gonna be okay, Libs. You’ll like it here.”

She shook her head and burrowed closer. “Daddy, I want to go home.”

“It’s just school,” he promised her. “You’re gonna play games and have fun with the other kids and then, before you know it, I’ll be here to pick you up, okay?” The paperwork had warned that some kids got shy on the first day of school, but was it supposed to feel like he was ripping his own guts out when he dropped his kid off?

Slowly, he managed to extricate her from his shirt, but Libby’s thumb popped right back into her mouth. She held his finger tight and looked around the room, nervous.

He crouched low and gave her a hug. “It’s gonna be okay. You’ll have fun. Trust Daddy.”

She looked at him, nodded slowly, and when the teacher put her hand out, Libby went to her reluctantly. Miss Mckinney gave him a wave and a thumbs-up, indicating that it was handled, as she took Libby away into the class.

His chest hurt as he watched his daughter leave. When did she get so damn big? She was just a baby. His baby. She still sucked her thumb and wet the bed when she had bad dreams. She wasn’t big enough for school.