I laid in bed for a long time just thinking about Harry's words, evaluating all the pieces of the puzzle. All of my fear came from what Eric had done to me. Otherwise, I had good examples of faithful men in my life – my father, my brother, both of my grandfathers. I didn't date a lot in high school and I never really had any horrendous breakups, so I couldn't blame my fear on any of those. So, somehow I had to convince myself that Harry was different than Eric. But I already knew that.

Even so, trusting someone again was going to be hard. I remember all of the pain that I imagined my girls felt or would be feeling, thinking they would grow up without a daddy and just making up my mind that I was going to be super-mom, that I could be enough so that they didn't need a daddy.

This wasn't like dating someone when I was younger. I wasn't the only one who would be affected by a relationship at this point. My girls would be affected as well, and if it ended poorly, then they would be hurt, possibly for longer than I would.

Why couldn't I trust that it wouldn't end badly with Harry? What if Harry was just too young to know what it would really mean to keep his word?

I finally threw my covers off of me in frustration, knowing I wouldn't be getting much sleep. I went to the kitchen for a granola bar and some milk and I sat down at my computer. I opened my Skype window to see if Ryan was on, and sure enough he was. I hoped he would answer.

"Hi Lissy,” I heard his voice before his video feed came through.

“Hi Ry, I'm glad you're up,” I said, sighing heavily.

“Okay, what did he do now?” Ryan joked. “Am I gonna have to come up there and knock some sense into Harry?”

“No, you dork,” I teased right back. “Harry didn't do anything. It's me.”

“What did you do?” He demanded.

“Nothing. That's the problem. Harry is trying to convince me that he's ready for marriage, and I...I don't know.”

“What don't you know, Lise? I know you two love each other. Why the hell are you making it so complicated?!”

I flinched a little at my brother's harsh words, but then I answered, “How do I know if he's ready?”

“Well, he's telling you he's ready, right?”

“Yes,” I replied in a small voice.

“Then he is. Lise, you can't treat him like a child!” My brother all but shouted.

“Why are you getting so upset?” I asked defensively.

“Because Harry is the best damn thing that has ever happened to you and you're trying to analyze the hell out of it instead of just accepting that he loves you and wants to marry you!”

I saw Jessica walk into the room and take a seat next to Ryan, probably wondering why on earth he was yelling at so late at night.

“Hi, Jessica,” I laughed. “Your fiance is giving me a pep talk. Can you tell?”

She laughed. “Uh, yeah.”

I took a deep breath and said, “You're right, Ryan. I just need to let go of my fear. It shouldn't be that hard, right?”

My brother's face softened and he said, “I'm sorry you got a raw deal with Eric. He's a piece of work, that guy. But Lise, most men really do mean what they say. And most men really do want a family. Eric wasn't one of those guys. But Harry is one of those guys and he just happened to figure that out earlier than most people.”

“I know,” I said, with tears pricking my eyes. “I know Harry loves me.”

I changed the subject. “So here's some exciting news! Harry is flying to LA tomorrow to talk to a record company. How cool is that?”

We spent some more time discussing Harry's career and then, of course, wedding plans, since Ryan and Jess would be tying the knot at the end of the summer.

We finally said good-bye with Ryan reassuring me that Harry would stay true to his word.

I felt much more peaceful when I went to bed this time. I knew I still had to make a leap of faith, to just push past my fears and trust Harry. As I drifted off, I got myself a litte wound up again with worry, but I pushed it away so that I could get some sleep.

In the morning, I noticed the sun shining brightly behind my curtains. I got up and opened them, finding that it was a perfect sunny day. It was summer - early June - and it would be the perfect day to go to the park – the sunshine would help me, and I'm sure the fresh air would do wonders to clear any of the remaining confusion my head.

I got dressed and started to prepare breakfast when the girls came padding in.

“Look how sunny it is outside!” I said. “Should we go to the park after breakfast?”

Of course, they agreed, always accepting an opportunity for an outing. I was already thinking about ways to talk to them about Harry and whether I should drop any "hints" about our relationship. I knew they loved him, but would it be strange for them to just have us one day drop the bomb that, "Hey, we're getting married and Harry's going to be your new daddy"?

I pondered those questions as we walked down our long driveway. I held Rachael's hand, but the older girls were trained well enough to stay at the edge of the driveway and on the sidewalk. The sun was brighter than I had anticipated. I wanted to get my sunglasses from the car, so I told Aurora to hold Rachael's hand and wait right there for me to get back. I knew it would only take a few seconds.

However, when I reached the car, I was just flicking the locks open when I heard Aurora screaming, “No, Rachael!” Then I heard the squealing of a car's tires, and as I spun around, I was horrified by the sight of my youngest daughter's body flying through the air and tumbling to a stop in the middle of the street.

“NO!” I shrieked, and suddenly everything was happening in slow motion. My body was moving, but I couldn't run fast enough to get to her. I could hear my heartbeat and the blood rushing through my body as I fought back nausea and panic. When I finally reached her, she lay unmoving on the warm pavement.

I threw myself on the ground and carefully folded her in my arms. I could hear muffled voices crying, screaming, someone saying, “I called 911.” I was vaguely aware of people gathering around me, but I kept my eyes on my baby's face, saying, “God, please don't let her die.”

I saw someone's hands reaching in to touch her, to stroke her face and put his fingers on her neck. I looked away from her lifeless face for just a moment and saw Charlie, with Courtney behind him.

“She's alive, Lise. She's breathing. Everything is going to be okay. The ambulance is on its way.”

I nodded numbly. He kept talking, “We've got Grace and Rory. Don't worry about them. What do you need to go to the hospital? Your purse?”

I nodded again. He disappeared and the next thing I knew, I was surrounded by blue uniforms, gently prying Rachael out of my arms so they could assess her condition and load her into the ambulance. I started to climb in back with her, but they told me I had to ride in the front. I was just getting in when Charlie shoved my purse into my hands and told me again, “Everything's gonna be okay.”

Just before he close the door, I told him, “Please get Harry.”

“Of course,” he said, and then we were on our way, speeding through the streets of River Haven, with sirens blaring. I sat in a daze until we pulled into an ER loading bay. I gave one of the paramedics a blank look and she motioned for me to follow the stretcher into the hospital.

I stood paralyzed, watching the trauma team bustle around her, starting an IV, taking her vitals, speaking in words that I couldn't understand.

Soon a woman in scrubs came in and said, “Ma'am, I need you to come with me to fill out some paperwork.” I blindly followed her and obeyed her instructions without thinking. Name here, insurance information here, sign here.

“Is there anyone you want us to contact?” The woman asked me.

Harry. “Yes, please contact my fiance,” I said without even thinking about it. But it was only then that I remembered that Harry was leaving for LA today. I became hysterical, thinking that I needed him so badly and he wouldn't be there for me. “Harry! I need Harry, please call him! You have to call him now, before he leaves! Please!”

The nurse was trying to get me to calm down, asking for his number, but then I heard his distraught voice down the hall at the reception area, begging for information about Rachael Gibson.

I ran out of the office, ignoring the woman calling behind me, “Ma'am, I just need you to finish these last few forms.” I ran straight to Harry's arms.

“Oh, Harry! It was all my fault! I turned my back for just a moment. I'm so sorry. It was all my fault.”

He pulled me in tight and held my head against his chest so that I could hear his heart beating.

“It was all my fault,” I said again and he just shushed me. “But it was,” I persisted.

“Lise, sshhh. Just sshhh.” He stroked my hair while he asked the nurse at the reception desk. “When can we see her?”

“The doctors will be out to talk to you as soon as they evaluate her condition,” she informed us.

I pulled away and looked at Harry. “What if she-?”

“I told you to shush,” he said firmly. “Everything is going to be fine.”

We moved away from the reception desk and sat in a quiet corner. I was huddled so close to Harry that I was almost sitting on his lap. He continued to stroke my hair, and I focused on every caress, the feeling of his fingers starting at my temple and dragging back through the strands until they rested at the back of my head. I focused on the scratching sound they made. I focused on Harry's leg, clad in his favorite tight black jeans, bouncing lightly up and down the way it did when he was agitated. I focused on anything, anything to help me to try not to imagine what could be happening to my baby in that exam room.

Finally, I heard a voice say, “Ms. Gibson?” When we stood up, a doctor in navy blue scrubs said, “Follow me.” We obeyed and followed him. We stopped outside a row of curtains in the ER and the doctor smiled. “Your little girl is pretty much a walking miracle. Aside from a nasty concussion, she has no broken bones, and as far as we can tell, no internal bleeding. We'd like to admit her for a night or two, just to keep an eye on her, but she seems to be doing very well.”

I cried out with relief and Harry squeezed me, also letting out an audible sigh.

“Please, can we see her?” Harry begged.

Even with the doctor's heartening news, when Harry saw Rachael with all the wires and monitors connected to her, he completely lost all the composure he'd had in the waiting room. He bent over her, kissing her, stroking her hair and saying, “What happened to you, Princess? You can't scare me like that.” I could see his tears dripping onto her teddy bear print hospital gown. He stroked her hair and said, “Harry's here now, okay?”

In that moment, it was as if someone suddenly turned on a light in a dark room when I was flooded with the realization that Harry was indeed here, and that he was never going to walk away. I couldn't believe I had let myself be so blinded by fear. Harry had been more of a daddy to my children than their biological father ever was. He was committed to them from day one, out of some strange and inexplicable bond that he formed with them. It was like he told me – he knew from very early on that we were soul mates, and the same intuition must have told him that he was destined to take care of these girls for the rest of his life.

“Daddy,” I whispered.

“What?” He asked, looking up at me with confusion.

“Daddy's here,” I corrected him, smiling through my tears.

He grinned from ear to ear, making those famous Harry dimples pop. He turned back to Rachael and whispered, “Yes, Princess. Daddy's here.”

Rachael slowly woke up and smiled weakly when she saw Harry.

“Hi Princess,” he cooed. “Daddy's here.” I laughed at the way he was so delighted to let that word leave his lips. He asked the nurse if he could pick her up and hold her, and she allowed him to do so, as long as he was mindful of the cords attached to her.

When she got settled on his lap, she snuggled in close to him and whispered, “Daddy,” and then she fell back to sleep.

I've never seen a bigger smile on Harry's face.