A New Life Begins

Sarah looked at John in confusion. 'Why did he call himself my daddy? Isn't he going to be my uncle? What about Ms. Shelia?' As these thoughts ran rampant in her head she turned to Shelia with all her questions apparent in her eyes.

"Sweetie I know I said I would be your mommy but they won't allow me to since I was the worker called to pick you up. Even though I can't John here agreed to take you in to keep you from being sent with your birth mother. That means he will be your daddy from now on and I will be your auntie. Is that alright with you pumpkin?"

"Daddy?" Sarah whispered as she looked towards John. "But John looks more like an uncle than a daddy."

Shelia burst out laughing at Johns misfortune waiting on him to get angry. What he said though melted her heart even further. "Sarah you don't have to call me daddy unless you want to, but from today onwards I will be considered your adoptive father. You can call me uncle till you are ready to accept me as your father."

"mhmm... Ok uncle John. Are we gonna live with aunt Shelia though?"

"No sweetie you see you and your new daddy will live in his house while I remain where I live. However we can still have sleepovers and spend time together." Shelia watched Sarah's face to see if she was alright with their decision. She didn't want to hurt Sarah anymore then she had already been hurt. Watching closely she didn't see the disappointment she expected though. All she saw was a calm and cool little girl who looked wise beyond her years staring back. Sarah's eyes seemed to say she knew this would occur and she had long accepted it.

"Sarah angel you will start at your new school next month after healing properly till then you can come to the office with me. Do you like animals?"

"I always wanted a cat and a dog but my step mom said she was allergic to fur so we never had a pet."

"Well how about I take you to look at the ones we have for adoption at the office. I happen to know we recently had a Husky be brought in his owner passed away and he needs a good home."

"Aren't huskies sleigh dogs uncle John? And what about a cat? Can I get a cat too?"

"Yes they are sleigh dogs and as for cats there are several batches of kittens just dying for homes." Seeing how her eyes lit up he couldn't help but think he would bring them all home just to make her smile. It was strange a year ago he didn't want to live in the house he had built. Now he could see it as a home for him, his adopted daughter, and her many furry friends.

Grabbing her hand he headed towards his truck so she could go pick her new animal companions out. It was the least he could do since he knew today they had a lot of shopping to do. He hadn't even had furniture put in the house since it was originally supposed to be decided by him and his future wife. After she left he never wanted to think about it. Now he had a reason to make that house into a home. 'Thank god Daniel wanted a huge fenced in back yard.'

"We have a lot of shopping to do today sweetie do you want to go adopt your animals first or wait till we get everything else?"

"We can go pick them out and then go buy what we need. I want to see them so I can get them some pretty collars and a name tag made for them. Please uncle John?"

"Ok we will go to the office first sweetie." Kissing her forehead he helped her buckle up in the backseat before shutting the door. Heading to the drivers side he opened his door and got in. Turning to look at Sarah as he buckled himself in he couldn't help but be glad he had a chance to improve her life. Starting the truck he headed towards his office not noticing the woman in a black Toyota Corolla behind him.

"Think you can adopt my daughter and get away with it let's see if you can keep her."