Addison whispered her address. Police arrived minutes later. Officers found her mother, Sarah, still alive but critically injured. They arrested her father, Craig Bennett, that same day.
Because of the circumstances, Addison stayed with me under emergency temporary guardianship while Sarah recovered. Those six weeks felt longer than any year of my life — quiet tears, small breakthroughs, bedtime worries. My daughter Amanda, a nurse, came by often.
I didn’t feel like a hero. But Addison sure believed I was. She started calling me Mr. Bear, curling up beside me on the couch, gripping my hand during hospital visits with her mom.
Sarah pulled through. She later married a gentle schoolteacher who treated Addison with the kind of kindness she’d never known. The little girl who once hid behind my arm began thriving.
Seven years passed. Addison is thirteen now — bright, brave, full of fire — and she calls me Grandpa Bear. Says she wants to be a police officer when she grows up.
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