Chapter 1

Abby has been the utmost joy of my life. Upon her birth, my life suddenly took on meaning and from the moment she clutched my finger in her tiny clenched fist, she owned my heart. My wife and I were elated at our first child and doted on her. Over the years as she grew from infant, to toddler, to young girl, her beauty and sweet nature humbled me and I considered myself the luckiest man alive with the perfect family life. That all came to an abrupt halt on the night a drunk driver slammed his car into my wife on her way home from work and killed her instantly.

The grief over my wifes death seemed all encompassing, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel that finally pulled me back into the land of the living. I had a 5 year old daughter who has just lost her mother, and I swore that I would somehow make it all up to her. I would be the best father any little girl could wish for. My love for Abby and my duty now as a sole parent were the only things that mattered.

Maybe I'm biased but I can readily admit to the fact that I consider Abby to be the most beautiful little girl in the world. Her long dark brown hair that cascaded in waves down her back was soft and silky. Her big blue eyes fringed with dark lashes could make my heart melt. I constantly kissed the six freckles that graced her creamy cheeks and nose. As the years passed and my baby girl grew, her long coltish legs and lithe young body made me an extremely proud papa. I dreaded the coming teenage years, as I knew I'd be fighting off the boys in droves.

Things started to go askew when Abby was 11. Maybe it's a time when a daughter needs her mother in her life due to her changing body, but I noticed that Abby became quite clingy over the months. Instead of sprawling on the carpet in front of the television at night, she'd curl up beside me on the large reclining chair, snuggling against my chest as my arm curled around her back. Her legs would drape across my lap as I rubbed my hand up and down the back of her cotton nightgown. At first I thought I was the luckiest dad in the world to have a daughter who loved to cuddle.

That year I accepted an invitation to a New Years Eve party at a friends house that lived down the street. I'd organised for the 15 year old girl from next door to babysit Abby and had given my permission for Abby to stay up late and see the midnight fireworks on TV. Try as I might throughout the night, I just couldn't seem to get into the party spirit, and after the midnight round of kisses and best wishes for the coming year, I made my excuses and trudged home. The cool night air made me realise that I'd probably had one too many beers, but since I wasn't driving, I figured there was no harm done. Upon my arrival home, and after watching the baby sitter run across the lawn to her house, I collapsed into my favorite chair and within seconds Abby had pounced into my lap.