Emberwood I'm inside out, you're underneath

Her praise intensified the guilt always present in his chest when he thought of his children. If she knew that Lainie was the only child left of the six he had, she might think differently. But it was too painful to talk about—maybe he would get to where he could talk about it some day but for now, he just couldn't bear to speak of the family he lost. He could hardly bear to live with it, honestly, but he refused to leave his daughter without any parents. 

I am sorry, he offered, his tone that of one who knew too well the loss of a child. Hers may not be dead like his, but they were gone from her life all the same. Lainie might be happy to spend time with someone who isn't her overprotective father; I'm sure she'd love to learn something from you if you have the time. Maybe it would help ease her own loss to help him teach Lainie how to be a capable adult.