"Brad."
I turned to find Sarah's father in the doorway. Richard Patterson had aged a decade in three years, grief carving lines around his eyes that matched my own.
"Richard."
"She's happy," he said quietly. "Sarah. If she could see you with that woman, with someone who loves Finn like that... she'd be happy."
My throat closed. "I'm not trying to replace—"
"I know." He stepped closer, his hand heavy on my shoulder. "We're not trying to take him, Brad. We just... we miss her so much, and he's all we have left of her."
"He's all I have left too."
We stood there, two men drowning in the same loss, until Richard squeezed my shoulder and left.
Back in the courtroom, the judge delivered her decision with measured words that made my hands shake until Serena laced her fingers through mine.
"The court finds no evidence that Mr. Wilder is anything less than a devoted, capable father. While the grandparents' desire for increased involvement is understandable, disrupting Finn's established routine would not serve his best interests."
The relief hit like a physical blow. I sagged forward, breathing hard, as the judge continued outlining a visitation schedule that was generous but manageable. Two weekends a month, alternating holidays, two weeks in summer.
"Furthermore," the judge added, looking directly at Sarah's parents, "the court notes the robust support system Mr.Wilder has cultivated. Ms. Voss's presence appears to provide significant stability."
Outside, photographers clustered like hungry pigeons, but my vision tunneled to one small figure. Maria had brought Finn despite my explicit instructions—keep him away, don't let him see this—but there he was, breaking free from her grip, his sneakers slapping courthouse marble as he crashed into me hard enough to rock me backward.
"Did we win?" he asked against my chest.
"Yeah, buddy. We won."
He pulled back just far enough to look between Serena and me, his mother's eyes in his serious little face. "So Serena can stay?"
I met her eyes over his head, saw my own raw emotion reflected there. "That's up to Serena."
She moved into our embrace without hesitation, her arms wrapping around both of us. "I'm not going anywhere, for now."
Sarah's mother approached as we prepared to leave. Ellen Patterson had been crying, her carefully applied makeup streaked, but she managed a watery smile.
"She loves him," she said to me, but her eyes were on Serena. "Really loves him. Sarah would—" her voice broke. "Sarah would approve."
The blessing I hadn't known I needed loosened something in my chest that had been twisted tight for months. Maybe years.
That night, after Finn was asleep, Serena and I sat on the deck despite the cold. The stars were brilliant against the black sky, and her hand was warm in mine.
"You didn't have to say those things," I said. "About not needing you."
"But they were true."
"No." I turned to face her fully. "They weren't. I do need you. We both do. And that terrifies me more than any custody battle."
She shifted closer, her free hand coming up to touch my face. "Good thing I need you too, then. Both of you."
The kiss was soft, a promise more than passion. When we pulled apart, I could see our future stretching ahead—complicated, imperfect, but ours.
Chapter 25: Brad
Five AM, and the ice waited like a held breath.
The arena's fluorescents turned the rink into a sheet of mercury, untouched and perfect—the kind of surface I used to own before everything went to hell. But this morning wasn't about reclaiming glory. This was about a promise I'd made my son weeks ago, one that had been eating a hole in my gut ever since.
