The simple honesty of her statement broke my heart. I pulled her closer, resting my cheek against her damp hair. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart."
"It's okay," she said, and I could hear in her voice that in some ways, it really was. "I have you and Uncle Drew now. And Eden. And all your friends. It's not the same, but... it's good."
"It is good," I agreed. "And we're so lucky to have you with us."
As Drew guided the boat back to the marina, I watched Holly helping him navigate, pointing out markers and other boats, laughing at something he said. The casual ease between them, the trust and affection, filled me with a sense of rightness so profound it took my breath away.
This was my family. Not the one I'd expected or planned for, but the one I'd been given—the one we were building together, day by day, choice by choice.
And I knew with sudden, complete certainty that I would do anything to protect it.
Because nothing—not the satisfaction of exposing a cheater, not the gratitude of a woman I'd helped—nothing compared to this: the three of us, sunburned and tired, heading home together as the sun set behind us, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold.
Home. To our house, where Eden waited. Where Holly's photography books were stacked on the coffee table. Where Drew's golf shoes sat next to mine in the mudroom. Where all the pieces of our life together fit perfectly, unexpectedly, wonderfully.
It wasn't the life I'd imagined for myself all those years ago.It was better.
20
HOLLY
The sun felt amazing on my face as Uncle Drew guided the boat into "our" sheltered cove. I leaned back against the cushioned seat, watching the ripples spread out behind us. This was nothing like the crowded public beaches I'd been to before—this was private, peaceful, just the three of us and the endless blue stretching in every direction.
"This is my favorite spot," Aunt Elyse said, unpacking the cooler she'd stocked with enough food to feed us for a week, not just an afternoon. "The water's always calm here, and sometimes you can see dolphins."
"Dolphins?" I perked up, scanning the horizon. "Here?"
"If we're lucky," Uncle Drew confirmed, dropping anchor with practiced ease. "No guarantees, but they do seem to like this area."
I peered into the crystal-clear water below us. No dolphins yet, but I could see all the way to the sandy bottom, where small fish darted between patches of seagrass.
Once the boat was secured, Aunt Elyse laid out lunch on the center table. Sandwiches, fruit, chips, and of course cookiesfrom Jenna's bakery. We settled around the table, the boat gently rocking beneath us.
"This was a good idea," I said, taking a bite of my sandwich. I'd been in a mood all week after overhearing that conversation about my mom, withdrawing into myself the way I always did when things got overwhelming. But instead of giving me space by ignoring me—the way most adults did—Aunt Elyse and Uncle Drew had given me space by literally creating it, bringing me out here where I could breathe.
"We thought you might enjoy a change of scenery," Uncle Drew said casually, but I caught the look he exchanged with Aunt Elyse. They were worried about me. Not in an annoying, hovering way, but in a way that felt... I don't know. Caring.
After lunch, I slipped into the water, letting the salt buoyancy support me as I floated on my back. The sun warmed my face while the water cooled my body... the perfect contrast. I closed my eyes, letting myself drift, anchored only by the sounds of Aunt Elyse and Uncle Drew's quiet conversation from the boat.
They thought I couldn't hear them, but sound carried over water. They were talking about me, about what they'd brought up the night before, and about the adoption idea they'd been floating lately. About whether I was ready for that conversation yet.
The adoption idea.It still felt surreal, like something that happened in movies but not in real life. Not in my life, anyway.
I flipped over and began swimming in lazy circles around the boat, my thoughts churning like the small wake I created.
If my mom really did terminate her rights, would I want Aunt Elyse and Uncle Drew to adopt me? To officially, legally become their daughter?
The question had been hovering in the background of my mind since that day at the park with Paige and Ben. I'd been tooscared to examine it directly, afraid of what I might feel. Afraid of what it meant about my mom, about me, about the future.
But out here, with the endless sky above and the clear water below, the question didn't seem so terrifying.
I ducked under the surface, letting the cool water envelop me completely, muffling all sound. In that suspended moment, a clarity I hadn't felt before washed over me.
I wanted this. Not just the temporary sanctuary they'd provided, but the permanence they were offering. I wanted to belong to them—to be their daughter, not just their niece they'd taken in during a crisis.
The realization should have felt like a betrayal of my mother. But strangely, it didn't. Maybe because deep down, I knew my mom had been slipping away from me for years, long before she physically disappeared. Maybe because loving Aunt Elyse and Uncle Drew didn't mean I had to stop loving my mom, complicated as that love might be.
I surfaced, gulping air, and saw Uncle Drew watching me from the boat with a slightly concerned expression.
