Maddie looked up at him, a cautious hope in her eyes that nearly broke his heart. “Are you going to go get her?”
The blue dot on his screen pulsed steadily, like a heartbeat. Lake Willow. Two hours away. Liam glanced at his watch — it was nearly 6 PM. By the time he got there, it would be dark. The rational thing would be to wait until morning, to get some sleep, to approach this crucial moment with a clear head. For a brief second, he considered it. What if he arrived exhausted, fumbling his words, unable to properly express everything in his heart? What if his fatigue made him seem insincere?
But then a more terrifying thought struck him: what if she wasn’t there tomorrow? What if this very night, she decided to move on, to drive farther away, to disappear where no tracking device could find her? The thought sent a surge of panic through his veins. No. He wouldn’t risk losing her again, not when he was this close. He couldn’t bear another night knowing where she was and doing nothing about it. Another night where his daughters cried themselves to sleep, another night where Sunny believed herself unwanted.
“I’m going now,” he said, with a conviction that surprised even him. Some moments couldn’t wait for morning light. Some wounds shouldn’t be left to bleed through another night.
Beth was already moving, gathering car keys, a jacket.
Liam knelt, looking his daughters directly in the eyes. “I’m going to find Sunny,” he promised. “And I’m going to do everything I can to bring her home.”
“What if she doesn’t want to come back?” Maddie asked, the pragmatic one, always preparing for the worst to shield her fragile heart.
“Then we’ll respect her decision,” Liam said honestly. “But first, I’m going to make absolutely sure she knows exactly how much she means to all of us.”
Hailey threw her arms around his neck, squeezing with surprising strength. “Tell Sunny we miss her. And tell her I’m sorry I took Betty Bear without asking,” she added to Maddie.
Maddie shook her head. “It’s okay,” she said, joining the hug. “Betty Bear is helping Sunny. That’s more important.”
As Liam stood to leave, a strange calm settled over him. For days, he had been searching blindly, following ghosts and memories, hoping against hope. Now, finally, he had a destination, a fixed point toward which to direct all his determination.
Lake Willow. Two hours away. The place where Sunny — and all their futures — waited.
Liam
The drive to Lake Willow stretched before him, the tracker app’s blue dot his North Star as late afternoon sunlight gilded the highway. Liam’s mind raced with everything he wanted to say, everything he needed Sunny to understand. Would she even listen? Or had he squandered his chance forever?
The radio played softly in the background, until a familiar voice caught his attention. His own voice, from the press conference. He turned up the volume.
“…Some things are worth fighting for, even if you lose everything else.”
Liam’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. He’d meant those words when he said them. He meant them even more now.
As towns gave way to countryside, then to the scattered cabins and cottages that surrounded Lake Willow, Liam’s heartbeat accelerated. The blue dot was stationary, appearing to be located at one of the small rental cabins that dotted the southern shore.
The GPS directed him onto increasingly narrow roads until finally, he found himself on a gravel drive leading to a cluster of rustic cabins nestled among tall pines. According to the tracker, Sunny — or at least Betty Bear — was in Cabin 7, a small A-frame set slightly apart from the others, with a porch overlooking the water.
Liam parked a little distance away, suddenly uncertain. What if she slammed the door in his face? What if she refused to even hear him out? What if he had truly, irrevocably broken what they had?
As he sat there, hands still gripping the steering wheel, a memory washed over him — one exceptionally cold evening, after the girls had gone to bed. He’d found Sunny curled up on the window seat in the living room, watching the light snow fall in silent wonder. Without a word, he’d joined her, and they’d sat together in comfortable silence, shoulders touching, breath fogging the cold glass.
“I never had this growing up,” she’d confessed softly. “This feeling of… belonging somewhere. Of being exactly where I’m supposed to be.” She’d turned to him then, her eyes reflecting the glow of candle light, vulnerable in a way she rarely allowed herself to be. “Thank you for letting me be part of this. Even if it’s temporary.”
He’d wanted to tell her then that nothing about her place in their lives felt temporary. That she had somehow become essential, like oxygen or gravity. But fear had held his tongue, and he’d simply squeezed her shoulder instead.
Now, remembering her words — “even if it’s temporary” — Liam felt a renewed sense of urgency. All her life, Sunny had been the one left behind, the one people decided not to keep. And he had confirmed her deepest fear, becoming just another person who pushed her away when things got difficult.
Drawing a deep breath, Liam stepped out of the car. The lakeside air was crisp and clean, carrying the scent of pine and fresh water. In the distance, a loon called, its haunting cry echoing across the water. He gathered his courage and began walking toward Cabin 7.
The porch light wasn’t on yet, but through the window, he could see a soft glow — a lamp perhaps, or the flicker of a fire in the small hearth. And there, moving past the window, a familiar silhouette that made his heart stutter in his chest.
Sunny. She was really here.
Liam paused atthe bottom of the three wooden steps leading to the porch, his legs suddenly leaden. Everything hinged on what happened next — his future, his daughters’ happiness, any chance of the family they had begun to create together.
Above him, the door of the cabin remained closed, unaware of the man standing below with his heart in his hands, ready to lay it bare if given the chance. Inside, Sunny moved about, unknowing. And between them stretched all the words unsaid, all the pain inflicted, and all the love that refused to die despite everything.
Liam took the first step up, then the second. Each creak of the weathered wood brought him closer to the moment of truth — closer to either redemption or final loss.
