I help him unbuckle, and he’s off like a shot toward the side gate, yelling “Castle!” I can’t remember the last time I was this excited.
I reach in for Agnes next. She grabs my face with both hands. “You’re not gonna forget me for a castle, right?” I murmur, kissing her cheek.
Then Lore steps out of the car.
I freeze.
“You’re staying?” I ask before I can stop myself.
She closes her door and nods. “I promised him I would.”
Something warm flickers through me, I missed her. “I’m glad,” I say quietly.
We stand there, awkward as hell, like two strangers who used to know each other inside out. And then Agnes lets out a sound that can only be described as… a warning.
A second later: the smell hits.
I gag so hard my eyes water. “Oh God. What did you feed this kid?”
Lore grimaces. “Fish.”
“Of course,” I mutter, trying to breathe through my sleeve.
She hands me the diaper bag. “The doctor said she’s ready to try new foods.”
I shift Agnes on my hip. “I’m glad our daughter’s gonna have a big palate. I just wish she was potty trained.”
“She’s eleven months old.”
I shrug. “Early achiever.”
I lead the way into the house. My dad’s in the backyard, planted beside Milo’s precious castle because he knew exactly where the kid would run first.
I take Agnes to the downstairs guest room, really the kids’ room. This is where they sleep during sleepovers. Agnes hasn’t had one yet, but there’s a crib and a changing table waiting anyway. I lay her down and grab a diaper.
“How’s work?” I ask over my shoulder.
“Good,” Lore says quietly, slipping her hands into her pockets. “They hired Caroline back. Things feel normal again.”
“Yeah? No more schedule drama?”
“No. Thank God.”
“Good,” I say, meaning it.
“How about you? How’s work?”
“Oh.” I shrug. “It’s good. I mean, it sucked losing my sergeant post, but watching Barry grow a gut from all the desk work… I’m glad I took the demotion.”
She rests her hand on Agnes’s chest while I throw the dirty diaper away, clean her up and fasten a clean one on her squirmy body. For a second, our breaths mix, the memories of doing the same thing with Milo fresh on our minds.
I almost beg for forgiveness again, beg to come home, but she looks away, breaking the moment.
“I still think it was unfair they asked you to step down,” Lore says softly.
“I don’t,” I reply.
And God, it guts me, watching the surprise flicker across her face. Like she still expects the old defensive me.
