This. This is what I've been searching for.
"I love you guys," I say quietly, my voice thick with emotion. "All of you. You know that, right?"
Matthew nods against my shoulder. Zoe's arms tighten around me.
"We love you too," Zoe says, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Like, a lot. Embarrassingly much."
Matthew adds, "You're going to stay, right? You're not leaving?"
I pull back just enough to look at both kids, then up at Rika. She's watching me with tear-bright eyes and the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.
"I'm not going anywhere," I say firmly. "I'm staying right here. With you. With all of you. If that's okay."
"It's more than okay," Rika says softly. "It's everything. But what about New York?"
I look down at Rika, then Zoe, then Matthew. And it's the easiest decision I've ever had to make.
"I'm turning it down," I say. "I'm taking the position at Saltford Bay Middle School instead."
Rika's lower lip trembles.
"But Drakesmere is everything you've ever wanted."
"No." I shake my head, not breaking eye contact. "Drakesmere is a great opportunity, for sure. But standing here, right now, with you and Zoe and Matthew, this is what I actually want. This is the dream."
I gesture around us, encompassing the whole town.
"I want to spend my days teaching kids in Saltford Bay and come home to you every night. I want to help Matthew with his robotics projects and drive Zoe to dance class. I want to have dinner together and movie nights and all the boring, ordinary, beautiful moments that make up family life. With you."
Rika's face crumples. Fresh tears spill over, but she's smiling through them.
"Are you sure?" Her voice is barely above a whisper. "Because once you make this choice, there's no going back. You'll be stuck with us. With all our mess and chaos and complications."
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," I say, and I mean it with every fiber of my being.
Rika snorts and buries her face against my chest, and her wings wrap around us, creating a cocoon of shimmering blue.
"Maybe I'm dreaming," she says, her voice muffled against my shirt. "Because you're too good to be true."
"Maybe I'm the one dreaming," I say simply. "Because you're all perfect to me."
Rika pulls back slightly, wiping at her eyes. She glances past me toward the garage.
"What about your gramps' house?" she asks. "Are you still selling it?"
I grimace.
"I signed the listing agreement this morning," I admit. "I can call Missy and cancel the listing. And when we're both ready, maybe I could sell it and move in with you guys?"
The suggestion hangs in the air between us.
Rika looks stunned. Her mouth opens and closes as she processes what I'm offering.
My heart starts hammering again, hope and terror mixing in equal measure.
"You're already there all week," Rika says carefully. But I can see the longing in her eyes, the way she's already imagining it. "It's something I think I'll be ready for in a few months."
"No rush," I say quickly. "We can take our time. Figure things out. I want you to know I'm all in. Forever."
