She exhales through her nose like she’s trying not to smile.
“He won’t tear this apart,” she says firmly. Then softer, “He’ll yell. Then he’ll interrogate. Then he’ll realize I’m not being coerced. He loves me. He’ll adjust.”
“I’m ready for it,” I say. “Doesn’t mean I’m not bracing.”
“Good,” she says. “You should be.”
I shake my head once. “Tomorrow, then. We survive Mason.”
“Tomorrow,” she agrees.
This time when she turns for the door, it feels like we’re stepping into a second battle.
Then she leaves.
The door clicks shut.
“Dad?” Maddie calls from down the hall.
“Yeah?”
“Is Natalie going to live here?”
I lean back against the door.
“Yes,” I say. “But she’s keeping her apartment too. So sometimes she’ll be there. But mostly… she’ll be here.”
“Okay!” she shouts back. “I’m putting Daisy next to me in the picture!”
I look around the house.
The couch with the dent where Maddie always sits. The framed team photo on the wall. The hallway with scuffed baseboards from scooter wheels.
I tried to protect this.
Now I’ve invited something bigger into it.
This isn’t about custody anymore.
It’s about building something that could break me if it fails.
And for the first time since this started, I’m not thinking about California.
I’m thinking about vows.
And whether I’m ready to deserve them.
Chapter five
Natalie
“Tell me this is a joke.”
Mason doesn’t even close his condo door before he says it.
He’s still in workout shorts. Sweaty. Jaw tight. The protective older brother's energy is so strong it could qualify as a weapon.
Gabriel stands beside me. Not touching. Not crowding.
