They all froze at the sound of the back door creaking open. A moment later came the soft scuff of Ethan’s boots across the kitchen floor.
Then he stepped into view.
Pickles was tucked under his arm, his gangly legs dangling.
“He was hollering out in the pen,” he said. “Guess he’s not a big fan of his new roommates. I thought maybe you’d want…” He trailed off when he saw the half-packed suitcase on the bed.
“You’re leaving,” he said flatly, like it hadn’t been his own anger pushing her toward the door just hours ago.
“This is all your fault!” Brooke shouted at her dad, dropping her arms from blocking the doorway. “You ruin everything!”
“Brooklyn,” Honey and Ethan said at the same time.
But Brooke wasn’t finished. Her face crumpled, her voice breaking. “You said Mom would still love us even if you weren’t together! You said she’d come back when everything was better, but she didn’t! You promised, and now you’re making Honey leave too. You always say you’re fixing things, but you just make them go away!”
“Brooke—” Ethan started, his voice rough.
“No!” she cried, tears streaking her cheeks. “You’re the reason Mom’s gone, and you’re the reason everyone leaves!”
Ethan swallowed hard, his jaw working as he fought to keep his composure. His hands flexed at his sides before he reached for her, pulling his little girl against him. She resisted for a moment before crumpling into his chest. He held her close, his eyes finding Honey over the top of Brooke’s head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, quieter this time.
“You can’t just let her go, Dad.” The words tore from Brooke’s throat.
His expression closed off at Brooke’s words. He looked at his daughters like they were a mirror held up to every regret he carried. And maybe, Honey thought, that’s what this was. Maybe he was staring down the past, seeing another woman leaving, another suitcase packed, another choice he didn’t know how to stop.
But she was always a short-term guest in a home that had been hurting for far too long. He’d picked up the pieces of his family before. These pieces couldn’t be quite as shattered, Honey reasoned with herself. She wasn’t their mother. She wasn’t family. She was hardly even a friend.
But her heart cracked anyway.
He rubbed a hand over his face. “Can I have a minute with Honey, please?”
The girls hesitated. Emma didn’t look at her as she turned and walked away. Melly lingered a heartbeat longer, her mouth wobbling like she wanted to say something, but she darted after her sisters before the words could come.
Honey turned back to the bed and busied herself, grabbing a rolled-up shirt and shoving it into the suitcase.
“I’ll make an excuse,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “To the girls. I’ll leave after bedtime.”
She didn’t dare meet his eyes. If she did, she might crumble.
He blew air out. “I don’t want you to go.”
Her head snapped up. He looked like he hated saying it, but he continued anyway. “I was angry. That’s not an excuse, but…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have told you this was all your fault. It’s not.”
She shook her head quickly. “It’s okay?—”
“No. It’s not.” His voice sharpened, but only for asecond. “I don’t let myself need people anymore. Not since…”
The room went very quiet.
“Not since Leticia.” He sank onto the bed and rested his head in his hands. “I never told anyone this, but I’m the one who turned her in.”
Honey’s breath caught.
With his face still buried in his palms, he took a shuddering breath. “I called the feds on my own wife.”
He finally looked up, eyes distant as he stared out the window like he was watching the whole thing unfold all over again. “She was unraveling. She was obsessed with the ley lines, convinced she could tap into them if she just tried hard enough. She stopped sleeping. Stopped eating. She’d forget the girls were even in the room sometimes.”
He swallowed hard. “I thought if I reported it, she’d get help. That someone would step in and make her stop. And yeah, maybe I knew she’d leave me. But I didn’t realize she’d leavethem.” His voice cracked on the last word. “I thought I was doing the right thing by my girls. And it cost them their mom.”
