Lynn hid like a coward behind a pine with a wide, knobby trunk. She hadn’t been back to her parent’s house in so long, and it felt strange, like déjà vu. She had planned on being the badass Jathan thought she was and march right up to the front door and knock, just like she belonged. But when she’d walked down here from her tree house, three miles of woods, the first thing she saw when she came to the house she’d grown up in was Jathan’s motorcycle.

She’d thought he was working. It was lunch time, so maybe he was on a break from hauling logs.

He’d taught her how to be brave, but she wanted to do this part alone, and then afterward, she wanted to fall apart alone. It was a hard balance, this recovery. She waffled between needing Jathan to prop her up and keeping him from becoming her backbone. She needed to do some of the work alone so that she could be proud when she came out of this. And she would come out of this.

The door to her parent’s house opened, and Jathan ducked under the low doorframe. He was wearing a black tank top with mud stains across the front and worn jeans over his work boots, both spattered with the dirty remnants of last night’s rainstorm. He wore a distracted smile and was saying something too low for her to hear from where she stood in the cool shadows of the tree. He was a huge and intimidating man. Sometimes she forgot how big he was until she saw him standing next to someone else. And when her mom came out of the house after him, a foot and a half shorter than him, she was overwhelmed with the urge to laugh and sigh with relief all at once. Mom. God, it was good to see her.

She’d pulled her dark hair up in a messy bun, and her eyes crinkled at the corners as she looked up at Jathan and responded to something he’d said. Her dad came out next, but Lynn couldn’t even look at his face. Her attention was devoted to the little, precious baby he carried in his arms.

Lynn crouched immediately because she was overwhelmed and wouldn’t stay standing for long anyway. One year old. Amberlynn was so beautiful, crop of red hair the same shade as Lynn’s on her head, eyes the same shade of soft brown as hers, too. She looked absolutely nothing like Brody.

Lynn blew out a silent, shaking breath as her eyes filled with tears. My babyyyy. A purr rattled up her throat. A purr? God, how long had it been since she made that happy sound? It tickled.

Amberlynn was smiling a big gummy grin at Jathan who was covering his face, then uncovering it. Peekaboo. He reached for Lynn’s baby girl as though he’d done it a million times and pulled her against his chest. And then he did something that stunned her. Jathan, big bad bear who never attached to anyone, hugged her daughter close, hand on the back of her head as he rocked back and forth and talked to Lynn’s parents. Amberlynn was soooo tiny in his big, tattooed arms, and she settled against him instantly.

Oh, Jathan had given that little girl his heart. Lynn could see it clear as day.

Her arms itched to be the one holding her.

Jathan gave the baby back to her mom, and as he jogged down the stairs with a wave, Lynn did a Monster check. In her middle, the cat was quiet and watchful. Not the foul demon she was most of the time.

The rumble of Jathan’s bike engine was loud in the quiet clearing. One more two-fingered wave, and then he was blasting off down the road. Her parents watched him go. They used to do that with her when she would leave. They always waited until she was completely gone before they went back inside. It made her smile. They liked Jathan, and something about that made her really happy. Had he told them they’d bonded? Had he told them he’d claimed her, or that she’d claimed him back?

Had he told them he was trying to save their daughter?

This felt like date number four, and he didn’t even realize she’d been here.

Be brave.

Lynn stood and walked out of the shadows, eyes on her mom’s face. Mom jerked her attention to Lynn, and her lips parted in shock. “Lynn?” she asked in a hopeful voice. “Lynn?” she asked louder, bolting down the steps, holding tight to Amberlynn.

Lynn lost it, just bawling, as she ran to her mom and threw her arms around her and her little girl. “I’m sorry,” she whispered brokenly. “I’m sorry I pushed you away. I’m sorry I didn’t come back. I’m sorry—”

“Shhhh,” her mom crooned.

“I’m sorry for everything.”

Another pair of arms went around them. Dad. Tears streaming down her face, Lynn rested her cheek on her dad’s chest. He’d always been the strongest man she knew, but even he was tearing up. He kissed the top of her head three times quick and hugged her tighter.

“Ba!” Amberlynn said.

The noise startled Lynn. Not because it was loud, but because even if she hadn’t seen her baby in a hundred years, she would recognize her voice, down to her bones, down to her base instincts. That little voice was for her. It was Lynn’s call.

Lynn eased back and smiled through her tears at Amberlynn. My baby, my baby, my babyyyy.

“Can I hold her?” Lynn whispered, hopeful but terrified of rejection.

“Are you okay right now?”

Lynn winced at the pain Mom’s question caused, but she understood. They were the ones keeping Amberlynn safe right now—even if that meant from Lynn.

“Oh, honey,” Mom said, cupping her chin. “You pushed us away, but we didn’t stay away. We’ve been following everything. Ben kept us updated, and when you came back to Damon’s Mountains, Jathan started visiting. He’s good. He cares about you, we can tell. He tells us you’re gonna get better, but you’re still hurting.” Mom looked down at Amberlynn, then held her out to Lynn.

For a second, Lynn was shocked. The moment was here. She was going to get to touch her baby. What if she was bad at this? What if she didn’t remember how to be a mom? Monster check: still quiet.

Lynn reached for her and pulled her to her hip. She rocked with a little bounce as Amberlynn frowned up at her. Of course she wouldn’t recognize her. It hurt, but that was on Lynn, not Amberlynn. When she pressed her thumb against Amberlynn’s little hand, the girl wrapped her chubby little fingers around her and squeezed. Lynn gave off a relieved sigh at how good it felt. It was like the best hug she’d ever had, plus a drink of water after a week in the desert, plus her soul being filled with joy—all at the same time. It was beautiful.

“What will you do?” Mom asked softly, her eyes on where Amberlynn and Lynn were holding hands.

“What do you think I should do?”

“Live. Of course live, baby. I was so—” Mom’s voice hitched, and she swallowed hard before she continued. “You scared us. What should you do? Work toward a good life. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for you. To be happy.” She twitched her head toward the road where Jathan had disappeared. “Starting with that one was a smart move. We are just Amberlynn’s grandparents. She needs her mom.”

Lynn bit her lip hard to keep her face from crumpling. She hadn’t been called a mom in a while. “I’m not ready yet. I wish I could take her now. Right now. I wish I could walk her right back to where I live and be good enough for her. But I’m at the beginning…”

“We know you are,” Dad rumbled. Big cat shifter with the same snarly voice she’d grown up listening to. “You did good, girl. You brought her to us when you knew you couldn’t keep her safe. We’re family. We did our job while you were hurting, but now you have a bigger job. Recover, Lynn. Don’t be one of the shifters who has to be put down. It’ll break so many hearts. Be that tough-as-leather panther we raised. The one we can’t live without. The one we adopted because you made our family whole. It’s time to make your family whole now.”

“Three months,” Lynn promised, feeling liquid steel fill her veins. “Give me three months, and I’ll be ready for her, I’ll be whole, and I’ll be enough. I’m gonna put in the work. I’m gonna do this for her.” Even she could hear the conviction ringing clear as a bell in her voice.

Dad lifted his chin and smiled, his blue eyes dancing with pride. “There’s the Lynn I know.”