“I’m sorry, Colt, but the law is the law. She’ll still be locked up. It’s just that her term will be served in a mental institution instead of prison. However, even with good behavior or whatever kind of dog and pony show she tries to pull off in there, they aren’t going to set her free. That much I’m certain of,” my lawyer prattles on as I stare at my phone in disbelief.

“Isn’t there anything you can do? That woman deserves to be behind bars, not in some cushy fucking country club for crazies.” After everything Lisa put my family through, even prison is too good for her. There hasn’t been a night that’s gone by in the two months since the attack where Madison or Isabella haven’t woken in tears. Anger surges through me with the same potency it did when I had to talk myself out of snapping Lisa’s pathetic neck.

“No, the ruling has been made. There’s nothing else that can be done. Frankly, I thought you would’ve been happy. Lisa isn’t going to be getting outside those walls for a long, long time. Plus, she’ll be getting the help she desperately needs while she’s in there.” Frank’s optimistic tone makes me want to reach through my phone and slap him with the back of my hand.

“Fine, well, at least she’s locked up. That’s something anyway. Thank you for keeping me up to date, Frank.” I hang up the phone and take a deep breath. I should be happy that Lisa is out of our lives for good, but I can’t help but feel like she’s evaded justice, yet again.

“Where is Mama?”

I whirl around as the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Madison is standing in the middle of the room, looking up at me with her big, brown eyes. How much did she hear?

“Madison, I didn’t hear you come in here. Where’s Isabella?” I look over her shoulder for my missing fiancée. She’s surprisingly stealthy for a toddler. Or maybe I couldn’t hear her over my yelling. It was probably the latter.

“Isabella sleeping on couch,” she explains matter-of-factly. I’m not surprised. At eight months into her pregnancy, Isabella tires quite easily these days. “Where’s Mommy?”

“Honey, come here.” I crouch down and hold my arms out to her.

Madison crosses her arms over her chest and sticks her bottom lip out about a half mile.

“Where is my mama?”

Christ, she’s stubborn and relentless. The teen years are going to kill me.

I walk over to her and swoop her up until I have her dangling upside down from my shoulder. Giggles erupt from her as I swing her around, under my control. I stop and flip her back up, placing her back on her feet, and she begins to squeal.

“Again, spin around again!”

I guess I still have a few distraction tactics up my sleeve. I pick her up to her delight, smiling as her laughter bubbles up again. The question is—how long can I distract her before she starts wanting real answers?

* * *

“Colt, I swear your meals are getting better every day,” Isabella talks around her last bite of the prime rib I cooked for supper. It’s amazing that with her appetite lately she’s still so small. With a month to go until she’s due, I had expected her to be as big as a house by now. Instead, the only change has been in her belly, which is now the size of a beach ball.

“Well, it wasn’t very hard to make. But I’m not going to turn down a compliment, so thanks.” I smile and stand to clear the table. I sigh as I pick up Madison’s abandoned plate of food. Every night she eats like a bird. It makes me wonder if she’s getting enough vitamins. “Madison? Are you sure you don’t want a little bit more of this, honey? I’m getting ready to put everything away.”

She looks up from her pony toys and scrunches her nose at the plate I’m holding. “No way. I play pony,” she declares.

Well, excuse me.

“What do you think there, Mama? You up for a movie tonight? Or are you tired?”

Isabella smiles and rubs her hand over her belly thoughtfully. “I’m feeling pretty good right now, but who knows how much energy I’ll have in an hour.” She heaves herself out of the chair with a grunt.

“No!” Madison yells at us from the living room, making us both stop in our tracks and look over at her.

“What’s wrong, Madison?” Isabella’s eyebrows rise with concern.

“You not Mama!” She cries. “Colt, where’s my mama?” Her big eyes are searching my face for answers.

I thought I’d escaped this earlier. I guess I was wrong.

I put the dishes down and pick Madison up off the floor with her pink pony dangling from her hand. “Madison, I’ve told you before, your mom is at the doctor. Remember? Like Doc McStuffins,” I reassure her.

She begins violently shaking her head. “No. I don’t want Isabella anymore. I want my mommy.”

I start to walk her down the hall to her room, so Isabella doesn’t get upset. The last thing I need is both of them in tears.

“No, wait. Let me talk to her.” Isabella rushes to my side.

I arch my eyebrow uncertainly.

“Colt, please. Let us work this out.” She holds out her arms expectantly.

Against my better judgment, I hand Madison off to her. To my surprise, she snuggles up against Isabella despite her earlier protests.

“Isabella, I miss my mommy,” Madison whispers to her as Isabella walks her over to the couch.

I head back to the kitchen so I can give them some space. There’s no telling how Madison is going to react from one second to the next, so I don’t want to wander off too far. I start loading the dishes into the dishwasher as quietly as possible so I can listen in on their chat.

“Madison, I know you miss your mom. Those feelings are completely normal. Being away from someone you love isn’t easy. You know, when I was younger, I had to live away from my mom too.” She runs her hand through Madison’s hair lovingly.

“You did?”

“Mmmhmmm, it’s true. I was older than you, but I still missed her a lot. I know how hard it is with all these feelings you’re having. I went and lived with my uncle and aunt, just like you’re doing right now.”

“We the same!” Madison smiles at the idea.

She loves finding common ground with people, so Isabella is captivating her with this story. I have to admit, she’s captivating me too. I knew she had left her parents’ house as a teen, but we’ve never really gotten into it beyond that.

“That’s right, we are the same. You know what? We’re a little different, I think. Since you are much younger than I was, that makes you much, much braver. But you already knew you’re brave, didn’t you?”

Madison nods enthusiastically and puffs her chest out proudly.

“See, when I lived with my aunt Jill, I didn’t like how she did things because it wasn’t the same way my mom did them. She cooked my food a little different, and she watched different television shows. Even her laundry soap was different. It made me miss my mom even more, which made me kinda angry with Aunt Jill.”

“Like me.” Madison holds her small hand against her chest and watches Isabella more intently than any of her favorite TV shows.

I’m still holding the same plate as when they started this conversation, just hovering it in midair. I put the dirty dish down and focus on the moment Isabella and Madison are sharing.

“That’s right, just like you.” Isabella touches the tip of her finger to Madison’s nose, and she’s instantly rewarded with a big, toothy grin. “Now, your mom is going to be gone for a while, just like mine was, so maybe the thing that helped me will help you too. Do you wanna know what it was?”

“Ya!” Madison clasps her hands together as her eyes light up.

“Okay, well, one day my aunt Jill took me out for a fun day. Just she and I spent the entire day together. She took me to my favorite stores, and we ate at my favorite restaurant. I had so much fun with her, I even stopped missing my mom for a bit. I got to see it was okay that Jill was different from my mom because she was still great in her own way. Do you think you’d like it if you and I had a special day together?” Isabella looks down at Madison while my niece ponders the question.

“Just you and me?” She looks up at Isabella for clarification.

Here it comes, she’s gonna freak out again.

“Yay, I want special day!” Madison beams at Isabella so wide, I swear the living room just got a little brighter.

“Oh, a special day!” I interrupt and make my way from my hiding spot in the kitchen. “What do you two ladies have in mind?” I look at Isabella, wondering if she knows what she’s getting herself into. If she’s concerned, it doesn’t show. Instead, she’s just waiting patiently for Madison to think it over.

“I want see la-la-fonts!” Madison finally answers.

“Is that a movie?” I ask.

“No, la-la-fonts and monkeys too.” Madison is getting amped up just thinking about it. She hops off the couch and begins dancing in circles on the rug.

“Do you mean you want us to go to the zoo, Madison?” Isabella jumps in as a translator. Pregnancy must have unlocked some secret compartment in her mind. Now she’s like the toddler whisperer or something.

“Ya! Zoo!” Madison jumps up and down, clapping her hands in glee.

“Perfect, we’ll have our special day at the zoo then. I think that sounds wonderful.” Isabella smiles and despite my worries, I smile too. It’s incredible how seeing my girls happy makes my heart soar.

“Okay, we can talk about this more once you get your pajamas on and brush your teeth. It’s time to get ready for bed.” Someone has to be the buzz kill, I guess, or else Madison would try to stay up dancing like this all night.

She doesn’t even put up her usual fuss about getting ready for bed, her mind still focused on the fun she plans to have at the zoo.

“Night, Isabella, I go bed now so we go to zoo!” She throws her arms around Isabella’s neck.

“Good night, Madison. Sweet dreams,” Isabella answers as I scoop the happy toddler up in my arms and head down the hall.