“Why do you still have it?” She looks at the ring in horror.

“It’s yours, and I want you to take it back.”

She laughs, but there’s no humor behind it.

“Why would I take it back?”

Do you have a lifetime to listen to all the reasons?

“Simple. Because I want to do the right thing by you. Marry you.”

She huffs, shaking her head. “You think that marrying me is doing the right thing?”

“We have a kid—”

“Didn’t you learn the first time?” She interrupts what I hoped would be a reasonable explanation.

“First time?” I’m confused by the question and sleep deprived.

She didn’t let me explain why I want to marry her, just stopped me before I could say more than four words.

“You married Alicia to do the right thing,” she says bitterly. “What was it?” She taps her chin. “Six or seven years of unhappiness that pushed you to hate her.”

“Don’t fucking compare yourself to that bitch!”

“I’m not her, I know that. We’re over, and we share a kid. But that’s all we have left.”

“You can’t believe that. It can’t be over between two people who bonded their souls and melded their hearts. We’re one, Sadie.”

I look down for a moment as I remind myself that she’s hurt, afraid, and her father already confused the fuck out of her.

It’s been a long day. A long year if I add in the fact that I left her. She almost died, and she mumbled before falling asleep earlier that she was all alone. Everything is too much for her, and I know for a fact that when she’s overwhelmed, she retreats into herself. But it’s so hard to stay away. There’s this intense need to hold her, embrace her, and never let her go.

“You got to leave the past where it belongs, move on. No matter how many times you ask, I won’t marry you for the sake of Kieran.”

“I have more I want to explain.”

“Save your words, Hades. Nothing you say will make me change my mind.”

So much for fixing this as soon as she woke up. What were you expecting, fucker? You broke her heart and your promise. It takes me longer than it should to realize that I’m taking the wrong approach.

“I understand that maybe I won’t be able to fix what I’ve broken, but at least let me help you during the next few months.”

“Help me, how?” She tilts her head and narrows her gaze.

“Rent me a room in your house for about a year,” I propose.

“Where are you going to stay? I might have a big house, but I don’t have much furniture.”

“I furnished the place. We moved your things to the big house and recreated Kieran’s nursery the way you wanted it. It’s ready for you. If you’re okay with it, I’ll move into one of the empty rooms temporarily. That’ll allow me to see Kieran every day. I don’t want to lose him so soon.”

Sadie stares at me for a long time. I hold my breath. She has my future in her hands.

“It’s a big place. We won’t crowd each other,” she says, sucking on her lower lip. “Sharing a house sounds like a good idea for now. Kieran is used to you, and I don’t want to take him away from you. But once I’m stronger, you can move back to your place.”

Hummingbirds are fast and not so easy to catch. Sadie is a lot like those birds. I can’t catch her, but I can set up a garden where she can stay close but still fly free. My only chance to win her back is to earn her trust.

This fathering a newborn isn’t as easy as I thought. I’m beyond tired. If I had time, I could’ve driven home to catch a few Zs. Instead, I met with Duncan and the band. The last album is doing great, and they want to expand the tour that just ended a month ago. I had to explain to them that for now, I can’t leave Sadie’s side, let alone the city. After that, I went to visit Tess and Hannah. They insisted on coming to the hospital, but I explained to them that for now, what Sadie needs is a lot of rest. So far, I’ve told everyone to wait a day or two before they start dropping by to see her.

“How are you feeling this morning?” I ask when I enter the room.

“Fine.” Her somber tone matches her solemn face.

“What happened?” I lower myself on the blue plastic chair.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Sadie?”

“It doesn’t matter. I just have to work things through.” She touches her temple.

“Why don’t you share? Maybe I can help?”

She huffs.

“The occupational therapist said that my fine motor skills need some work.”

“She was already here?”

She nods once.

“What did she say?”

“I can’t cut well with scissors or fold paper. Writing was difficult too.”

“Maybe the physical therapist will be different.”

“Not by much. I wave when I walk. My hip muscles are weak, all the others are atrophied, and I can’t lift heavy objects. What if I can’t hold Kieran for much longer?”

“What did they say?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she says. “It’s over.”

“What’s over?”

“Everything. They can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to draw again, or cut or … what’s the point of having my flower shop? I’m going to lose it soon, and then I’ll lose Kieran because you can prove that I’m an unfit parent.”

“Aren’t we skipping ahead? Try to take it one step at a time.”

“It feels like I’m drowning, and it’s almost impossible to see the bright side.”

“We’ll come up with a plan and follow through. You’re not in this alone, even though you may think differently.”

“You say it like it’s easy. But you have to go back to your daughters.”

I sigh because there’s some truth to that. We have to figure out what’s going to happen with my girls. Not wanting to approach the subject yet, I make my way to the crib because Kieran is beginning to fuss.

“How are you, Little Beanie?” I greet him, lifting him out of bed.

“He’s the sweetest baby,” she says. “I can’t wait for him to meet Sinatra.”

“Sin’s a good brother. He was cool with Hannah and Tess.”

Sadie stiffens, and since I brought them up, I might as well get it over with.

“Will it be okay if they come to visit you?”

“Me?” she touches her sternum. “They know?”

“About you and Kieran and everything. A lot has happened in the past few weeks.”

She goes quiet, and I hate when Sadie is brooding or trying to push me away.

“After what Tess did in reaction to me being in your life, I can’t think of how she’ll handle Kieran.”

“Tess didn’t do anything.”

“What do you mean?” Sadie touches the back of her neck, narrowing her eyes at me.

“Alicia made the whole thing up,” I begin the long explanation.

While I recount the story that Hannah and Tess told me, she remains quiet but for a few exclamations of shock and anger.

“You mean to say that your ex is even crazier than we thought?” I nod in response. “She made Tess pretend that she killed herself to hurt you?”

“To break us up, so I’d get back together with her.”

“That’s …” she breathes the word, slumping. “Dangerous. Do you realize what she could do to Kieran?”

“What do you mean?”

“She can order your daughters to hit him, drop him, drown him—anything.” Her voice now has an urgency to it that makes me jittery too.

I don’t react. I take several calming breaths instead.

“You’re exaggerating,” I say.

“No, I’m telling you that someone who is so unstable that they’d urge their own daughter to attempt suicide, needs help! And she needs to stay away from my son. That includes her minions.”

“They wouldn’t do anything to him.”

“You trust your kids, and I respect that. I don’t have to trust them. They’ve done nothing but hurt me while Alicia gave them orders to do so for three long years. There’s no guarantee that they’ll change,” she says with conviction. “They aren’t allowed to see Kieran—not until he can talk and defend himself from them.”

“You’re going overboard.”

The best way to ensure their safety is by having them with me. If my girls can’t be close to Kieran, that means we won’t be able to live together. Indirectly, Sadie is making me choose between Kieran and my daughters. Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, and my stomach feels completely empty.

“Look, I’ve seen it all, Kaden. Remember that I was a social worker before I opened the shop. Have I told you about the case of the little boy who died because his sister dropped him down the stairs? She did it because her stepfather suggested it. He was annoying them.”

“I’m sure there’s a lot more to the story that I don’t care to learn, Sadie. My daughters aren’t like that.”

“They have a psychotic mother who manipulates them, Kade.” She raises her voice, and her eyes are vicious. “Think of the things they could do to a newborn and claim it was an accident. Alicia is a manipulative bitch, and she hates me. If something happens to Kieran, I won’t survive.”

“So what am I supposed to do with my daughters?”

“Stay with them. We’ll be fine without you.”

“I’m not leaving you,” I say with conviction. “We have things to work out.”

“You do. I don’t have anything to do with your daughters—or you—Kaden. They’re yours, remember? I’m out of the picture.”

“Somehow, I feel like you’re throwing what happened between us in my face.”

“Not really. I’m just reminding you that you made your decision long ago.”

“When my kids come back from the ice cream store complaining about the flavor they chose, I remind them that it was their choice.” Raven files her nails. “Nobody made them choose.”

“You’re comparing my relationship with ice cream, Rae?” I wring the mop and continue cleaning the flower shop.

“It’s not a fancy analogy, but it’s exactly what happened to you. The moment you decided to push Sadie away and deal with your family, you told her—”

“That she wasn’t family.”

“Exactly, and that your daughters were yours to deal with—not hers. Sadie tried her best to be a friend, a stepmother. Not once did she try to step on Alicia’s toes. Yet, when it came to making decisions, you always left her out of the equation. The day you needed Sadie the most, you dismissed both her and all the years you two had been together.”

She’s right. I could’ve relied on Sadie, trusted that she could have helped me with my girls. Because we’re a team.

“How do I convince her that we were better back then, when we were together?”

“You can’t get back to where you were, that’s not an option,” Raven says watching me clean the flower shop. “Hey, don’t miss that spot. Some kid came in with a root beer float and made a mess.”

“I regret visiting you.”

“Do you?”

“You put me to work,” I complain, mopping where she told me.

“Didn’t you watch Karate Kid?”

“What does that have to do with my problem?”

“Mr. Miyagi put Daniel to work while teaching him karate.”

“You’re just putting me to work.”

“While I’m thinking about your psycho ex, my broken friend, and you. Not that this is a love triangle, but that Alicia is unstable. You’re asking a woman who just had a little chat with the Grim Reaper herself to welcome the spawns of Satan back into her life.”

“They are my kids too.”

“Exactly, Hades. You’re Satan.” She laughs at her stupid joke. “Give her time.”

“What do I do with my daughters?”

“Do you think they’re in danger?”

“Not with their grandparents,” I explain.

“Then, make sure they stay there. Talk to your lawyer and explain the situation. If things get sticky, you can bring them to me. We have space for them.”

“But that’s not a long-term solution.”

“Patience, Hades.” She rolls her eyes. “Sadie is recovering. Once she can be on her own, you can move back to your house and have full custody of your daughters.”

“But I don’t want to leave Sadie’s side. I’m working on things between us. Which includes getting Alicia to disappear from our lives and convincing Sadie that my kids are harmless.”

“There’s that option too.” She nods. “Which I like better. I suggest that you give her time and stick to your plan. But don’t offer her what you two already had. Offer her a new relationship. A mature relationship where you trust each other, and you share everything—even parenting.”

It all boils down to patience.

“Are you going to visit Sadie?” I sigh, studying the floor.

“I’d love to, but Bill and the kids need me at home.” She grins. “I’ll call her and tell her that she can have sex in a week.”

“What does that mean?” I narrow my gaze at her.

“It’s a new mom thing.” She winks at me. “In the meantime, you can close the shop and make sure to set the alarm before you leave. It was nice seeing you, Kaden.”