“I love this yard,” Nina said as she stood in the French doors looking out to the small lush garden.

“Thank you. I think it will be a great place for clients to sit and relax while they wait or after their appointment if they want to take a breath,” Jodi replied, setting another plate into the cabinet in the kitchen. Her small house had a living room with a dining room directly behind it. The kitchen sat next to that, with windows to the backyard to match the glass doors the dining room hosted.

“So, clients will come in from the side gate, and then straight into your office?” Nina pointed to the L-shaped extension of the house that also had glass doors to the patio.

“Yes. That way, they’ll never go through the house, just in and out of the office. I have an awning to set up for rainy days so they can be protected. Luckily, everyone around here is used to the weather, so I don’t think they’ll mind if they have to sit outside for a few minutes to wait while I finish up another client.” She paused. “Of course, that’s assuming I get enough clients that there’s a wait.”

Nina walked into the kitchen, her hands resting on the shelf that her pregnant belly created. “None of that now. You’re not going to have doubts at this point.”

Jodi sighed. Ever since Ty had so abruptly ended their conversation that morning, she’d felt out of sorts, as if something was going to go wrong. And since she was supposed to meet Katie for the first time as her mother tomorrow, she really needed that feeling to go away.

“I wasn’t, but I don’t know, I’m feeling really anxious right now. Just ignore me. I’ll get over it.”

“Over what?” Lynn asked as she walked in through the back doors followed by a younger woman with long dark hair.

“You’re here!” Nina cried, grabbing the cute brunette and hugging her tightly.

“I am! The drive took forever, but we found some great pieces.”

Nina stood back, holding the younger woman’s hand. “Jodi, do you remember T.J., Vaughn’s wife?”

Jodi smiled, amazed at the girl who’d been a teenager the last time she’d seen her. “I remember T.J., but she wasn’t Vaughn’s wife then.”

She winked, and T.J. stepped forward to pull her into a hug. “It’s really nice to see you again, Jodi,” she said quietly.

“Thank you.” Jodi pulled away and smiled at Lynn.

“Well, this does my old-lady heart good,” Lynn said. “All these smart, beautiful young women my nephews found. Gives me hope for the world.”

Jodi flushed at being included. She was hardly Ty’s “find,” not the way the other two were, but God, some part of her rejoiced at being included—being part of a family.

“Now,” Lynn continued. “Where is all the unpacking I’ve been promised?”

“I really can’t thank you all enough for helping me,” Jodi said. “I didn’t think I had all that much stuff, but when the movers showed up yesterday, it looked endless.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” T.J. added. “Try doing all the unpacking while the place is still under construction. Every time I think I’ve found a spot for something, Vaughn tells me I have to move it because it’s in the way of a drywaller or an electrician. It’ll be so satisfying to put things away here and know that’s actually where they get to stay.”

“But the grand opening’s in just a few weeks, right?” Nina asked as she unwrapped a glass from newspaper and set it next to the sink.

“Yes, and Vaughn promises construction will be done enough beforehand so I can finally get everything settled.”

“This is the gallery I’ve been hearing about?” Jodi asked, picking up another box and setting it on top of the small kitchen table.

“Yes!” T.J. gushed. “We’re building an apartment above the gallery and remodeling the entire building, so it’s been a long process, but so exciting. We were just in San Francisco acquiring some new pieces for the opening show. It’s going to be spectacular.”

“It sounds like a really fun project,” Jodi answered. “I remember Ty telling me about Vaughn’s art when he was still in college.”

Lynn put an arm around T.J.’s shoulders. “His beautiful wife really helped him find his art again,” she said fondly.

T.J. smiled softly. “He had a lot to get through, but it’s all good now.”

Jodi watched the expressions on the other women’s faces and knew there was something she was missing, but didn’t want to be rude by asking.

Then Lynn turned to her. “You probably haven‘t heard about Vaughn’s accident, have you?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Lynn sighed. “He was caught out in a terrible storm about a year and a half ago. He got caught under a big boulder in a landslide out on our land. Lost the lower half of his left leg.”

“Oh no!” Jodi gasped. “That’s terrible. How is he doing with it now?”

“I’m a physical therapist,” T.J. said. “So we’ve worked a lot. He’s got various prosthetics and does almost everything he did before. He’s developed some new pain in the last few weeks, but I’m sure we’ll find a solution to that eventually.”

Jodi didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and the conversation continued around her. Finally, she set a platter aside and looked at T.J. “I can help him.”

“Who?” T.J. asked absentmindedly as she washed a glass and handed it to Nina to dry.

“Vaughn. With his pain?”

Every eye in the room turned to look at her, and Jodi swallowed uncomfortably. “If he was okay with it, of course. I studied acupressure and some meditation techniques that have had really good results with patients who’ve suffered a traumatic injury.” Her voice faded as she felt her face get pink with heat. “I’m sorry, I overstepped. I shouldn’t have—”

“Well, looks like you just got your first client!” T.J. exclaimed. Lynn and Nina grinned, and Jodi felt gratitude bubble up.

“Really? You think he’d be willing to try it?”

T.J. snorted, and Nina smirked. “He’s willing to try whatever I tell him to. That’s how we work. He left me hanging for six years. That’s not the kind of thing a guy gets to come back from overnight.” She took her cell phone from her pocket and looked at it. “The way I figure, he has at least another two years of abject groveling and a couple of years of considerate cooperation beyond that. Maybe on our five-year anniversary, he can start being a pain in my ass again, but for now, he’s a kitten.”

Nina and Lynn both laughed, and Jodi couldn’t help but join them. “I’ll give you my business card before you go so he can set up an appointment then.”

“Perfect,” T.J. said. “Thank you so much for offering. Neither of us wanted him to use prescription painkillers, and it’s not a lot of pain, but it’s enough that it tires him out some days, and I hate to see him be uncomfortable.”

Jodi gave the other woman’s hand a squeeze. “We’ll try these techniques, and if those don’t work, I’ll research for more options. We can fix it, I feel certain of it.”

In fact, she guessed Vaughn’s mild pain was the one thing in her life she could fix for certain.

* * *

Saturday morning came early for Jodi. She’d tossed and turned most of the night, second-guessing all her choices, wondering if she was about to ruin the life of a perfectly beautiful little girl. Maybe Katie would be better off not knowing her? What if she disrupted Katie to the point that she started having trouble in school, or didn’t get along with other kids? What if all this was really only about making herself feel better and wasn’t the best thing for Katie at all?

An hour before she was supposed to meet Ty and Katie at the ice-cream stand, she walked into Lynn’s coffee shop, eyes bleary and heartsick with doubt. Lynn looked up from the receipts she was tallying and met Jodi’s gaze. “Uh-oh,” she said immediately. “Marlene?” she yelled over her shoulder. “I’ll be outside for a bit. Can you please come up front?”

“Sure thing!” Marlene called from the back of the restaurant. “I’ll be right there.

“Let me make you a drink,” Lynn said. “You go on outside.”

Jodi followed Lynn’s instructions, walking to the railing of the back deck and looking out at the water. She’s forgotten how prevalent it was here in Big Sur—the ocean, the sea air, the constant sound of waves. It was beautiful and frightening all at once, reminding you just how small and unimportant you really were. It put a lot of things into perspective, and Jodi really needed some perspective right then.

“Here you go.” Lynn set a mug down on the railing next to Jodi, then leaned against it, her body turned sideways so she could watch Jodi’s face. “You don’t look so hot.” She didn’t mince words.

Jodi huffed out a bitter laugh. “I don’t feel so hot.”

“Tell me what’s going on?”

Jodi sighed, blinked back a tear, and turned to face the woman who was more motherly than her own mother had ever been.

“What if I’m not doing the right thing? What if this is bad for her? She’s so happy and perfect—” Jodi’s breath caught, and she stopped talking, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Hey,” Lynn said softly. “You know what?”

Jodi nodded to indicate she was listening but didn’t open her eyes, because she knew if she did, she’d cry, and she really didn’t want to cry right now.

“The fact that you’re this worried about it all? Tells me everything I need to know about your intentions.” Lynn put her hand over Jodi’s on the railing. “Sweetheart, you might not think you have the instincts of a mother, but I think you have them in spades. Leaving that child when you did wasn’t selfishness, it was the ultimate act of love. You couldn’t be what she needed, and so you gave her to people who could. And now that you’re back, you’re obviously more focused on what’s best for her than you are on what’s best for you.”

Jodi finally looked at the other woman, taking a long shuddering breath. “I don’t want to hurt her.”

“No parent ever does,” Lynn said, smiling warmly. “And yet everyone will. At some point, every parent will do something, say something, make some decision that hurts their child. But you know what? Children aren’t porcelain figurines. They don’t break every time they’re bumped. They bend and flex, grow and adjust, and they get over hurts the same way the rest of us do. You can bump her here and there. She’ll be okay.

“I’m not used to this much responsibility. It feels like my heart is going to explode when I think about all the ways I could screw up.”

Lynn laughed then. “Well, now you know how Ty feels every day of his life. The agony that poor man has gone through trying to do what’s right for that child.”

“Oh God.” Jodi leaned her head on the railing, and Lynn stroked her back soothingly.

“I’ve been the closest thing to a mother that little girl has,” she said. “I moved in as soon as she was born, and I’ve changed her diapers and cleaned up her vomit. I watched her take her first steps and ride her first pony. I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone except her dad and his brothers. If I thought you were going to harm her, I wouldn’t let you near her. You understand me?”

Lynn’s tone was firm, and Jodi had no doubt every word was true.

She lifted her head. “I do.”

“You’re not going to hurt her. I can’t predict where this will all go, but I have faith in both you and Ty. I believe that you’re good people and good parents, and you’ll only do what’s best for her—no matter what that ends up being.”

They both stood quietly for a few minutes then, and Jodi sipped her latte and let her mind rest, let Lynn’s words sink in, soak through her, soothe her battered emotions.

“She’s lucky,” she finally said, turning to the older woman. “She’s lucky to have you looking out for her. Please keep doing it, and if it means you ever have to go against me because you think that’s best for her, don’t hesitate. Not even for a minute. She’s what matters. Nothing else.”

Lynn nodded, and Jodi gave her a smile. “I’m off to see my daughter,” she said, setting her cup down one last time.

“Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

Then she walked away to the boardwalk, the ice-cream stand, and the biggest step toward her new life.

* * *

“Daddy, I know her. She’s Aunt Lynn’s friend!” Katie’s voice carried down the boardwalk as Jodi approached, and her heart fluttered like a tiny bird caught in a cage.

Ty was leaning down talking to Katie as Jodi met up with them. The sight stole the breath right out of her lungs. Every gesture, the way he tilted toward the little blonde head, the calm, steady expression on his face, the way his lips turned up when Katie answered him—it was the single sexiest and most heart-wrenching thing she’d ever seen. Ty as a father. She’d understood it in theory, but seeing it in practice was an entirely different experience.

“Hi,” he said, standing as he held on to Katie’s hand. “I was just explaining to Katie that you and I know each other too.”

She smiled down at the amazing creature who had come from her, hoping her nerves didn’t show too badly. “We do. Your dad and I knew each other a long time ago, before you were born.”

Katie wiggled from one leg to another. “Then you can come to dinner now. ’Cause friends come to dinner, and you’re a double friend.”

“Too true,” Ty said, giving Jodi a reassuring smile. “Let’s get some ice cream, and then we can eat it over here.” He gestured at the nearby benches that lined the boardwalk.

They ordered ice cream at the stand, Katie babbling the entire time about her ballet teacher—Miss Erin, Jodi noted—and when everyone was set, Katie with a cup of chocolate and a cone upside down on top, they sat, Ty on one side of Katie and Jodi on the other.

“So, the cone and cup?” Jodi asked, raising an eyebrow at Ty.

“So’s I don’t make a mess,” Katie answered between slurps off her spoon.

Ty nodded, grinning. “After your two-year-old loses the ice cream off the cone and screams for an hour, you get inventive.”

Jodi laughed. “I’m impressed. My mother only ever bought me the soft serves so they made a mess but they couldn’t fall completely off.”

Katie continued to slurp, and Ty shot Jodi a look that said, Are you ready for this? She tried to look confident as she nodded, even though she was about as far from it as possible.

“So, Katie bug?” Ty said, nudging her with his elbow.

“Yeah?” Her bright blue eyes shifted to her father, and they were so trusting, so completely innocent and adoring, Jodi nearly told him to stop, forget the whole thing, she’d go back to San Luis, she’d learn to live with the ache, it didn’t matter if she hurt, as long as Katie didn’t.

But then he kept talking, and the train had left the station, and all Jodi could do was hold her breath and wait.

“You remember how we’ve had talks about your mom?”

Katie nodded, her brow furrowing a touch. “Yes. She couldn’t be my mommy, so she gave me to the best daddy in the whole world. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love me.”

Ty blushed a touch. “That’s right. What would you think if I said I’d heard from your mom and she’d really love to see you again?”

Katie took a long slurp of ice cream while Jodi’s heart nearly beat out of her chest.

“I want to see my mommy. But is she going to come live with us like other people’s mommies do? ’Cause I don’t want Aunt Lynn to move away.” She shook her head vigorously. “If Aunt Lynn has to go away, then I don’t want a mommy.”

“Never,” Jodi couldn’t stop herself from saying.

Katie turned to her, her eyes widening.

“No one will ever make Aunt Lynn go away, sweetheart,” Ty reassured her.

There was a pause then, and Jodi knew without a doubt that her daughter was not only the smartest five-year-old on the planet, but also tied to her in a way that transcended time or geography. Katie knew, at some level deeper than consciousness, she knew.

Katie’s head whipped back to Ty. “Daddy?” Her voice was a whisper. ”Is she my mommy?” She pointed to Jodi.

Ty smiled sadly at his daughter, and Jodi’s tears escaped. She simply couldn’t hold them in any longer.

Katie turned to Jodi and was uncharacteristically quiet as she reached out a tiny hand and touched a tear tracking down Jodi’s cheek. “Why are you crying?” she whispered.

“Because I’ve missed you so much,” Jodi answered, also in a whisper.

“I missed you too.” Then she climbed up on her knees and put her arms around Jodi’s neck, hugging her close. “But it’ll be okay now, Mommy. I promise.”

* * *

Jodi and Ty spent the rest of the afternoon walking on the beach and answering Katie’s many questions. Where had Mommy been living? Did Mommy have any other kids? Was she going to live with them at the ranch? Why not? Could Mommy come to school so Katie could show the other kids that she had a mommy too? Did Mommy know how to dance ballet? Jodi was exhausted, but it was a giddy kind of exhaustion, the type that made you want to tell complete strangers about the amazing, wonderful, intoxicating things that were happening to you.

When Katie finally exhausted the extensive questions, Ty let her strip to the leotard she was still wearing from dance class and go into the water.

“Does she swim?” Jodi asked, her heart racing as Katie headed into the waves.

“Yeah. Not enough to swim in open water yet, but she’s an old hand here. We have rules, and she’s very good about following them.”

Jodi nodded, still unable to peel her eyes off the tiny human in the vast ocean.

She heard Ty chuckling and turned to see him grinning at her.

“What?”

“You’re already doing it,” he said.

“Already doing what?”

“Being a mom.”

She blinked at him. “Um…”

He shook his head. “The other dads always tell me about how overprotective their wives are about the physical stuff. They all think Katie’s a rock star because she’s never had a woman fussing over her safety. She’ll climb, jump, or dive into about anything.”

“So, I shouldn’t tell her not to try stuff, even if I think it’s unsafe?” Jodi asked earnestly. She was going to have to learn all this on the fly, and she didn’t want to make a misstep that might anger Ty so he kept Katie from her.

He laughed and shook his head. “Of course not. Don’t be crazy over it, and expect she might give some pushback because she’s used to me, but you’re here to be you—her mother—not a carbon copy of me.”

Jodi looked back out at the water where Katie was playing with another little girl near her age. She breathed deep of the ocean air, organizing her thoughts that were layered, complex, and painful in both good ways and bad.

“I can’t believe how generous you’re being. I know this isn’t what you wanted. I just can’t thank you enough.”

Ty shrugged uncomfortably. “I’m working to have an open mind and let Katie take the lead. I’m not making you any promises, Jodi, but I’m willing to give things a shot as long as Katie isn’t being harmed in the process.”

She nodded. “She took it well. Is that what you expected?”

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect. She’s never had anything of this magnitude happen in her life. But, I’ve lived with her long enough to know the first response isn’t always the final one.” He leveled a look at Jodi. “Kids process things differently than we do. Sometimes it takes days or weeks or even months for them to understand something fully. We’ll keep going and see what happens, but don’t assume because today went well, it’s all smooth sailing from here.”

“Okay,” Jodi said as Katie ran toward them. She went straight to Ty, and Jodi had to admit it stung. She knew it wasn’t reasonable, but she ached for the real mother-daughter bond she dreamed of. Don’t be a fool, she scolded herself. She’s known you for five minutes. It could take years.

“Daddy,” Katie said as Ty rubbed her dry with a towel he’d brought from the truck. “Can Mommy come to dinner now?”

“You know what, bug? I think we’ve had a long day and it might be best if we let your mom go home and get some rest.”

Katie’s eyes grew big and sparkled with tears. “But what if she doesn’t come back?” And there it was, the fear of abandonment. Because Jodi had done it once, and she’d trained her daughter to expect it from her. Never again, Jodi vowed silently as she dropped to her knees in the sand, putting her hands on Katie’s shoulders. “Never. I promise, sweetheart. I won’t do that to you. I’m here to stay, and you can see me whenever you and your dad decide. I moved here especially so I can be with you. I won’t go away again.”

Katie nodded, not appearing convinced.

“How about if we plan to see your mom tomorrow?” Ty suggested.

Katie’s eyes lit up. “Yes, please! Can I show her my dog and my room and Beauregard and Dirk?”

Ty laughed, looking at Jodi. “Beauregard’s the pony, Dirk’s the ranch hand.”

“I remember Dirk.” Jodi smiled. “And I’d love to meet Beauregard if it’s okay with you.”

“That’s fine,” Ty said, running a hand through his hair.

Jodi knew his tell for nerves, though. She stood and looked him in the eye. “If it’s too much too soon, we can meet on neutral territory. Wait until later in the week. I’ll understand.” She felt Katie’s hand slip into hers.

“Please, Daddy?”

Please, Jodi’s heart added silently. Because now she’d found her, Jodi never wanted to let Katie out of her sight for a moment. Five years’ worth of love was washing through her with the force of a freight train, and she wasn’t sure she could do much to stop it now. Simply hold on for the ride, and pray Katie felt the same way eventually.