I smiled sadly.
“No. You didn’t.”
He squeezed my fingers.
“I’m sorry.”
That apology didn’t erase the years of silence.
But it opened a door.
Sometimes that was enough to begin.
Part 7 — No More Secrets
That evening, Caleb returned with Nora at exactly six.
Not six-ten.
Not six-thirty with an explanation.
Six.
I watched from the window as he carefully lifted her car seat from his vehicle.
When I opened the door, he handed me the diaper bag.
“She ate at five-thirty. Bottle is rinsed. There are two clean outfits left because she somehow managed to destroy one.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Somehow?”
He sighed.
“I underestimated what a baby can accomplish in seven seconds.”
I laughed.
It surprised both of us.
Caleb smiled, but he didn’t try to turn the moment into more than it was.
“Goodnight, Emily.”
“Goodnight.”
I carried Nora upstairs.
As I rocked her beneath the soft light beside her crib, she slowly opened her eyes.
