Liam nodded, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. “She has this idea that butterflies can fly between heaven and earth,” he explained. “That they can take messages to her mom.”
The simple beauty of a child’s faith brought a fresh sting of tears to Sunny’s eyes. This was what she’d been missing all her life — this sense of continuity, of love that stretched beyond presence into memory, that survived separation and loss and still remained, transformed but undiminished.
“I needed to go there,” Sunny said, her voice stronger now. “I needed to understand that Kate isn’t a ghost standing between us. She’s part of the foundation this family is built on.” She reached for his hand, the one not holding the maple leaf, threading her fingers through his. “And I’m not afraid anymore, Liam.”
“Afraid?” he echoed, his thumb unconsciously stroking her knuckles in a rhythm that sent warmth spiraling up her arm.
“Of loving you,” she clarified. “Of being left behind. Of what people might think.” The words tumbled out now, gathering momentum like a river breaking through a dam. “All my life, I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop, for people to realize I wasn’t worth keeping. Even with you — especially with you — I kept part of myself walled off, ready to run before I could be rejected.”
Liam’s grip tightened on her hand, but he remained silent, giving her the space to continue.
“When I left…” Her voice caught, the memory still raw despite the healing that had begun. “I thought I was protecting all of us. But really, I was just doing what I’ve always done — running before I could be pushed away.”
“Sunny,” Liam began, but she shook her head, needing to finish.
“I want this, Liam. All of it. Not halfway, not with one foot out the door in case it gets hard.” She lifted her free hand to his face, tracing the strong line of his jaw with gentle fingers. “I want you and the girls and this messy, beautiful life we’re building. I want to be all in.”
For a heartbeat, Liam remained perfectly still, his eyes searching hers with an intensity that might once have made her shy away. But Sunny held his gaze, allowing him to see everything — her fear, her hope, her love, her absolute certainty.
Then he was pulling her into his arms, one hand cradling the back of her head as he buried his face in her hair, his body trembling slightly against hers. Sunny melted into his embrace, the familiarity of his solid warmth enveloping her like coming home after a long journey.
“I was so afraid I’d lost you,” he confessed against her temple, his voice rough with emotion. “That I’d ruined everything with my cowardice.”
Sunny pulled back just far enough to see his face, her hands framing his cheeks. “We both made mistakes,” she said softly. “But that’s behind us now.”
The kiss began gently — a tentative reconnection, a question asked and answered in the press of lips and the mingling of breath. But like kindling catching flame, it quickly deepened into something more urgent, months of longing and weeks of careful distance igniting into hungry need. Liam’s hands spanned her waist, drawing her closer as hers tangled in his hair, every point of contact between them electric with renewed promise.
Sunny felt herself surrendering to the moment, to the heat building between them. The distant sound of a car door slamming jerked them both back to reality.
“The girls,” Liam murmured against her lips, reluctance evident in his voice as he pulled away.
Sunny nodded, smoothing her rumpled shirt with hands that weren’t quite steady. “Beth must be bringing them back from their playdate.”
They’d barely managed to put a respectable distance between them when the front door burst open, followed immediately by the thundering of small feet and high-pitched voices calling their names.
“Daddy! Sunny! Guess what? Katie has a new puppy and it licked my whole face!” Hailey’s excited chatter preceded her physical appearance, her words tumbling out faster than her small legs could carry her into the room.
Maddie followed more sedately, but her eyes lit up at the sight of Sunny on the couch. Something in the air — some subtle shift in the atmosphere between the adults — made her pause in the doorway, her perceptive gaze flicking between Sunny and her father.
“Is everything okay?” she asked cautiously, the wariness of a child who had learnt early that happiness could be fragile.
Sunny rose from the couch, crossing to where Maddie stood. She knelt to the little girl’s eye level, her heart overflowing with love for this serious, watchful child who had carved out such a special place in her heart.
“Everything is more than okay,” Sunny assured her, tucking a strand of hair behind Maddie’s ear in a gesture that had become second nature. “I promise.”
Maddie studied her face with that penetrating gaze she had inherited from Kate. “Are you staying?” she asked, the simple question layered with the weight of previous goodbyes. “For good this time?”
The directness of the question knocked the air from Sunny’s lungs. She was acutely aware of Liam watching them, of Beth hovering discreetly in the hallway, of Hailey bouncing on her toes with barely contained energy.
“Yes,” Sunny said, the word emerging with absolute certainty. “I’m staying. For as long as you all want me here.”
Maddie’s face transformed, the caution melting away like frost in sunshine. She threw her arms around Sunny’s neck, nearly knocking her backward with the force of her enthusiasm.
“I knew you’d stay,” she whispered fiercely, her small fingers digging into Sunny’s shoulders. “I knew it.”
Before Sunny could respond, Hailey crashed into them both, adding her exuberant embrace to the tangle of limbs. “Group hug!” she crowed, her voice muffled against Sunny’s hair.
Liam’s deep chuckle preceded the sensation of his arms encircling all three of them, his solid presence completing their circle. Sunny looked up to find his eyes suspiciously bright, his smile tender as he gazed down at his little family.
