That stops me cold. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“Amber—”
“Just until the holidays are over,” she says quickly. “I need time to figure things out. The house is—Luke took half his stuff, and the place is a mess, and I can’t…” Her voice trembles. “I can’t do it right now, Jude.”
I close my eyes, pressing the phone tighter against my ear. “You want me to tell her that?”
“No,” she says, breaking. “Just—tell her I’m working. Tell her I’ll come after Christmas. Please.”
“Amber—”
“Please,” she repeats.
The word hits harder than it should.
Outside, Maisie lifts her face toward the sky, snowflakes landing in her curls. She looks happy. Lighter.
Maybe this is the right call. Maybe it’s the only one.
“You can’t keep running like this,” I say. “Eventually she’s gonna stop waiting for you to come back.”
Her voice is small now. “I know.”
I sink into the chair by the window, staring at my reflection in the glass. “What’s the plan, then?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Then get one.”
She lets out a broken laugh. “Always the dad, huh?”
“Someone’s got to be.”
That earns me another silence. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not hanging up.”
I don’t say anything.
“Tell her I love her,” Amber says finally. “And that I’m sorry.”
“I will.”
She hangs up before I can say anything more.
I stare at the phone for a long time, thumb hovering over the screen. Then I set it facedown on the table and let the quiet settle.
Outside, Maisie’s finishing the snowman, proud and pink-cheeked. Rufus barks, tail a blur.
Ryker steps out onto his porch again, hand raised in question.Everything okay?
I nod. Maybe.
He nods back, no follow-up, no pity—just that unspoken understanding we’ve built our lives on.
