Ruby jumps up, all previous nervousness apparently forgotten. "Ready! Mom says the place you're talking about has marshmallows. The really good kind."
"The really good kind," I confirm. "And whipped cream. Real whipped cream, not the stuff from a can."
"I like you already." Ruby grins, and it's my grin, the one I haven't seen on my own face in years. The one that disappeared after the fire.
Sierra stands more slowly, gathering her purse. She's still nervous, I can see it on the set of her shoulders, the way she's not quite meeting my eyes. Like she's waiting for the other shoe to drop, for me to tell her this is all a mistake.
"Sierra." I wait until she looks at me. "We need to talk. Really talk. But—" I glance at Ruby, who's practically bouncing with excitement. "But that can wait. Today is about her."
Relief floods Sierra's face, so profound it's almost painful to watch. "Thank you," she says softly. "Thank you for… for trying. I know this is—"
"Yeah." I don't need her to finish. We both know what this is. "Come on. Before that place runs out of the good marshmallows."
Ruby takes off toward the door, and Sierra moves to follow, but I catch her arm gently. She freezes, her eyes wide, and I realize this is the first time I've touched her in eight years.
She's warm. Real. Here.
"I'm angry," I say quietly, low enough that Ruby can't hear. "I'm hurt and confused and I don't know how to process any of this. But I'm also—" I stop, searching for the right words. "I'm also glad you came. That you trusted me enough to come."
Sierra's eyes fill with tears, but she blinks them back. "I was so scared you'd hate me."
"I don't hate you." It's the truth, even though part of me thinks I should. "I don't know what I feel, but it's not that."
"Okay." She nods, her throat working as she swallows. "Okay. That's, that's something."
"Mom! Dad!" Ruby's voice calls from the doorway. "Are you coming?"
Dad. She called me Dad again, so easily, like she's been practicing the word her whole life.
Maybe she has.
"Coming, Ruby," I call back, and Sierra and I follow our daughter out into the hallway.
The crew is definitely watching through the common room windows. I catch at least three faces pressed against the glass before they scatter, trying to look casual. Subtle as a brick, all of them.
"Your coworkers are spying on us," Sierra observes, a hint of humor in her voice.
"They're not my coworkers. They're my family." The words come out before I can think about them. "And yeah, they're definitely spying. I'll hear about this for the next six months."
"Will they give you a hard time?"
"Probably. But they'll also have my back." I push open the station door, letting in the cool spring air. "Whatever happens next, they've got me. That's what matters."
What happens next. As if I have any idea what that might be.
All I know is that an hour ago, I was a firefighter with a simple life and a complicated past.
Now I'm a father.
And the woman I never stopped loving is back in my life with our daughter.
Simple is officially over.
But as I watch Ruby skip ahead of us, chattering about whether hot chocolate tastes better with one marshmallow or five, I think maybe complicated isn't the worst thing that could happen to me.
Maybe it's exactly what I need.
Chapter 4 - Sierra
