“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
We stepped inside, the scent of horse momentarily calming the nausea inside of me.
Ruby.
There she was, looking completely unbothered as she twirled a piece of her hair between her fingers. I’d seen her before, multiple times, but now seeing her as my daughter was something I could’ve never prepared myself for.
Her dark brown hair was almost an identical shade to mine. Her eyes were big and beautiful and full of so much wonder. Her little body radiated so much hope despite the bit of darkness that still hung above. She was perfect, and I might not have raised her, but I did bring her into this world, and I was proud of myself for that.
“Ruby, girl, I have some news I want to share with you.” Stetson’s voice was calm, and thankfully so, because the slow rhythm of it allowed my heartbeat to settle down a bit. But despite the calmness in his voice, he couldn’t fight the tears in his eyes.
“Uncle Stetson, hi!” She beamed.
“Ruby, I found your birth mother.” The words barely escaped his mouth before he was overcome with emotion, an audible cry that mimicked a laugh fell out.
She didn’t say anything, she just charged toward him.
He wrapped his arms so tightly around her little body, putting one hand on her back and the other on her head. “I told you I wouldn’t give up.”
“I never doubted you.”
“Do you want to meet her?” He paused, gauging her response. “The decision is up to you.”
She pulled away from his grasp, looking older than thirteen. “I’ve waited thirteen years to meet her; I don’t want to wait any longer. But Uncle Stetson?”
“Yeah?” He stood from the crouching position he’d been in.
“Will you be with me when I do?” she asked, clearly and understandably a little wary.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he said, his eyes finding mine as she leaned her body back into his, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“She’s here,” he blurted.
“Here? Like, at Rolling Meadows?
“Like right there,” he said, bringing his pointer finger to me. An imaginary spotlight illuminated me, and I’d never felt more vulnerable, but this moment wasn’t about me. It was about her, about Ruby.
“Scarlett?” Her eyebrows scrunched up at Stetson. “Scarlett is my birth mom?”
He nodded.
Ruby had already left his embrace and turned toward me.
“I am,” I said, and the words came out easier than I had expected them to, flowing right out of me like a waterfall.
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Really.”
Before I knew what was happening, her little body was bounding into mine, the impact knocking me back a few inches, but I quickly rebounded and wrapped my arms around her as tightly as I could.
“Sorry,” she offered as she took a few steps back. “I don’t know why I just did that.”
“Don’t be sorry. Don’t ever be sorry. There are no rules when it comes to this kind of thing. You take your time and do whatever feels right to you. I’ll be here, by your side, no matter what, for as long as you’ll let me,” I offered.
My words weren’t shaky or hard to find, they were strong and confident, as if I’d been planning this moment for years.
She bound back into me, this time squeezing me tighter.
