Page 54 of Tracking Safety

Whatever came next—whatever hard conversations lay ahead, whatever it cost all of them to find their way through this—his kids needed their mother.

And she was here now.

He took another slow breath.

Then he put his back against the wall and gave Jenna and the kids the time they needed.

CHAPTER 21

Jenna sat on the edge of the bed and watched Jonah wiggle under the covers like a child with strong opinions about blanket placement.

Downstairs, he’d looked up at her with his wide brown eyes and asked, “Can you tuck us in?”

The room had gone still.

Without looking, Jenna had felt Luke’s eyes on her. She’d felt the weight of the question and everything underneath it—her two missing years, the children’s bedtime routines she’d been absent for, the ground she had no right to simply walk back onto.

Then Luke had said, “Sure, Bud.”

All of them had come upstairs together, the kids tumbling ahead of them down the hallway. All the kids would sleep in one room tonight. They’d jumped into their respective beds, clearly having done this before.

While Jenna tucked them in, Luke stood in the doorway, watching everything. She couldn’t blame him for being guarded, for wanting to protect the children. She’d expected nothing less.

Jenna sat on the edge of the bed and helped Jonah with his blanket and tried to memorize everything at once. She never wanted to forget the smell of the room, the way Cora hummed to herself while she arranged her things, and the sound of Liam’s quiet breathing as he settled against his pillow.

She’d missed so much of their lives.

She wouldn’t think about that right now. It would only make her more emotional.

Instead, she smoothed Jonah’s blanket one final time to his satisfaction. “Okay, is everything right?”

He solemnly inspected his covers. “Yes.”

“Good.” She looked across at Cora, who’d abandoned her stuffed animals and was watching Jenna with bright, unblinking eyes. “You ready?”

Cora crawled across the bed and wrapped both arms around Jenna’s waist. “I’m so glad you’re back. I always knew you’d be back. Can you French braid my hair?”

She hid a smile. “I’d love to do that—but tomorrow.”

Cora grinned. “Thanks, Mama.”

Jenna held her daughter and pressed her lips to the top of her head as she breathed her in. She’d dreamed about doing this for so long now. It seemed surreal that it was happening. That she was here.

But she had to remind herself that it might not be permanent.

An ache ripped through her heart at the thought.

“Mama,” Cora said into her side, muffled and certain.

“I’m here, baby.”

Cora held on another moment then pulled back and looked up at her. “Will you be here in the morning?”

Jenna looked at her daughter’s face—her own face, looking back at her, open and trusting and entirely without guile. Emotion clogged her throat until she could hardly breathe.

“Yes,” she said. “I’ll be here in the morning.”

Cora studied her a moment longer before laying her head against her pillow. “Yay! That makes me so happy, Mama.”