The Girl in the Photos
The drive back from the clinic felt different.
The weight of the news was sitting in my chest, warm and solid.
A daughter. I kept glancing over at Aubrey, watching the way she stared out the window with a faint, permanent smile on her face.
Every time I looked at her, I saw the future—not the messy, jagged one we'd been fighting off, but something clear.
When we pulled into the driveway, the porch was already crowded.
Anthony was there, leaning against the railing in his department t-shirt, looking restless.
Aubrey's mom was hovering by the front door, her hands tucked into her apron pockets, and I could see Harper and Tessa sitting on the porch swing.
Word travels fast in this town, but I knew they'd been waiting for this call since we left this morning.
I killed the engine and hopped out, rounding the truck to help Aubrey down. I kept my hand on the small of her back as we walked up the steps. The air was thick with expectation.
"Well?" Anthony called out, stepping forward. He looked between me and his sister, his eyes searching our faces. "Everything okay? Heartbeat good?"
"Everything is perfect," Aubrey said, her voice sounding stronger than it had in weeks. She looked at her mom, then at her friends, her eyes shimmering. "The doctor said she's healthy and exactly where she needs to be."
Her mom gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "She? Aubrey, did you say she?"
Aubrey nodded, a tear finally escaping and rolling down her cheek. "It's a girl, Mom."
The porch erupted. Tessa let out a scream that probably echoed halfway down the street, jumping up to pull Aubrey into a crushing hug. Harper followed, both of them talking at once about names and clothes, their voices a high-pitched blur of excitement.
I felt a heavy hand land on my shoulder. I turned to see Anthony grinning at me, a rare, genuine look of relief on his face. He squeezed my shoulder hard enough to bruise.
"A niece," Anthony murmured, shaking his head. "Man, we're in trouble, Harrison. A little girl running around this house? We're never going to be able to say no to her."
"I'm already gone, Ant," I admitted, a rough laugh escaping my throat. "The second I saw her on that screen, I was done."
"I bet," he said, his expression turning a bit more serious. "You okay? I saw Sterling's car near the clinic earlier. He didn't try anything, did he?"
"He stayed in the car," I said, my jaw tightening for a split second before I forced myself to relax. I wasn't letting him ruin this. "He watched us walk out. But today isn't about him. It's about her."
Aubrey's mom pushed past the girls, wrapping her arms around Aubrey's waist and burying her face in her shoulder. "A granddaughter," she sobbed. "Oh, Aubrey, she's going to be so loved."
"She already is," Aubrey whispered, looking over her mother's shoulder at me.
We stayed out on the porch for a while, the sun starting to dip low.
The girls were already planning a shower, arguing over colors and themes, while Anthony and I stood off to the side.
It felt like a normal evening—the kind of evening we hadn't had since the day she'd shown up at the shop with a smoking engine and a broken heart.
"You still coming into the station for the overnight shift tomorrow?" Anthony asked, leaning back against the siding.
"Yeah," I said. "I need the hours. Between the shop and the department, I want to make sure the savings are where they need to be before she gets here. I'm building her a crib, too. I started the frame last night."
"Let me know if you need a hand with the sanding," Anthony said. "I'm not letting my niece sleep in a bed that isn't perfect."
I looked over at Aubrey. She was laughing at something Tessa said, her hand resting naturally on her stomach.
The fear that had lived in her eyes for months was buried deep under a layer of joy.
For the first time, she wasn't just Aubrey, the girl who ran away from a nightmare.
She was a mother-to-be, surrounded by people who would move the earth to keep her safe.
I walked over to her, sliding my arm around her waist and pulling her back against my chest. She leaned into me, her head resting on my shoulder, her hand covering mine where it rested on her bump.
"You okay?" I whispered in her ear.
"I'm perfect," she breathed.
The city was still out there, and the legal papers were still sitting on the kitchen table, but as the sun went down over the trees, I knew we'd already won.
Brandon had the money and the lawyers, but we had this.
We had the truth, we had the town, and we had a little girl who was going to grow up knowing exactly what it felt like to be wanted.
"Harrison!" Silas called out, pulling his truck into the driveway with a crate of cider in the back. "I heard the news! Sounds like I need to start buying pink ribbons for the fire trucks!"
I laughed, waving him over. The celebration was just starting, and for once, the weight of the world felt light.