Chapter 36
The gavel was still echoing when my knees went weak.
Adoption.
Father.
Permanent.
Words I’d never dared to imagine for myself.
But then Junie threw her arms around my neck and whispered, “My family,” and something inside me cracked open so wide I wasn’t sure it would ever close again.
The judge said a few more things, but it all sounded like a radio underwater. I just kept holding Junie, breathing her in, feeling Daisy’s hand on my back like an anchor keeping me upright.
When we stepped into the hallway, the air had changed. The door clicked shut behind us, muting the courtroom and all the noise inside my chest.
Emmy bounced up and down, eyes glassy as she held her hands out for a hug.
I went right to her, letting my sister wrap me in her arms. Together we shook with silent tears, her hand stroking up and down my back.
“I am so proud of you, Ty. You are one of the best men I know, and no one will love that little girl more than you.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.
Junie launched herself at our legs, wrapping her arms around us. “Should I call you Aunt Emmy now?”
“You can call me whatever you want, sweet girl,” Emmy said, then leaned down to hug Junie. “But I’m thrilled to call you mine.”
Junie beamed, then looked up at Daisy. “This is cool. Now I have two aunts.”
Daisy stood a little to the side, arms wrapped around herself, but smiled. “That’s right, cutie. The cream of the crop, too, if you ask me.”
Emmy stood and hugged Daisy next, squeezing her tightly. Daisy’s eyes never left mine, even when she hugged my sister back. “I know I could never replace Violet, and I never want to, but I’m so happy to call you family, too.”
Daisy’s smile slipped off her face, tears brimming in her eyes as she hugged Emmy tighter. “I may be too selfish to deny that offer.”
I leaned back against the wall, unsteady. The adrenaline from the hearing, the relief, the shock—all of it hit me at once.
Emmy backed away, wiping tears from her face, heading toward the exit. Her phone lit up in her hand, and she glanced at it before smiling up at me. “I have to go, but dinner tonight. We need to celebrate.”
“Emmy…” I warned, but my sister grinned wider, then spun and walked out of the courthouse.
Daisy turned toward me, Junie’s hand in hers, and smiled. Not a bright, masking smile. Not a polite smile. This one was soft, sure, and meant only for me. Like she knew what she’d done for me.
My breath left my body in a slow, shaking rush.
She’d chosen this.
She’d chosen me.
Not by default.
Not by convenience.
Not because she had to.
But because she wanted me in Junie’s life forever.
My throat locked up. My eyes burned. I pressed the heel of my hand against my brow and tried to hold it together, but emotion rolled through me too fast to catch.
Daisy stepped closer, her voice low enough that only I could hear. “Hey,” she whispered. “You okay?”
I let out a shaky breath. “I don’t… I don’t know what to do with any of this.”
She smiled again, small and gentle, and reached up to cup the side of my face.
“You don’t have to do anything,” she said. “You already did it. You loved Junie in all the ways that mattered long before today made it official.”
My eyes closed, holding back the wave of emotion pulling me under.
She stepped a little closer, her thumb brushing across my jaw. “Ty, look at me.”
The moment I opened my eyes was my undoing. Daisy was looking at me like she’d never look away again. Like she meant it when she said she wasn’t going anywhere. Like it wasn’t Junie in my life forever, it was her too.
“I love you. We love you.”
Junie tugged on my jacket until I picked her up, sandwiching her between us in one more hug.
This was my family.
My little girl.
The woman I loved.
The life I never thought I’d have.
“I love you both, too.”
The drive back to the ranch felt unreal, my hands positioned at ten-and-two knowing I carried the most precious cargo. My girls, forever.
Junie sat in the backseat, clutching the embossed folder the clerk had handed us, rereading the formal-sounding words that declared her Juniper Mae Winslow-Hudson.
Daisy rode almost the entire way home twisted backward in her seat, as if she too was having a hard time believing that this had really happened.
Every time Junie whispered her new name, it sounded a little more reverent, a little more in awe, and my eyes burned anew.
By the time we turned into the driveway, the sun had dipped low enough to paint the valley gold. I slowed, but then stopped dead at the sight in front of me.
On my porch stood everyone I loved, there to welcome us home.
Beckett stood front and center, holding a gigantic bouquet of pink balloons that said IT’S A GIRL!
Next to my best friend were Emmy and Jace, both grinning. Behind them stood my entire mismatched family:
Lori sat in a chair someone had pulled out, her hands folded, face soft with emotion.
Shannon, in all black with a lopsided smile, clutched a bakery box.
Stevie, already wiping tears with the sleeve of her shirt. Luke, one arm around her and the other holding a wiggly toddler, smiling so wide his dimples might crack.
Tate, arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against a post, her entire face glowing with pride.
And Mason, standing at her side with his hands cupped around his mouth, yelled, “And for tonight’s starting lineup, the newest Little Huddy!”
Daisy climbed out of the truck first to help Junie down, and the minute her feet hit the ground, the cheering started. Loud and messy, and totally unnecessary.
Shannon shoved her cupcakes into Daisy’s hands. “Congrats,” she said. “Glad you’re staying.”
Stevie hugged all three of us at once, sobbing, “I’m so happy I can’t even see!”
Beckett slapped my back and shoved a bouquet of balloons into my hand. “A girl dad, huh? It fits.”
Mason joined our trio, a finger flicking the pink balloon hovering over my head. “Aren’t these for a baby shower?”
Beckett waggled his eyebrows at me, then at Daisy. “Well, with these lovebirds? Give it time.”
Daisy turned bright crimson while I choked on my own saliva, but I reached for her hand, pulling her into the chaos.
Junie piped up, delighted, “Well, I am a girl!”
Mason cackled, then pulled Junie into his arms, hugging her tight. “Incredible. Zero notes. Perfect comedic timing, Little Huddy.”
Jace stepped up next. “Thanks for the cousin,” he said. “I think I’ll keep her.”
Junie threw herself into his arms, hugging the surly teenager tight. “I’ve never had a cousin before.”
Then Lori reached for my hand, her fingers trembling, but her grip was warm and sure. “I’m proud of you,” she said. “So very proud.”
Her gaze slid to Daisy. “And you, sweetheart… welcome to the family.”
Daisy blinked. “I… thank you,” she said, voice thick.
With Lori’s words, the line of hugs started all over again, this time for Daisy.
Stevie sniffed, hugging Daisy so tight her back arched. “You’re stuck with us now.”
Luke grinned, giving her a quick handshake. “No take-backs.”
Shannon crossed her arms. “You wear a lot of pastels for me to consider you a friend, but I guess the term fits.”
Tate nodded once. “Seconded.”
And Mason threw his arms open like a game-show host. “Congratulations, Aunt Daisy! Welcome to the mayhem!”
Daisy stared at me over Emmy’s shoulder in yet another bone-cracking hug. Her smile was small and real, and so full of emotion it nearly put me on my knees.
This was the family neither of us had grown up with, but we were making it together.