Page 84 of No Greater Love
"She's good."
"Very good."
"You want to believe her."
I scrubbed my hands over my face. "I want to believe people can change. That making a mistake at twenty-eight doesn't define you forever."
"This wasn't forgetting to pay a parking ticket, Nate. She abandoned her infant daughter."
"I know."
"Do you?" Tasha turned in her chair to face me fully. "Because she's saying all the right things, and you're sitting here looking like you're actually considering it."
"What choice do I have?" The words came out sharp with frustration. "If I say no, she files for immediate custody. Claims I'm alienating Paige. And maybe she wins, maybe she doesn't, but Paige gets dragged through court either way."
"So you're going to give her what she wants?"
"I'm going to do what's best for Paige."
"Which is?"
"I don't know!" The admission ripped out of me. "I don't know what's best. Maybe Paige does need to know her biological mother. Maybe keeping them apart is selfish. Maybe?—"
"Stop." Tasha's hand found mine. "Stop spiraling. Let's think about this logically. What do we actually know?"
I forced myself to breathe. "Sarah has resources now. Money, stability, a good lawyer."
"All of which appeared very conveniently just as she decides she wants to play mom."
"She seems genuine about the therapy."
"Or she's very good at seeming genuine."
"She said she'd step back if it wasn't working."
"She also couldn't define what that meant when I pushed her on it."
I looked at Tasha, really looked at her. She seemed tired, stressed. There were shadows under her eyes I hadn't noticed before.
"You okay?" I asked. "You look exhausted."
"These back to back shifts are killing me lately," she admitted. "I used to bounce back faster. Must be the stress of all this."
"I'm sorry. I'm putting you through?—"
"Don't you dare apologize." Her voice was fierce. "We're in this together, remember? I just... I see what we have, Nate. What we're building. And yeah, right now it feels like the sun went out, but it's not. It's an eclipse. Temporary. We'll get through it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I know you. And I know Paige. And I know that what you've built together is stronger than whatever Sarah's trying to do." She squeezed my hand. "Even if you can't see it right now."
We sat there for a moment, holding hands across the table where Sarah's photo album still lay. Evidence of a life rebuilt, or a carefully constructed weapon—I couldn't tell which.
"I have to let her meet Paige," I said finally. "Once. Supervised. If I don't, she'll use it against me."
Tasha nodded slowly. "I know. I hate it, but I know."
"Will you be there?"
