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“Oh.” Tierney squealed, and the imaginary dogs in Miranda’s brain all whined at the sudden high-pitched sound. “Thank you! You are the bestest sister in the world.”

Miranda made a non-committal sound that she doubted Tierney heard as she began talking about all the things she would do for Rebel when she got home. The party was apparently just the beginning.

“I need to go help Marcus now.”

“With what?”

“With the car.”

“You? Getting dirty working on a car?” Miranda scoffed, unable to even picture the scene.

“Well, you have to be willing to bend a little to make relationships work, Miranda. It’s what you’ve never understood. Besides, I won’t get to the library to write this letter if the car doesn’t get fixed.”

“Right.” Miranda nodded to herself and sighed as Rebel climbed into her lap. It must be almost nap time. “Well, I better let you go. If you can please remember to send the letter as soon as possible, that would be good.”

“Of course! I want to make sure my baby is safe and healthy. And the other daycares in the area aren’t nearly as nice as that one. I don’t want her to lose her place.”

“Okay. Be safe.” She did believe that her sister loved Rebel. She just wasn’t very good at showing it sometimes.

“Bye-bye,” Tierney sing-songed before she hung up.

“That was your mom,” Miranda said, as she twirled her fingers in Rebel’s hair. She had managed to tame it to an extent. But the tangles came back quickly if she didn’t keep up with it.

Rebel’s breathing slowed, and her weight grew heavier as Miranda continued to run her fingers through her hair.

Tori and Tierney couldn’t be more different, and yet their goals remained the same. But was Tierney right? She had to be willing to bend for a relationship to work? Maybe all her experiences of chasing her soulmate had taught her a thing or two. But there was so much work to make a relationship grow, to allow the individuals to continue on their own paths without being drowned by the relationship. Was that something Miranda could even do? Her work meant the world to her, and she couldn’t imagine not doing the late nights and the early mornings, the extra-long days and the draining conversations with the grief stricken.

Rebel’s quiet snores filled her office.

And if she tried the relationship thing with Tori, it wouldn’t just be the hard work of a relationship, it would involve parenting as well. Even if Tori wanted her to have only a minimal parenting input, there would still be times when she would have to step in. She couldn’t name a single person she knew who remained happy in their relationship once a child was introduced to the equation. Tori was perfect proof of that. Divorced and a single parent.

Miranda knew all of these things. She had understood that she was not the relationship type. Workaholics rarely were. But she had never had someone like Tori to consider being on the other side of a relationship.

She kissed the top of Rebel’s head and swiveled her chair slowly back around to face her computer.

Her insides churned. There was beauty in the falling pieces, but she had no idea where those pieces would land, and whether or not she would like the way it looked once they did. Besides, until Tierney returned, Rebel had to be her priority. She should have done something for Rebel’s birthday rather than just making it like any other day of the week. Even the daycare had taken a picture and made a big deal about it.

Miranda managed to get through several more reports before Rebel stirred. When they returned to her office after lunch, Miranda sighed with relief to find an email from Tierney. The body of the email simply said. The letter you need. Thanks sis. But the attachment lifted a weight that had rested on Miranda’s shoulders since Aili had first mentioned Rebel’s upcoming shots.

With an answer in hand, she couldn’t stop thinking about Tori. She had been so angry when she’d gone over there the other night. But all her anger wasn’t solely at Tori. It was at Tierney for abandoning her child. At herself for once again being the person who was parenting a child not hers. At the world for making it impossible for a single parent to function.

She really should apologize for her outburst. Snagging her phone, she called before she could find another excuse not to. Because she would find all the excuses if given the time.

“Miranda? Is everything okay?” Tori’s voice came clearly through the line, a note of worry in it.

“Yes, yes, everything is fine.” She found herself smiling, and enjoying the warmth that spread through her chest. “I was wondering if you and Harley wanted to come over for a play date.”

“Just to be clear, the both of us?” Tori sounded hesitant.

Miranda could hear chattering in the background of the phone call and wondered if she needed to be careful of what she said because of who was in the room. She frowned. They really should have talked a bit more before she’d left the other morning. “Yes. Rebel misses Harley. I think having her home from daycare is making her regret only having me for a friend.”

Tori chuckled lightly. “I feel like you could say the same thing about yourself.”

But that’s what she had Tori for, wasn’t it? “So will you come over?”

“I can’t stay the night,” Tori whispered.

Miranda’s heart skipped a beat. She frowned, but she understood. They needed to talk first, and as much as Miranda loved sex with Tori, she still wasn’t sure she wanted any more than that. But for now, she would take what she could get. “That’s fine.”