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Miranda smiled, breathing a little easier, the tightness in her chest loosening a little.

“And so are you.” Siena made a pointed look at the phone before giving Miranda a quick wink.

“Thank you.” Miranda’s words were a little clipped at the edges, but they came easier than the first time she had said them.

Miranda knew Siena wanted to help. She had seen the genuine way Siena interacted with Tori and Harley and had no doubt she truly wanted to help Miranda as well. But it had only been a few months in the end, and it would take more than that for Miranda to discard a lifetime of holding everything close.

“I’ll text you.” Siena laughed as Harley pulled on her hand to get Siena walking toward their car.

Miranda nodded.

Once Siena left, Miranda had gathered herself enough to walk back inside, pick up Rebel, and wonder just what on earth she would do if Rebel was taken away. She couldn’t fathom life without her niece curled up beside her, speaking more words each week, and expressing her humor and interest in ways that made Miranda smile more in a day than she had previously smiled in entire weeks.

She held Rebel close in her arms, taking a deep breath of her niece’s hair. There would be very little she could do to ensure Rebel remained in her life. But she would remain in Rebel’s corner, if nothing else.

thirty-three

“What are you two doing here?” Tori stared through her open doorway at Siena and Aili, both with shit-eating grins on their faces.

“Mommy!” Harley ran straight for Siena, who scooped her up and cuddled her.

“It’s your birthday.” Siena winked. “So we’re going out.”

Tori cocked her head to the side, not releasing the door handle. Her stomach was officially in knots. Something about this entire situation reeked of subversion. “Where are we going?”

“That, my love, is a surprise.” Siena snorted, barely containing it as she looked down to focus on their daughter. “Harley, go pack up an overnight bag. You’re going to stay the night with Gram.”

“Weee!” Harley raced to her bedroom.

Aili stepped into the small apartment first. “You need to get dressed up.”

“For what?” Tori laughed lightly, still trying to pry information out of them even though she doubted she’d get anything worthwhile. She hated surprise parties, and she hated being the center of attention even more.

“For your party,” Siena barked out.

“Oh good lord.” Aili shoved Tori toward her bedroom.

Tori let the two of them hash out what she was going to wear, and they settled on a nice pair of dark jeans and a suggestive black shirt that would cling to her curves provocatively. Tori laughed but booted them both out while she changed. When she emerged from the bedroom, they were snuggled with Harley on the couch and reading her a book.

“You both are going to have to tell me where we’re going.” Tori put her hands on her hips, refusing to budge until she had an answer.

“Absolutely not!” Siena chided. “It’s a surprise.”

“Yeah, Mom. Surprise. That means you can’t know, but not like a secret. Secrets are bad.”

“Right.” Tori frowned at Harley like she’d missed something. There was a conversation happening she wasn’t privy to, so she glanced at Siena for an explanation.

Siena waved her hand. “I’ll explain that later.”

“Sure.” Tori walked to the kitchen and snagged herself a can of soda. She was going to need the caffeine if she was going to stay out late that night, and if Siena and Aili were taking her somewhere, it’d probably involve alcohol and getting home after midnight.

“Are we ready?” Aili asked.

“Nope!” Harley jumped up, coming over with one of those God-awful eye covers that Tori always made fun of women wearing to sleep. It even had fake sleeping eyes with giant curled eyelashes on it. “You need to wear this, Mom.”

“Uh…” She took the item from Harley and stared at it. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“You have to.” Harley giggled. “It’s the rules for surprises.”