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“Hello, old friend,” Avery said, her heart filled with love for this woman.
Tears streamed down Steph’s cheeks. “I sent Brody to pick up some stuff from our place because I needed this moment with you. You feel it, too. I knew you would.”
Avery held out a hand. “Of course I do.”
They’d made a bargain once. Avery had told Steph she owed her a life. Two, really. Avery had used her inheritance money to get Steph through medical school, and Steph had tried to save the world. Over the years, she’d come to realize the life she’d demanded had been more than some singular debt. It hadn’t been a debt at all. It had been a decision. To live. For Avery. For Steph.
For them all.
Steph moved inside, taking her hand. “Sometimes I still feel like this is a dream and I’m going to wake up and you don’t forgive me.”
She shut the door and pulled her friend in. “Never.”
Steph hugged her close. “You are a miracle, Avery O’Donnell.”
Avery stepped back and wiped away her tears. “Nope. Just me. But let me show you a real miracle.”
Steph set down her bag and followed her through Daisy’s house. Over the years she and Nate had fixed it up, laying hardwood floors and painting and building a home together. Her daughter was happy.
Because she’d made the choice to forgive so long ago. When she’d chosen to forgive Stephanie Gibson, she’d chosen to live, too. What she hadn’t known at the time was she was choosing Liam. And Aidan and Daisy. She’d been choosing her friends. She’d been choosing an amazing career working with a woman she admired. She’d been choosing Billie.
She led Steph to the sweetly decorated nursery. Kangaroos were the theme, a nod to her father’s homeland. “Meet your grandchild, Stephanie.”
Steph put a hand to her heart, the tears flowing freely now. “She’s so beautiful.”
“She’s got her mom’s eyes and her father’s smile.” Billie was a unique mix of her parents. Like Aidan and Daisy were of her and Liam. Like Nate and Elodie of Steph and Brody.
A whole new generation. Beloved. They would grow in the shadow of their parents’ love, learning from the generations before. They would make their own mistakes. Live their own magnificent lives.
Steph turned to her. “You said I owed you a life. I owe you so much more, Avery. This…this doesn’t happen without you.”
“We don’t know that,” Avery replied.
Steph nodded. “I do. I know what I was going to do. I had planned it. It seems so far away most of the time. Like it happened in a different life, but I feel it so strongly today because Nate wouldn’t have been born. Billie wouldn’t have been born.”
“And Liam would have died without you,” Avery pointed out. “Our lives entangled one night in a terrible way, and look at what we made. Look at her, Steph. I said you owed me a life, but what you gave us all was a future.”
Billie opened her eyes, little mouth yawning.
“Hey, sweetheart. Meet your grandma Steph.” Avery reached down, picking up the baby. “How many have you delivered?”
“Too many to count.” Steph practically glowed as she stared at the baby and held her arms out.
“You made the world a better place for all of us.” Avery handed over the baby and let Steph settle into the rocker. Emotion welled as she watched her friend fall madly in love with their grandbaby. “Thank you for our family.”
Steph reached for her. “Thank you for our family.”
They sat together in the warm light of day, rocking the baby and talking about the future. Avery couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
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