Page 76 of Balancing Act (Soulmate #1)

TWENTY-NINE

BETH

Morning light filtered through the curtains in soft golden slants, warming the sheets as Beth blinked awake. The house was quiet, the kind of stillness that only existed in the early hours before the world caught up with itself.

She turned her head, Jamie sprawled out beside her, her face half-buried in the pillow and her dark hair a mess. She was still asleep, her breathing steady, and the tension she so often carried absent for once.

She smiled to herself before carefully slipping out from beneath the covers. She barely made it to the edge of the bed before Jamie stirred, letting out a groggy sigh as she turned onto her side.

“I got it,” Jamie mumbled, her eyes never opening. “I’ll take her.”

Beth huffed a quiet laugh as she cupped Jamie’s cheek, soft skin warm beneath her palm. “Go back to sleep,” she whispered, stroking her thumb lightly over Jamie’s cheekbone. “You’ve been up late every night this week. I can handle it.”

Jamie grumbled incoherent words, her face scrunching as she tried to protest, but she didn’t fight it when Beth gently nudged her onto her stomach.

“’m not even that tired...” Jamie mumbled into the pillow.

Beth smirked. “Sure, baby.”

Jamie sighed, already halfway back under, her fingers twitching once against the sheet before she went still.

She watched her for a moment longer, then leaned down to press a lingering kiss to Jamie’s temple before slipping out of the bedroom.

When Beth made it downstairs, Lily was already sitting at the counter, lacing up her sneakers. She barely glanced up before saying, “Ready when you are, J.”

Beth smirked. “Well, that’s going to be a problem.”

Lily’s head snapped up. Her eyes widened slightly as she registered that Beth was standing in front of her, still tugging a sweatshirt over her head. “Oh. You’re taking me?”

Beth grabbed the keys off the hook. “Yeah. That a problem?”

“No, it’s just...” Lily shook her head like she was recalibrating. “Jamie’s pretty much been taking me every day.”

“Jamie’s exhausted,” Beth said. “She needs sleep. So, it looks like you’re stuck with me, love.”

Lily shrugged. “I guess I am,” she said, grinning as she grabbed her water bottle. “Just think,” Lily continued, “in a few months, I’ll be able to learn how to drive, and then neither of you will have to take me to training.”

Beth followed her out the door, a small, satisfied smile tugging at her lips. A year ago, this kind of interaction would’ve been tense—stilted and full of gaps neither knew how to fill.

Now?

Now it felt easy.

As they drove, the sky was still that deep, early morning blue, and the streets were quiet, aside from the few other people who were up and about at this early hour.

Lily had her feet tucked up on the seat as she scrolled through her phone, but Beth could tell she wasn’t focused. Her knee bounced slightly, a telltale sign that she had something on her mind.

She let her sit with it for a minute before breaking the silence. “You okay over there?”

Lily glanced up as if startled out of her thoughts. “Huh? Oh. Yeah. Actually, I was gonna ask if you and Mom had talked about the social-media stuff.”

“We did.”

Lily sat up straighter, eyes wide. “And?”

Beth paused, drawing it out for a second before glancing at her. “We’re on board.”

“Seriously?” Lily gasped. “Like you’re not just saying that.”

“Seriously. But we have a few ground rules...” Beth didn’t even get to explain them. Lily was already off, excitedly chatting away.

“I have so many ideas.”

“That’s amazing, love, but your mom and I have some?—”

“I’ve been making a list of the kind of videos I want to do, and I already talked to Dylan about it, and she thinks it’s genius. I want to start with behind-the-scenes training stuff, but also, like, Q and As? Maybe some challenges? And?—”

Lily launched into an entire brainstorm session, her mind already a mile ahead.

Beth listened and watched her out of the corner of her eye, smiling fondly.

Lily had this way of seeing the world—full of possibilities and excitement.

There was something special about that. Beth would get to the rules and stipulations she and Sarah had worked out later.

Now, she’d let Lily enjoy the excitement for the time being.

Beth reached over, ruffling Lily’s hair.

“Hey!” Lily batted her away, but she was grinning.

Beth laughed. “I love how you see the world, you know that?”

Lily tilted her head, considering that for a second before offering a small, genuine smile. “Yeah,” she said simply. “I do.”

As they pulled into the gym parking lot, Beth thought, maybe this wasn’t so bad. Maybe she was figuring it out after all.

Lily opened the passenger door, then paused, glancing back at her. “Thanks for driving me this morning.”

“I’ve always got time for you, Lily.”

“I just wanted to let you know I appreciate it. I probably don’t say that enough,” Lily said, with a sincerity to her words. Then, without thinking too much about it, she leaned over the center console, wrapping her arms around Beth in a quick but tight hug. “Love you, Mama.”

Beth’s breath caught in her chest, but she recovered quickly, hugging her back. “Love you, too, sweetheart.”

Lily started to pull away, but Beth stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.

“You know...” She hesitated, then smiled softly. “I love hearing you say that.”

Lily blinked, then ducked her head slightly.

Beth looked at Lily, really looked at her before she spoke.

“Lily, love, I need you to know how proud I am of you,” she said quietly.

All the things she had wanted to tell Lily over the last year that had felt so hard to find the words for suddenly seemed within reach.

“So proud of the person you’re becoming.

And no matter what happens at trials or what comes next, that will never change.

I will always be so incredibly proud of you just for being you. ”

Lily’s grin softened into something smaller, more vulnerable. “Thanks, Mama.”

Beth reached up, gently tucking a stray piece of blonde hair behind Lily’s ear. “I’ve worn a lot of titles in my life,” she continued. “Friend, partner, wife, painter. But the best by far—the one I love more than anything—is being your mama.”

Lily’s expression flickered, emotion crossing her face for a moment before she glanced down. Beth swallowed, letting out a measured breath before pressing on.

“When I became your mom, I made myself a promise,” she explained. “That I wouldn’t pretend to have it all figured out. That I would own up to my mistakes when I made them. That even if I wasn’t always exactly who you needed me to be, I’d never stop trying.”

She hesitated, watching Lily’s blue eyes fixed on her, listening intently.

“My mom—she never did that,” Beth admitted, her fingers curling against her lap.

“Any time I tried to talk to her about hard things, she’d shut down completely, like she couldn’t handle hearing it.

I hated it, and I swore to myself I would never do that to you—that I’d never refuse to take accountability or say I was sorry when I got it wrong. ”

Lily didn’t say anything, but Beth could see how she absorbed every word.

Beth met her gaze, the little mirrors of her own eyes staring back at her so steady and sure.

“I’m sorry for how things were last year.

Leaving for that tour was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made.

And I’m sorry for the way I left you. I hate that I made you feel alone, and I hate that I didn’t see how much you were struggling.

But I need you to know I never stopped loving you. Not for a second.”

Lily nodded, biting the inside of her cheek. “I know, Mama.”

Beth reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m so glad we’ve been able to rebuild this, Lily. Us. ”

Lily squeezed back. “Me too.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then, Lily smirked. “You’re gonna make me late for practice with all this emotional stuff, you know.”

Beth laughed, rolling her eyes. “Go. Get out of my car, you little menace.” She swatted at her playfully as Lily grinned and climbed out.

“Love you, Mama.”

“Love you, too, Lils.”

As she watched Lily disappear into the gym, she felt it—the warmth that came with the steady feeling of wholeness.

The roads were quieter now, the early morning rush still an hour or two away. The low hum of the tires against the asphalt filled the silence as Beth let herself settle into the moment, her mind drifting.

For the first time in maybe ever, she didn’t feel like she was running on empty.

For so long, her life had been a balancing act—constantly trying to keep all the moving pieces from crashing down around her. But somewhere along the way, she had figured it out.

It wasn’t perfect.

Life still threw curveballs.

Jamie’s follow-up appointment, for example. That was one hell of a curveball.

The possibility that Jamie’s cancer could be back was terrifying, a weight sitting in her chest that never quite went away.

But it didn’t feel like free fall anymore.

Because deep down, Beth knew that no matter what happened, they would handle it. Together.

She thought about Jamie curled up in bed, exhausted but not shutting Beth out. She thought about Lily launching into a million ideas about social media, her excitement practically vibrating off her.

She thought about this morning and how easy it had been, about how their family—because, yeah, that’s what they were—felt solid in a way she had never thought possible.

Beth felt steady. Like maybe she wasn’t just balancing. Maybe she was finally living.

And that?

That felt pretty damn good.

When Beth got home, the house was quiet, and the morning light cast a soft glow across the hardwood floors. She toed off her shoes and dropped her keys into the dish by the door, then stretched for a moment before making her way upstairs.