Page 104 of Blood Ties

“Riley...” I brush my thumb over her soft skin. “What happens next?”

Her expression cracks and I see an echo of all the fear I’ve been trying to hold inside of me. “I don’t know,” she says. Her lips curve, ever so slightly, upward, but there’s something sad about the expression. “Life, I guess?”

I try to imagine what it’ll look like, but I can’t. Will we ever be normal? Will the world ever feel safe? How can we possibly make this work with all of the hurt between us?

Riley’s eyes widen. “Oh.” She sucks in a little breath, and drags our clasped hands over to press against her stomach. “Feel that?”

After a second, I do: the tiniest pressure against my hand. My breath hitches as I press my palm flat against her stomach. “Is that...?”

“Yeah. That’s him kicking.”

I blink, look up to meet her eyes. “Him?”

Her cheeks turn pink. “Just a feeling. I don’t know for sure yet.”

I swallow past a dry mouth — then, surprising myself, I smile. “Our son.”

Riley stares at me. Then she, too, smiles. A real smile that makes the corner of her eyes crinkle. A smile I haven’t seen since the first night we met.

And, if only for a moment, it feels like everything is going to be okay.