“Well, thank you to you both,” Diana said with a small smile. “Want to

  go pick out a movie or something that we can watch?”

  Charlie’s eyes lit up. “Is Gabby staying?”

  Diana looked over at her and Gabby nodded. “I can stay for one movie,

  I think.”

  “Favorite genre?” Charlie asked.

  “Whatever you’re in the mood for,” Gabby said. Charlie hummed

  thoughtfully to herself, ducking out of the kitchen with no small amount of

  eagerness.

  As soon as she was gone, Diana raised a questioning eyebrow at Gabby.

  “You two certainly seem to be getting along well.”

  “We talked. I think it’ll be alright. You’re a good mom, and you raised a

  good kid.”

  Diana sighed, relief evident in the way her posture relaxed. “I’m glad

  you two were able to talk. She really does look up to you, and I would

  never want us dating to take that away from her.” She stepped closer to

  Gabby and dipped her head to press a sweet kiss against her lips. Gabby

  smiled against her mouth, savoring the love and comfort she could feel

  radiating off of the other woman. This —quiet, slow kisses, laughing until

  her belly hurt with Charlie, knowing that Leo was waiting for her to say

  good night —all of it was worth any amount of discomfort or uncertainty if

  this was what was waiting for her on the other side.

  “I’ve got it!” Charlie’s voice echoed out from the living, and Gabby

  chuckled as she pulled back and rested her forehead against Diana’s.

  “Should I be concerned about what movie she’s so excited about?” she

  asked, and Diana laughed out loud.

  “That depends on whether you have a strong aversion to teen

  romcoms,” said with a grin. “Want to go say goodnight to Leo while I get

  everything set up?”

  “Yeah, in his bedroom?”

  Diana nodded and stretched up on her toes to kiss Gabby one more time

  before leaving the kitchen. Gabby took a second to just savor the fact that

  this was real, that she’d somehow ended up in a world where she’d gotten

  everything she ever could have wanted and then some. She was still

  marveling over how she could have gotten so lucky when she heard Leo’s

  voice calling her name from down the hall. Shaking herself from her

  thoughts, she hung the dish towel neatly on the hook by the sink and then

  headed down the hallway. She didn’t want to keep him waiting.

  Twenty Six

  Diana

  Diana sighed as she pulled into the driveway and turned off her car. She’d

  had to work late again, and it was just after 8:00pm. Tawa and Maria had

  come by her office for another meeting, and this time she had been able to

  get them to share why they’d had so much difficulty with the forms she’d

  given them to do.

  They’d explained that the paperwork was overwhelming, and that when

  they had called the number she had given them previously that they had

  been on hold for hours. It wasn’t a matter of them not wanting to do what

  she’d asked of them, just that the world seemed to be stacked against them

  in a way that made success improbable. A few pointed calls to her contacts

  at the various agencies and they had been fast-tracked for transitional

  housing approval. They had been elated, and had left her office beaming ear

  to ear. It was a good reminder to her that there was always a reason why

  people did or didn’t do things, and when she didn’t try to understand the

  why, she ended up missing the most important pieces of the puzzle.

  Normally after a day that resulted in her working late, she would have

  been rushing to get inside and make sure that Charlie and Leo didn’t need

  anything. For once, though, she paused to take a moment for herself. Gabby

  was inside with the kids, and as Diana let her eyes slide closed, she

  marveled at the unexpected turn her life had taken.

  She’d initially been worried about what her kids were going to do when

  they found out the truth about her and Gabby. The night that Gabby had

  come over for dinner felt like it might make or break things, but to her

  endless joy she’d watched as both Charlie and Leo had warmed to Gabby’s

  presence as the evening went on. Charlie had taken a bit longer to come

  around, but it had seemed like she was in a good place by the end of the

  night. Gabby hadn’t told her exactly what she’d talked about with Charlie,

  but the scant details she’d gotten were enough for her to be grateful all over

  again to have such an incredible daughter —and partner.

  For the first time, Diana allowed herself to envision what it might be

  like to have a life with Gabby. Giddy excitement flooded her at the

  prospect, but there was still a painful twinge of guilt at the thought that she

  was building a new life without Brad, and she squeezed her eyes shut a little

  tighter. She didn’t know whether that would ever fully dissipate, and she

  was grateful for Gabby’s patience and steadfast support as she continued to

  try to move forward with her life.

  The one thing she did know —without even a sliver of doubt —was that

  Brad would have wanted her and Charlie and Leo to be happy. It was still

  complicated and there were no easy answers, but Gabby had undoubtedly

  brought more joy into their lives since her arrival, and maybe that was what

  mattered most. After all, she saw the countless ways that families could fall

  apart day in and day out —what more could she ask for than a partner who

  clearly loved her kids and just wanted to make them smile?

  Diana wiped her eyes and made her way out of her car and up the stairs,

  letting herself in the front door as quietly as possible. Gabby had sent her a

  picture of the three of them earlier in the evening making a blanket fort in

  the living room, and Diana wanted to see it for herself. It was a sort of last

  failsafe —a way of trying to witness for herself that the kids genuinely liked

  Gabby and weren’t just putting on a happy front for her benefit.

  There were muted giggles coming from the living room, and Diana

  couldn’t stop her heart from flip-flopping painfully in her chest when she

  peered into the living room. Gabby was nestled in a mound of pillows with

  one kid on either side of her. Leo was curled into her, watching with rapt

  attention as she read him a book, and Charlie was half-listening while she

  scrolled through her phone. The whole thing looked so natural that Diana

  suddenly couldn’t imagine why she had been worried in the first place.

  “Hey,” Diana said, smiling when three heads whipped around to look at

  her in unison.

  “Mom!” Leo jumped up and ran over to her, throwing his arms around

  her middle. “We can get a pet!”

  “I said that we could talk to your mom about it,” Gabby amended,

  shooting Diana an apologetic look.

  Diana raised an eyebrow, suddenly wondering if she was going to regret

  wishing for the three of them to get along. “A pet, hmm?”

  “Come on,” Charlie chimed in, “A pet would be really cool. And

  tomorrow is the weekend so you don’t have to work if we want to go to the

  shelter!”

  “I’ll take that into consideration,” Diana said dryly. “Although if asking

  about pets is what happens when I leave Gabby alone with you, I might

  need to rethink that in the future.”

  “It wasn’t her fault, honestly,” Charlie said quickly. “She really did say

  that we would have to talk to you and that she couldn’t make that decision.”

  Diana nodded, trying not to laugh at the panic on Gabby’s face. She

  believed Charlie; it wasn’t the first time that the kids had asked her about

  getting a dog or cat. A year or so prior, Charlie had even gone as far as

  making a PowerPoint presentation on all of the reasons why getting a puppy

  was a good idea.

  Much as she would have loved to give in, Diana had a firm stance on

  pets. They were expensive, and between her work schedule and how hectic

  things were, she didn’t want to sign up for more than they could handle.

  Plus, she knew how extravagant vet bills could be over something as minor

  as a puppy ingesting a sock. There were enough bills to worry about

  without adding another mouth to feed —even one that was adorable and

  furry.

  She figured it couldn’t hurt to let Gabby squirm a little bit, though —

  she’d only mostly been kidding when she’d said she might have to

  reconsider Gabby being alone with the kids so much. She knew Gabby

  wanted Charlie and Leo to like her, but she also knew it was a fine line

  between building a relationship and turning into a total pushover.

  “Did you eat yet?” Gabby asked, clearing her throat awkwardly. “I

  saved you a plate in the oven if you want it.”

  “That sounds great,” Diana said, turning and heading for the kitchen.

  “You want to sit with me and update me on any other things I should know

  about that happened while I was gone?”

  Just before she was out of earshot, she heard Charlie stage whisper to

  Gabby, “Don’t worry, her bark is worse than her bite,” and it took

  everything she had not to burst out laughing.

  “So, it sounds like you had fun,” she said with a smirk when Gabby

  joined her in the kitchen. Gabby groaned and pulled out a plate covered in

  tinfoil from the oven, pulling the foil off and popping it into the microwave.

  “I swear I didn’t just show up and start spouting off about buying them

  puppies and kittens,” she said. “It was like some sort of coordinated

  attack —one minute Charlie is showing me funny cat videos on her phone,

  and the next Leo started talking about how great it would be if they could

  have a cat, and didn’t I think that was a wonderful idea?”

  The microwave beeped and Gabby set the plate of food down in front of

  Diana. It smelled heavenly —chicken and three different kinds of

  vegetables.

  “You got Leo to eat these?” Diana asked with surprise. Gabby chuckled.

  “Sure. I told him it was part of the plan to discover what his favorite

  vegetables are, and that seemed to do the trick.”

  Diana shook her head in wonderment. “Magic. Although I’m not

  complaining if it means I get to eat —” she eyed the plate —“asparagus,

  brussels sprouts, and beets.”

  “I’m sorry if he’s a little overly excited tomorrow,” Gabby said, “I may

  have mentioned that asparagus makes your pee smell funny, and he thought

  that made it instantly cooler.”

  Diana almost choked on her food, grimacing as she swallowed and then

  glared over at Gabby. “You’ve got to warn a girl before you say things like

  that!”

  “How was the rest of your night?” Gabby asked, her mood sobering.

  Diana chewed slowly, turning the question over in her mind. It had been

  a long time since she’d come home to someone asking about her day and

  genuinely wanting to hear the answer. Of course there was only so much

  she could say in order to maintain the confidentiality of the people she

  worked with, but even knowing that Gabby was thinking about it was

  almost enough to bring tears to her eyes.

  “It was hard,” she finally replied. “I mean, obviously it’s always tough

  to see kids and families when they’re struggling, but…” she trailed off, her

  thoughts from the driveway back in full force. “It’s almost harder in some

  ways now that you and I are in such a good place with the kids. It just

  seems unfair, that there are so many other families out there that never get

  the chance that we have, for whatever reason, and it just never feels like I’m

  able to do enough.”

  Gabby reached across the table and squeezed her hand, her thumb

  brushing reassuringly across her wrist. “Is there anything I can do to

  support you?”

  Diana sighed, the touch chasing away last of the lingering heaviness

  from her evening. “Honestly, it helps just being around you.”

  “Okay, but just know that I’m here for whatever you need. If you want

  to talk, we can talk. If you just want me to listen, I can do that. If you would

  rather just have some silent company, that’s no problem either.”

  “You’re sweet.” Diana scooted her chair closer so that she could rest her

  head against Gabby’s shoulder. “By the way, how are things with your mom

  going? You met up with her this morning, right?”

  Diana knew that reconnecting with her mom had been a painful process

  for Gabby. Against all odds, it seemed as if her mom was genuinely

  changed and determined to be more supportive, but Diana couldn’t help the

  swell of protective anger in her chest at the countless memories of past

  times Gabby had given her a chance, only to have it thrown back in her

  face.

  “She’s fine,” Gabby sighed. “Good, actually. It’s weird to be able to talk

  to her like a regular person without all of the manipulation.” She paused

  and looked over at Diana nervously. “I was actually, um, thinking I might

  tell her about you and me soon. Only if you’re okay with it, of course, but I

  just —”

  “It’s fine.” Diana cut Gabby’s anxious rambles off with a gentle finger

  against her lips. “I trust you. If you think she’s in a good place now and you

  want to tell her, then you have my full support. You know I’m always in

  your corner.”

  Gabby relaxed in her chair, leaning over to kiss Diana softly. Diana

  hummed against her lips before pulling back and raising an eyebrow at her.

  “Now, what’s all this about the kids getting a pet?”

  “I mean, there’s not that much more to say. They both know that it’s not

  a guarantee, but…”

  “But what?” Diana said with a groan. “Don’t tell me they’ve gotten to

  you too.”

  Gabby laughed, her chuckles gently shaking Diana’s head where it had

  come down to rest against her shoulder. “No, although they were very

  persuasive. I’m pretty sure they’ve both got a bright future on the debate

  team if they want it. I was just thinking that if you were interested and open

  to the idea of a pet, there are other options besides cats and dogs.”

  Diana sat up and looked over at Gabby skeptically. “I really don’t think

  they’re going to be quite as enthusiastic about a pet fish.”

  “Not a fish,” Gabby rolled her eyes. “But maybe something like a

  rabbit. Most humane societies have smaller animals like that in a separate

  section from the cats and dogs, and they’re pretty low maintenance. The

  kids could still have the fluffy, snuggly pet they want, but without needing

  to worry about as big of a commitment.”

  A rabbit wasn’t the worst idea Diana had ever heard. She had to admit

  that it might be a nice compromise, and if there were rabbits at the Humane

  Society —

  A thought occurred to her, and she fixed Gabby with a playful glare.

  “You already looked at the Santa Fe Humane Society to see if they have

  rabbits, didn’t you?”

  Gabby shrugged. “I mean, I didn’t want to bring it up as an option if it

  wasn’t a possibility.”

  “Fine,” Diana said, settling back down into Gabby’s side. “Maybe we

  can go look at them this weekend.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Just like that,” Diana confirmed. “But don’t tell the kids yet. I still have

  every intention of making them work out a plan for how they’ll take care of

  the rabbit before I formally agree that we can get one.”

  “You’re a good mom.” Gabby kissed the top of her head, and Diana

  melted into the contact. “You want to relax for a little bit while I go make

  sure Leo is ready for bed?”

  Diana hummed appreciatively, tilting her face up so that she could kiss

  Gabby softly. “That would be amazing. Thank you.”

  Gabby looked down at her with so much love and warmth in her eyes

  that Diana wanted to grab onto her and never let go. She resisted the urge as

  Gabby stood up and headed down the hall to Leo’s bedroom, but as the

  sound of her quiet footsteps faded, Diana couldn’t shake the feeling that

  things were too good to be true. How was it possible that this was reality?

  Every time she’d gotten comfortable in her life, something had always gone

  wrong —first when Gabby left, then when Brad died, and now… Gabby was

  perfection, but Diana couldn’t quite let go of her fear that things might still

  fall apart.

  Pushing the negative thoughts from her mind, she stood up and began

  clearing her plate. If things were going to go wrong, then it wasn’t going to

  be because of anything she had control over. Worrying about it wouldn’t

  change that. The important thing to focus on was what she did have control

 

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