That evening, Caleb brought Nora home exactly at six.
I watched him carry her to my door.
He had not won me back.
Maybe someday he would.
Maybe he wouldn’t.
But for the first time, that decision belonged to me.
As I rocked Nora to sleep that night, I realized there were no more secrets for someone else to decide I wasn’t ready to hear.
I was the first woman in my family to hear the whole story—
and decide for myself who got to stay.
