Chapter 10 - New Horizons
The sun was setting behind the western ridge, painting the sky in glorious washes of deep violet, bruised orange, and blazing gold.
Back in our front yard, the air smelled of freshly turned earth and sweet autumn mulch. Katie was kneeling beside the small patch of grass right by the front porch, carefully pressing a handful of rich dark soil around the base of a newly planted young maple sapling.
"There," she said, wiping a smudge of dirt off her forehead with the back of her sleeve and grinning up at me. "Now it’s part of the family."
"It's going to grow up strong," I said, kneeling beside her and pulling her into a warm, fierce embrace that she eagerly returned.
My phone, resting safely on the wooden porch railing, remained completely silent. No frantic calls from Barbara. No manipulative demands from Andrew. No toxic expectations from a family that had tried to build their foundation on sand.
May you like
For the first time in nearly a decade, the horizon ahead of us was entirely open, unmarred by shadows, and completely our own.
I stood up, holding Katie’s hand in mine as we walked up the wooden steps together, turning the key in the front lock and stepping into a home that was finally, truly, ours.
