She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Emma had been raising Lucas on her own since he was barely a year old. His father, overwhelmed by the reality of responsibility, had walked away before Lucas could form his first sentence. Those early years had been a blur of late-night feedings, part-time work, and college courses she somehow crammed into the hours between nap times. There were moments when she wondered if she’d made a terrible mistake trying to do it all. But every time Lucas laughed—really laughed—she knew it was worth it.
