When he’d gone, Kate turned wordlessly from Laura and headed upstairs. She had suffered such unfairness in her life—losing her husband, having to fight for her daughter—but this pain she felt was so acute, so overwhelming, she thought it would consume her. She could barely breathe, and the heaviness in her chest told her this was different from anything she’d gone through before. When she sat on her bed, the first gasping breath came, and then the first great sob escaped.

This was heartbreak.

When Richard left, Kate imagined nothing could ever hurt more than that. She was wrong. Richard betrayed her. He left her feeling inadequate and insecure, but it was nothing compared to what she felt at that moment.

She’d lost her baby and she was going to lose David. Her throat tightened and another sob escaped. Kate fell onto her pillows and let go, allowing the sadness to take hold. Both of them were gone. Her baby, and the man she’d fallen in love with. The tears seemed endless and Kate gave in to them. She didn’t stop thinking about David, or her lost child, until she felt someone’s weight settle on the bed behind her.

Kate turned her head and saw Laura, tears in her own eyes, sitting on the bed. Laura reached out and stroked her mother’s hair.

For a long time, Laura stayed with her, doing nothing more than rubbing her back. As much as Kate wanted to be comforted by her daughter, she was thinking about David and it was killing her.

“Mom, come downstairs. We’ll eat crap and watch a stupid movie.”

She sniffed and grabbed the box of tissues on her night table. Slowly, because she was still tired, she rolled on her back and sat up. Her breathing was shaky, and big, soggy tears rolled down her face. She mopped them up with a wad of tissues and looked at her daughter. “I guess the hormones are making a mess of things.”

“Partially, but you know, it’s okay to be sad.” Laura laid her head on Kate’s shoulder. “I’m sad.”

“You are?”

Laura nodded. “It would have been cool having a little brother or sister.”

“It was never my intention that you be an only child.”

Sitting up straight, her daughter looked her straight in the eyes. “I know that now.”

“So,” Kate asked. “Why didn’t you tell them?”

Laura glanced over and let the question hang there for a while. Kate could see she was thinking. When Laura answered, her voice was steady and unapologetic, and a twitch of a smile teased the corner of her mouth. “It was none of their fuckin’ business.”

Kate let go a watery laugh when she heard Laura repeat her words exactly. “I’m sure they aren’t happy they didn’t know.”

Laura shrugged. “I’m not happy he lied to me.”

Kate smiled. “I never thought we’d be having this conversation.”

“Me either.” Laura reached over the side of the bed and came up with a bag of Double Stuff Oreos. She ripped the bag open, took two of the cookies and passed it to her mother. “But to be honest, it was when you stood up to me that everything changed.”

“Why is that?” Kate took a cookie from the package, twisted it open, and licked the cream inside the cookie.

“You fought back. His version wasn’t the only thing I heard.”

That made Kate think. Should she be fighting?

“I was such a bitch, Mom. I’m sorry.” Laura reached out and hugged her mother. “You didn’t deserve it.”

Kate held her daughter and didn’t question the turn of events, didn’t try to figure out why things had happened the way they did. Maybe she had to worry less about doing what she thought was the right thing, and needed to trust her instincts. She started questioning that inner voice a long time ago, when Richard made her question everything about who she was, what she did, and what she believed. Maybe trusting her instincts would help her find herself again.

“So tell me about David.” Laura grinned at her mother and settled back with the cookies.

Kate breathed deep and felt the tears start to well up again. “I don’t know that there’s much to tell anymore. He’s been amazing since I told him I was pregnant. I don’t know what’ll happen now.”

Laura reached out and rubbed her back. “He cares about you. He really does.”

“You think so?”

Laura nodded and leaned her head on Kate’s shoulder. “Do you love him?”

Kate thought for a second, thought about all those inner voices, and nodded in response. “I’m a complete goner.”

Laura passed the cookies and the two ate in silence for a while. Things wouldn’t be easy for them, but Kate felt she and Laura finally had a beginning.

“Did you love Daddy?”

Kate looked down at her. “When I married him, I loved him with all my heart.” That was the truth. She did love Richard. He was her world, but he never respected her.

“What happened?”

This was the first time Laura ever asked her about the divorce.

Kate wasn’t ready to tell her everything, but she could tell her some. “There were so many things that went wrong, but I guess it all came down to the fact that he never thought I was good enough for him. He never loved me. He wanted to own me.”

“You’re good enough for David, and I think he loves you.”

Kate could only hope. “I guess time will tell. I’m not counting on it, though.”

Laura turned and focused her gaze. “Last night, after you fell asleep, I saw how he was. He sat next to your bed, and stroked your hair. He whispered the sweetest things. The guy was wrecked and it was all about you, Mom. He was worried about you.” Kate drew a deep breath as Laura continued. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It was pretty amazing.”

A single tear rolled over her cheek, but this time it was her feelings for David that were coming to the surface. What Laura saw, that kind of love, was the fairy tale. It was the love story, and it was all Kate had ever wanted. He was all she wanted. Just thinking about the possibility was too much to hope for. It took a few minutes to compose herself, then she refocused on something trivial, something she could control. Kate tapped the package of Oreos. “These need milk.”

“I agree. Kitchen?”

The cookies were nothing, but the change between them was significant and not lost on either one. Kate, however, continued to be moved by Laura’s words. “Thank you for telling me.”

“You deserve to be happy. Daddy wasn’t good to you, and I wasn’t either. You deserve better.”

And with those words, Laura left the room. Kate, in spite of everything that had happened, felt more hopeful than she had in years.

*

David sat in the dressing room between periods and his mind wasn’t on the game. It had taken him two hours to get from Kate’s house to his. He picked up his bag and drove to the arena. Tonight’s game against the Canadiens was sold out, but there were only a few hundred people in the stands because of the weather. They were winning and he didn’t care.

His teammates all knew what had happened. He guessed Jay or Cam told them because he kept getting quiet looks of condolence or pats on the back. No one knew what to say. He was sure half the guys thought he’d gotten lucky. No baby meant he was off the hook with Kate. But David felt anything but lucky. She’d come back to him because of the baby; now that she’d miscarried, he was afraid she’d want him out of her life again. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to find some way to let her know how he felt about her.

After the game, they would board a bus to the airport, and hopefully be able to fly to Boston for tomorrow’s game against the Bruins. If not, they would be stuck at the airport. All he wanted to do was curl around Kate and get over what had happened. Physically, she had to recover, but it was the emotional piece that was going to hurt long term. And for that, David knew they needed each other.

When he thought about it, David had a hard time processing how he’d changed since he met her. Something made him take that stupid bet in California and approach her. He’d been issued challenges like that before and he’d blown them off… but something made him accept.