Later, as we drift off to sleep, I think about that night four years ago. Sitting in my beat-up Honda, preparing to sleep in a parking lot with my daughter, convinced we'd never have more than this.
And now look at us. Look at what we've built.
A home. A business. A family. A life worth living.
Mason's arms tighten around me, and I know he's thinking the same thing. How close we came to missing this. How grateful we are that we didn't.
"Love you, Mrs. Reid," he murmurs, half-asleep.
"Love you too, Mr. Reid."
And I do. With everything I am, everything I have, everything I'll ever be.
This is home. This is family. This is the life I never dared to dream about.
And it's perfect.