Page 108 of Backup Plan

Will it be hard for me to support my two boys financially without Brent?

Absolutely. Especially two active boys who want to play every sport and join every activity.

But I have options. I have a job offer from Everleigh. I’ve worked hard at Langford, and I could move up there if a position opens. It will mean more hours and a lot of sacrifice, but I’m willing to do it in the best interest of my babies.

He opens his mouth to say something, and I interrupt him.

“Ball’s in your court, Calloway. I have plenty of proof that you’ve been out of town when they’ve been here. If you want to fight me in court, fine. Alexander Voss will get me what I want, and you know that’s true.”

“So you don’t want any money at all?” he presses.

“I just want my boys, and I just want this done.”

“I really didn’t consider this as an option, Pen.” He sounds…vulnerable. Almost. For the first time ever, probably. It’s a glimpse of the man I married, the man who had ambition but hadn’t yet decided that he was going to love work and money more than his wife and kids.

I think he likes the idea of the wife, the kids, and the white picket fence more than the reality. And you know what? That’s okay. I like the reality more. I love being a mom. It’s the most important job in the world to me, and I will figure out some way to make it all work.

This life isn’t cut out for everyone, and I’m just trying to get to the root of where he stands so I can get this whole mess over with.

So I can really and truly move on with my life.

“Let me think it over,” he says.

I nod, and I turn to leave. I’ve just crossed the threshold when I hear his voice, and this time, there’s no mistaking the vulnerability even in the hushed tone.

“If I agree to this, does it make me a terrible person?” he asks.

I turn around and face him. I shake my head. “No. It makes you someone who’s doing right by his kids because he knows his own limitations and shortcomings. And there’s no greater gift you could give them.”

CHAPTER 34: Liam Bradley

Pizzy

A little after midnight on the second day of July, Liora Isabella Bradley was born.

The nurses had me cut the umbilical cord, and tears streamed down my face as the symbolism of the moment hit me. It was the moment Liora detached from Izzy and became mine.

She was always mine—or part of me, anyway. But the paperwork was filed, and the baby rested on my bare chest so we could bond with skin-to-skin time.

The nurses have been incredible. Izzy was there for the first few hours, but now she’s in a recovery room. They gave me my own recovery room since they had an empty one so I could be close by for the baby given our situation. So far they’ve shown me how to change a diaper and how to bottle-feed a newborn. Getting her dressed and undressed will be another matter entirely, but I’m learning the basics, and I can no longer say I’ve never changed a diaper.

I keep thinking about calling Penny.

And, oddly, I keep thinking about my mother, too.

She wasn’t super warm or loving when it came to babies, but this is her grandchild. I wish I could tell her about Liora. I wish I could ask her what to do with her when I get her home. I’m not sure she would’ve had any advice, but she still feels like someone I would’ve turned to.

Dex has a baby, too, and this is only the second in the Bradley family. I should tell my father. Maybe I’ll go to his trial to see the verdict read, but it’s not like I could take the seat behind him and whisper in his ear that he’s a grandfather again—and that also begs the question whether I can actually bring a baby into a courtroom.

It’s weird how quickly everything changed the moment she was born. It’s no longer just about me, and going forward, it feels like every decision I make will be made with her in mind.

On Friday afternoon, Dolores shows up to meet Liora.

“Knock knock,” she says from the doorway, and I glance up from staring at the baby who’s sleeping soundly on my chest.

“Dolores!” I say softly. “Come on in.”

“I’m here to meet my newest grandbaby,” she says, and my chest tightens at the sentiment. Dolores has been like a second mother to me since I met her, and in a lot of ways, she’ll be this baby’s only real grandmother.