When they finally pulled apart, both were breathing hard. Well, Nora managed. That was Yeah. Does this mean It means I love you, Elias said bluntly. Don't know when it happened, but I do.
Love you and Tommy both. And if that changes things between us, if that makes you uncomfortable, it doesn't. Nora's smile was tremulous but real. Because I love you, too. I think I have for a while now.
I was just too scared to admit it. Elias pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin. And for the first time since James died, Nora felt truly safe. Not just physically protected, but emotionally anchored. Like she'd finally found the place she was meant to be.
We'll win this case, Elias murmured into her hair. We'll prove to that judge that we're a real family and Vincent will lose and Tommy will stay right here where he belongs. I promise you that. Don't make promises you can't keep. I keep my promises, Nora.
Always have. And I'm promising you this. I will not let anyone take our son. Our son. The word settled into Nora's heart like a benediction.
They stood there in the hallway holding each other until the lamp burned low in the prairie night deepened around them. Then they parted reluctantly, each retreating to their separate rooms. But something fundamental had changed. They weren't pretending anymore. They weren't performing for lawyers or judges or gossiping townsfolk.
They were a family. Real and messy and complicated, yes. But real. And in two days, they'd have to prove it to a court of law. The morning of the hearing dawned cold and bright.
Frost covered the prairie grass and the air had the sharp clarity that comes with autumn turning toward winter. Nora dressed in her best, the gray dress she'd worn for the wedding, carefully pressed and mended. Elias wore his suit and Tommy was buttoned into his good clothes, his hair combed flat despite his protests. They looked, Nora thought, like a proper family heading to church. She prayed they'd still be a family when the day was done.
The courthouse in Guthrie was an imposing two-story brick building that seemed designed to intimidate. The courtroom itself was all dark wood and hard benches with a raised platform for the judge and witness stand to one side. Vincent was already there with his lawyer, Mr. Thornton, both looking confident and well-dressed. Vincent's smile when he saw them was pure calculation.
Nora, Elias and little Thomas, don't you all look cozy. Save it for the judge, Margaret said sharply, steering them to their table. Judge Harriman entered precisely at 9:00. A severe-looking man in his 60s with steel-gray hair and eyes that missed nothing. He took his seat, arranged his papers and called the court to order.
This is a custody hearing regarding Thomas Gray, also known as Thomas Ward, he began. Mr. Vincent Gray is petitioning for custody, claiming the current living arrangement is not in the child's best interest. Mrs. Nora Ward and Mr.