Chapter 13 - THE BABY WHO CHANGED THE RULES
Their daughter was born on a bright April morning.
Nora was thirty-eight.
Exhausted.
Terrified.
And happier than she'd ever imagined.
The baby arrived crying.
Strong.
Beautiful.
Alive.
When the nurse placed her against Nora's chest, the world seemed to stop.
Nora looked down.
Tiny fingers.
Dark hair.
A perfect little mouth.
She began crying.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
The baby opened her eyes.
Nora laughed through tears.
“I'm your mommy.”
Evan stood beside the bed.
He was crying too.
Nora looked at him.
“Would you like to hold her?”
He nodded.
Carefully, he took their daughter into his arms.
His face crumpled.
“Hi.”
His voice broke.
“I'm your dad.”
Nora watched.
For a moment, she saw the man she'd once hoped he'd become.
Then she reminded herself of something important.
A good father did not automatically make a good husband.
And she no longer needed those two things to be the same.
They named their daughter Clara Rose Carlisle.
Clara after Nora's mother.
May you like
Rose because Nora had spent years believing beautiful things couldn't grow after grief.
Now she knew they could.
