I follow her down the hall, stopping along the way to admire the massive office with its wall of walnut built-ins. I love all the wood tones in this house, from the trim to the timber beams in the family room downstairs. Right before Scarlett finally moved out, she remodeled my Laguna home into a monochromatic wash of white and gray. It felt like a high-end hotel. This feels like home.

“Big closets,” Ellie says when I follow her into the room at the end of the hall. “And she might not care about that now, but there’s a good chance she will when she gets older.”

I grunt. Abigail might only be nine, but she already cares about clothes more than I ever have. The room is a good size, and I can already picture where I’ll put her bed, a desk, and a small TV area with her fuzzy pink beanbag chairs. It might not have the massive windows that the master has, but it does overlook the water.

“She’ll love it.” I swallow, hoping I’m right. I need to get her out of L.A. The media circus that’s rained down on us since her mom’s follow-up tell-all interview has been intense and worse than anything we’ve had to deal with before. Abi wants it to end, but like any nine-year-old would be, she’s nervous about leaving all her friends.

“I’m sure it’s scary,” Ellie says softly, “picking up your whole life and moving here. But there’s nowhere I’d rather raise a family.”

Grinning, I look pointedly at the ring on her finger and grab the opportunity to change the subject with both hands. “Are you and Levi planning a family?”

Her cheeks bloom red. “Eventually. We’re not in any hurry.”

“It’s hard for me to imagine that little punk settling down. He was always up to something.” I smile, memories filling my head.

“He’s changed a lot since you moved away.” She studies me for a long beat before adding, “Everyone has.”

Hell, don’t I know it. “You’re friends with Shay?”

She nods. “I’m not as close to her as Teagan is, but we’re friends. We all try to get together for girls’ night at least once a month—though now it’s more like quarterly. Everyone’s so busy. But Shay’s been finishing up her dissertation. We have to drag her out of the house every so often so she doesn’t work herself into the ground.” She cocks her head to the side and says, “But I thought it was Carter you were so close to.”

Busted. “I was close to the whole family. They treated me like one of their own.”

“Of course they did.”

“There’s room for everyone,” we say in unison, reciting what seems to be the Jackson family creed.