River smiled. “I’ll add you to a group chat, so you can send it to us all in one go.”

She finished her coffee in one huge gulp and stood. Rigby disappeared to pay the bill, and River and I stood as well. “We’ll help you to your car.”

We navigated out of the cafe under the scrutiny of the whole crowd, and I hoped to hell no one had been listening in on our conversation. Otherwise, we were all going to be prime time news later.

We made it to her car, and I noticed she had a baby spit stain down her back. I forced myself not to grin. I helped her unclip the car seat from the stroller, then carefully clicked it into the attachment in the car. I knew this brand from when we were setting up Alana. It was top of the line and had the highest safety rating on the market. Nova didn’t skimp on safety, and I could respect that.

Didn’t help that the rest of her car was a death trap on wheels, though.

I stroked a finger over Huey’s soft, downy hair and stepped away. Rigby came up to join us, and I briefly wondered if maybe we were too intimidating, standing here all together. River stroked Huey’s cheek, and even Rigby gave the baby a soft kiss. He was an easy baby to love.

Nova walked around to the driver’s seat. “I want you to know I’ll think about it, okay?”

“That’s all we ask. I leave on Friday, so call me if you have any more questions, or need help or anything.”

She nodded and hopped in her car. The car took two tries to turn over, and then she was driving away. I shook my head, the edge of grief still sitting there in my chest, where it had been ever since we heard Alana had died and Huey was in care.

Alana had never wanted her child to be in foster care like we had. I’d promised her that after Huey was born. But still, he was driving away with a stranger, and I hated it.

“Even if she says no, we should get her a new car. That shitbox isn’t safe,” Rigby grumbled, and I agreed.

“She’s going to say yes,” River grunted, heading back to the Range Rover. “She doesn’t have a choice.”

We would do what we had to, but I kind of hoped that Nova did the right thing. I didn’t want to break her, but I would if it meant keeping my word.