He pulled open the door, took one look at Nova, another at Huey, and raised an eyebrow. I shrugged, because I still had no fucking idea what was going on. He stuck his head in the passenger door.

“Did someone hurt you?” he growled.

“Only emotionally.”

Dev frowned. He untangled Huey from her arms and gave me a loaded look. “I’ll burp the baby. Tell River what’s wrong.” With that, he closed the door again, and Nova looked at me with those big hazel eyes that broke my heart.

Why was she still crying? Ugh, fuck it. Sliding the seat back as far as it would go, I picked Nova up and pulled her into my arms. She let out a little squeak, sitting stiffly on my lap until I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tightly to my chest. She tucked her head beneath my chin, her sniffles loud through the car.

I stroked her back until her tears dried up a little. “Tell me what happened.”

As she recounted the absolute bullshit some old lady was spewing at her, I did my best not to feel incredulous. This was what she was crying about? We were sitting in a car that cost more than most people's houses. Obviously that woman’s views didn’t apply to Nova, so why did it upset her so much?

“And why are you crying in the car?” I murmured softly against her hair. God, she felt nice in my arms. She just fit so perfectly, and it made my chest feel way too full. Rigby was onto something with this hugging thing.

“She was right. Well, not about the teenage pregnancy thing, obviously. I’m twenty-four, so it's been a hot minute since my teenage years. But I don’t have any idea what I’m doing, and who do I ask? I’m motherless. And fatherless. I have no one to ask about these things. I don’t have anyone to ask if I’m fucking this up.” She sniffed, and her tears started again. “I miss my mom.”

Ah. I had nothing to help that kind of hurt. It was a wound only time would ease. So I stroked her back and let her cry, giving her all the reassurance I could without saying a word. I also formulated a plan. Because I wanted Nova to be happy—not just because she had custody of Huey, and keeping her happy meant keeping him.

I liked Nova. She was sweet and fierce. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for. She was a good mother, even though she didn’t believe it, and didn’t know every nuance to motherhood like someone who’d had six or nine months to prepare. But she was giving 110% to the job.