It was almost eight, almost bedtime, leaving me thinking he was going to break his promise, when I saw the lights of his truck pull into the drive, followed by the slam of his door, and then the footsteps on the path.
"Hey," I said on a grateful exhale when he stepped inside. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine," he said, voice calm. "Where are the girls?"
"Natalie is asleep, but she is going to want the boob in another half an hour. Elizabeth and Jules are playing with blocks. I just... needed to breathe."
He nodded at that.
"They're being quiet. Let's let them be for a minute," he said, gesturing toward the couch.
I moved with him, sitting down, my body a little tense as he seemed to somehow relax. His arm slid around my shoulders even as I angled to the side a little to look at him.
"Did you guys find Eli?"
It was right then that it happened.
His light eyes started to dance.
A ridiculous grin started to pull at his lips.
"Yeah."
It was like a boulder was lifted from my shoulders. It didn't matter suddenly that he was maybe broken from years in the system, that he was actively trying to distance himself from us, his family.
He was out.
He was okay.
They knew where he was.
The rest, I was certain, would fall into place.
"And?" I prompted, impatient, while he just kept grinning at me.
"Baby, you aren't going to believe this shit..."