“No monster,” Ethan said firmly, pulling them tight against his chest. He could feel their hearts hammering against his own ribs. “Just the sky making noise. It’s just clouds bumping into each other.”
Sarah sat back on her heels, watching. The emergency lights cast a dim, amber glow over the scene. She looked exhausted, but she smiled.
“Tell us the story,” Noah sobbed into Ethan’s shirt. “The prayer.”
Ethan looked at Sarah. He didn’t know the words.
Sarah whispered, “Thank you for the roof…”
Ethan took a deep breath. He rested his chin on Noah’s head. He closed his eyes.
“Thank you,” Ethan said, his voice deep and vibrating in his chest, “for the roof that protects us.”
The boys sniffled, listening to the rumble of his voice.
“Thank you for the strong walls,” Ethan improvised. “Thank you that we are warm. Thank you that we are together.”
“And thank you for Daddy,” Mason whispered.
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears. “And thank you for Daddy,” he repeated, his voice breaking. “And thank you for Miss Sarah.”
“And Mommy in the stars,” Liam added.
“And Mommy in the stars,” Ethan agreed. “She’s probably enjoying the storm. She always loved the rain.”
The boys slowly stopped shaking. The thunder rumbled again, but this time, they were anchored. They were held by the man who was supposed to be their mountain.
Ethan stayed there on the floor for an hour, until the storm passed and the boys drifted back to sleep, piled on top of him like puppies.
Sarah stood up, her knees cracking slightly. She offered Ethan a hand.
He extricated himself carefully from the sleeping children and took her hand. Her grip was warm, rough from work, and real.
They walked out into the hallway.
“You did good,” Sarah whispered.
“I had a good teacher,” Ethan said. He didn’t let go of her hand immediately. “Sarah. Thank you. For… everything. For bringing them back to me.”
“They never left, Ethan,” she said. “They were just waiting for you to come home.”
The summer sun dapples the lawn of the Sterling estate. The silence is gone. In its place is the sound of a sprinkler hissing and children shrieking.
Ethan Sterling sits on the patio furniture, his laptop closed on the table. He is watching Liam and Noah try to teach the family’s new Golden Retriever how to fetch.
The back door opens. Sarah walks out, carrying a tray of lemonade. She isn’t wearing the uniform anymore. She wears a sundress, yellow like the sunshine.
“They’re going to wear that dog out before noon,” she laughs, setting the tray down.
“Better the dog than me,” Ethan grins. He looks different. Younger. The lines of stress around his eyes have softened into laugh lines.
“Are you ready for the trip?” she asks.
“Tickets are booked,” Ethan says. “Disneyland. God help us.”
“It’s the happiest place on earth,” she reminds him.
Ethan looks at the boys, then he looks at Sarah. He reaches out and takes her hand, interlacing their fingers. It had taken months of slow, respectful courtship, of late-night talks in the kitchen, of shared responsibilities, but they had arrived here. A partnership. A family.
“I don’t know,” Ethan says, looking at the chaos on his lawn. “I think I’ve already found the happiest place on earth.”
Mason runs up, breathless, holding a dandelion. He ignores his brothers and runs straight to Ethan.
“Daddy, look! A flower for you.”
Ethan takes the weed as if it were a rare orchid. He tucks it behind his ear.
“Thank you, Mason,” he says.
“Thank you for this day,” Mason chirps, before running back to the dog.
Ethan watches him go. He squeezes Sarah’s hand.
“Thank you for this day,” Ethan repeats.
And for the first time in his life, the billionaire truly felt rich.
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