For the first time in my life, I felt completely safe, completely cherished, and completely home.

We stood there on the terrace for a long moment, holding each other as the harbor wind swirled around us.

“We should probably go find Chloe before she eats her weight in sugar cookies,” Daniel whispered against my hair, a quiet chuckle in his voice.

“Yes, we definitely should,” I agreed, laughing softly as I stepped back.

We walked back inside the healing center hand-in-hand, our fingers intertwined.

As we entered the main lobby, we found Chloe sitting on a bench, happily swinging her legs while holding a half-eaten cookie.

She looked up, saw our joined hands, and gave us a bright, knowing grin.

She dropped her cookie onto its paper plate and scrambled down from the bench, running straight toward us.

She didn’t just grab my hand; she threw her little arms around my legs, hugging me tightly.

“Are we a family now?” she asked, looking up at me with her wide, imaginative eyes.

I looked at Daniel, who was smiling down at both of us with absolute devotion.