I ended the call and walked back to the living room.

Molly was setting two mugs of chamomile tea on the coffee table.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Brent wants to settle tomorrow morning,” I said, sitting down on the sofa.

Molly handed me a mug, the warmth of the ceramic heating my cold fingers.

“Do not let him off easy,” she said.

“I won’t,” I said. “Jennifer is going for a full forfeiture.”

“Good,” Molly said. “He locked you out of your own home with a newborn baby.”

I took a slow sip of the tea, the herbal scent filling the quiet room.

“I just want a place where we are safe,” I said. “A place he can never touch.”

“You’ll get it,” Molly said.

The next morning, the sky over Boulder was a heavy, slate grey.

A light dust of snow sat on the hoods of the cars parked along the street.

I dressed in a dark grey tailored suit and pulled my hair back into a tight bun.

I kissed Ivy on her warm forehead while she slept in Molly’s arms.