The girls were sitting at the kitchen table, drawing with colored markers.

When I walked in, Ruby jumped up and ran to hug my waist.

“Mommy, did you finish your work?” she asked, looking up at me with her bright, dark eyes.

“Almost, sweetie,” I said, smoothing her hair. “We are going to move into a new house very soon.”

Hazel looked up from her drawing, her expression cautious.

“Is Grandma Gloria going to be there?” she asked softly.

My heart ached at the quiet fear in her voice.

“No, Hazel,” I said, kneeling down so I was at her eye level. “Grandma Gloria is not going to be there. It will just be us.”

“Can we have a dog?” Ruby asked.

“We can have whatever we want,” I said.

I held them both close, smelling the sweet scent of their baby shampoo.

For years, I had let Graham and his mother look down on us to keep the peace.

I had let them treat my daughters as second-class citizens because they weren’t male heirs.

That was over now.

***