Page 45 of Beyond Redemption

“That’s pretty fucking bold of you, Tommy,” Trenton said, his voice strained.

Camille tugged on his arm.

Taylor’s voice dropped into the conversation as he spoke, his voice strained. “We understand your perspective. It’s time Falyn reunites with her daughter.”

Silence again. This time with sharp edges.

It was Falyn who finally broke through the quiet, her voice a wire on the verge of snapping.

“Please, Thomas. Can I see her?”

“Olive is inside,” Liis said. “She’s nervous. She’s excited. It’s important we make this experience as positive as we can.” She kept her tone controlled, firm, but somehow still empathetic. “What she needs now is our focus… on her, not on relitigating decisions already made.”

The crunch of gravel cut through the quiet behind my family, close enough to pull every head around.

“Good evening, Maddoxes,” Naomi said. Her tone was controlled, slightly formal, but not stiff.

She came into view already set, tan T-shirt, desert camo cargo pants, boots laced tight. Her hair was pulled back into a low, unforgiving bun. She didn’t need to say anything else. Everyone there knew why she’d stepped in.

Ibarra straightened and snapped a quick salute. Naomi gave a small nod. “At ease.”

My brothers offered brief nods of their own, acknowledgments more than greetings, then turned back to me, tension settling in again as they waited to be let in to see the one person they’d dropped everything to see.

Unaware that Liis and I knew our family well enough to guide them through it step by step, to give them time, explanations to consider, and a chance to hear the rules again before seeing Olive, Ibarra opened the Longhouse door without waiting for permission, likely to keep Naomi on schedule.

The hinges groaned.

I closed my eyes. Admittedly, I’d been stalling the inevitable. But we’d needed that minute. Without it, they’d react first and think later.

“I’ll bring up the rear,” Liis said in my ear, gesturing for me to lead the family inside.

Shoes shuffled across the concrete floor, and we gathered in the center of the room with the exception of Naomi standing at the entrance to supervise. My eyes settled on the back room, and I called out.

“Olive? Everyone’s here.”

No movement. No noise.

Liis shot me a quick look, then walked toward the back. She stepped through the doorway and turned to the right, pausing where only her back and ponytail were visible. She was having a conversation, nodded, then turned to meet my eyes.

With just one look from my wife, we had an entire conversation. Olive was anxious. Maybe bringing everyone in at once was the wrong call. She wanted to see her family more than anything, but she had always been uniquely perceptive, and she was likely anticipating the fallout. Emotions among my brothers were already volatile, her presence would only escalate them and any aggression would land squarely on Liis and me. I knew from body language alone Liis was reassuring Olive that we’d instructed them to keep their composure, that it would be a low-conflict event and not the savage brawl anyone who knew the Maddoxes had every reason to expect.

“Kids,” Abby said, “remember what we talked about?”

“Yes,” they answered in whispers.

Liis turned toward us, unhurried, then stepped out of the doorway and to the side. Olive came through, Bodhi right behind her with Stella tucked against his chest.

The family inhaled as one—a sound I felt in my bones.

Stella was still clinging to her dolls and unaware, thumb in her mouth, insulated from the moment entirely. Bodhi moved like a man expecting impact, his eyes scanning my brothers, his shoulders tight, each step deliberately slow, as if one sudden move could set everything off.

Olive’s eyes scanned the faces of those waiting to see her, and then immediately glossed over. She kept walking until only a few feet separated them, then lifted her mouth in a smile that fractured almost as soon as it formed.

“I’m sorry,” she said, barely above a breath. Olive’s face flickered through expressions she couldn’t settle on. Relief. Fear. Shame. Love. She looked like she wanted to simultaneously run into their arms and escape. Her eyes settled on Trenton first, then Camille, then her mother.

Falyn stepped forward one small pace, her hand resting on Taylor’s shoulder as she passed him to break free of the group. She swallowed before speaking as calmly as she could. “Hi.”

“Bodhi,” Olive said, gesturing to Falyn with a tear already streaming down her cheek. “This is my mother, Falyn.”