Page 184 of Dusty Spur Ranch Cowboys

Tori pulls the purse strap over her shoulder. “That’s what I agreed to.”

Her attorney shifts beside her, though he makes no attempt to interrupt. He spent most of the morning reviewing the documents with her while Linda went through every clause with me, making certain there was no opening for Tori to return whenever guilt or curiosity pushed her toward Colter Creek.

I came prepared for demands and delays.

But Tori arrived twenty minutes late, asked where to sign, and has spent less time ending her rights as Sadie’s mother than most people spend choosing what to order for lunch.

“You can still request supervised visitation,” I tell her.

Linda glances at me before returning her attention to the papers.

I don’t want Sadie pulled through another stretch of missed calls and broken promises, but I need to know Tori understands the finality of what she’s doing.

Tori doesn’t hesitate. “I’m moving to California.” She reaches for her dark glasses and places them on top of her head. “Kyle has work near Sacramento, and we’re leaving before the end of the month.”

She lets out a slow breath.

“But that’s not really why I’m here.” Her eyes finally meet mine. “Every time I come back, I promise Sadie I’ll do better, and every time I leave, I disappoint her again. I keep telling myself next time will be different, but it never is.” She swallows hard. “Keeping this open just gives me another chance to let her down.”

I came here expecting excuses, another reason why walking away made sense, but Tori gives me the truth instead.

It doesn’t make any of this hurt less, because Sadie still loses her mother, yet hearing her admit she’s been breaking her daughter’s heart every time she comes back changes something.

This isn’t another promise she’ll break. It’s the first time she’s stopped making one.

Tori looks at me again, and the defensiveness in her face eases enough to remind me of who she was before we had Sadie.

We were too young to understand the difference between wanting each other and knowing how to build a life. When Tori got pregnant, I believed loving her would carry us through everything that followed, but Sadie’s arrival exposed every weakness between us.

I learned how to warm bottles while half asleep, how to recognize every cry, and how to function after forty minutes of rest because our daughter needed me to.

Tori started staying out later, missing appointments, and asking fewer questions until she packed two bags one morning while Sadie sat on the kitchen floor with a stack of wooden blocks.

She told me motherhood made her feel as though she had disappeared.

I wanted to tell her I had disappeared too, but Sadie still needed one of us to find a way back.

Tori picks up the pen and turns it between her fingers. “You’re good at being her father.”

The compliment feels wrong coming from her, as though she expects gratitude for recognizing that I took responsibility after she left.

“I’m her father whether I’m good at it or not.”

“Every birthday I missed… every visit I canceled… every time I promised I’d call and didn’t…” She shakes her head. “I watched her stop believing me a little more every time.” She rubs at her eyes before looking back at me. “I’m not signing this because I don’t love her.” She laughs bitterly. “I’m signing it because loving her hasn’t made me into the mother she deserves.”

Her attorney collects his folder and stands beside her while Linda remains seated. Her hand tightens around the purse strap.

The guilt that usually follows whenever I tell Tori the truth tries to return, but protecting her from the damage she causes has never helped Sadie.

Tori reaches the door and grips the handle. “Don’t make her hate me.”

“I won’t.” She looks over her shoulder as I continue. “I’ll tell her the truth in whatever way she’s old enough to understand, and I’ll let her decide how she feels.”

Tori nods before leaving with her attorney.

The door closes behind them, and I keep my attention on the empty chair until Linda covers the signed agreement with one hand. “You gave Tori every chance to remain involved.”

The sentence joins all the others people have offered over the years.