Katherine couldn’t describe the feeling that washed over her the mont her arms wrapped around Nathan. It was as if her lungs could finally breathe again after suffocating in panic for what felt like hours. She held him tightly, so tightly, afraid that if she let go, he might vanish from her arms again.
She pressed her cheek against his soft, warm hair, inhaling the scent of popcorn, cotton candy, and a faint trace of sweat. He was real. He was here.
"I was so scared," she whispered, her voice trembling against his ear. "So, so scared, baby."
"I’m sorry," Nathan mumbled, nuzzling into her neck.
Katherine pulled back slightly, cupping his small face in both hands. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes glassy with emotion, but he wasn’t hurt. No bruises, no tears—nothing. He was okay. He was okay.
Thank God.
She rembered the sheer terror from earlier—the way her heart had dropped into her stomach when she turned and couldn’t see him anywhere. The chaos. The noise. The dozens of strangers moving past her as she scread his na over and over again.
For a horrifying mont, she’d truly believed he was gone. Taken.
Her thoughts had spiraled: He’s been kidnapped. Soone’s already driving him away. He could be on a boat, a plane, being taken out of the country—
"Katherine. Katherine, look at ."
Felix had said those words, holding her shoulders and grounding her before her hysteria consud her. His voice had been calm, firm, laced with reason.
"We’re going to find him," Felix had said. "He’s just wandered off. This is a family park. We’ll go to the information center and ask them to make an announcent."
She’d been too paralyzed with fear to argue. But Felix had taken charge. He acted. And he was right.
She looked down at Nathan again as he pulled away just slightly.
"I t Julio," he was saying, "and his uncle! They helped get here!"
Katherine blinked. "Julio...?"
Nathan nodded, pointing vaguely behind her. "There."
Still holding Nathan’s hand in hers. Her gaze lifted.
And then everything stopped.
The world seed to blur at the edges. The buzzing noise of the crowd dimd to nothing.
Leonard.
He stood a few feet away. Tall, dressed in a dark button-up with sleeves rolled at the elbows. The tension in his jaw when he was unsure what to say.
Katherine’s heart sank like a stone into the pit of her stomach.
Their eyes locked. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.
She watched as Leonard’s brows pulled together slightly, as if confirming what he was seeing. The sa recognition. The sa surprise.
Before either of them could break the silence, Felix stepped forward.
"Oh, Leonard," Felix said, his tone light, grateful. He extended a hand toward Leonard. "Thank you so much. We owe you."
Leonard seed startled by the interruption but quickly took the offered hand. "Yeah, of course. I’m just glad he’s safe." His voice was calm, but his eyes flicked back toward Katherine.
Katherine struggled to compose herself, inhaling slowly through her nose. She smoothed a hand over Nathan’s hair, then lifted her chin.
"Thank you," she said, her voice quieter than she intended. "Really. Thank you for bringing him back."
Leonard gave the barest nod. His lips parted like he wanted to say sothing else—but he didn’t.
"I think we owe you more than just thanks," Felix said with a laugh. "Let us treat you to dinner soti. It’s the least we can do."
Leonard blinked. "Ye-yeah, why not?"
Felix grinned. "It’s been a long day, and I think it’s ti we take these two ho and get so rest. But yes, dinner. It’s a promise." He patted Nathan’s back gently. "Co on, buddy."
"Bye, Julio!" Nathan waved with a tired smile.
"Bye!" Maya chid in, reaching over to hug Julio quickly before Felix scooped her into his arms.
Leonard stood still, watching them go, but his gaze remained trained on Katherine—just for a second longer. She could feel the weight of it on her back as she walked past him, trying to keep her shoulders from stiffening too much, trying to breathe normally.
The kids waved over Felix’s shoulder as they were carried off, drowsy smiles on their faces.
Julio waved back enthusiastically. Leonard... didn’t move.
Katherine didn’t dare look back but when she finally glanced over her shoulder, Leonard was still standing in the sa place.
**
The car ride back to her apartnt was quiet.
Nathan and Maya had both drifted off almost instantly in the backseat, Maya leaning against Nathan’s shoulder. Felix had music playing low—so slow acoustic track—and the soft hum of the engine was the only other sound.
She didn’t say anything, and Felix didn’t ask. For that, she was quietly, overwhelmingly grateful.
Maybe he was still stunned himself—still turning over what had happened, the way everything had shifted in just a few chaotic minutes. Or maybe, more likely, he’d noticed the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers had trembled when she buckled Maya in, and decided not to press.
Katherine stared out the window, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
She didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t.
Leonard...Leonard was Julio’s uncle? So that’s who the twins kept talking about after kindergarten—the "nice uncle" who picked up Julio, the one who brought him snacks, the one who kept them company when Jazz picked them up late.
She hadn’t known.
How could she have known?
Leonard heard him call her Mommy. He looked at Maya and knew they were hers.
There was no way he didn’t put the pieces together.
She could still feel his eyes on her, the way he looked at her like he’d just had the wind knocked out of him.
And she had no way to explain any of it.
She told herself not to cry, to keep her expression as natural as possible. But the pressure was building behind her eyes, making them hot, her throat thick.
Leonard now knew.
He knew she had a child.
He knew they had a child.
And there was no turning back from that.
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