The house is dim and still when Joel walks in.

His boots are heavy on the worn wood floors, leaving quiet echoes that seem too loud in a home trying to rest. He smells like sun-warmed concrete and the inside of a work truck, long hours and not enough pay.

Things are tight. Tighter than he wants to admit. He’s stretched thin between shifts, bills, and now diapers that vanish faster than his paycheck can cover. On top of that, today he had to bail Tommy out, again. A bar fight this time. Joel had to pay the damn custody fee just to get him released.

He stops at the edge of the living room.

You and Sarah are asleep on the couch, curled close. Between you both, nestled in the crook of a throw blanket, Lily is wide awake.

Her little eyes roam the ceiling, blinking slowly, the softest of coos escaping her lips. Her fist flails, grasping air. She kicks once, sock barely hanging on.

Joel’s chest tightens.

He moves slowly, kneels, and gently scoops Sarah up into his arms, carries her to her bed.

When he returns, you’re stirring. Eyes half-open, a sleepy smile forming when you spot him.

He leans down, brushes his lips over your forehead, then Lily’s soft hair. Her little mouth opens in a silent yawn.

Joel sighs. Runs a hand down his face.

“Sorry I’m late,” he mutters, eyes tired. “Tommy got himself thrown in a cell again. Had to pull cash I don’t have to get him out before they pressed charges.”