Lost Creek Hollow In the morning she said "Listen,"

There was no telling what was going through the girl's mind; it was entirely likely that too much was flooding her brain and without adequate emotional intelligence, it would remain a jumbled mess. Ibis knew she loved her mother - both her mothers - and that it took her time to adjust to Olive, even though the other woman had been a fixture in her life for as long as she could remember. She knew that she loved her father too. It was difficult to say how much, because loving Terance wasn't as easy as loving Seabreeze, but she tried very hard.

For someone with as big a heart as Ibis you'd probably assume it would be easy to love Treason too but... The more Ibis thought about it (roundabout thoughts) the more she compared the idea of the woman (backwards thoughts) to her mother (trying-too-hard thoughts) and making snap judgements before even meeting her. Was there room in Ibis' life for three mothers? That was the big thought; maybe she was at her parental limit.

Her father seemed very happy though, and Ibis couldn't ruin that. She liked how easily he countered her points with commentary, with affection that she leaned in to and reciprocated softly. Ibis had missed this — ever since her mother's accident and subsequent sleep, Ibis had become reclusive of her family. She had found comfort in her brother but would not go near anyone else if she could help it. The physical affection that Terance showed her now, opened her up again. Made her realize - on some base level - how sad she had been, how lonely, without that consistency. 

She was quiet for a long moment after Terance concluded his points, merely sitting with her father and leaning against him, before the whirlwind inside her head slowed down a little bit.

She makes you happy. I'm happy you're happy, daddy. And just like that, Ibis nosed at her father's cheek and gave him an affectionate little kiss, as if all her worries had evaporated.