y's

ck outright would only complicate things for Beryl's brother and his wife-a

utral zone instead. Somewhere to land

with oak trees just outside the window. But the moment I signed my name on the lease,

month, I'd start at Meridian Hospital-research, not clinical

oment I made it, because what I needed most

n hour here, a stolen afternoon there, always apologizing t

han to try. Once I decided something, there wasn't much point

, I drove over t

to hear my car from two streets away, or so she claimed. She looked at my face

my shoulder. "Wouldn't eat breakfast. J

slightly broken, but Bery

llway and something crashed into my legs with the full

am

ke the strawberry shampoo Beryl used on her hair and she was warm and solid a

unced into my shoulder. "I m

I told her. "Every

silver-grey eyes, seriously, assessing, so m

my head and

wet." She point

alle

e inside and show me the drawing she had made for my new apartment. A house with flowers.

n my pocket and kept it

ch, and she glanced at it, a

rolled her eyes affectionately. "Yes, including Ophel

n had gone a different way, into the federal special forces instead, the kind of career that ca

s own sister, but I'd always chalked it up to the way the whole Hale family loved-generous, unguarded,

r it. More than I

listened, then held the phone out to

smile and said, "

e who was always calm because he had trained himself to be.

id honestly. "

stands, Ivy. If you need anything.

ck to Beryl and watched Ophelia rearrange the fruit on her p

e himself an ulcer worrying a

know that." She said it lightly, without any weight behind it, then mo

wed were the best I

e mornings and sat on the bench watching her run with the joy of a child who didn't k

odore and Alexandra at some event or another. I scrolled past them. The

settling in when Ber

ryl needed new curtains for my apartment. She was helping me set up proper

d toured the

side a children's clothing store, wh

staring toward the far end of the corri

ze and saw what s

on the other, moving slowly past a row of baby boutiques. Grace was holding u

in his coat pockets, scanning the space with

us, but Ophelia

and tighten

she said

oice shook, which

those silver-grey eyes and asked in the small, careful

hat m

r move under me