“His writing is breathtaking,” Hannah said. That caused Owen to turn sharply toward her.

“It is?” Owen asked.

“Yes,” Hannah said. “So personal, so invested, so captivating. Heart-tearing drama and out-loud laughter. Since you claim to have hated every English class you ever had, you must be something of a natural.”

He chuckled. “If you knew about the stomach cramps I get when I have to describe the moment, you wouldn’t say that—natural.”

“I love those books,” Hannah said.

He told them about some of his trips, about the trip to Vietnam coming up and about some of his collections in progress. And then he did something that stunned Hannah. He told them about Brayden and how his death changed Owen’s life and turned him into a completely different photographer.

“I’m sorry if I threw a damper on your vacation but you’re here to check me out, to see if I’m a nutcase. You should know about me. I don’t tell people often because I can talk about it but it’s hard to look at the eyes of the people who hear about it. So, sorry for that. But it is a fact that after twelve years, after meeting Hannah and Noah, I feel myself changing again. This time it’s a nice change.”

There were a lot of muttered condolences and reassurances. And Hannah looked at him and let him know with her smile that she was proud of him. He had done that for her and she knew it.

* * *

The night before everyone had to leave, Kate asked if she could tuck Noah in. She kissed him on the forehead and said, “I think you have yourself a good situation here, Mr. Noah. And a great pal with Romeo.”

“I do,” he said. “I think we should stay.”

“I don’t blame you, but you know that’s up to Hannah and Owen, right? Because Hannah has to choose the best place for work, school, medical support and all those things. But I did bring you something. My favorite picture.”

Kate pulled it out and gave it to him. It was a picture of the four best friends in a nice five-by-seven frame. “This was taken when you were just a year old. We were on a holiday. A girls’ weekend, the four of us. You were still a baby and stayed overnight with Linda. There’s your beautiful mom. And Hannah.”

He held it and just looked at it. She had noticed he had a picture of his mom on the bedside table, but this was the group. “Do you miss her sometimes?” he asked.

“I miss her every day,” Kate said.

“I miss her a lot,” he said.

“That’s why I brought you the picture,” Kate said. “I don’t have any proof but I bet she’s near enough to hear your whispers. I bet she’s watching over you. Over all of us.”

He looked at the picture a moment longer. Then he hugged it to his chest and lay down in the bed.

“Sweet dreams, little man,” she said.

She stood just outside the slightly open door for a long moment. Then she heard his sweet little boy voice whisper, “Night, Mommy. Night.”

* * *

Hannah’s cell phone chirped with an incoming call and it took her a moment to identify the sound—she no longer carried her phone around with her every minute of the day. It was in the bedroom on the bureau. Her best friends were with her so she wondered if it was another Wyatt misdial. Her friends had just started packing to head back home.

The caller was Judd Tamaris, Erin’s former boss and lawyer. She closed the door to the master bedroom to listen and ask a few questions. Then she came back to the kitchen. Kate and Sharon were sitting at the table.

“Where are the kids?” she asked.

“Outside,” Kate said. “Getting in the way while Phil, John and Owen load the luggage in the van. Hey, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Something has happened. That was Judd Tamaris, the lawyer who handled Erin’s will and the custody order. It seems Erin’s mother has contested the guardianship. They were unsuccessful in serving me a subpoena because I’m not at home so they contacted Erin’s attorney.”

“Now what?” Kate asked.

“He knows we’re in Colorado for the summer but I’d come back if he needs me to. He said he’s been in touch with my lawyer and they’re going to try to handle it without going to court. He wouldn’t give up my address without a court order and told me to stay put. He’ll call back tomorrow.”

“On just what the hell grounds does she contest it?” Sharon asked.

“She’s Noah’s only family,” Hannah said. “Oh God, she can’t take him away from me, can she?”

“What does the lawyer say?”

“He says there’s nothing irregular about Erin’s wishes. He’s well aware of the family situation. I don’t know where Erin’s half brother is but Erin said that he often went home to his mother and despite his issues, she’d take him in. This isn’t good.”

“Hannah, there’s a trust, isn’t there?” Kate asked.

She nodded. “Her insurance money, her vested retirement fund and eventually the proceeds from the sale of her house. It’s a tidy sum, but stretched out over his lifetime, college and other expenses, it’s not a fortune. Just the other day I was asking myself, what if he wants to go to medical school or law school? Of course I don’t care about any of that. I don’t plan to touch a cent until we know where we stand with school and our future. And I’m not the only person named in the will, as you know. Should anything happen to me, Sharon is next in line, then you. Probably that order because you already have five kids with your stepchildren.”

“Since the Addisons had no relationship with Erin or Noah, I have to believe that’s some of the incentive,” Kate said. “Her stories of her home life were so sad. That brother of hers is the devil.”

“What should I do?” Hannah asked.

“Stay calm,” Kate said. “Get the facts. For God’s sake, don’t take any calls from the Addisons...”

“I don’t know that they have my number. Erin’s been gone a few months. Have any of you heard from Victoria Addison?”

“Not me,” Sharon said.

“Not me,” Kate said. “It was Linda, the babysitter, who called Victoria. She showed no interest. It was Linda who told Victoria that Erin had chosen a guardian for Noah and Linda was keeping Noah until we three got to Madison.”

“I didn’t think she cared,” Hannah said.

“I smell a rat,” Kate said.

Great works are performed not by

strength but by perseverance.

—Samuel Johnson

8

After a long talk with Owen and another conversation with Judd, Hannah made an appointment to see Cal Jones. She brought her leather folder with all the legal paperwork she’d acquired from Judd. Right after Erin was laid to rest, Judd had expedited the process of Hannah’s legal guardianship through family court in Madison so there would be no interruption in Noah’s care and he wouldn’t suffer through any kind of fostering environment.

“Can you tell me how this guardianship came about?” Cal asked. “When did you and your friend decide you would be Noah’s legal guardian?”

“We talked about it back in college when we were only girls. But then it was only girlfriend talk, fantasy talk—we promised that if we had children, we’d take care of each other’s in such an emergency. We vowed to be better mothers than our mothers were. It was amazing how alike our upbringings were—we both had mothers who clearly preferred their younger children and often treated us like we didn’t matter, didn’t belong. They didn’t beat us or anything, they were just emotionally unavailable to us. My half sisters got braces and tuition while I had to work my way through school. Erin’s mother was constantly standing up for her son, Erin’s half brother, even when he was at his worst. It’s no wonder that Erin decided to have a child alone. When she asked me in earnest, of course I didn’t hesitate. But who ever thinks something like this will come to pass? Erin was very specific in her will and even wrote a letter to the court to accompany her legal documents, explaining in detail why she wanted Noah taken care of by me and not her mother or half brother. I have copies of everything. I believe it’s there, in that folder,” she said, pointing to the letter. “She also specified alternative options if I predeceased her or if for some other reason I couldn’t take him, like if I was sick. We have two other best friends listed as cosponsors and alternate guardians. We’ve been very close for seventeen years.”

“And her family was abusive?”

She nodded. “Her father left them. Her mother remarried and had a son. She separated from that husband years and years ago, and he died before Erin and I met in college. Roger, her stepbrother, has been in trouble since he could walk. He used to beat up on Erin. He’s been in prison. Erin said her mother could have paid for a Harvard education on the amount of money she’s spent funding his drug treatment and bail. Victoria didn’t even come to Erin’s funeral. And Victoria is contesting my guardianship, though she has yet to ask about Noah.”

“She’s not exactly contesting,” Cal said. “I guess it could be interpreted that way—she’s asserting grandparents’ rights. She would like custody. She’s asking for regular visitation at the least. She has an uphill battle on both—the court documents are filed in Madison, where Erin and Noah lived. Mrs. Addison filed her legal paperwork in Minneapolis and at the moment you and the child named are in Colorado. An interesting triad.”

Hannah scooted forward in her chair. “Do I have to take him back to Minneapolis?”

Cal shook his head. “You’re his legal guardian. You don’t need permission to travel or vacation with him.”

“Can I get some kind of restraining order? At least preventing Roger from getting close?”

Again, Cal shook his head. “He might have a history of abuse but he hasn’t abused or threatened you or Noah. You can’t just sign out a restraining order because you don’t like someone or because you’ve heard bad things about them. That being said, I plan to look into his history with the law and find out what I can. If he’s a dangerous felon, we need to know.”