I laughed incredulously. “Bradley! Bill didn’t even have anything to do with this. I’m so out of the game, I don’t even know if he’s investing in Capstone. No. I had nothing to do with this!” I instantly regretted saying how far out of the game I was. But, well, he knew that.

“I had to ask.” He paused. “Look, just keep me posted. Come up here, interview, meet the office staff.”

My eyes filled with hot tears of gratitude and stress and horror. Gratitude that he would help me. Stress that I might actually have to do this. And horror that I might have to live for years without Bill. On the bright side, I did know that, if he had to stay in jail, they would likely relocate him to New York if I moved. My stomach began to hurt. How was that the bright side?

“Thank you. Seriously. I’ll call you next week.”

“I’ll keep you updated if I hear anything between now and then.”

I hung up the phone as I pulled into the driveway. I wiped my eyes and took a deep breath. I had so much to process, so much to figure out. But for now, it was my week to do laundry. So I walked upstairs hoping to find my daughter. I wanted a big hug—and maybe a little help with the folding.

Alice A Button

My sister can make me absolutely crazy. In fact, I would say that she is the only person in all the world who has that specific effect on me. I love her. I do. I would walk through fire for her. And she gave me my favorite person in the world, my niece Julie. But she’s just so darn competitive with me. While I’d like to rise above, while I prepare myself to just freaking be the bigger person, Delia always finds a button. She always pushes it, leans on it until she cannot lean any harder.

So when she sauntered in the back door of my house and called, “Yoo-hoo! Al-ice!” my heart rose all the way into my throat. Because of all the things I hated, I hated surprises the very most. I’ve never liked them, not since I was a kid. And then the dead husbands didn’t help matters much. Delia knew that very, very well.

I was in the laundry room, folding clothes with Charlotte, who noticed my expression immediately. “Who is that?” she whispered.

I was frozen to my spot, powerless to move. “My sister,” I whispered.

“Oh, good?” Charlotte asked. Definitely a question.

“God, grant me the serenity,” I said out loud as I heard Brenna say tentatively, “Nana?”