“I’m pretty sure the neighbors helped Bill out. Angie or Seraphina would come out here a couple of times a week to see if Bill needed anything. Roxanne had dinner with him at least once a week and I tried to make sure someone could drive him to his appointments.”

“So he wasn’t all alone?” she asked, her voice turning wistful. “I wondered how hard it was for him to have his kids and his wife gone. I wondered how it felt to be the last one of his family. I know his kids weren’t dead, but I don’t think they called or spent much time with him.”

“I think it was like a lot of families, especially ones from around here. The boys grew up and left town. They married and now they’re caught up in their own families. Between the miles and responsibilities, they didn’t get down here much. I think Bill spent Christmas with his oldest last year. Don’t think too unkindly of them. It can be hard to have so much distance.”

“I can think a lot of things about those kids. Men. They’re men now. And fathers,” she said with a frustrated sigh. “They should know better. That was one of the hardest parts of my job, having to tell a patient no one is coming for them.”

Peanut finally gave up, seeming to understand that pitiful doggy eyes weren’t going to move the new girl. He walked through the kitchen, sniffing and reacquainting himself with the home he’d always known. Lila moved to the table and sank down into the chair closest to him.

“You won’t have that problem here.” There were some good things about living in a small town. “If you have a patient who needs something, all you have to do is call me. I’ll make arrangements. Someone will be up there.”

“Because you’re a family?”

“We misfits have to stick together,” he said. “Are you feeling better now? More settled?”

She nodded. “I’m fine. Like I said, this is not who I normally am. Normally I would have gotten a baseball bat and charged in. I’m more used to being angry than afraid, but since . . .”

She trailed off and her whole body tightened up again.