“He’s not a bad man,” Patrick said. “I’ve seen much to admire in him. The two of you are very different, but people of good character can disagree and still be admirable.”

She nodded, knowing it was true, but a tangle of emotions still warred inside her. “It doesn’t seem fair. My parents suffered so much. I don’t understand why God put them through such suffering only to bring Willy back after they’re dead. It’s pointlessly cruel.”

Patrick’s face was carved with compassionate understanding. “I’ve had more time to come to terms with this than you,” he said. “What happened to your parents was a tragedy, but I think that sometimes the Lord sends us into the valley for a reason, even if we don’t understand why. Would your father have torn himself free of the bank and created the college were it not for the loss of his son? We’ll never know, but the Lord was with your father throughout all the sorrow and the pain. And good came out of it. Do you believe that, Mrs. K? Because I do. That’s the meaning of faith.”

Gwen bowed her head. The college wouldn’t have been formed but for what happened to Willy. Patrick’s mother and countless others had been saved because of the college, but what happened to her parents was still hard to accept.

And there were more challenges ahead. Liam was going to be trouble. Her father would have moved heaven and earth to bring William back into the fold of the family, but now it was her job, and it must begin tonight. She would give Liam the same welcome her father would have lavished on his long-lost son. It was the last gift she could give to the generous man who gave so much of himself to the world.

She reached for Patrick’s hand and kissed the back of it. Once again, he had come through for her in her moment of doubt. “I still think you would have been a good priest, Patrick.”

“It’s a good thing I’m not,” he said with a wink at her.

She swallowed hard and led the way back inside. Liam hadn’t moved from the wingback chair, and she took the seat opposite him. The fireplace hearth stretched between them, and Patrick sat on it, almost like a mediator between the two of them.

“Someone attacked you?” she asked, opening the awkward topic.

Liam nodded. “I think one of the Blackstones was behind it.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she snapped. “Our family spent a fortune looking for you. They wouldn’t do anything to harm you.”

Patrick set a calming hand on her knee. “I think it’s possible,” he said gently. “It seems to me your uncle and your grandfather both stand to lose a lot if William Blackstone shows up alive and well.”