His eyes narrowed on the distant horizon, but Tiffany suspected he wasn’t watching the jogger and the black Lab running along the sidewalk, or that he noticed a van full of kids and a harried mother drive by. No, his mind was turned inward and he was focused on his own vision, his private viewpoint. “Philip wasn’t a saint, you know.”

“And you are?” She plucked a dying rose from its thorny stem and an angry bumblebee, buzzing indignantly flew out of the petals as they dropped to the ground.

J.D.’s laugh was without a drop of mirth. “A saint? Far from it.”

“What is it they say about casting stones?” She twisted another dying bloom from the nearest rosebush, then decided to wait until she’d located her gardening shears to finish the task. “I know Philip gambled, Jay.” She squinted up at him as the late-afternoon sun was still bright, the day hazy and hot. Perspiration began to collect on her scalp. “And I realize that he cheated on his first wife.” Her brother-in-law’s eyes registered surprise. “He told me about sneaking around on Karen when Robert and Thea were still toddlers,” she admitted. “Granted, he didn’t confess until after we were married, but still, he told me.”

“Maybe he thought it would be better coming from him rather than hearing it from a stranger.”

“Well, he was right. As far as I know, he never betrayed me, and even if he did, what good would it do now to know about it?” she asked, searching his face for any kind of clue as to what he was trying to say. She’d known Philip’s flaws as well as anyone. “The fact of the matter is that he died saving Christina’s life.”

“So he is a saint.”

“Just a good man. With his share of faults.”

J.D., if he was going to argue, didn’t get the chance because at that moment Christina finally caught the bug she’d been chasing and let out a horrified squeal. Brown stain covered her fingers. “He’s bleeding on me.” She dropped the grasshopper as if it had bitten her.

“It’s just his spit,” J.D. said with a laugh.

“Spit?” Christina was horrified.

“We used to call it tobacco juice,” Tiffany said, hauling her daughter into her arms.

“It’s icky!” Tears rolled down her eyes.

“Come on, let’s clean you up, then get something to eat.”