“Let’s have a toast,” Katie insisted. She poured them each a healthy glass, sliced lemons and tossed them into the liquid, added a couple of plump strawberries for good measure, then plopped ice cubes into the drinks. “Here.” She handed them each a glass and touched the rim of hers to Bliss’s. “To the baby and his big sister.”

“No way. It’s gonna be a girl,” Dee Dee insisted.

“Okay. To the baby and her big sister,” Katie amended.

“What? Nothing for the mother?” Bliss stuck out her lower lip until she couldn’t help giggling.

“You get the best part. You get to be a mother,” Katie said, “and change diapers, get no sleep, worry yourself silly and ... I’m only kidding. It’s the most wonderful feeling in the world.”

“I’m already a mother,” Bliss said, cocking her head toward Dee Dee. “Well, kind of.”

The girl nodded enthusiastically and Katie was amazed at how quickly Mason’s daughter had taken to Bliss. But then, who wouldn’t? Bliss Lafferty was special. “Well, listen, I’m going to throw you the biggest, most lavish baby shower Bittersweet has ever seen!” She pointed a finger at Dee Dee’s small nose. “You can help me give it—you and Aunt Tiffany.”

“Can I really?”

“Really and truly.” Katie took a long swallow from her glass. “This is the best news I’ve had in weeks.”

“Speaking of which,” Bliss asked as Dee Dee discovered Blue, and dog and girl dashed out the back door. “Who was on the telephone?”

“Oh. That.” Katie’s good mood instantly shattered. “That was Ralph Sorenson.”

“Who?” Bliss’s features pulled together as she tried to remember the name and came up blank.

“Dave Sorenson’s father. You wouldn’t know him, they lived here only a little while.”

“Sorenson? Isn’t that the guy who owned the place Luke Gates bought? I drew those blueprints for him and it seems like I remember the name.”

“Small world, isn’t it? Anyway, Dave was Josh’s father. I just found out a week or so ago that ... that Dave’s gone.... I mean, he’s, uh, dead.” Her heart squeezed again at the horrid thought. “Died in a helicopter crash a few months back.”

“What?” Bliss eyed Katie as if she’d just sprouted horns. “Wait a minute. Slow down and start over. From the beginning.”

Fighting a losing battle with tears, Katie obliged and as she told her story, she felt as if a great weight, a burden, was slowly being lifted from her shoulders. For the first time in her life she understood the depth of a sister’s love, the special bond that exists between sisters in times of joy or sorrow. Who else would listen to her and empathize when she poured out her heart and unburdened her soul?