Sam kissed her cheek and put her down, undone by the little girl’s concern for her sister. “How’s it going, E?” she asked her nine-year-old nephew.

He never took his eyes off the TV when he said, “Fine.”

Sam sat next to Scotty, hooked her arm around his neck and brought him down for a kiss on his forehead. “Hi, buddy.”

“Hey. How’s Brooke?”

“She’s hanging in there. How are you?”

“Good. We’re having fun.”

“I’ve got some work people coming over shortly for a meeting. Do you want to sleep at home or stay here?”

“I’ll stay here. These guys will fight if I’m not here to referee. Celia said she needs me to keep things under control.”

Sam held back a laugh as she looked up to catch Nick doing the same. “Where are they anyway?”

“She’s helping Grandpa Skip get ready for bed.”

Sam kissed him again and ruffled his hair, earning a playful scowl from him. “I’ll let you watch your movie, and we’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

“Do you have to work tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but I hope I can wrap things up before turkey day.”

“I hope so too. I want you to come to my game on Friday.”

“I wouldn’t miss it unless I absolutely had to.”

“I know.”

“Love you. Sleep tight.”

“Love you too.”

Sam reached across him to give Ethan a poke in the ribs that made him giggle.

“Knock it off, Sam.”

“Make me.”

“Hey!” Scotty said. “How did I get in the middle of this?”

Ethan reached across Scotty to get at Sam, who dodged him with dexterity she shouldn’t have had after more than twenty-four hours with hardly any sleep. Relieved that she’d made Ethan laugh, she escaped to the kitchen to wait for a chance to speak with Celia.

“Grab a beer if you want one,” Sam said. “I’ll take a water.”

Nick opened the fridge and got the beverages.

Celia came in a few minutes later and lit up at the sight of them. “Hi, guys.” She hugged and kissed them both. “How’re things?”

“The same at the hospital, but we’re making some headway in figuring out how she ended up there.”

“It’s all so upsetting. Your father is beside himself.”

“Is he still awake?”

“He is, and I’m sure he’d love to see you.”

Sam wished she could be so certain, but she steeled herself nonetheless and went into the bedroom in what used to be the dining room. At night he was hooked to a respirator that helped him breathe when he was lying down.

The look he gave her let her know he was still angry with her. He got an awful lot accomplished with those steely blue eyes.

“I shouldn’t have said what I did about the Fitzgerald case. It was a low blow.”

“Yes, it was.”