Now it was like a reconstructed knee that ached when the weather changed. I knew it could flare up again at any minute when the conditions were right, but it consumed me only in rare moments. I had put myself back together years ago. Unfortunately, none of Alba had gotten the message that I was healed. They still treated me like I might dissolve into a puddle of tears at any moment.

“We know,” Mom said softly with a sad smile. “We just…worry.”

Thea’s lips pressed into a thin line, and she nodded. Sully had been her husband’s best friend, and Pat had struggled just as hard as I had.

But no one had suffered like Camden. I’d known with one look at the funeral that Cam had been irrevocably shattered by what happened to Sullivan.

“So his boots are in the bag?” I put us back on topic just to steer clear of the grief tsunami that threatened to overtake the room.

“Right. Yes. And a few other things he might need. Would you mind running them over? I’d really appreciate it. And I know you two don’t particularly get along, though you most certainly used to.”

Man, did she love to remind me that at one point I’d been attached to the Daniels boys at the hip. Especially Cam.

“I just…” She continued when I remained quiet. “I know he’s not mine, but if Lillian were here…” She shook her head, unable to continue.

“I’ll take it,” I agreed, knowing it would ease her and maybe myself, too. “If I hurry, I can be back by ten and get this finished.”

“Oh, I have to head to the studio!” Thea jolted as if she’d just noticed the time. “I have a class coming in at ten I need to get set up for.”

“Business is good?” Mom asked.

Starting up something new was always a risk in Alba. Sure, the season—the summer months—was a gushing waterfall of business, but the fall was slow and the winter downright dead before a trickle started back up in the spring. It was one reason the younger generations kept leaving.

“Not bad! We partnered with that little resort down in Mount Princeton, so they’ve been sending business our way. Today is a bridal party!” Thea finished in excitement.

Mom’s expression changed in a way that only I caught. It was a twinge of pain that she’d learned to camouflage quickly over the years, but it was there nonetheless.

In some ways, losing Sullivan had been harder on her than it had me. I’d lost the man I loved, the one I’d planned on spending my life with.