I’m proud of you. I don’t say it enough, but there it is.

The other day, I went in to discuss my will with Henry. He hit on me again. (Honestly! The man never tires of embarrassing me!) He told me how much money I would be able to leave you, and I nearly keeled over right there. The lesson here is to always open the mail your financial advisers send you—I could’ve done really good things if I’d realized how much money I had.

But now you get to do really good things with this money. And maybe that’s how it was always supposed to be.

What can I say? I love ya. I hope all of your dreams come true. Live well. Love well. And someday tell your kids about their crazy aunt Maggie.

You were one of my favorite things about being alive.

Mags

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

CODY LEFT NANTUCKET TWO DAYS AFTER MR. HOLBROOK gave him the check for his mother and the deed to Maggie’s house. He’d made arrangements to take some leave to “clear his head,” he told Duncan.

“You’ve been through a lot,” Duncan said. “Take your time.”

Cody turned to go, but something stopped him. “How hard would it be to put in for a transfer?”

Duncan frowned. “I thought you were liking it here.”

Cody shrugged. “I don’t think it’s right for me.”

“That’s too bad,” the master chief said. “They’re talking about promoting you. Everyone’s been really impressed with the job you’ve done here.”

Cody thought about the job he’d done. He thought about how he’d begun to treat the guys the way Louisa treated everyone she met. It had made a difference, and he’d made an impact. Leaving would be difficult for a lot of unexpected reasons.

“If they promoted me, where would you go?”

“They want me back in San Diego.” Duncan had family out there, and Cody knew it would be a good transfer for his friend.

Cody shook his head. “Nantucket is no good for me, Chief.” He stood opposite Duncan’s desk, unwilling to go into details but certain that the only way he’d ever move on—from Louisa, from her father’s confession, from the ghost of his own father—was to get off the island once and for all.

“Take your two weeks’ leave. Think it over.” He studied Cody for a long moment. “I’ll be hoping you reconsider.”

Now, as he boarded a plane from Boston to Chicago, he checked and double-checked to be certain the envelope for his mother was tucked safely inside his carry-on.

Two weeks. That meant he’d be off island for their golden birthday.

The pain of that realization was matched only by the knowledge that it was time to let Louisa go.