Her chest ached. For so long Libby had believed she was the aggrieved victim who’d suffered the most hurt. Now shame filled her at the many and spiteful ways she’d inflicted pain on Jess since March. She hugged her friend’s emaciated body and gave in to the tears she’d battled for weeks not to cry. This ovarian cancer, this silent killer, was stealing so much. Jess’s right to raise her child to adulthood. The chance for a little boy to remember his mother’s love. The opportunity for Libby and Jess to build a proper adult friendship … and a thousand other everyday yet momentous things.

“You’re Leo’s mother, Jess. You will always be his mother and we won’t ever deny you to him.” Libby swiped at her tears and snorted in a deep breath. “I’ve got a thousand good stories I’ll tell him.”

“There’s things I want to say to him too.”

Libby fished out her phone and opened the camera, sliding it to video. “Tell him.”

Jess grimaced. “I look like a corpse already. I want him to hear what I’m saying not be scarred for life.”

Libby understood. Jess had always taken the time to do her face and hair before stepping out the door. “What if Kathy comes and does your nails, hair and makeup?”

“She’s always booked a month in advance. I may not have that much time.”

“I’ll make it happen.”

“Pulling in those privileged doctor favors, are you?”

“Doing it for a friend.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

December

Alice was happy to be back working at Summerhouse. The routine of the last two weeks had changed now that Libby was taking leave to spend as much time as possible with Jess.

Alice was happy her sister had finally exorcised the fulminating rage that had consumed her for months, and she was extremely relieved to see the old Libby back, interacting with Leo with the same degree of care she’d lavished on him from birth to sixteen months. In the worst of situations, it was the best possible outcome for everyone, but knowing that didn’t prevent a seam of loss from opening inside Alice.

When Jess had asked Alice to raise Leo, she’d experienced one perfect moment—her chance to love and raise a child. It lasted a split second, before the real cost of such a decision had opened out in front of her, revealing its stark and uncompromising truth. Jess was the perfect example of the high price that came with taking something that wasn’t hers and losing everything. No matter how much Alice wanted a child, she wasn’t prepared to risk Leo’s wellbeing or the love of her family.

What about Dan?

Or Dan! Of course, Dan. That went without saying.