“Hey, you.” Jules wrapped Catie up in her arms, her presence warm and strong; she was one of Catie’s favorite people.

Jake, meanwhile, was hugging his younger brother and ruffling his hair.

“You guys on babysitting duty?” Catie asked after they drew apart.

“Was meant to be for a couple of hours, but we kidnapped the cutie for the airport run,” Jules said with a smile, wrapping one arm gently around Esme’s shoulders when Esme came to lean against the woman who was technically her stepmother but who’d embraced the role of mother wholeheartedly without ever trying to erase the young woman who’d been Jake’s first love. “Your sister and Sailor went to the prizegiving ceremony at Emmaline’s rugby club.”

“Oh, of course.” Catie’s niece was a phenomenal player. “She told me about it when we spoke on the phone the other day.”

Catie continued to hold on to Connor’s soft little hand as they went to the luggage carousel to pick up their checked bags. Connor held his beloved “Gooey” with the other—a soft and squishy cloth doll in rugby uniform that Alison had made and that was Connor’s constant companion and partner in crime.

Danny, of course, grabbed both their bags—while avoiding her gaze. She was sure Jake had figured out that something was up—why else would he have turned up to welcome them home when they could’ve easily caught a cab?

Oh, the Eseras were crafty when it came to looking after their own.

“I saw the social media posts from the play,” Jules said.

“How did we come across?” Catie took her laser eyes off Danny; she’d get him to herself sooner or later.

“Brilliant.” A sparkle in Jules’s eyes. “As if you’ve been dating forever.”

Catie’s cheeks threatened to burn. “We should get the Oscars for best acting, right?”

“Um-hmm.”

Catie wanted to squirm at Jules’s noncommittal response. Thank goodness they were turning to head out. Esme and Connor went on ahead, Esme keeping a big-cousin’s eye on little Connor. Catie recognized that protective look; she’d seen it often enough on Ísa’s face.

“Mum and Dad invited us all to dinner,” Jake said, coming up alongside his wife with Danny next to him and Catie on Jules’s side. “But they said they understand if you two are tired after the weekend.”

“It’d be great to see them,” Catie said, cutting Danny off before he could squirrel out of it; whatever was going on, he needed to be around his family, not hiding off in a hole somewhere.