Paul wanted to ask if he could see her later, but there was no way to do that in front of everyone. So he let her go. For now. As soon as the coast was clear, he’d seek her out to continue what they’d begun at the Cape. The thought of being with her later was the only bright spot in this otherwise dismal day.

Hope went through the motions with Ethan—homework, dinner, bath, bedtime stories, tickling, snuggling. After two nights apart, he wanted the full program, and she was happy to give it to him. His joyful giggles were a balm on the wound of this day.

Inside, however, she was dying from the realization that their idyllic time on the island would come to an end as soon as Marion was moved to a permanent care facility on the mainland. Just when they’d found their groove and settled into a new routine, it would all be upended again.

And Paul… She couldn’t allow herself to even think about the incredible interlude they’d had at the Cape. Other than every minute she’d ever spent with Ethan, it had been the most perfect time of her life.

“Are you sad, Mama?” Ethan asked, stroking her face.

He called her Mama only when he was sad or tired. Otherwise, she was Mom in the loudest voice he possessed.

“I’m just tired, honey, and so are you.” She kissed his forehead. “Time for lights out.”

“One more story.”

“No more stories. It’s a school night.”

“All right,” he grumbled, but his heavy eyes told the true story of how tired he was.

Leaving him with one last kiss, she turned on the night-light and left the door propped open so she could hear him if he needed her. She went into the kitchen to tend to the dishes and was halfway through them when the tears reappeared. The last thing she wanted to do was leave this wonderful place or the Martinez family, who’d begun to feel like family to her and to Ethan. He’d be heartbroken. But the fact was, she needed a job. After a costly divorce, she no longer had a cushion to tide her over between jobs. She’d managed to save some money since this job came with a free place for her and Ethan to live, but her small nest egg wouldn’t last for long if she was out of work.

Sighing, she reached for a bottle of wine on the counter and poured herself a healthy glass, feeling guilty for letting her own worries get the better of her when Paul and Alex had much bigger ones weighing them down tonight. She wouldn’t soon forget the utter devastation that had overtaken Paul in the doctor’s office. He was always so strong and capable. To see him in such a state of shock had been upsetting.