Hope wanted to tell Paul he didn’t have to take him if he was too tired, but before she could get the words out, they were headed to the front door with Ethan still over Paul’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes and laughing all the way. It did funny things to her insides to see Paul with her son, to know that Ethan was completely infatuated with him. But that also scared her. Was it safe to allow Ethan to become attached to Paul, Alex, Jenny and Marion?

If the doctors on the mainland recommended in-patient care for Marion, where would that leave her? Out of a job and out of a home, too. Her stomach ached at the thought of starting over—again. They were so happy here on Gansett, which felt like home after only a couple of months. Ethan was happily settled in his new school and making friends who didn’t know about their painful past.

It would be awful to have to leave this island that had begun to feel like home, not to mention the family that she, too, had become attached to. Paul, Alex and Jenny were more than just her employers. They were new friends, too, the first new friends she’d made in years, as were David, Daisy, Erin, Jared and Lizzie, among others.

David stuck his head in the front door. “We need to run, Hope.”

She shook off the melancholy and got up to see to Marion. On the porch, Daisy was hugging Marion. Thank goodness for Daisy, who brightened Marion’s days with her sunny disposition and ability to roll with whatever Marion tossed her way. They all looked forward to Daisy’s daily visits as a respite in the storm of Marion’s illness.

“Thanks again for coming by, Daisy—and David,” Hope said.

“We enjoy our time with Marion,” Daisy said.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Marion asked.

“Yes, you will.” Except for their recent week off island, Daisy never missed a day with Marion, not since the day Marion turned up, barefoot and confused, on Daisy’s front porch in town. The incident had led to Hope’s hiring, and she was careful to keep a close eye on Marion, knowing her penchant for wandering.

Hope and Marion waved to David and Daisy as they drove off.

“Such a nice girl,” Marion said with a sigh. Then she looked over at Hope, her smile fading. “Who are you?”

“I’m Hope, and I’m here to help you.”

Marion sniffed with indignation. “I don’t need your help, so you can just go back to wherever you came from.” She got up and went inside, letting the screen door slam the same way Ethan had. Hope was about to get up to go after her when Paul came around the corner from the fields with Ethan on his shoulders. Her little boy was laughing hysterically.