How was it possible he didn’t live here anymore? Or that he’d shared this home, even temporarily, with another woman? How could he have married her? How did this happen? All the emotions she’d managed to keep at bay during the long months in the hospital surged to the surface. Her chest tightened, and she knew she was going to cry in front of the girls if she didn’t escape immediately.

Clare stood, and Maggie jumped up to get her crutches. “Thank you for the lovely dinner. Would you please excuse me?” She hobbled into the study and closed the door.

Maggie turned to her grandmother. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I think she’s just overwhelmed, honey.” Anna reached out to pat her granddaughter’s hand. “She’s got to get used to a lot of changes in her life.”

The phone rang, and Kate got up to answer it.

“Hi, Dad.” Kate glanced over at the others. “Yes, she’s home. It all went fine.” She held the phone to the side with her hand over the mouthpiece. “He wants to talk to Mom. Should I get her?”

“Let me.” Anna took the cordless phone from Kate. “Why don’t you girls start cleaning up?” She walked into the family room. “Hi, Jack. It’s Anna.”

“Hi, Anna. Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s fine, but I don’t think Clare’s up to chatting right now. Can I have her give you a call in a day or two?”

“Sure. I just wanted to make sure she has everything she needs. I could come by—”

Through the phone, Anna could hear a baby crying. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. She needs some time to get used to the way things are now, and having you here…”

“That’s fine, I understand.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You’re right. I’ll stay away for a while. I’m glad she has you and the girls to lean on right now.”

“We’ll take good care of her. Don’t worry. It was good of you to call.”

“It’s good of you to still be so nice to me.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s just this whole thing, it’s so…well…I guess messy is the best word I can think of.”

“It’s bound to be for a while, but it’ll get better when you’ve all had some time to adjust. In the meantime, let her call the shots for now, okay?”

“Of course. Please let her know I called.”

“I will. By the way, congratulations to you and Andi. I hear you have two beautiful baby boys.”

“Thank you. I’m sure you can hear them raising a ruckus.”

“You’d better go. Take care of yourself, Jack.”

“Bye, Anna.”