Kate smiled and wiped away tears as she reread Buddy’s letter. She opened the smaller envelope to find a check for two hundred thousand dollars.

Chapter 38

Clare marked the one-year anniversary of her recovery in late April by spending a quiet morning at home in Rhode Island. All things considered, it had been an interesting year—she’d gone from being bedridden to reclaiming her life. She had been married, divorced, and then almost engaged.

She hurt whenever she thought of Aidan and what might’ve been. Her brother was thrilled with the work Aidan had done to the Stowe house. He’d moved on to other clients, but not a day had gone by in the two months since she last saw him that she hadn’t thought of him and their time together. In truth, she longed for him. But because they wanted different things out of life, Clare believed they’d done the right thing by breaking up. Every so often, though, she’d catch a whiff of sawdust or experience vivid memories of making love with him. In those moments, she knew her heart was truly broken.

She checked her watch. The social worker from Child Services was due any minute. This was it. She would find out today if she’d been approved to adopt, and her heart skipped with excitement when she thought about finally meeting the child they had in mind for her. He was a biracial two-year-old with a drug-addicted mother who’d signed away her rights to him. As soon as Clare cleared all the hurdles with the state, he would be hers. She had fantasized about bringing him home for weeks and had a bedroom all ready for him. The girls had been supportive of her decision to adopt but were puzzled about what’d happened between her and Aidan. However, they respected her wishes by not pushing her to talk about it.

The doorbell rang. Clare took a deep breath to calm her nerves and went to open the door to Janice Nunes.

She followed Clare into the family room.

Janice’s usual smile was missing today, and Clare felt a sinking sensation. “It’s not good, is it?”

“I’m so sorry, Clare. I’ve fought so many battles over this application, I’ll be surprised if I still have a job when it’s done.”

“Why did they say no?” Determined not to cry, Clare bit her lip.

Janice sighed. “Well, I warned you at the outset that your medical history would be an issue.”

“But you have my file from Dr. Langston and Dr. Baker. They told you I’m fine now.”

“Yes, and I went over my boss’s head to take it to the director, but neither of them can get past your history. It’d be different if you were married. We’d be able to make a case that should you fall ill again, the child would have another custodial parent.”