“No matter where I am, I’m always available to you,” Clare said. “I know we have so much time to make up for, and I hate that I feel this need to flee for a while, but I can’t deny that I do feel it.”

“So I’ll live with Dad?” Maggie asked.

“Yes, and he’s thrilled to know he’ll have you to himself for a while,” Clare said with a smile. “He said they need your help with the babies.”

Maggie nodded gravely. “They do need me. Those babies are a handful.”

“You’ll have a great time being there, and we’ll have fun whenever you come up for weekends,” Clare said, and Maggie seemed satisfied. “What about you, Jill? Will you come up?”

Jill shrugged. “Sure. If that’s where you’ll be, I’ll come see you and bring Maggie. It sure is better than where you were for the last three years.”

Clare’s eyes filled. “Anywhere’s better than that.” She reached out to hug them. “I love you all so much. I know I’ve already put you through such a terrible ordeal, and I’m asking a lot of you.”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Kate said. “We want you to feel better again.”

“I’ll fly you up for the weekend whenever you want to come,” Clare said, brushing a hand over Kate’s soft blonde hair.

“When are you going?” Maggie asked.

“Next week. Right after Kate leaves for Nashville.”

“Speaking of that,” Kate said. “Dad and Andi are having a birthday-slash-going-away party for me the night before my birthday. I hope you’ll come. He’s going to call you about it.”

Clare’s stomach clenched with anxiety. “I don’t know, sweetie. I’m not sure I’m up for that.”

“You have to come, Mom,” Kate pleaded. “I want you to come.”

Clare bit her thumbnail. “Let me think about it.”

Clare was awake half the night trying to imagine herself socializing with Jack and his new wife at their new home. She was sick just thinking about it, so she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually be there. But how could she say no to Kate when she’d missed so much with the girls?

“Ugh,” Clare groaned. At four thirty, she gave up on sleep and decided to get up. There was no point in trying to sleep when her head was spinning. As she walked out to the kitchen to make coffee, all she could think about was Kate’s face when she’d all but begged her to come to the party.

By the time the girls began appearing just before eleven, Clare had finished a pot of coffee, baked blueberry muffins, and cleaned the kitchen. The work had helped to occupy her mind.

“Morning,” Jill grumbled as she came into the kitchen in search of coffee.