“Better still,” Sasha returned. “Also, I already stopped at the pet store this morning for cat supplies. Food, litter, a litter box. Even some toys. So once we get your suitcases, we can go straight to my place, where you can rest.” With that, she stalked off toward the baggage carousel, handling the cats as if they weighed nothing.

“Wow,” Farrah said with clear admiration. “I’m impressed. It took me years to bulldoze you like that and she figured it out in a few weeks. Are they all like that?”

Mercy sighed. “Yes. They have a large family.” A big, noisy, pushy, boisterous family who loved each other so much. Who loved Gideon so much. “There are eight kids, and Mrs. Sokolov is as big a force of nature as Mama Ro.”

Irina Sokolov had also bulldozed her way through Mercy’s defenses, mothering Mercy as if she’d been another Sokolov. Mercy had balked at first, preferring solitude as she’d sat by Rafe’s hospital bed, but Irina hadn’t allowed it. They’d developed a natural rapport and by the end of her visit, Mercy had grown fond of the older woman, missing her counsel when she’d fled back to New Orleans. It will be good to see her again.

“And Sasha’s brother?” Farrah asked slyly. “Is he a force of nature?”

Ignoring Farrah’s innuendo, Mercy honestly considered the question. “No. There’s a . . . a quietness with Rafe that the rest of the family doesn’t seem to possess.” At first she’d thought it was because he’d been injured and was in pain, but she’d quickly learned that his quiet ran deep, but that he hid it from his family and she’d never asked why. She wasn’t sure if she’d wanted to know, because knowing would foster the closeness that Rafe had wanted, but that had scared her to death. “Or at least I didn’t see it in the two weeks I was here.”

“I cannot wait to meet him,” Farrah said. “I’ll help Sasha find our bags. Why don’t you go to the ladies’ room to freshen up? It’ll be quieter there. We’ll wait for you by the door over there.”

Mercy nodded, grateful. “I will. Thank you.” She paused a moment, though, watching Farrah and Sasha getting to know each other by the baggage carousel. Farrah said something that made Sasha throw back her head and laugh and in that moment, she looked so much like her brother that Mercy’s heart hurt.

Rafe had laughed like that. Not often—he’d been in too much pain—but once or twice she’d say something wry and his laugh would boom out, joyful and happy. He’d been golden in those moments. Beautiful. Untouchable by someone like me.

And then that last time, the last day she’d been there, he’d sobered, staring at her as if he’d never seen her before. Stay, he’d murmured. Let’s see where this goes. Please. And then he’d kissed her, shattering everything she’d thought she’d known about who she was and what she wanted.