Sam got up and went to her, putting her arms around her sister while she cried it out. “I don’t know the answers to any of those questions, but I do know you, and I have faith you’re going to find a way through this.”

“How?”

“One day and one minute at a time.”

“I don’t want to do it without him, even if I’m angry with him right now.”

“The anger will pass, and you’ll remember the good times.”

“I don’t know if I will. The bad times have been pretty terrible, and now this with Jack…”

“You will remember the good. There was so much good, Ang. Anyone could see how happy you guys were together.”

“That’s what I’ll remember,” Nick said. “How much he loved you and how cute you guys were, always holding hands and laughing at your inside jokes. I’ll remember the way Spencer was so creative in the games he made up for him and Jack to play. I’ll remember how he went weak in the knees over his little girl and how excited he was for the baby. I’ll remember how hard he worked so you could be home with the kids and how he supported your daycare business by taking time off to cover you when you had an appointment. I’ll remember lots of family dinners, weekends and holidays together. I’ll remember the good times.”

Both Angela and Sam were mopping up tears by the time he was finished.

“And you should, too,” Nick said. “The struggles of the last year shouldn’t summarize who he was. He was so much more than that to all of us. When he asked what he did of Jack, he wasn’t himself. The Spencer I knew never would’ve asked such a thing of his little boy.”

“You’re right,” Angela said softly. “He wouldn’t have. Thank you for that, Nick. I needed to hear it.”

“Spencer was a good guy, Angela,” Nick said. “A very good guy, who loved his wife and kids more than anything in this world. No matter what else happened or what else we learn about how it happened, that’s the thing you must hold on to.”

“I’m trying but thank you for the reminder.”

“Let’s get some ice cream and spend some time with the kids,” Sam suggested.

“That sounds good,” Angela said as she got up to help clear the table.

“Well done, my love,” Sam whispered to Nick. “Very well done.”

Chapter Nine

Much later, Sam snuggled up to Nick in bed and let him wrap her in his love. Tomorrow would be another difficult day, but for now, she could forget all that and wallow in the comfort only he could provide. And that, of course, made her feel guilty, because who would comfort Angela the way Spencer once had?

“When are you going to tell me what happened in the hallway earlier?”

Knowing it was pointless to try to keep anything from him, she said, “A little baby pang seeing you holding Ella.”