Inevitably, servants became impossible to find. Hermione had left to get married and returned after her children were grown, to be Ruby’s dear friend and companion. The island caretakers were instructed to care for them. First Olof, then Jamie Conkle, provided them with meals and services.

And that was why I saw Jamie in the mansion. Even after we arrived, she continued to try to care for Ruby.

When Hermione died, her family gave Ruby permission to bury her in the Morgade family plot, and Ruby’s life went on as before, albeit lonelier. It was only when Olympia arrived that the system got fouled up.

“So the Di Lucas knew you were here?” Max asked.

Ruby hesitated. “Perhaps one or two of them. The older ones. I think, for the most part, I was forgotten.”

Max shot a look at Kellen that promised trouble for someone.

After Ruby finished her story, Max left to talk to the construction crew. They told him they had been speaking with Ruby. On her death, she wanted the house torn down and all trace of the past erased. She said the ghosts needed to be laid to rest…which made us wonder if Olympia had been crazy after all.

We flew out the next afternoon. Rae offered to leave Luna behind as Ruby’s companion and assistance dog, and Ruby gratefully accepted. She promised not to keep Luna too long; only as much time as it took Luna to heal from her injuries. Ruby said a girl and her dog should be together, and we left them resting on the bed.

After we were away from the island, I asked Rae what Ruby had whispered in her ear. Rae said, “She told me when I wanted to confront you with a grievance, I should do it without an audience, and she told me to think about how I’d feel if you yelled at me in front of my friends.”

Ruby made it so easy for Max and me to be parents to Rae.

The Di Luca family gave Isla Paraíso to the state of California to be used as a wildlife refuge and funded all future research conducted there by UC San Diego. I knew we wouldn’t be visiting again, yet Max, Rae and I would never forget our time there, the bad and the good, the horrors and the glories. There we had become a family.

Back at Yearning Sands Resort, Rae rejoined her friends, went to her camps, got a new phone, declared her life was complete, and on being told in September that Max and I were going to Italy on our honeymoon, threw a massive adolescent tantrum which ended with her being grounded from her friends, her camp and her phone.

As Max said, “I hardly feel like a grown-up. I’ve got this kid, and I don’t know the right way to parent.”

Me, too, sweetheart. Me, too.