“We could,” Liam said. “But I have an old friend at the University of Rhode Island. Graduate school of oceanography. He has a place near Scarborough Beach, on Narragansett Bay. He'd let us stay with him. It's not that far away.”

“Rose has never been away from me,” Lily said, feeling her heart tighten. “Except for going to the hospital.”

“You'd be doing it for her,” Liam said. “To keep her away from Edward, until you know what to expect.”

“She'd love being with you,” Lily murmured. Rose loved Liam with everything she had. For her ninth birthday, barely a month ago, she had wished for two things: to see Nanny, the legendary white whale of Cape Hawk, and to have a real father like Liam. “How much should I tell Rose?”

“However much you think she can handle.”

How could Lily begin to know what that was? Rose had just come through open-heart surgery. She was healing from what was supposed to be the final operation necessary to correct the last of the multiple heart defects—Tetralogy of Fallot—she'd been born with.

“I don't know,” she said. “She'll have so many questions.”

“It's going to work out, Lily,” Liam said.

“You've made big promises to me before,” Lily said, smiling. None bigger than the fact that he would always be there, never desert Rose—the heart-stricken baby he had brought into this world.

“And they've come true, right?”

“So far,” she said, turning to tilt her head back, kissing him long and hard, feeling her blood tingle as it moved through her body. Every touch of Liam's was a promise, with the energy of magic. Outside, the waves hit the rocks, and leaves rustled in the breeze. Lily shivered, wanting more of everything.

“So the answer is yes?” Liam asked.

Lily closed her eyes, unable to speak. Everything had been happening so fast—from hearing about Maeve, to deciding to come out of hiding, to driving down from Nova Scotia.

“You don't have to decide right now,” he said. “You need some sleep, Lily. You'll know what to do in the morning.”

“Once the sun comes up,” Lily said, “Clara will see your truck. She'll come over to investigate. If she sees you and Rose, there'll be no keeping it secret. Not that she means any harm—in fact, I can't wait to see her.”

“I know,” Liam said. “You're thinking it would be unfair to ask her to go along with something she might not understand. Let's go to bed—we have until dawn to decide.”

“In just a few hours,” Lily said.

Holding hands, they went upstairs again. Lily still hadn't turned on a light. She still hadn't let herself take that extra step. It didn't matter—she knew every inch of this house in the dark. Every draft, every creaky board, every piece of furniture. Her grandmother hadn't changed anything since Lily had left.