“Be careful,” Lily said, holding back tears as she gripped Rose. “I just don't want you to get hurt, honey.”

“Okay, Mom. I'll be careful,” Rose said looking surprised. “I'm fine.”

“She's fine,” Liam said, steadying them both.

Lily nodded, but he just didn't know. He didn't know that none of them was fine, that everything had changed. The fog seemed so soft, and it drained color from the landscape. The water was silver, the rocks were gray, the weathered cottage was silvery brown, the roses seemed bleached of life. Nothing felt familiar, nothing at all.

It was a different world.

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

They had the subpoena out on the kitchen table, taking turns reading it. Only Lily couldn't pick it up again. She knew that no amount of staring at it would make it go away.

Clara had invited Rose over for a tea party, which was really just an excuse to get her out of the house while Lily, Liam, and Maeve tried to figure out what to do. Fog had settled on the landscape, contributing to the uneasy feeling inside.

“He's going to try to take her away from me,” Lily said.

“That will never happen,” Liam said.

“This is all my fault,” Maeve said. “If only I hadn't gotten sick . . .”

“Oh, Granny,” Lily said.

“You shouldn't have come home,” Maeve said. “Darling, why don't you just leave? Just take Rose and go back to Canada. Hide her even deeper than before.”

“We couldn't leave you,” Liam said.

Lily felt stunned by how quickly a feeling of well-being could evaporate. Even knowing that Edward knew she was back, she'd been lulled into a sense of safety. Being home with her grandmother, reuniting with her friends, getting even closer to Liam and seeing how much he loved it here, saying yes to his proposal, all had given Lily a feeling of her own power.

But now Edward was going to enlist the courts to help him play his games. Lily remembered seeing him with children when they were married. Bay's kids were little, and they would often run up from the beach, to ask if they could play on the rocks. Sometimes Lily and Edward would be visiting from Hawthorne, and Lily had loved their visits.

She'd get bread for them to feed the swans, drop-lines so they could go crabbing, fishing poles so they could see what was biting. There were two girls and a boy, and Lily had imagined what it would be like when she and Edward had their family. How many children would they have? Would they love the beach and the sea, like Lily? Or the mountains and the woods, like Edward?

She had expected Edward to join in. Bay's kids were adorable, bright, and funny. They loved to joke and laugh, and they weren't the least bit squeamish about seaweed, crabs, or bait. But Edward would never even talk to them.