“We're going to make sure he doesn't hurt you,” Tara said. “We'll take turns staying with you, or standing watch over you. He's not going to hurt you again.”

“I'm sure Danny and Joe will want to help, too,” Bay said of their husbands.

“You don't have to do this,” Lily said, but inside she felt relieved.

“He's left a lot of wreckage,” Tara said, her eyes dark and flashing.

Lily nodded. “Yes, he has. When I was in Cape Hawk, I met someone who knows him as well as I do. His next wife. The woman he was with after me.”

“You've met her?” Tara asked. “You're kidding. How?”

“Ironically, Edward gave us a road map to each other,” Lily said. “Without even knowing. She called him Ted, but everything else was the same. We connected right away.”

“I'm glad you weren't all alone,” Bay said. “That you had a friend.”

“Cape Hawk is wonderful,” Lily said. “I missed you both so much, and I dreamed of Hubbard's Point. But there are so many strong, wise women up there, and Marisa and I were really lucky to find them.”

Her throat caught as she gazed out the side window, at the pink roses brushing the screen, and the wide blue Sound beyond. Seagulls wheeled and cried, and something silver splashed at the surface. Lily thought of the whales of Cape Hawk, and the miracle of Nanny swimming so far south this summer. She remembered Rose's ninth birthday party, on one of Liam's family's whale-watch boats, just weeks earlier.

There had been so much love present that day. Rose had been surrounded by all her friends and Lily by all of hers. The Nanouks had gathered together, mothers and daughters, to celebrate Rose's birthday before her big surgery. Marisa had confided things she had never before told anyone. Lily had hugged her close, reassuring her that life got better.

Lily thought of Marisa now. They had both gotten away from the same dangerous man. Lily wondered whether Marisa would stay in touch with Patrick. There had been an obvious spark between them. Lily had thought she was too scarred to love again, but Liam had helped her to know that it wasn't true. She wished that for Marisa too.

A car backfired in the turnaround, and Lily jumped. The scent of roses filled the air. She had told Marisa that life got better, but what if it didn't? Lily wondered where Edward was now, whether he was watching, when he planned to reenter her life. As if sensing her unease, Bay took her hand.

“Everything will be fine,” she said.

“Edward is a patient man,” Lily whispered again.

“Then we'll wait him out,” Tara said.

Lily heard the kitchen clock ticking, and hoped that her friends would be with her when he finally came.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6