“Oh, never mind who caught it,” Captain Nick said. “The important thing is, it's still alive. We kept it alive, according to any regulation you want to name.”

“Why do you want to catch dolphins?” Lily asked, glaring at him.

“With all due respect,” he said, “that's not your business.”

“Come on, Lily,” Liam said, putting his arm around her, gathering Rose, heading toward the car. He was shaking inside, but he didn't want to show it. Lily had been through enough and now they were bringing Rose home. Liam would call John later—Jude and Patrick too. Something was going on, and he needed help to figure it out.

He took one last glance back at the bulletin board. The camera must have moved, because it was impossible to read the name of the boat just behind the netted dolphin. But Liam would know the boat anywhere, because he recognized the grinning skipper.

The ship was the Mar IV.

“Did you see that?” Lily whispered.

“Gerard Lafarge,” Liam said.

And in spite of what Captain Nick had said, the dolphin was dead.

Getting out of the car at Hubbard's Point, Liam knew they were home. The three of them stood there holding each other for the longest time. He couldn't let go of Lily, and she couldn't let go of him. Her eyes were as blue as the summer bay. He kissed her, hardly able to believe they were together again.

They broke apart, and Liam saw people coming from around the house. Lily had asked her friends to be there. She grabbed his arm, making introductions: Bay McCabe and Dan Connolly and Tara O'Toole and Joe Holmes, two of Lily's oldest childhood friends and their husbands and children. Liam shook hands with everyone. He couldn't quite get over how normal it all seemed, after the long days and nights of their enforced separation, and then the shock of that strange roadside shop.

Watching Lily introduce Rose to her friends, Liam's heart pounded. Her slim fingers protectively on Rose's shoulder, the pride and joy in her eyes—her friends' eyes welled up, gazing down at Rose, then up at Lily. Liam knew what a momentous day this was for all of them, and he stood back smiling.

“Bay and I have known your mom forever,” Tara said, crouching down. “We were all best friends when we were your age.”

“What did you do together?” Rose asked.

Tara had a wonderful, wicked smile that filled her eyes with mischief. “We rowed boats out to Gull Island, and went to the Indian Grave, dug for treasure at Little Beach, collected sea glass and moonstones, made necklaces out of jingle shells, played tennis till the middle of the night, went to movies on the beach, left notes for each other in the drawers at Foley's Store. . . .”

“Sounds fun,” Rose said. “A lot like what I do with Jessica.”

“Your best friend?”

Rose nodded. “At Cape Hawk.”