And then the house was weirdly back to seminormal. Her, washing dishes with Noemi. Echo on her way home. Ranger, Dodge, and Colt outside, trying to deal with the char of the plane on the runway. Barry listening to a book on tape, probably his Bible.

“I can’t believe that this morning, we were almost blown up.” She handed a plate to Noemi. “You okay?”

She took the plate, dried it. “I should be freaking out, but . . . I don’t know. Despite being held captive in Nigeria, being kidnapped, and now blown up, it all pales in comparison to knowing that my father is not dead.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I mean, of course I knew he could die. He was a SEAL. We lived with that possibility every day, so when it happened, I believed it. We had a funeral for him. And I grieved him and moved on with my life.” She put the plate away. “I missed him, but . . .” She reached for another plate. “I just can’t believe that he would lie to me. And not just any lie—a colossal lie.”

“Maybe he didn’t want to drag you into danger.”

She put that plate away. “It sorta feels selfish.”

Tae attacked the serving plate. “Or selfless. After all, he gave up knowing you too.”

Noemi looked at her. “I guess.”

Tae handed her the serving plate. “My father was in the military too. I remember thinking that it wasn’t fair that he had to leave. He had a thriving practice in New York City, and after the Towers fell, he just decided to join the Navy. It killed my mother, and me. He told me to be brave, but all I did was worry about him. And then, of course, our worst nightmares came true. He died. We never found out how.”

“I’m sorry. But I don’t understand. Are you saying that thinking he was dead was better?”

“No. I’m saying that in his mind, he thought it was better than you worrying. He thought he was protecting you.” Tae let the soapy water out of the sink.

“People do stupid things in the name of protecting others. Lying is in the category of stupid. And selfish.”

Tae wiped the island. Outside, the sun hung low over the faraway mountains, turning the land a deep purple, the sky hues of light blue and deep pink.

The sun was falling, but never completely gone, just hiding behind the mountains.

She stilled.

Drew in a breath. Zoey had vanished. Maybe for everyone else, but Tae knew her—roomed with her in college, graduate school, and then worked with her for the past three years.

She knew where Zoey went when life swept over her.

“At least he said goodbye this time,” Noemi said, still talking about her father. “So maybe he won’t go dying on me again.”