His words bring tears to my eyes and I can’t hold them back. They are so unexpected and loving that I’m physically overwhelmed.

I spend most of the dinner talking about myself after they ask question after question about my experiences growing up.

I’m torn between telling them the whole truth and covering up some of it with lies. I know that the whole truth will hurt Josephine even more than she already is and I want to protect her from some of the pain. But she always deserves to know what really happened to her daughter.

Luckily, over dessert, the kids start to dominate the conversation and I find myself slipping off the hook.

I play with them.

I talk to them.

I ask them about their lives and Ellen fills me on both of theirs.

“I think it’s getting late,” I say a few hours later.

I don’t really want to go but I also don’t want to overstay my welcome.

“We’re actually going to put Byron to bed and have Ellen do some quiet time, but can you stay just for a little bit longer?” Josephine asks. “We can have some more drinks out on the patio.”

“Sure,” I say, walking over to the sliding glass door.

“We’ll be right back. Feel free to go out there if you want,” Wallace says.

After kissing the kids goodnight, I watch them all disappear down the long hallway and I feel like I’m totally alone.

The valley is lit up by a million small lights. The views go around the wrap-around porch and are absolutely breathtaking.

When I glance up, I see that the house is practically etched into the mountain behind it.

I follow the curve of the pool, around the built-in hot tub with a cascading waterfall in front of it, and toward the other side.

The lights out front don’t reach this far, and it takes me a moment to adjust to the darkness in this corner of the backyard.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to them?” Owen asks. For a second, I think I’m hearing things.

But when my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see him. He’s standing in the doorway of their pool house.

“What are you doing here?” I run over to him and push him inside.

“Why are you here?”

I look back hoping that they will take a little bit longer inside.

“Just wanted to check up on my sister and see how she’s doing.”

“You made it perfectly clear that I’m not your sister anymore,” I snap.

“Well, I thought that maybe we could go back to that.”

I see that as my chance. “Yes, we can,” I say. “I just want you to get out of here.”

“No,” he says loudly. “Come to think of it, I’d much rather have you as something more than a sister.”