Rosie didn’t break her gaze with Colleen. “He always says that when he wants me to go away.” She scowled and ran off, her tutu bouncing, through the swinging door that led to the main area of the pub.

“Adorable, like you said,” Colleen admitted as she stood straight and stretched her back.

“Precocious, too,” Shane confirmed.

“If she was sent here to charm me, it worked.”

“Not sure if that was the purpose, but Hallie is out there waiting on us.”

“To do what?”

“So the two of you can get started on this project.”

“This project.” Colleen dropped both hands on her brother’s shoulders and glanced around the room to check that her dad hadn’t walked in. “We can still do it, but I think the doc appointment will tell us a lot—maybe there’s a new treatment.”

“Okay.” He nodded with a slightly crooked smile.

Colleen knew that damn smile. It was the same one he used when he wanted to brush off a flirting girl he had no interest in. The same one he’d used to placate one of her childish temper tantrums, or convince their mother he wouldn’t do the forbidden something he intended to do anyway.

Colleen removed her hands from his shoulders. “Don’t patronize me, Shane.”

“I’m not, sis. I’m just exhausted.”

“I’m sorry you’ve had to bear this burden without me. But you know, it’s odd. He seems okay for a long while and then he’ll say something that doesn’t make sense.”

“Like?” A new voice joined their conversation and there stood Hallie. She looked tired, her eyes sinking into dark circles and her hair tied back in a knotted mess. “What doesn’t make sense?”

Colleen tried to smile at her sister, attempted to get past the habitual inclination to cringe and withdraw. “I was telling him that sometimes Dad seems fine and then he doesn’t. On the way here, he seemed lost but blamed it on the construction.”

“He does that about once a week—blames the construction,” Hallie said and then turned to the squeals of her daughters, who barreled into the back room, bouncing off each other like pinballs. The second, smaller version of Rosie was also wearing a tutu, but hers was red and not quite as tattered.

“Is this her?” Sadie asked Rosie, speaking around the thumb in her mouth.

“Yes, dummy. Can’t you tell from all the pictures?”

Sadie nodded. “She’s prettier in pictures.”

Colleen couldn’t help it—she laughed, until Shane joined in, and then Hallie.

“What’s so funny?” Sadie asked.

“You, silly.” Colleen leaned down to her second niece. “Hello, I’m your aunt Colleen.”

Sadie sidled farther behind Rosie, as if she needed a shield. “I thought her name was Lena.”