Baines wasn’t wrong about that. Her mother had been selfish and viewed motherhood as a burden. At times she tried to hide it, but the sicker she got as the lung cancer took hold, the angrier and more open about life’s disappointments she became.

“She made terrible decisions when it came to men and didn’t really love having a kid. She made sure I knew that.” Gabby took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “My biological father was married and picked his wife and family over us, and my mom banged that betrayal into my head every single day. She threatened to ruin him, to expose him, all while refusing to let him meet me.”

Kennedy followed every word. “That sucks.”

“It did, and it made me more reliant on your dad and Liam. None of us had great role models or a lot of parental affection. As a result, I craved security and this vision I had of a healthy, happy family in a nice house. No yelling. Enough food.”

Kennedy snorted. “Everybody yells. Especially you.”

“You usually deserve it.” Some days Gabby wished she’d been blessed with a fraction of her daughter’s confidence. “But yeah, my vision of family wasn’t very realistic, but in it I had a room instead of the sofa and a corner of the coat closet in the hall for the few things I owned.”

“So you married Dad,” Kennedy said with more than a hint of confusion in her voice.

“I did, and I loved him. Please know that. I still do, despite a divorce where I wanted to strangle him half the time.” When Kennedy started to talk, Gabby rushed to finish her thought. “But I wasn’t in love with him. We wanted certain things. Being together was convenient.”

Kennedy sat there for a few seconds, not saying anything.

The bar had been so low. Gabby saw that now. “I realized early that I’d messed up and wanted out. We separated and—”

“You slept with Uncle Liam.”

“We spent time together, and I saw that life could be different. I could feel something. The rest just sort of happened. Neither of us wanted to hurt your dad, and all three of us loved you.” There was so much more to the explanation, but Gabby tried to pare it down, keep it on a level a teenager who hadn’t experienced life or disappointment or heartache could understand.

“So, why not divorce? Marry Uncle Liam? You didn’t have to lie.”

They’d hit the tricky part. Gabby attempted to maneuver through it with a bit of dignity. “That sounds right now, but back then ripping Liam and your dad apart, upending everything, risking the family I had created and was desperate to have, seemed impossible.”

Kennedy winced. “Mom . . .”