Kate looked out at the full moon, low tonight. She understood where Tilly was coming from, but it just wasn’t something she could embrace. “I think that God is all around us,” she said softly. “I think he witnesses everything.” She turned back to Tilly. “Don’t you think that’s a hell of a lot nicer?”

Tilly smiled, acquiescing. “I do. But I also respect the church.”

Kate swallowed, hard. “So do I.” She shifted to face her, only a breath of space between their bodies. “Churches are beautiful, reverent. But if you look at the bigger picture, I like to think that standing inside four brick walls isn’t going to change much. If two people love each other, God’s going to bless that—witness that—either way. It shouldn’t matter whether you’re inside St. Vincent’s, St. Gerard’s or under a canopy on a beach.”

Tilly held her gaze for a moment before she looked out to the lights on Lords, searching. “That’s a nice thought,” she said. “You’ve always had nice thoughts. I wish I was more like you.”

“Like me?”

“You’re brave.”

“So are you. There’s nothing wrong with being fond of tradition, Til.”

“I know.” Tilly danced her nails across the chipped black paint of the railing, her gaze focused on the exposed metal. “Sometimes I just feel like the weight of it all is coming down on me. I know where you’re coming from Kate, really. Before I went into surgery, I said a prayer, and I felt God’s care in a different way. It felt more powerful than being in a church, made the whole concept of tradition seem almost…fruitless.” She locked eyes on Kate. “I didn’t even say the Hail Mary. I just told God that if it was my time to be with my parents, I was grateful that at least I had found you again.” Her voice dropped to a whisper and Kate watched as Tilly’s eyes welled. “I just thanked Him for bringing you back to me. And I felt like He heard me.”

Kate’s mouth grew dry. That Tilly would think of her at a time like that? When she was so scared? In so much pain? Tilly’s admission struck her hard. They were so in sync. An emotional affair, the vicar had called it, eyes piercing and jaw set hard. He hadn’t been so far off the mark. But it was more than that. It was an unmatched intimacy that they shared, like destiny and fate were each pulling at two ends of a rope, twisting a cord between their hearts without relent.

“I prayed for you every night, Kate.”

Their eyes locked. “When you were in hospital?”

“No. When we were children. When you were so stricken over your parents’ separation…”

It was a painful thing, resisting the urge to reach out and take Tilly’s hand in hers, to feel her fingers wound with her own as they so often used to.

Eyes welling, Tilly turned her face and glanced over the side of the ferry. After a few moments, she turned back to Kate, a weak smile plastered on her face. “I’m so excited to be going to the city tomorrow. I’m excited that we’re doing this together, that we get the chance to spend some time together before things change.”