Tobias looked at his beautiful girl sitting on the floor beside Milo, playing her guitar and singing a song about a friendship between a frog and a girl who met in a meadow and gathered all the other animals and children for a Thanksgiving feast. Junie sat on Grandpa Mike’s lap, fascinated. Buster lay between Rosie and Lynnie as the girls absently petted him, hanging on Madigan’s every word. Lynnie leaned down and kissed the dog’s head every few minutes. She was sweet-natured, and although he and Madigan had a long way to go before they’d be ready for the next step, much less a family of their own, he hoped one day they’d have their own children and raise them to love openly and stand up for the people around them.

“I don’t know how she comes up with this stuff, but she’s definitely got a gift,” Tobias said to Zeke and Baz as the three of them headed into the kitchen to help carry more food to the table. Reba, Ginger, and the girls had made enough food to feed six families.

“You know the correlation between frogs and Leah’s brother, don’t you?” Baz asked.

Tobias shook his head. “No. What is it?”

“Before River died, he took the girls to the creek, and he told them a story about eating frogs and growing a family of them in his stomach,” Zeke explained. “Now every time they see or hear about a frog, they remember River and feel like he’s with them.”

“That’s wonderful.” Tobias looked at Madigan as he carried a platter of green beans out to the table. She always knew how to bring a little extra love into people’s lives. She glanced over, smiling as she sang, and his heart beat a little faster. How was it possible to love someone so much that he missed her when she was just across the room?

“She’s got a beautiful voice,” his father said, sidling up to him.

Walter Riggs had aged a lot in recent years. His hair was more silver than brown, he had fine lines around his eyes and mouth, and carried a bit more weight around the middle. But the kind-hearted father Tobias used to know was trying to make a comeback, and for that Tobias was grateful. His father had apologized more than was necessary, but thanks to a therapist they were seeing together, Tobias had realized he wasn’t innocent in the deterioration of their relationship. He hadn’t realized how much he’d blamed his father for his mother’s death, as if he should have checked up on those supposed doctor appointments. Apparently he’d buried those feelings early on, but they were working through them now, and their relationship continued to grow stronger.

“She does,” Tobias agreed.