Ben chuckled. Genevieve was not a cattle station kind of person. But she loved Sam. She’d told Ben how much it meant to her to have the chance to experience the places that had shaped him, to spend time with the people who’d raised him.

“As I recall, you also have a big day coming up,” Natasha said to Leah. “Your brother’s graduating, right?”

“Right.” Leah tucked her blond hair behind her ears. “There were days when I despaired that we’d ever get to this point. But here we are. He’s looking forward to going to college in the fall to study art. In large part because he’ll no longer have me peering over his shoulder.”

“Then Leah will begin her PhD coursework,” Sebastian said.

“Good for you,” Akira told her.

“Thanks. I’m going to keep working full-time, so it’ll be a lot.”

“But worth the effort,” Sebastian stated. “Soon we’ll be attending Leah’s graduation and calling her Doctor.”

“A pair of doctors.” Natasha regarded the couple with approval.

Sebastian glanced down his shoulder at Leah and grinned. “Yeah. Two doctors.”

Sebastian was Ben’s closest friend. For decades, Ben had wanted the best for Sebastian. It turned out that Leah was what was best. In her, he’d found the things he’d badly needed. A place to belong. Love and acceptance. A family of his own. Ben had never seen Sebastian love anyone the way that he loved Leah.

Leah had changed for the better, too. Sebastian’s support had relaxed her. No longer was it Leah and her brother against the world. She had a powerful ally, now and forever.

It no longer hurt Ben to see them together. They were meant to be, Sebastian and Leah. Things were as they should be. And he could move on.

Someone asked Natasha about her Year of Living Charles Dickensly.

“I want to take a family trip to Chatham, England, this fall!” She explained her dream itinerary while her husband, Wyatt, listened good-naturedly.

When Ben spotted Luke walking up with a puppy asleep in his arms, he set down his chicken leg. They all quieted, looking at the newcomer as he stood in the gap between two chairs.

“Thank you,” Luke said. “When I needed someone to be there for me, that first night in the ICU, you were there. Even though you had no reason to help me.”

“We didn’t need a reason to help.” Genevieve faced Luke more fully. “But we did have one. You saved me, all those years ago, when you pulled me out of that dark hallway during the earthquake.”

“And me,” Ben said.

“And me,” Sebastian said.

“And me,” Natasha said.

“We haven’t forgotten,” Ben told Luke. “And we never will.”

“We love you,” Genevieve said.

“And it would mean a lot to us if we could be your friends,” Natasha dared to say.