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way. Yes, this is part of a program. And I understand that you think I’ve done this before, and it’s okay if you’re suspicious. I’d be suspicious of me too. All I can say is that while I have apologized to you before, I never meant it before. I mean it this time. All of this is going to stick. The sobriety, everything. This is real. It’s who I am now.”
    Nora jumped in. “I think it’s fabulous. Really.”
    Jason wished he had kept his mouth shut, that he had let Hayden say her piece without interjecting his own comment into it. So much of his life had been spent accommodating his sister, so much time had been spent walking on eggshells and blithely encouraging her in every struggle—both real and imagined—she engaged in, that he no longer felt he could listen to her talk without challenging her assertions. But he had to admit Hayden looked different. And she did seem different. For the first time,the language she used about her recovery matched the reality she seemed to be existing in. And he couldn’t ignore the feeling he had when he saw her silhouetted on the porch. The hope that sprang into his chest, the simple, deeply rooted desire to see his sister again.
    “Okay,” Jason said. “Apology accepted. It’s long over anyway. Everybody’s moved on.”
    Nora said, “And we’re sorry we didn’t help you more back then. Maybe we could have, I don’t know, been more understanding of where you were.”
    “I understand,” Hayden said. “
You
don’t need to apologize.” Hayden raised the envelope toward Jason again. “So,” she said, “will you accept this as the beginning of restitution for the car and the money I took?”
    Jason shook his head. “Just keep it,” he said. “Please. You can use it to start a new life or whatever you need it for. You can use it for— Well, that brings me back to the question I asked you before. Where exactly is Sierra? Is she . . . ?” A multitude of scenarios sprang into his mind. Had something happened to his niece? Had Hayden lost custody or contact with her daughter?
    Hayden must have sensed Jason’s concern because she said, “She’s fine. In fact, she’s here, with me.”
    “Where?” Nora asked.
    “She’s in the car, waiting for me to give her the all clear.”
    “Bring her in,” Nora said. “My God, we haven’t seen her in so long.”
    “Just a minute,” Hayden said. “You see, I wanted to talk to the two of you alone before I brought her in.”
    “You mentioned a favor,” Jason said. “Is that what you wanted to talk about before Sierra came in?”
    Hayden nodded. She took the envelope, which had becomewrinkled under the pressure of her grip, and stuffed it back into her purse. Her hand shook a little as she adjusted the clasp. When Hayden looked up again, Jason pretended not to have noticed the shaking.
    Hayden said, “I have something I need to do here in town. I can’t really tell you what it is, and I know that makes me look bad. I’m sure that’s a huge red flag, and you may just tell me no. But I don’t want you to. I really don’t want you to.”
    “Is this thing you have to do part of your . . . recovery?” Jason asked, trying to be delicate.
    “It is.” Hayden ran her hands over the tops of her thighs, back and forth like that, the skin making a light swishing sound against the material. When she resumed speaking, Jason detected a thin edge of anxiety in her voice, the sense that she wasn’t really in control of everything swirling around her. It was rare to hear that tone from Hayden. She was always cool, always assured. Even when she was at her worst and in the depths of her deepest struggles, she managed to sound as though she could handle whatever came her way. Jason knew Nora may not have noticed that edge in her voice, but Jason did. He’d heard it a few times in his life and understood what it meant. “I don’t want to downplay the apology I owed to you guys because it was and is very important to