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at night. She had cried through the nights for weeks, months. But during the day she had focused on her babies, on their needs, and in a way, three years down the road, that was still how she got by. Time had dulled the sharp edge of grief, but it hadn’t disappeared. She thought of Derek almost every day, when she saw his expressions chasing across the lively faces of his sons. A picture of them together was on top of her dresser. The boys would look at it, and they knew that was their daddy.
    She’d had seven great years with him, and his absence had torn a huge hole in her life, her heart. The boys would never know him, and that was something she couldn’t make up to them.
      
    Her mother arrived just after four that afternoon. Cate had been watching for her, and when the black Jeep Liberty pulled into the parking area, she and the boys ran out to meet her.
    “There are my boys!” Sheila Wells cried, jumping out of the Jeep and squatting down to hug the twins to her.
    “Mimi, look,” Tucker said, showing her the toy fire engine he held.
    “Look,” Tanner echoed, displaying a yellow dump truck. Both boys had picked out a prized possession for her to admire.
    She didn’t disappoint. “Goodness, look at that. I haven’t seen a better fire engine or dump truck in—well, I don’t think I ever have.”
    “Listen,” Tucker said, turning on the siren.
    Tanner scowled. His dump truck didn’t have a siren, but the back did lift up and the gate swung open, dumping whatever was in the truck bed. He bent down, scooped some gravel into the bed, then held it over Tucker’s fire engine and dumped the gravel all over it.
    “Hey!” Tucker yelped indignantly, shoving at his brother, and Cate stepped in before a fight could break out.
    “Tanner, that wasn’t a nice thing to do. Tucker, you shouldn’t shove your brother. Turn that siren off. Both of you give me the toys. They’ll be in my room; you can’t play with them until tomorrow.”
    Tucker opened his mouth to protest, saw her eyebrows lift in warning, and wisely said to Tanner, “I’m sowwy I pushed you.”
    Tanner eyed her, too, and like his brother decided that after the morning’s punishment he shouldn’t push his luck this afternoon. “I’m sorry I dumped on you,” he said magnanimously.
    Cate set her back teeth together to hold back a burst of laughter, and her gaze met her mother’s. Sheila’s eyes were round and she slapped a hand over her mouth; she knew very well there were times when a mother Must Not Laugh. A snort escaped, but she quickly mastered it as she stood and hugged her daughter. “I can’t wait to tell your father this one,” she said.
    “I wish he could have come with you.”
    “Maybe next time. If you can’t make it home for Thanksgiving, he’ll definitely come with me then.”
    “What about Patrick and Andie?” Patrick was her younger brother, and Andie—Andria—was his wife. Sheila opened the back of the Jeep and they began hauling out luggage.
    “I’ve already told them we might be here for Thanksgiving. If we’re welcome, of course. If your guest rooms are booked, there goes that plan.”
    “I have two reservations for that weekend, but that still leaves three bedrooms, so there’s no problem. I’d love it if Patrick and Andie could come, too.”
    “Her mother would throw a fit if Andie came here instead of having Thanksgiving at her house,” Sheila said caustically. She liked her daughter-in-law a lot, but Andie’s mother was another story.
    “We want to help,” Tucker said, tugging at a suitcase.
    Since the suitcase outweighed him, Cate pulled out a carry-on bag, which was surprisingly heavy. “Here, you two take this bag. It’s heavy, so be careful.”
    “We can handle it,” he said, and they assumed expressions of determination as they each took a handle and grunted as they lifted the bag.
    “Look how strong you are,” her mom said, and their little chests puffed out.
    “Men,” Cate muttered