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minds. Maybe they had. Or maybe the moon really was responsible.
    “Mya?”
    What? she thought, feeling irritable suddenly.
    Oh. His question. “I get the feeling Elle isn’t planning to stay in Maine for long,” she said. “I’m surprised she accepted my invitation at all.”
    Jeff squeezed her hand. Although she knew he would have preferred a different scenario for his night off, he’d been a good sport, all things considered. He really was a nice guy. Loneliness twisted and turned inside her. There was no reason for this. The man who wanted to marry her was standing right here. Closing her eyes, she felt guilty and selfish, two of her least favorite emotions.
    “Tired?” Jeff asked.
    “I guess.”
    “It’s been a rough few days. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He tucked his hands into his pockets. Instead of leaving, hetransferred the contents of his right hand to hers. “My contribution to the cause.”
    Mya found herself staring at more rubber bands, and surprised herself by laughing. Watching him walk away, she thought that maybe, just maybe, everything would be all right.
     
    The moment Mya stepped inside, three generations of Donahue females stared at her. Millicent was perched in the rocking chair, Kaylie on her lap. Elle sat cross-legged on the floor where she’d been trying to coax the white cat out of hiding.
    Hanging up her jacket, Mya asked, “Any luck?”
    Elle shrugged in a manner Mya was coming to recognize. “This cat’s come the farthest. The other two haven’t ventured out from under your bed since Kaylie discovered their tails before lunch. The Minute Man looked a little put out.”
    Mya didn’t waste her breath telling Elle that all three cats had names, and so did Jeffrey. “He was just surprised, that’s all.”
    The rocking chair creaked as Millicent offered Kaylie her bottle. “You’re going to have to do a little pampering to keep him happy, Mya, if you know what I mean.”
    “There are greater tragedies than going without sex, Mom.”
    “For God’s sakes, don’t let him hear you say that,” her mother said without looking up.
    “Don’t you know anything about men?” Elle asked.
    It was so nice to see that her mother and daughter had bonded.
    Everyone was relieved that Kaylie didn’t have an ear infection. Unfortunately, she was still fussy. Mya felt a little like chewing glass, herself.
    “There, there, sweet thing.” Millicent patted the baby’s back as she rose.
    “She’s not deaf, Mom.”
    “Now you’re an expert?”
    “I didn’t say that.”
    “Here. You take her.”
    Before Mya could protest, her mother dumped the baby into her arms. Mya had no choice but to hold her.
    “Relax,” her mother said. “You’re stiff as a board. Babies are like dogs. They sense when you’re nervous.”
    Mya glanced at Elle. “You don’t mind that comparison?”
    Shrugging, Elle said, “It looks like Kaylie thinks you’re doing okay.”
    Miraculously, it was true. Pink cheeked, her eyelashes matted from her tears, the baby stared solemnly up at Mya as if trying to figure out something important. But she didn’t look particularly worried. Mya was nervous enough for both of them. “You know, kid,” she said, “you’re heavier than you look.”
    “How much did she weigh at birth?” Millicent asked.
    “Six-and-a-half pounds. It seemed like a lot at the time. How much did I weigh?”
    Millicent looked to Mya to answer.
    In a quiet voice, Mya said, “You weighed six pounds, fourteen ounces.” There was absolutely no reason for her throat to close up, and yet it did.
    The room was silent. While everyone was trying to decide where to look, Kaylie figured out what it was she’d been pondering, and tried to stick her finger up Mya’s nose.
    She was quick. But Mya was quicker.
    “Good dodge,” Elle said. “She’s had a thing for noses lately.”
    “When Mya was two, I had to take her to the emergency room because she put a button up her nose,” Millicent said,