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about your husband and feel happy to have created those memories with him.” He hesitated for a moment, smiling a little to himself. “Part of Psalm 34, which is one of my favorites, says ‘the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’ I truly believe that, Josie. And I think that maybe in this fragile time, you and your daughters ended up in Mill River for a reason. Your wonderful aunt is here. The town’s full of kind and loving people. It’s a good place for children to grow up. And the natural beauty of the area! In the fall, I sometimes think that the good Lord takes a paintbrush and colors the trees one by one.” He placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. “I’ve been the parish priest here in Mill River since I was a young man. I know the town very well. As hard as it is right now, you’ve come to a place where you
will
heal. It will take time, but you’re not alone. Ivy will be there for you, and so will I, anytime you need me.”
    Josie sat very still, taking in Father O’Brien’s words. “Thank you, Father,” she finally said, and she rose, a bit unsteadily, to her feet. “I should get back. I left after my girls were asleep for the night. Ivy’s there, but they don’t know her very well yet. If they wake up and I’m gone …”
    “Of course,” Father O’Brien said. He stood up as well and walked the few steps to the front door with her. “You’ll be in my prayers.”
    “Thank you again, Father,” Josie said. She managed a small smile as she pulled her hood up over her head and slipped outside.
    Back at The Bookstop, Josie let herself in through the side door and hung up her coat. She retrieved the certificate of cremation from the floor where she’d dropped it and lowered herself onto a chair at the breakfast table. Her hand was unsteady as she ran it over the box of Tony’s ashes. Carefully, she slid the box from the table and hugged it against her chest.
    “Josie?” Ivy’s hushed voice carried into the kitchen.
    “In here,” Josie said.
    Ivy appeared in her bathrobe in the doorway to the kitchen with a look of pity on her face. “I was a little worried when I realized you’d left,” she said, coming to sit in the chair next to Josie. “I figured you needed some air, maybe some time to think.”
    Josie opened her mouth to say something, but she was suddenly overcome. Unable to stifle her sobs, she tucked her chin down until it rested on the top of the box in her arms.
    “Oh, honey,” Ivy said, as she moved closer. Josie leaned into her aunt’s arms as Ivy held her, stroking her hair, rocking slightly, in much the same way as Josie had comforted her daughters so many times. “I know this was a hard day for you,” she said after a few minutes. “You’re gonna have lots of hard days, but you’re gonna get through this. And I promise I’ll be there to help you every step of the way.”
    Her aunt’s words and the thought of what Father O’Brien had said about Ivy only made Josie cry harder. When she was finally able to speak, she looked at her aunt through her blurry eyes. “I don’t know what to do, how to go forward,” she whispered. “Honestly, I feel like it’s such an imposition on you, having the girls andme here. We’re pretty much strangers to you. And I keep worrying about raising the girls on my own, being able to provide for them. I don’t know how I’m going to do it without Tony. Every time I think of him … I can’t think about him. It hurts too much.”
    “Look here,” Ivy said. “First, we may not know each other, which is a damn shame, but it’s something we’re gonna change. And you’re still my family. Right now, there’s nowhere else you and the girls belong except here with me. You’re no burden. Second, did you and Tony have anything saved? Did he have life insurance?”
    Josie sniffed and nodded. “The insurance check is being processed,” she whispered. “And we were trying to save enough