“Keely.” Vic gave her a soft look. “Of course.”
She nodded. “Funny, but ... when I was at the cabin, I kept ... I kept hearing his voice. The things he taught me. Like, ‘Stay alert, stay alive.’”
Vic nodded, chuckling. “Yeah. Max said that too.”
“And ... I should have probably listened to this one—‘Trust your instincts. If something feels off, it probably is.’”
“Yeah. Also a Maxism. Jimmy did good.”
Keely nodded. “He did his best, I think.” It felt weirdly freeing to say that.
“People make terrible choices when they’re hurt. Or afraid.” Vic looked up, her eyes wide. “But my giving you to Anne and Jimmy wasn’t that. That was thought out, not rash.”
Keely held up her hand. “I get it. I struggled for nine months about what to do. I ended up giving Zoey away to a husband and wife who also couldn’t have biological children. It was...”
“Heart-wrenching.” Vic made a fist on the table, her mouth a grim line.
“Yeah.”
“And every day you think about her.”
Keely met her eyes. “Yeah.”
Vic smiled.
Yeah.
“So, why did you need an answer to your question?” Vic asked.
“Zoey’s parents were in a terrible car accident a few months ago, and ... well, her mom died. And her dad is a quadriplegic.”
“Poor kid. She’s what—four?”
So Vichadbeen paying attention. “Yeah. And Bryce—the dad—wants me to take her back.”
Vic’s brow creased.
“They don’t have relatives who can take her. So while he’s in therapy—and it could be years—she’d be in foster care...”
“I see.”
“But there’s ... Bliss.”
“Bliss.” Vic nodded. “Oh, Bliss.” She cocked her head. “Bliss can’t have a child?”
Keely lifted a shoulder. “I don’t think there’s room for both Bliss and Zoey in my life.”
“You’re creative, Keely. Figure it out.”
Oh.
“You came here to ask me a question, hoping the answer would give you peace about your own answer.”
A nod.
Vic cut her voice low. “The problem is that my answer is not your answer. Here’s what I know, daughter. God moves in mysterious ways. Unpredictable. Uncontrollable. But nothing happens in our lives that isn’t designed to give us the opportunity to know his love more.”
Huh. Sounded like something River had said.
