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Twelve shelters receive funding now, with more joining next year, and every new announcement goes into the folder Nora gave him beside Celeste’s photograph in his office.

He still misses her, but he doesn’t hide that grief from the life we have together anymore.

Lucy crawls off the blanket again, and Bane catches the back of her coat before she reaches another pile of leaves.

“She knows you’ll stop her,” he says.

“Yesterday she licked the dishwasher.”

Bane lifts her into his arms. “That was research.”

Lucy grabs the collar of his coat and immediately tries to put it in her mouth.

“Very sophisticated research.”

His mouth curves as he kisses the top of her head.

He still checks the locks before bed and wakes whenever Max or Lucy cries, except these days he usually finds me climbing out of bed beside him.

We trade babies when one of us is running on less sleep, and plenty of nights end with both of us in the nursery at three in the morning, too tired to remember which baby woke us.

Last week, I found Bane asleep on the floor beside Max’s crib with one arm pushed between the bars because Max refused to release his finger, so I took a picture while neither of them noticed.

Bane still doesn’t know I have it.

Babs comes over and wraps both arms around my waist. “Emma, can we take the babies to the ducks?”

Biddy hurries after her. “I wanna show Lucy the big one.”

“Which big one?” I ask as Biddy catches my hand.

“The duck.” She starts pulling me toward the lake, then looks at Babs when her sister reminds her that lots of ducks are big. Biddy’s forehead creases with the effort of being more specific. “The really big one.”

I glance toward Bane. “Glad we cleared that up.”

Biddy takes my hand and starts pulling. “Come on, Emma. Lucy needs to see him.”

I manage two steps before noticing Bane stays behind.

Theo is watching him. So is Mara.

Kira catches me looking at her and immediately becomes fascinated by the picnic table.

I stop walking. “What’s happening?”

“Ducks,” Biddy says.

“Besides ducks.”

Babs grabs my other hand. “We gotta go over there.”

Her attempt at innocence would be more convincing if she weren’t dragging me toward the lake while repeatedly looking over her shoulder at her father.

I let them lead me because asking questions clearly isn’t going to help.

Kira joins us with Max in her arms. Mara takes Lucy from Bane and follows with Lena, Claire, and Theo.

The entire family gathering begins moving toward the lake, which removes any remaining possibility that I’m imagining their behavior.