“It beats being dead.”

“You always did have a talent for putting things in perspective.” Madeline picked up a nightgown and folded it. “I’m happy, of course. This is a chance for me to live a relatively normal life. But I also can’t get my mind around the fact that someone else has to die to make this happen. I don’t think I’m worthy of that.”

“You didn’t kill the person. Even if you don’t take their liver, they’re still going to die.”

“I know, but…” She shook her head. “I guess I can’t explain it. I just feel weird. Happy and grateful, but weird.”

“You’re not going to change your mind about the surgery, are you?”

Madeline shook her head. “It’s too late. Besides, how many people get a second chance like this? I want the operation. I never thought it would happen and yet it’s here. But it does make me think. If I don’t come back, I want you to be okay with that.”

Not come back? Madeline kept on talking, but Lori wasn’t listening. Not come back?

Madeline had to come back. She, Lori, refused to accept any other outcome. Coming back was very much a part of the plan.

Until that moment, Lori had never thought of her sister dying in any but the most theoretical sense. Surgery could go badly, but that was for other people. Her sister had always been in her life. They were family. They had always been family.

“You can’t die,” she blurted without thinking. “I couldn’t stand it.”

Madeline grabbed her hand, sat on the bed and pulled Lori next to her. “I’m not going to die.”

“But you could. I knew that in time your liver could fail, but not now. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Life isn’t about fair. Odds are, I’m going to pull through and be around for years, driving you crazy.”

Lori’s eyes filled with tears. “You’re my best friend.”

Her sister’s expression was kind. “I know. You’re mine.”

“I didn’t know,” Lori muttered. “I didn’t know at all. I’ve loved you and hated you and all this time you’ve been my best friend.” She blinked back tears. “I’m sorry.”

Madeline tucked a strand of Lori’s hair behind her ear. “For hating me? Don’t be. If I were you, I would have hated me, too.”

“Because you’re perfect.”

“I’m not perfect.”

“Hey, I was there. I have the pictures to prove it. I love you despite the fact that you’re perfect.”

Madeline laughed. “Thanks for being such a generous person, but you have to let go of the perfect thing. Perfect people don’t get sick.”

“That’s not your fault. You were in that car accident and you got a blood transfusion. That’s out of your control.”

“Fine. My husband left me when I got sick. That doesn’t happen to perfect people.”

Lori rolled her eyes. “Again, not your fault. He’s a jerk.”

“I picked him.”

“Oh. Yeah. Good point. So you have one flaw. Lousy taste in men.”

“It’s a big flaw. Which makes me not perfect.”

Lori hugged her. “You’ll always be perfect to me. I love you. Don’t you dare die.”

“I won’t. I promise. I want to be around long enough to be an embarrassment to you in our old age.”

“I’d like that,” Lori said as she straightened. Everything would be okay, she told herself. It had to be.

“I want to dance at your wedding to Reid,” Madeline added.

Lori sighed. “There’s not going to be a wedding.”

“I thought you were crazy about him.”

“I am, but I have no idea what he’s thinking. I know he likes me but liking and marrying are worlds apart. I don’t even think about it.”

Which was a complete lie. Of course she thought about it. Sometimes it was all she thought about. Being with Reid seemed like an impossible dream. But sometimes she allowed herself the fantasy.

“He’s so much more than I thought,” she admitted. “He’s a terrific man, which wouldn’t have been my first guess.”

“You’re responsible for any changes.”

Lori shook her head. “That sounds nice, but he did what he did himself. I…” She swallowed, then confessed. “I’m in love with him.”

“Have you told him?”

“No. I’m afraid he’ll laugh and point.”

“What are the odds of that actually happening?”

“At this moment any odds are too great. I don’t need the pain in my life.”

Madeline squeezed her hand. “The man is crazy about you.”

“Maybe.” But was it enough?

“He is,” her sister insisted. “Look at it this way—he’s been with enough women to be able to know what he wants. He wants you. I can see it in his eyes.”

Lori wanted to believe her so much, it hurt. “Change of subject,” she said. “I can’t deal with Reid right now.”

“Then let’s deal with Mom,” Madeline said. “You’re going to have to help her through this.”

“I know.” Lori didn’t want to think about that, either.

“She’s not the devil.”

“I never said she was.”

“You have to forgive her for what happened before,” Madeline insisted. “She wasn’t herself.”

Lori wasn’t convinced being drunk excused anything, but she nodded because it was what her sister wanted.

“In case something happens,” her sister continued, “I’ve listed all my bank account numbers and other financial information in a folder. It’s in the top dresser drawer. There’s also a life insurance policy. I got it when I got married, but now you and Mom are the beneficiaries. Help her invest the money, okay? She won’t know what to do.”

Once again Lori fought tears. She gently punched her sister in the arm. “Stop talking like you’re doing to die.”

“I need to say this,” Madeline told her softly. “Help Mom. She’ll have enough to buy a condo or something. It will give her security.”

“She’ll want to buy a trailer. I just know it.”

“Then help her do that. She’s getting older, Lori. She’s not in great health. All those years of drinking aged her. I want her to be safe and happy.”

Lori wiped her eyes. “Fine. I’ll help her get settled somewhere. Either a condo or a trailer. If there’s any left over, I’ll help her invest the money in something safe. I don’t want to talk about this.”

“I know, but I need you to promise.”

“I promise.”

“You’re sure?”

Lori sniffed. “Why not? We both know nothing’s going to happen to you. So I can promise anything.”

“I like how you think.”

“How much money are we talking about with that life insurance policy?” Lori asked, deciding she would tease them both into a happier state of mind. “Should I get excited?”

Madeline grinned. “You’re going to have to wait and see.”

“I’m happy to wait forever.”

DANI FILED the menus, then turned to face her sister-in-law. Penny had already spent a couple of hours in the kitchen, overseeing the prep work for that night’s dinner.

“I love a good reduction,” Penny murmured to herself. “If we add a little more Pinot to the sauce, it should broaden the fruit elements. What do you think?”

Dani pushed the file drawer closed and dropped into the chair on the other side of Penny’s overflowing desk.

“I miss working with you.”

Penny looked up and grimaced. “I hate that you’re gone. I know I shouldn’t say that. I know you have to go prove yourself out in the world. But I don’t have to like it. By the way, you’re only proving yourself to yourself. The rest of us are already convinced. Okay?”

“I don’t like it, either,” Dani admitted. “I mean I’m really excited, but I’ve loved working with you.”

“I am the best chef you’ll ever know,” Penny said, then grinned. “And the most modest.”

“Absolutely.”

“You’ll love working with Bernie. He’s a sweetie. And kind of cute.” Penny raised and lowered her eyebrows. “He’s a little old for you, but if you like that sort of thing…”

Dani raised her hands and crossed her index fingers. “No way. He seems like a perfectly nice man, but, no. I’m totally and completely finished with romantic relationships. I’ve heard from the big guy in the sky and the message couldn’t have been more clear.”

“Just because Gary was an ex-priest does not mean God was telling you to avoid men.”

“Okay—so what was the message?”

“Avoid that one. Or not. Maybe God was trying to tell you that Gary was a sweetie and you should be gentle with him.”

Dani cringed and shook her head. “I don’t think so. I feel bad about walking out on Gary, but trust me, I’m the wrong woman to deal with the issues a relationship with him would bring to the table. I don’t have the patience.”

“I don’t know. There’s a romantic element to the whole thing. What if you’re his first time?”

Dani didn’t want to go there. As soon as Gary had confessed his past, the knot in her gut had told her to start running and she’d listened. It wasn’t her proudest moment, but she didn’t have any regrets.

“It’s over,” she said. “My budding relationship with Gary and any relationship with any man, ever. I have lived through a series of disasters. It’s time to let the romance thing go.”

“If you say so. Or you could get into women.”

Dani wrinkled her nose. “No thanks.”

“Just checking. You don’t have to do that,” Penny added, pointing at the filing.

“I want to finish what I started.”

“You don’t work here anymore. You have to let it go.”

Dani shrugged. “I have. But I still miss this place, even though I’m totally jazzed about the job.”

“If you’re giving up on guys, you’ll have time to devote yourself to your work. Lord knows I did that plenty,” Penny said.

Dani nodded, then reached for a pen sticking out from under a stack of paperwork. “I’ve been thinking about getting in touch with my dad.”

Penny leaned back in her chair. “That’s a big step. Did you find out more about him?”

Dani shook her head. “I don’t even know his name. I talked to a private investigator, but she told me what I’ve already guessed. Without more information, I’m screwed. I need something to go on. I asked my brothers, but they don’t know anything, either.”

“You know what the next step has to be,” Penny said gently.

Dani’s stomach tightened. “I’m not giving Gloria another chance to screw with my life. Once was enough.”

“She’s the only one who knows anything. Just think about it,” Penny said. “She’s changed. I don’t know why or how. Maybe she hit her head when she fell or maybe the day nurse really did work a miracle. I just know she’s not the same awful woman you know.”

“I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of begging. It means she wins.”

“Doesn’t she also win if you spend your whole life wondering?”

Dani didn’t answer—they both already knew Penny was right. But ask Gloria for help?

“I’ll think about it,” she said slowly. “I hate that she still has control over me.”

“She doesn’t. Not if you don’t let her.”

LORI STOOD at the end of the hospital corridor and watched the swinging doors close behind her sister. She sent up a quick prayer that everything would be all right, then walked back to the waiting room where she would spend the day anxious for news.

But as she stepped into the open space, she saw it wasn’t the same airy, empty room it had been an hour before. Now the three sofas and dozen or so chairs were overflowing with people and supplies.

Penny looked up and saw her first. She smiled kindly. “We invaded,” she announced. “I brought plenty to eat because it’s going to be a long day and, hello, hospital food? I don’t think so.” She motioned to several coolers stacked along the wall. “Drinks, salads, entrees, desserts. Sugar seems mandatory at times like these. How are you holding up?”

Lori felt overwhelmed, but managed to nod. “I’m good.”

Reid walked up and hugged her. “Did you tell dirty jokes?” he asked.

“I tried.”

It had been his bizarre and yet oddly charming suggestion to fill the few minutes before Madeline was taken to surgery.

“Tried?” he repeated. “I gave you great material.”

“I know, but she was already pretty out of it. She laughed, though.”

That was the image Lori would hold in her mind. Madeline laughing at the lesbian frog joke.

“So my family is here,” he said unnecessarily.

Lori glanced around. Cal held baby Allison in his arms. Walker and Elissa unpacked bags filled with paper plates and glasses. Zoe, Elissa’s daughter, lined up several stuffed animals as if she was going to hold class.

“You didn’t have to ask them to come,” she said, surprised by their willingness to be a part of a very long day.