“I’m almost afraid to ask the reason,” Maya admitted. Silently, though, she was happy for the interruption. It was impossible to feel sorry for herself while in the company of these two.

“We heard what happened with Del and his family,” Eddie said, her voice low. “Breast cancer. Poor thing.”

While part of her brain assumed Eddie was referring to Elaine, the rest of her was trying to figure out how they knew.

“Word is spreading quickly,” Gladys said. “Now that it’s out. Ceallach ran into Morgan this morning, and while I love Morgan, he’s something of a talker. It sounds like they got it all and got it early, so that’s good.”

Eddie pressed her hands against her chest. “I know I worry about my girls, but what can you do but get them checked? Elaine was very brave and you were a good friend.”

“Not everyone sees it that way,” Maya murmured.

“Some people are buttheads. He’ll come around. She needed you and you were there. That’s what counts.”

Maya knew that Eddie was right. And when she was curled up in pain from missing Del, she would tell herself the same thing. While she regretted the outcome and she’d thought her friend had been wrong to keep the information from her family, she didn’t regret what she’d done. And if the situation were to happen again, she would do exactly the same thing. She would be a friend.

Gladys smiled at her. “We want to thank you for your help with our show. We’ve used everything you taught us in class and it’s made a big difference.”

“I’m glad you’re happy with the results.”

Eddie nodded. “We are. You know, we’ve always admired you, Maya. Even when you were a teenager, you understood that making something of your life was up to you. Your mother wasn’t the nicest person, but you didn’t let that stop you. You worked hard in school and applied yourself.”

The unexpected compliment had Maya fighting tears. “Thank you for saying that,” she said softly, not sure how they knew so much about her. But then this was Fool’s Gold, and information had a way of getting out.

“We knew you were destined for greatness,” Gladys added.

“Then you must be disappointed. Here I am, back where I started.”

The two old ladies exchanged a glance, then returned their attention to her.

“Don’t be silly,” Eddie said. “You were in television. That was really something. We liked seeing your name in the credits every night when we watched your TV show online. And now you’ll be taking off with Del to travel the world.”

“I won’t. He and I aren’t exactly speaking right now.”

“Pshaw.” Gladys shook her head. “He’ll come around. They always do. Then you’ll go see the world. Take lots of pictures and send them to us. We’ll love seeing what you’re doing.”

She raised her hand toward her friend. “High five for a job well done?”

“You bet.” Eddie raised her hand and they slapped palms.

Maya looked between them. She felt as if an important truth was sitting right in front of her, only she couldn’t quite grasp it.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“You,” Eddie told her. “We’re proud of you, child.”

Gladys chuckled. “You still don’t get it, do you? You’ve been asking around about your college scholarship. It was us. We’re the ones who put you through school.”

Maya was sure her mouth dropped open, but she couldn’t seem to care. “You?” Her mind had trouble grasping the information. “The two of you?”

“Slick, huh?” Eddie asked. “We’ve been doing stuff like this for years. Our husbands left us well-off and we both have family money. We’re not going to spend it on silly things like cars or clothes, so why not?”

Maya scrambled to her feet and circled the desk. She hugged them both, as tightly as she could, before remembering they had elderly bones.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much that scholarship meant to me.”

Gladys touched her cheek. “We know, and we’re proud of you, Maya. We want you to be happy. Pay it forward or whatever it is you young people say today.”

“I will.”

Eddie smiled at her. “Don’t worry about Del. I’ve known him all his life. He’ll figure out what’s what. And if he doesn’t, I’ll smack him with my purse.”

Maya hugged them again. They’d believed in her back when she hadn’t been able to begin to believe in herself. Whatever happened, she would keep moving forward. If not for herself, then for the two old ladies who had seen promise in her when she wasn’t sure there had been very much.

* * *

DEL HAD LOST count of the beers he’d had, but what with being able to walk back to the cabin, knew it didn’t matter. Nick was sprawled next to him on the sofa, while Aidan had claimed his big recliner.

The evening together hadn’t been planned, but somehow they’d all ended up here, at Aidan’s place. They’d talked about football, the chances of an early snow and whether or not they should get in a camping trip together before it got too cold. But they hadn’t addressed the real reason they were drinking beer together.

Del figured he was the oldest, so it was up to him. “The twins didn’t tell either of you?”

Calling Ronan and Mathias “the twins” was no longer applicable, but they’d been that for as long as he could remember. Changing now seemed impossible. He wondered how they thought of themselves.