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Given the situation, we decided to catch the red-eye flight home.

Fewer people at the airport and on the plane.

Reece shelled out for first class, which lowered her contact with others even further.

With her infusion done that morning, basically all we had to do was make sure she ate and stayed hydrated.

The three of us kept our masks on the entire trip, sure we got some side-eye looks from other passengers.

It was inevitable. For the most part, though, we had an uneventful flight.

Char slept most of the way back to Charleston. Reece watched his mom. I watched Reece. Few things in life felt as good as truly helping out someone you cared about. With all the time we spent together, Reece had fast become my best friend.

When we landed, Reece got her wheelchair and I helped her down into it.

I sighed the biggest sigh of relief once we left the plane.

Never since Benny’s birth had I been away from him for this long.

I missed my boy. I missed Claudia. But before my reunion with them happened, we had to get Char to Reece’s place.

I couldn’t say what I’d expected from his house.

He’d said it was huge, so I guess some kind of mansion.

He didn’t live in a mansion. He lived in a big farmhouse set on a lot of property that butted up to the ocean.

White clapboard siding. A huge wraparound porch with a swing.

It already had a ramp for Char’s chair and I knew the man had money, but to get this done in, like, four days? That was a straight-up miracle.

As I sat in the passenger seat staring at the home, my head cocked in confusion, he said, “I’m good, but I’m not that good. It was here when I bought the place. Since it connects to the side porch, not the front, I didn’t bother to remove it because it didn’t bother me.”

“It’ll make getting her in and out easier. Do you think we could get a boardwalk put in that leads to the beach? It would make the trip less bumpy for her.”

He squeezed my knee. I guess he liked that I asked that. “Already—” Reece cleared his throat. “Already have one. The last owners put it in.”

“Good. The view is amazing. I bet she’d like to have tea out there in the mornings.” I’d have asked her about it directly, but she’d fallen asleep again pretty much the moment we’d moved her into the truck. Being in the hospital took a lot out of a person.

“Ma has a room on the first floor. En suite. That’s where she always sleeps when she stays with me.

If Claudia wants, I can move my office upstairs because there’s a Jack-and-Jill bathroom between my office and the den.

Tub, shower, and commode. We have an en suite in our room, but the other two bedrooms upstairs share a bathroom at the end of the hall.

I had Bishop put Benny in a room upstairs by us.

He said there’s a gate at the top and the bottom now.

In case Benny gets up in the night, he’ll be fine.

Bishop and Jaycee knew exactly what to use to get my place ready for him. ”

“That’s incredible, Reece.”

“I know Benny has to feel comfortable with the move, but having you here will mean the world to my mom.”

Char woke up when he shut the truck off. This time, I got her wheelchair while he helped her down. I rolled her up the ramp so Reece could get the door for us. The boxes with her clothes and other belongings sat stacked neatly inside by the front of the house.

“Hungry yet?” I asked her. “I have to get Benny and Claudia, then I can cook. Or I can order out. Reece is— was a single guy. I bet he’s got cans of soup or frozen entrees. I can throw something together before I leave.”

“I can wait until you get back…” She paused to take a breath.

“I’d like to have dinner with Benny and Claudia too.

” Her voice was weak, softer even than when we’d spent that weekend with her.

I hated it. I’d known her for what equaled a week at most, but I hated this for her.

I hated it for Reece. Hell, I hated it for me, too.

That was a whole lot of hate for a situation none of us had any control over.

This was my problem to deal with and I wouldn’t let it affect how I cared for her.

Sucking it up I asked, “Do you have any white beans, Reece?”

He stopped to think. “I got a couple jars in the pantry, I think. What are you thinking?”

“Meat in the freezer?” I asked.

“I’m sure. You’ll have to check what I have, though.”

Rummaging through his pantry was hardly a hardship.

He owned my dream kitchen. The pots and pans alone cost a small fortune, and don’t even get me started on the appliances.

A Vulcan range. Subzero refrigerator. I was in the throes of culinary ecstasy.

A girl could get used to living in a place like this real fast .

Now I only hoped that Claudia’s and Benny’s transitions to staying here would go just as smoothly.

I needed Claudia to want to move here because I needed Char to be happy, and I needed Reece to be happy.

Benny, my beautiful boy, I figured he’d be fine as long as he had his momma.

I mean, yes, I wanted to be happy too, but my life was one big, perpetual heartbreak, setback or disappointment with little pockets of joy like becoming a momma or meeting Miss Claudia.

Now I could add times with Reece and Char to that list. I liked bringing joy to the people I cared about.

So if Claudia didn’t want to move here with us, I didn’t know what I’d do.

After a thorough check of the pantry and freezer, I found Reece had all the important components for me to make this French bean stew that was a staple in my house because beans were pretty budget friendly.

Between the expensive pans, the huge kitchen island, and the panoramic view of the ocean from the bank of windows, I felt like a host of a Food Network show.

Prep done, into the oven it went to bake low and slow.

The low and slow method provided me the chance to grab Benny and Miss Claudia. If we swung by the store, I could pick up some breadcrumbs and a loaf of crusty bread to go with dinner.

Two arms wrapped around me from behind and Reece planted a kiss to my neck. “What are you concocting in here? It smells great already.”

“A kind of bean stew I like to make. I saw it on a cooking show and decided to try it. Even Benny eats it—well, mostly. He eats the beans, but I feed him chicken nuggets instead of the sausage. I’ll get those at the store.”

“Nice. Anything I can do?”

“You can let me use the truck. Then once we have Claudia here, you can take me back to the apartment to clear out the refrigerator and get my car. ”

“Done,” he said. “This is the best arrangement in the world. No fuss. It’s no wonder you women like to read about it in your romances.”

Right... No fuss.

Why did it hurt so much to hear him say that?

If fuss equaled emotion, which I think was what he meant, would it be so bad to have a little fuss? A dropper full, maybe?

I still had no idea if Claudia would even go for moving in to Reece’s place for now. I needed to be there, but she owed nothing to me or Reece. I got it was a big ask. It’s just… leaving her behind felt wrong. We were a family and needed to see this through as a family.

Since she was my first stop, I’d find out soon enough. After giving Char a hand squeeze, grabbing the keys from Reece, with a quick peck on the cheek, I walked back out to the truck and headed for home.

With each passing stoplight, I missed my boy more and couldn’t wait to get my Benny hugs on, to the point that I sprinted from the truck to get inside.

It only took one knock for Claudia to answer.

My boy peeked from behind her legs, and when I squatted down to his level, he threw himself into my arms. I scooped him up, standing to walk inside Claudia’s place so we could talk.

“So, I have something to discuss with you,” I said, deciding to rip the bandage off.

“How is Char?”

We walked over to the sofa, each of us taking an end with Benny on my lap. I pivoted to see Claudia better.

“She’s here in Charleston at Baker’s house.

Here’s the thing: I lost my cleaning job when I took time off to help him.

” She gasped, as one would in this situation.

“I was going to ask for my job at Slits back, but Baker asked me to look after his mom instead. But here’s where it gets a little iffy.

He wants me to stay there at his place, me and Benny to make it easier.

And he’d like you there too. I want you there.

Char would love your company. And he understands we’re a bit early in our relationship to be moving in together, so he’ll keep up our places here in case it doesn’t work out. ”

Once I got it all out, I waited for a response. She gave me nothing for several long beats. My hands started feeling clammy and gross. I needed her to say yes .

Then, when she finally did speak, she blew my mind. A slow, sly smile spread over her face. “Everything I need is already at his house.”

My mouth dropped open like a fish. “It is? How? When?”

“Those nice young men from the hockey team. They got the key to your place from me, remember. And then once they took your living room furniture and packed up Benny’s room, they asked if I had anything I wanted moved to Baker’s place for my room.

When I said they had made a mistake, the super handsome one, Grant, said that there was no mistake.

Baker told him I’d be moving in as well. ”

“Are you mad?”

“Mad? That my family wants me around? Psh …” She swatted her hand in front of her. “So long as you continue to want me around, I’d like to stay around. You and Benny mean everything to me.”

I leaned over, pulling her into a one-armed hug, squishing Benny between us. I couldn’t help it. Apparently, I’d worried over nothing. She wanted to stay with us. Happy didn’t begin to cover how I felt right now.

The emotion of the moment almost got the better of me, but I cleared my throat and said, “Then let’s go to the store.”

Point to Bree.