POV: Kesley

"Luther," I said.

"Ma'am."

"Thank you. For today. For all of it."

A pause that was longer than his usual ones. "It is what I am here for," he said.

"No," I said. "Today was more than that. You know it was."

He was quiet for a moment. Then, simply: "Yes. It was." Another pause. "You are good for him, Mrs Blackstone. You always were. It just took the right time for everything else to catch up."

I did not answer that. I just held it, quietly, for the rest of the drive home.

The house was quiet when I arrived. The kind of quiet that meant the...