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She pulled away a bit and looked at him "You know, I’d ht object He’s set, should soht to ask--you have to watch out for her Yes, is the answer Of course I’ll take care of Mercy Don’t worry about it again"

But that night, after the er, he carried Mercy to her car and, for the first time, didn’t follow her home "I shouldn’t leave Austin alone And you have your phone If you’re worried about anything or have a problem, call me I’ll lock the front door and run down the block to help you"

"I’ll be fine," she said "I’m sorry, Spencer I think I upset you I asked too htly on the lips and said, "Don’t be silly You have to think about things like that We’ll talk more about this later"

"Okay," she said

But she could feel the instant distance between theht be coed up I’et some rest"

"Okay Feel better I’ll be here all day"

Spencer didn’t sleep Hisheadache And all this because Devon had asked hi happen to her while they were a couple? It was a logical request And Mercy was cute as could be; well-behaved and set had had a second child, he would have loved a daughter like Mercy

But they hadn’t Instead Bridget had left hiot hirabbed a cup of coffee and went to the deck to keep an eye on hi off the dock He sat on the deck and just watched the sea And thought about things

Less than teeks after arriving in Thunder Point, threehis wife, Spencer had been called to Missouri because his father had passed It was far fro ho from the effects of a massive stroke that should’ve killed him but left hi from advanced Alzheimer’s and several heart attacks, survived hi The last tio, his nize either one of them

But he took his mother in a wheelchair to his father’s burial There were a few people there froone And hisoff at nothing,weird little movements with hands that were crippled with arthritis She had absolutely no idea as going on

The nursing supervisor fro home said, "Spencer, you’ve had a very hard year Letto be with us er In fact, some of us were surprised that your father predeceased her All the arrangements have been oodbye to her now It will be ason It’s tiet on with your life"

The call had corieved, but he didn’t mention it to anyone except Austin, to whom he said, "Grandma passed away peacefully She’s with Grandpa now and I believe they’re dancing When I was a boy, I remember, they loved to dance"

And Austin as sometimes a thirty-year-old in a ten-year-old body, asked, "Did she have a happy life?"

And he nodded with a smile "Until the past few years, after Grandpa had a stroke and Grandot the better of her, they were very happy They laughed a lot They had fun They were thrilled when you were born and visited a lot when you were small But then"

"I know Then she went around the bend And Grandpa stroked out"

Exactly correct, Spencer thought His father had been eighty-six, hisBridget hadn’t evenabout it with Austin, Spencer ht it up with hiet all eo I’ closed"

Cooper, who ed, said, "But, man, buddy, you’ve had a real load this year I’ht about it much after that He was relieved

He hadn’t cried about it He wasn’t the crying type anyway He’d let it all go and embraced his new life, his nen, his team--God, what a team! And there had been that wohter she was! She was so alive and, man, had he needed all that life Especially in the ashes of his buried grief

And then she’d said, "If soht it was the request that he be responsible for Mercy that had thrown him, but that wasn’t even close Theroared to life inside hiht of day And like an arrow through the heart he thought, I can’t do it again! I can’t bury one more person I love! I don’t have anyall he’d need is a broken-down pickup and a dead dog and he’d get an award

Cooper came outside a couple of times, sat with hih it was still just ce hih the school I’ his wounds and feeling sorry for hi across the beach She held so in her hands and she was almost to the base of the stairs before he could see it was a covered pot that she held She stood at the bottoan the cliot to the top she sat down, put the pot in the ed up," he said It wasn’t a co to understand that he was eed up Devon had scared hi?"

"Advil," he lied "I probably need a decongestant What’s that?"

"I made you chicken soup By now I’lad to warm it up for you Spencer, I’m sorry"

He took a deep breath He leaned forward "No, I’m sorry Your question--it took me by surprise, but the real surprise was inabout it a lot I want to say two things, two is First, whether we’re a couple or not, I will take responsibility for Mercy I will be sure she’s safe and cared for and loved, no ood And the second thing--when you asked me that, it really hit me just how serious our relationship is and how fast it became serious Devon, I love you, I can’t help it But I just buriedI buried s, to be sure I’m not just desperate for some stability, for an answer to soivenI don’t want to rush you I just want to think about this For a split second, I felt ambushed"