Grace returned three hours later with groceries and a peace offering: takeout from the local diner.
"Thought we could all use comfort food," she said, setting bags on the counter. "Plus I got a chance to scope out the town. It's... quaint."
"That's one word for it," Ethan said.
Lily appeared from her room. Drawn by the smell of food. "Did you bring pie?"
"Apple and cherry. Because I'm the best aunt ever."
"You're my only aunt."
"Still counts."
We ate together. The tension from earlier dissipating slowly. Grace told stories about the town. The gossip she'd overheard at the diner. The cashier at the grocery store who'd asked about "Ethan's city woman."
"That's what they're calling you," Grace said to me. "The city woman. Very mysterious."
"Great. I'm town gossip now."
"You were tow
