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that.”
    “Shit,”
Jane said with a loud, gusty exhale, “Why the hell didn’t you answer your
phone?”
    Now
Zoe felt a little defensive. “I’m allowed to turn off the ringer and have some
peace and quiet occasionally, aren’t I? I didn’t know everyone would act like
there was a national crisis. I mean, really—do you all think I’m about to do
myself in or something?”
    “No,
no,” Jane assured her, sounding rather sheepish now herself. “I wouldn’t have
been worried, but Adam sounded worried. And it was so weird to get a call from
him at all. So then I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Anyway, glad you’re all
right.”
    “I’m
fine,” Zoe announced—both to Jane and to Adam, who was standing in front of her
and blatantly eavesdropping on her phone conversation. “I didn’t mean to worry
you.”
    When
she hung up, she handed the phone back to Adam. “Sorry you made the trip over
here.”
    He
gave a half-shrug. It was hard to tell from his expression what he was feeling
now. He didn’t look urgent anymore, but he looked tired and maybe a bit
disgruntled. “Just leave your phone on from now on.”
    She
tensed. “I won’t leave it off for so long—in case people need to get a hold of
me. But I have every right to do with my phone what I want.”
    His
eyes narrowed, but he didn’t object. “Fair enough.”
    Zoe
stood in front of him for a moment, feeling awkward, expecting him to leave now
that he’d ascertained her continued existence. But he didn’t. His gaze moved
from her face—which she realized was still probably tear-streaked from crying
in the closet earlier—to her unflattering sweats to Josh’s jacket, which she still
held.
    “What
were you doing?” Adam asked at last, as if he had every right to know.
    “I
was going through some of Josh’s things,” she admitted—not because he needed to
know but because there didn’t seem to be any point in withholding the
information.
    “By
yourself?”
    “Why
shouldn’t I do it by myself?”
      Adam
slanted a quick, impatient look at her—the one that indicated she’d said
something foolish. But all he said was, “Where’s Logan?”
    “In
the bedroom, playing with his animal table. He may actually have fallen
asleep.”
    As
if her explanation was an invitation, Adam strode back to the bedroom. Logan
wasn’t asleep. He was sitting up next to his plastic table top that had bright
animals and shapes that he could move around in different configurations. One
of his hands clutched the shape of a cow.
    When
he saw them, he clapped his hands and jabbered something Zoe took to be a
greeting.
    “Hey,”
she said gently, “Have you been playing by yourself all this time?”
    When
he reached out to her, babbling sounds like, “Da-la-ga-la,” she leaned over to
pick him up and pull him into a hug.
    “He’s
sitting up on his own?” Adam asked.
    “Yeah.
Didn’t you know that? He’s been sitting up for a few weeks now.”
    “Isn’t
he kind of young to sit up on his own?”
    “No.
I think it’s about normal.” Zoe gave Adam a curious look, wondering what had
prompted the sudden interest in his sort-of nephew. “Although I’m quite sure
he’s a child protégé just the same.”
     His
eyes warmed slightly. “Naturally.” He glanced around the room then, obviously
taking note of the piles of Josh’s clothes she had everywhere. “This can’t be
fun,” he murmured at last.
    Zoe
swallowed, strangely touched by the mild words. “Yeah. It’s horrible. I’m trying
to give away as much as I can, but it’s so hard to give things up.” She stroked
Josh’s jacket, which was still slung over her arm.
    “Do
you want some help?”
    If
he’d just assumed he could help her, she would have refused him. But since he’d
asked, and since he’d seemed to be genuinely worried about her before, it seemed
silly to say no.
    “All
right. If you think you can help without being too bossy.”
    Adam
gave her an odd look—she