Say Goodbye (Romantic Suspense #25) by Karen Rose

            Liza smiled, completely content. “A very good time. I think Tom’s sister has adopted Abigail.” Nine-year-old Grace had taken the younger girl under her wing, and Abigail had followed her all afternoon like an imprinted duckling. They’d tasked themselves with making sure the “little kids” were staying out of trouble. “And Karl is on a cloud talking basketball with two ex-pros.” Tom and his stepfather Max had indulged Karl’s excitement, telling him stories about players they’d known. “He is too cute.”

            “He is,” Irina said fondly, watching her husband talk animatedly while flipping burgers on the grill. “I think I’ll keep him.”

            “And that kid from Eden—Graham?” Dana chuckled. “He’s been following Ethan around ever since he learned that Tom was a hacker and Ethan taught him everything he knows.”

            “Hopefully Graham will keep using his brain for good and not evil,” Liza said wryly. “He’d gotten in with a bad crowd before their mother took them to Eden.”

            “But he’s in a better home environment now?” Dana asked, concerned. She was always concerned about kids in abusive homes.

            Liza nodded. “His mother lost custody of Graham, and Hayley’s nearly eighteen. The two of them moved in with Cameron Cook’s family, and it seems to be good for all of them.”

            “And I got to hold that precious baby,” Irina said, then grinned. “And when she needed a diaper change, I got to give her back.”

            “That’s the best part of grandparenting, right?” Dana eyed Liza. “Or aunting? I mean, I am an amazing aunt.”

            “Not for a while,” Liza said. “Tom and I talked about it. No kids until I’m done with nursing school.”

            “Time will fly,” Irina said wisely. “Which reminds me, I have a cake in the oven and it’s almost done.” She started to rise, then changed her mind. “I meant to ask. How is Brooklyn? The little girl Liza met at Sunnyside Oaks,” Irina explained to Dana.

            “Keepin’ on.” Liza had so much respect for this tiny little girl, whose mother had rushed home as soon as she heard the news, transferring her to UC Davis’s pediatric cancer ward as Sunnyside had been shut down while under criminal investigation. All of its patients had been transferred to hospitals all over the area. “Her mother is spending more time with her now because she’s finished shooting her film. She’s an actress, a single mother who had no one to help her with Brooklyn. She didn’t want her daughter harassed by photographers, so she put her in Sunnyside based on the recommendation of a friend. Tom, Abigail, and I visited her at the hospital this morning.” Abigail and Brooklyn had become fast friends. “She’s got another round of chemo, but the doctors are hopeful it’ll be her last. She said thank you for the cookies, Irina.”

            Irina smiled. “The least I can do. I missed my visit this past week because of all of this.” She gestured to the people filling the yard. “But I’ll see her in a few days.” She stood up. “I have to pull that cake from the oven. If it burns, I will have revolution.”

            Dana chuckled as Irina hurried away. “I like her.”

            “I knew you would.” Liza looked around, grinning at Tom, who was sneaking up behind his mother with a Super Soaker. Caroline would not be pleased. “He’s just a big kid.”

            “And happier than I’ve seen him in a while. Which makes Caroline and me happy, too. We always wondered if anything would happen between you two.”

            “They had a betting pool here,” Liza grumbled. “Karl won two hundred bucks.”

            Dana clapped her hands, a delighted expression on her face. “We had one, too!”

            “Who won?”

            Dana preened. “I did. And everyone said I cheated because I told you to keep your heart open if he changed his mind, but I took the cash anyway. The girls at the shelter had an ice cream party. They said to thank you.”

            Liza laughed. “Karl donated his to Tom’s charity here in town. It’s a sports program for kids from abusive homes.”

            Dana leaned into Liza’s shoulder companionably. “It’s like we came full circle, you know?”

            Shrieks from across the yard had them looking up. Caroline was dripping wet and had wrested the Super Soaker from Tom because he was laughing too hard to stop her.