Mike looked at his phone and then looked up at Mari. "She wants to talk to them here."

Instead of going to the beach, he selfishly went back to Mari's. He needed to talk to her about his brother. He had to stop himself from telling Anna that this was the answers to their prayers.

He also told Mari about the threatening letter. He wasn't planning to tell Anna though. He thought he saw some jealousy when he talked about Shelby. He emphasised that she was engaged, and he was happy or would be if George liked Anna.

They had even sat outside for a few minutes. Mari had been going out to the patio every day since the day he carried her out. He was proud of her.

When Anna texted, he was indulging on Mari's lips. They had stolen a few moments together. If anyone asked, he was prepared to lie and say he was taking a nap.

He texted his brother asking him to come back. He added, leave mom and dad with Bryan.

Anna arrived first flanked by the two boys. He was glad that Cole had proven as protective as Sam. Anna hugged them both, and they left with the football.

"You're here?" It surprised Anna to see him.

"Trying to nap."

She nodded but turned to the stairs as Mari came down. "Anna! I've missed you."

Mike noticed that Mari avoided calling attention to how much Anna had grown. Mike felt something in his chest when Anna freely hugged Mari.

"Baby girl, do you want me to leave?"

She looked nervous and nodded. "Does Mari know?"

He confessed, "Yeah."

She smiled and nodded. Did she know that there was a connection between him and Mari?

"I'll go visit with Gran and Grandpa then."

Mari added, "I'll go upstairs." Her eyes lingered on him for just a second. They definitely had a connection.

Anna walked back with her aunt and uncle much like how the boys brought her over. They had sat on the patio and talked for a long time. Amy talked about how long they tried for a baby. She told her about the birth mother who had chosen them only to change her mind after the baby was born.

"We held her and then suddenly she wasn't ours." She had tears as she recalled the story.

"How old was she?"

"Twenty," Tim said.

"You both work a lot."

"I would quit and dedicate myself to being a mother. We can afford it."

They had always been generous with her on her birthday and Christmas.

She didn't know what inspired her to ask her next question. "What was your first memory of me?"

Her uncle smiled. "The hospital right after you were born. You were a tiny pink bundle. I remember thinking she's a little person. I held you too."

Amy said, "You were six, I think, when I met you. You came over to your gran's with your dad. You were wearing a dress. I think you dressed up for Tim. Truthfully, you were disappointed that I was there."

Anna had forgotten about that. She looked at Tim. "You always told me I was your girlfriend."

Tim smiled. "We had fun together. We moved away and got caught up in life, but I still love you like the day you were born."

Anna didn't know what to think. She had been sad when Tim had moved away but then she grew older and forgot the time they spent together when she was little.

He really deserved to be a father. Then Amy asked her smart questions about her pregnancy.

Anna commented, "You know a lot about doctors."

Amy laughed. "I'm a pediatric nurse practitioner."

"You take care of babies, even though you can't have one?" This surprised Anna.

"I love them. It hurts especially when a mother has more kids than she can handle. I wonder, why her and not me?"

Anna realized that she didn't know her aunt at all. "Anna, we'll love you and your baby even if you choose to be a mother."

Anna didn't want to be a mother but was afraid to admit it. When she grew tired from the questioning, she suggested that they walk back. She wanted to talk to Cole.

Unfortunately, it was dinnertime, and she had to wait until everyone left before they could go upstairs. Cole didn't disappear all night he stayed near by. Even his mother commented, and he shrugged.

When they shut Cole's door, he said, "I like them. I looked for reasons not to but I do."

"I forgot that when I was little, my uncle and I were close."

"What are you thinking?"

"That I'm afraid to make it final."

"But you want them to be the parents?"

"Yeah, I want my baby to have my gran as it's gran and my uncle for its father. I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"That I'll wake up one day and regret it."

"You need to make sure you do great things so you have no regrets. You can always go visit."

"I know."

He hugged her. When she looked up at him, he put his forehead against hers. "It will be okay. I feel it here." He put his hand over his heart. "Everyone in this house tonight loves you. We'll all take care of you."

Then he kissed her again. It was more intense than the one before. When it ended, he said, "You better go to bed."

Her guests returned earlier than she expected. Mike came upstairs. "My mother asked me to invite you downstairs."

Part of her wanted to say no but she wanted to know everything about him and that included his family.

They centered the conversation on speculation about Anna's choice.

Nancy asked, "What do you think she'll decide?"

She shook her head. She knew it was emotional and didn't want to get their hopes up. "I'd only be guessing."

She and Mike exchanged a look. She imagined that he knew that she had an opinion. She would share with him but not the woman whose future was being determined by a sixteen-year-old girl.

Nancy steered the conversation away from the baby and began asking Mari about the house and her family. She retold stories of her happy days on The Point. She longed to put her toes in the warm sand and then dip them in the ice cold salt water. She wanted to get better and start living. She wanted a lot of things she could never have including Mike in her life.

She waited until Tim and Amy were in their room before she slipped downstairs. Mike was on the sofa. Casually reading or pretending to.

"Will you take me outside?"

"Should I carry you?" His smile almost did her in.

"No, but I want to try to go for a walk."

His face was serious as he nodded. He put his arm around her as they left through the back slider. "Lead the way," he whispered in the night air. He must have felt her trembling because when they reached the side of the house he stopped and kissed her. It was as if he was trying to give her strength through his lips. "Don't worry anyone out this late is probably drunk."

She laughed. "That was never me."

"Why do I think you and Lana have some stories to tell?"

"Heidi, too. Bethany disappeared for a while after her grandmother died, but she's back now."

She leaned into Mike as they walked and it surprised her they had left her own property and was on the road. "Where to, the beach?"

"No, I want to see Lana's house. I haven't seen it and the house where Anna is living. I want to see where you are when you are here."

"Okay, just say the word if it's too much and I'll carry you. We might cause some stares but we can pretend you're drunk."

She laughed. She was out of her house and laughing. She wasn't even anxious, but she was one hundred percent certain that the strong arms around her and the longing deep within her were pushing away her fears. Dr. Freeman would be proud of her. She hadn't told him yet about Mike because he would ask the hard questions that she didn't have any answers for - the first being was there a future?

Mike slowed and pointed to a cottage that looked almost new and larger than most. The lights were out, and she imagined that Lana was curled up against Ryan. She used to be lucky like that, she instantly corrected those thoughts. Lana had found her second chance. Mari knew she could curl up with Mike but could she say goodbye when the time came if she did?

Next he pointed to a big home that had a garage and a second story. When she was growing up there were no houses like that except the ones like hers on River Road and Shore Drive. On all the bird streets there were only small cottages.

"Which way?" He whispered in the damp night air. The way they came was shorter than completing the circle. She surprised herself. "That way and pointed towards Shore Road."

He asked her what she thought about Anna's decision. It was the question that she hadn't answered earlier. She told him she never believed that Anna wanted the baby. "I think Tim and Amy's dreams will come true. I like them."

"I'm glad. Life kind of got in the way for all of us and we let ourselves drift apart. I was not sure what to think when they asked to visit but I'm glad they came and not just because of Anna and the baby."

Deep down, Mari knew that Mike shared with her things he didn't share with anyone else. She thought his feelings about his brother may be one of those moments. When they reached the backyard, she said, "Thank you."

His eyes looked serious. "I'm so proud of you."

Like magnets their lips joined, and it took an effort to finally separated them. His hand was under her hood in her hair, but he didn't pull it off, not outside even if it was dark. They quietly walked up the stairs. They lingered outside her door as he kissed her without the force they had outside. He whispered, "Goodnight."

She missed him the minute she shut her door. She waited while she heard him use the bathroom. She wondered what it would be like to stand next to him and brush her teeth. She and Charlie didn't really share the bathroom. He wasn't one to even pee in front of her. Why was she thinking about intimacies with a man she hadn't had sex with that she didn't even have with a man she thought she would marry?

Lying in bed she smiled imagining herself telling Lana that she walked by her cottage. Mari knew she hadn't completely overcome her fear, but she was proud of the steps she had taken. She could sit outside alone and she took a walk with Mike's support. She drifted off to sleep feeling very content.