Northstar Vale Picture a place where it all doesn’t hurt.

Towhee really wasn’t the spiritual sort. She didn’t believe she was really haunted by her daughter’s ghost. She knew it was just her mind playing tricks on her. But as she stood there and breathed through the sensation of life quickening in her womb, she found herself wishing that Leo’s soul would somehow find its way in there and she could be reborn.

Tamar’s arrival pushed that errant thought from her mind. When the Morphe went to embrace her, Towhee eased into it. She thought about what Maxim told her—“warmth will be there when we go back”—and gave the younger woman a grateful squeeze before pulling back so she could see her face.

I just had to get away for a few days, Towhee felt the need to explain. I didn’t mean to yank my whole family away without warning. But we’re back now.