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eyes well up with tears yet again.
    “Uh-oh, here she goes again,” Dana Sue said, getting to her feet. “I need to get to work before we all start crying.”
    “I never cry,” Helen declared.
    Dana Sue groaned. “Don’t even start. Maddie will be forced to challenge you, and before you know it, all of Serenity will be flooded and you’ll both look like complete wrecks when we meet in the morning. Maddie, do you want me to drop you off at home?”
    She shook her head. “I’ll walk. It’ll give me time to think.”
    “And to sober up before her mama sees her,” Helen taunted.
    “That, too,” Maddie agreed.
    Mostly, though, she wanted time to absorb the fact that on one of the worst days of her life she’d been surrounded by friends who’d given her a glimmer of hope that her future wasn’t going to be quite as bleak as she’d imagined.

2
    I t was almost dusk when Maddie walked through the wrought-iron front gate of the monstrosity of a house that had been in the Townsend family for five generations. According to Helen, Bill had reluctantly agreed to let her remain there with the children, since the house would one day be Tyler’s. Staring up at the massive brick facade, Maddie almost regretted winning that point. She would have been happier in something cozier with a white picket fence and some roses. The upkeep on this place could bankrupt her, but Helen assured her she’d made provisions for that, too, in the settlement.
    As she opened the front door, she braced herself to deal with her mother. But when she walked into the family room at the back of the house, it was Bill she discovered sitting on the sofa with Katie napping in his arms and the boys lounging in front of the TV, their attention riveted on a show she was pretty sure she’d never allowed them to watch. She immediately stiffened at the sight of some sort of extreme-fighting competition.
    One thing at a time, she warned herself. Getting rid of her soon-to-be ex was her first priority.
    Before she opened her mouth, though, she allowed herself a long hard look at him, something she hadn’t dared to do earlier. His blond hair was still thick, but there were a few silver strands she’d never noticed before, and an unhealthy pallor beneath his tan. The lines on his face, which once had lent character to his handsome features, made him look tired now. If it was still her business, she’d have been worried about him.
    She reminded herself of how furious she’d been a few hours ago. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, reclaiming her earlier anger. “And where is my mother?”
    The boys, used to her neutral tone and careful remarks about their father, regarded her with surprise. Bill merely frowned his disapproval.
    “She left when I got here. I said I’d stay till you got home. We need to talk,” he said.
    “I said all I have to say to you at Helen’s office,” she retorted, standing her ground. “Do I need to repeat it?”
    “Maddie, please, let’s not start a scene in front of the kids.”
    She knew he was less concerned about that than about having to face any more of her justifiable outrage. Even so, he had a point. Tyler was already looking as if he might leap to her defense. He’d felt compelled to do that too many times lately. He’d been stuffing down his own feelings in an attempt to be supportive to her. It was too much of a burden for a sixteen-year-old boy who’d once idolized his dad.
    “Fine,” she said tightly. “Tyler, Kyle, go upstairs and finish your homework. I’ll fix supper as soon as your dad leaves.”
    “Mine’s done,” Tyler said, not budging, his expression defiant.
    “Mine, too,” Kyle said.
    She gave them a warning look that had them scrambling to their feet.
    “I’ll take Katie,” Tyler offered, picking up his sleeping sister.
    “Goodbye, boys,” Bill called after them.
    “Bye, Dad,” Kyle answered. Tyler said nothing.
    Bill stared after them, his expression sad. “Tyler’s