home in that bag.”
“She did.”
Tara looked toward her mother.
“I don’t think I understood how much she loved you until that day.”
I smiled softly.
“I always knew Elaine cared about me. But I didn’t realize how firmly she’d stand up for me when it mattered.”
Tara nodded.
“I’m glad she did.”
There was something different about her apology now.
She wasn’t asking me to minimize what happened.
She wasn’t hoping I’d tell her everything had been fine.
She understood that her mother’s intervention had protected me, even
