It was the far rarer thing: conditional welcome, love with standards, an open hand that had not forgotten how to close.

And Daniel understood, watching her set those terms from a hospital bed, that this was the same quality that had made her brave enough to confront a murderer — a refusal to let feeling, whether fear or love, override her clear sight of what was actually true and actually right.

Maria saw clearly, and acted on what she saw, whether it was dangerous or merely hard.

It was, Daniel thought, the most reliable kind of person there is.