She had, instead, conscripted him into something that would never let him rest and never be finished, and it was the greatest gift anyone had ever given him, because it was the difference between a man who had paid a debt and a man who had finally, at thirty-eight, been handed a purpose.

Chapter 20 — Speak Up When Something Is Not Right

Lianna never returned to work at the estate.

She used part of her settlement to buy a small apartment near her mother, and a year later she opened a neighborhood breakfast restaurant in Quincy, Massachusetts, and named it Prescott and Son.

Behind the counter she hung a framed photograph of Nathan in his work gear, and beneath it a small brass plaque that read: Speak up when something is not right. The diner became known for warm food, good coffee, and Lianna’s habit of covering customers who came up short.

When a young mother realized at the register that she was five dollars shy, Lianna made up the difference without a word and without a fuss.