Her face crumpled in pain, and she clutched my sleeve with the very last of her failing strength.

“I never put him ahead of you in my heart, Cassie,” she sobbed softly.

“That’s sure how it felt to a kid growing up in that freezing house,” I answered, unable to keep the hurt in.

“I know how awful it looked, and I’m so very sorry,” she cried, pressing my hand to her cheek.

“Then tell me the real reason, Mom,” I said, searching her cloudy eyes for the truth.

She turned her head anxiously toward the open hospital door as though someone were listening out in the hall.