“Why?” Hannah asked.

“Because it says WELCOME, and a house should know who’s coming.”

Hannah laughed through tears.

Nathaniel stood by the bare living-room wall while Sophie taped the card at a crooked angle.

He remembered how Caroline had celebrated ordinary milestones: the first tomato in a garden, a neighbor finishing a degree, a rescued dog finding a home.

“Do you think it looks okay?” Sophie asked him.

“It looks like someone belongs here,” he said.