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“Thank you. If not for the stupid cancer, I would say this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“We should have some cupcakes,” Carter declared. “I’m starving.” He pressed a hand to his stomach as if to emphasize the point. This kid was always focused on his next mouthful.

“Good idea,” Hannah said. “I asked the nursing staff if birthday cupcakes would be okay for you to eat. They gave an enthusiastic yes. Apparently you’ve lost weight and the doctors are concerned.”

“Nothing tastes good,” Morgan admitted. “Everything is either metallic or cardboard, or both. But I do have to say, those cupcakes look fantastic.”

“They’re yellow cake with chocolate frosting,” Riley informed her, sitting up straighter. “We made them last night. I told Hannah that is your favorite kind of cake.”

“You are exactly right. Thank you for remembering.”

“I helped frost them,” Carter added.

“They are beautiful,” Morgan said. “I can’t wait to eat them.”

They passed around cupcakes. The children devoured theirs and even Morgan managed to nearly finish one.

While they were still licking frosting from their fingers, Pam, the charge nurse, stuck her head in the door.

“Everything okay in here?”

“It couldn’t be better,” Morgan said. “Look at these beautiful cupcakes my children brought me.”

“Yum.” Pam stepped fully inside, her gaze going to the tray. “They look so good.”

“There are two dozen of them,” Morgan said. “We cannot possibly eat that many. Do you want to take some out for the rest of the staff?”

“I helped frost them,” Carter informed her.

“In that case,” Pam said, eyes dancing, “you should come with me. You two can help me pass them out to the nurses and techs who are working today.”

“Can we, Mom?” Riley asked.

“Of course. Just stay with Pam.”

Morgan’s gaze followed them as they went, an expression of such raw, unfiltered love on her face that Hannah’s chest ached. It was as if every second with them was a gift she was afraid to stop unwrapping.

“Thank you again,” Morgan said after the door closed behind Pam and the kids. Some of the bright animation drained from her features now that they were gone, revealing the deep lines of fatigue etched into her face. The shadows under her eyes seemed darker and her shoulders slumped. “I can’t believe you traveled seven hours in a snowstorm to see me.”

Hannah reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand gently. “It was worth it. The kids have been missing you like crazy. It’s hard for them, especially this time of year. I’m so glad we were able to make it work.”

Morgan’s mouth tightened. “I hate that they’re with you and not me,” she said quietly. “But I also know they’re safe and loved. It’s the only way I can stand being here.”

“They are. Safe and loved, I mean.”

“It was very nice of your friend to bring you all the way down here, especially when he doesn’t even know me.”

“Wes is a pretty good guy,” Hannah said automatically. Except when he broke my heart.

“Last I heard, you told me the two of you once dated. How are you friendly enough now that you can go on a long road trip with him without awkwardness?”

Hannah let out a soft laugh that didn’t feel entirely natural.

She wouldn’t exactly say there hadn’t been awkwardness. They had both done a good job of hiding it but every word, every glance seemed coated in memories they both pretended not to see. The space between them in the truck had felt charged, like the air before a thunderstorm. They were both trying so hard to act normal that nothing felt normal at all. The unspoken history between them hummed beneath every casual comment, every shared smile that lasted just a beat too long. If this was friendship, it was the most complicated, tension-filled friendship she had ever experienced.

“We’re both over any hard feelings we might have had when things between us fell apart,” she said.

“Are you?” Morgan murmured, watching her carefully.