He felt when her sobs subsided and when they did he didn't let go. Still he held her cradled against him, giving her an extra moment of comfort.

This wasn't just from the four years that had been stoled from her, he thought. No, this ran deeper than that. But she had told him, hadn't she? About what her family had been like before. Her childhood. If he was right, then this break had been a long time coming.