“Guess you’re right.” Miriam put her phone down, not sure what else she could do to help Teresa.

“Alright,” Teresa said, patting Miriam’s shoulder, “you’re right. It might not have been Irene. Either way, it’s been handled, so let’s move on.”

Teresa then headed to her meeting. With the company’s financial troubles behind them and the busy season starting, there was plenty to discuss.

It wasn’t until after six that Teresa made it home.

Evelyn had brought Isabel over, and Lucas was also there. Michael was the first to run over and throw himself into Teresa’s arms.

“Mom, why are you just getting back? Didn’t you say you’d be home yesterday?” Michael asked.

Teresa cleared her throat and explained, “Something came up last night, and I got held up.”

“Really? What happened?” Michael asked.

“It’s nothing. It’s all sorted out now,” Teresa gently let go of Michael and added.

Teresa gave Evelyn and Lucas a quick hello and said, “Hey, Lucas. Welcome home.”

Lucas smiled, tears welling up in his eyes as he hugged Teresa.

“I never thought I’d have so much family in my life. With all of you here, I feel content,” Lucas said.

“Then promise me you won’t do anything reckless again. Let’s live our lives well from now on and leave all that pain in the past, okay?” Teresa said gently.

Lucas replied, “I promise I’ll turn over a new leaf and live my life this time.”

Hearing that, Teresa felt at ease.

Watching this, Evelyn wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye. She’d made a ton of ravioli filled with beef and shrimp.

“Mom, why did you make so many?” Teresa asked.

“Jonathan is coming over for dinner later. I remembered he likes the beef ones, so I made a bunch of extra just for him,” Evelyn replied.

Teresa was caught off guard for a moment. She quickly asked, “Jonathan is coming over tonight? He told me he’d come by tomorrow.”

“I called him this afternoon and told him we were making ravioli tonight. I asked if he wanted to come over for some, and he said yes,” Evelyn explained.

Teresa was speechless. “Mom, let me help,” Lucas said, rolling up his sleeves. He headed to the kitchen while Teresa freshened up, then returned to help Evelyn prep the vegetables.

Meanwhile, Michael and Isabel were playing together in the living room, the two kids laughing and having the time of their lives. The whole scene was filled with warmth and laughter.

By the time all the ravioli were wrapped, Evelyn turned to Teresa and said, “Why don’t you give Jonathan a call and ask what time he’ll be here? That way, I can plan and know when to put the ravioli in the pot.”

Teresa agreed, but when she tried to call Jonathan, the call wouldn’t go through.

She turned to Evelyn and said, “He’s probably busy. He just got back from Jarisburg and has a mountain of work waiting for him. Why don’t you go ahead and cook some for the kids first? They’re probably starving.”

Evelyn agreed, but when the ravioli were ready, Isabel was happily eating, but Michael refused to touch his. He insisted on waiting for Jonathan to arrive so they could eat together.

“Mom, why isn’t Mr. Daddy Lime here yet?” Michael asked.

Teresa glanced at the clock and answered, “He’s probably still in a meeting. Why don’t you go ahead and eat, sweetie?”

Michael shook his head, rubbing his stomach. He said he wasn’t hungry and wanted to wait for Jonathan to come so they could eat together.

“I’ll watch some TV then,” Michael said, grabbing the remote and flipping through the channels.

Suddenly, he stopped on the financial news channel. A breaking news story flashed across the screen, instantly grabbing everyone’s attention.