The old patriarch of the Paige family had always been stern and uncompromising. Were it not for Julian’s years of absence, during which he endured countless hardships in the outside world, he wouldn’t have indulged him so freely in recent years, allowing him to act with impunity.

Julian stood on the curb, waiting for a taxi, when footsteps approached from behind. “Julian, let me go with you,” Willow said softly. “Maybe if Grandpa Paige sees me, he won’t be so hard on ...