But whose mother are you? Don’t slip so easily into the…

““But whose mother are you? Don’t slip so easily into the role of being that kid’s mother.” “I used to be.” “But you’re not, anymore.” “Really?” Jill’s chest tightened. “What’s a mother, or a stepmother? What’s a family? Isn’t it forever? The love doesn’t stop when the legal relationship does.” “No, but the obligation does. The responsibility does.” Jill tried a different tack. “Okay, think about it this way. Your son Steven is going to be my stepson, after we get married. I love him, and he’s a great young man. Let’s imagine that, God forbid, something happens to you, and I remarry, and your son Steven gets into trouble. Medical, legal, whatever. Do I turn my back on him because my new husband says so?” “Steven’s thirty years old, busy as hell, down in Texas. He doesn’t need us anymore, he barely even visits.” “But he could need us, or me.” “Then you can’t be there for him, not forever and ever.” “Love isn’t finite, Sam.” “No, but time is. Money is. Resources are. Energy is.” “I know, but is that the world you want to live in?” Jill thought he was missing the point. “Wouldn’t you want me to take care of Steven?” “No, I still come down the same way.” Sam’s lips flattened to a firm line. “I’d understand it if your husband felt the way I do, which is that I didn’t sign on for this. I love you and I love Megan, but I don’t love your troubled ex-stepdaughter, and I don’t want another kid. I’m getting out of the kid business.””

— Lisa Scottoline