Emma's Secret (16 page)

Megan set papers down and stared at her youngest daughter. “I told you I’d mail it, honey. Your daddy doesn’t need to worry about it.” She hoped she sounded sincere.

From the skeptical look on Emma’s face, it didn’t come across that way. “It’s been a long time since Papa wrote me, Mommy. I don’t think you know the address right. But Daddy knows how to get it to him.”

Behind her, Alexis snorted at the comment, while Megan took a step back at the admonition in Emma’s voice. Not once had Emma ever accused her of anything, not since she’d come home. Her other daughters, yes. Alexis especially. She constantly accused her of not loving her and Hannah the same as Emma, of not giving them enough time, of not paying enough attention. But Emma had never shown her disappointment like this. It hurt. Really hurt. Even if it was true.

“I’ll take care of it, I said.” There was an edge to Peter’s voice she hadn’t caught before.

Megan opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. It hurt her that Emma distrusted her so much—or was she reading too much into it? The thought left a sour taste in her mouth.

“Is this the one?” Hannah walked into the kitchen with a sheet of paper.

Emma ran over to where Hannah stood and studied the picture. When her chin bobbed up and down, Megan let out the air stuck inside her lungs.

“Where did you find it?” She thought for sure she’d left it on the counter yesterday.

Hannah shrugged. “It was underneath the table in the hallway.”

“Totally weird,” Alexis piped up.

Megan shrugged. “I must have put it on the table so that I’d remember to mail it.” She felt Peter’s presence behind her.

“At least we found it. Why don’t you go put it in my briefcase,” Peter said. When Megan tilted her head to look at him, she caught the wink he gave Emma.

As Emma left the room, Peter leaned his face toward hers and whispered into her ear, “You never meant to mail that, did you?”

J
ack coasted his old Ford into the parking lot and glanced around. It was still early. Late enough to miss the morning rush of those heading in to work, but early enough to miss the mothers getting out of the house with their noisy kids in tow. Jack tried to stay as far away from small kids as he could. He didn’t need any reminders of Emmie. Of her laughter and giggles.

A handful of vehicles littered the parking area, including the boys’ trucks. Jack grunted. They’d actually beat him there today. He was usually the first one to arrive. He hoped they’d kept his seat open. He preferred the corner seat so that he could look out across the tables and at the front door, as well as see who drove into the drive-thru area. He knew it was pointless to hope, but maybe, just maybe, he’d see Emmie.

“Wondered when you’d get here; the boys are getting impatient,” the waitress at the counter said as Jack entered the store. The tiny bells above the door jingled as it closed behind him.

“Not my fault if they’re early.” Jack watched her pour him a cup of black coffee.

Jack looked at the far booth in the corner. Both the boys, Doug and Kenny, were slouched over their coffees as they stared at him. His best friends. Before Dottie had passed away, Jack used to make
a trip into town once a week just to have coffee with them. Now it was daily.

“I might as well get a honey dip too. Can’t let these boys eat alone.”

Jack shuffled his way toward the table. “Where’ve you been? You’re late. Dougie and I have been sitting here like two old cows chewin’ cud,” said Kenny as Jack set his coffee and plate down on the table. They’d saved his chair for him.

“Slept in.” Jack grunted. He narrowed his eyes, daring them to say something. He took a sip of his coffee and peered over the rim. Doug looked like Jack felt. With his salt-and-pepper hair all over the place, he looked old.

“You never sleep in.”

Jack shook his head. Leave it to Doug to not leave things alone. “I did today.”

“Why?” Doug leaned back in his chair and tilted his head down to look over the top of his glasses at Jack.

Jack shrugged and took another sip of his coffee. “Does it matter?” He was getting annoyed. A vehicle drove by, but there was only a single passenger. A man.

“Of course it matters.” Kenny piped up with a scowl on his face.

Jack shook his head and scowled before glaring at Doug. He wasn’t an invalid or a child. And he wasn’t moving. Not now, not ever. He was going to die in that house. It was a promise he’d made to himself back when he was a prisoner of war.

He took a bite of his honey dip but kept quiet as the waitress came over with a full pot of coffee.

“You boys look like you need another cup. Things are a little quiet this morning, and I made too many pots.” She refilled Kenny’s
cup and topped off Doug’s and Jack’s; then she winked at them before walking away.

Jack jerked his head after her and smiled at Kenny. “I think she has a crush on you.”

Kenny’s face turned red before he hunched his shoulders. “She’s too young.”

Doug laughed before slapping Kenny in the shoulder. “Everyone is too young compared to you. Maybe she’s looking for a sugar daddy.”

Kenny scowled, deepening the lines on his face. “She’d better look elsewhere then.”

The three sat in silence while they all nursed their coffees. It was Jack who broke the silence.

“You aimin’ to die at my place?” He cleared his throat while Kenny’s eyes widened moments before he cast his gaze downward.

“I’m tired, Jack. The quiet at your place is what I need.” He shrugged. “And if I die in my sleep while sitting out on your front porch staring at the flowers you planted, then so be it. It’s better than dying in my bed with a nurse hovering over me.” His voice lowered to a mere whisper, but Jack heard every word. And he understood.

“You’re waiting for Emmie to come back, aren’t you?” Doug coughed as he broached the one subject neither man was allowed to discuss with him. But Jack let it be.

“Wishful thinking, most likely.” Jack wiped at a tear that slid down his cheek.

Doug leaned forward. “Just because she hasn’t come in a few days doesn’t mean she won’t again.”

“I know.” His chest ached, and he wasn’t sure whether it was from holding in his tears or if his heart just couldn’t handle the hurt anymore. He rubbed his chest and winced.

“Where’s your pills?” Kenny watched him like a hawk. Their fears that Jack would have a heart attack at home weren’t too far off. He expected it to happen any day, and was always amazed when he woke up in the morning.

Jack shook his head before standing up and stretching. “I’m fine.” He stared down at the boys and asked his original question. “Bingo today?”

The boys played bingo almost daily at the lodge—the retirement home where Doug and Kenny lived. It was an independent-living facility for seniors who didn’t require medical attention. Although there was talk of the doctors’ wanting Kenny to move to another wing, where there was more assistance than what they got now.

Doug shook his head. “Nah. They have an outing planned instead. Something about a picnic at the beach.”

Jack pondered the idea. It had been a long time since he’d last been to the beach. He’d promised Emmie he would take her. Another promise he wouldn’t be able to keep.

“There’s the races tonight in Hanton. We could go early and play the slot machines.” That idea appealed to him. It was something different from the normal bingo game.

Both Doug and Jack nodded their heads.

“Get your beauty sleep then, boys, and meet me at the farmhouse in a few hours.”

It would be the first time Jack had been to Hanton since taking Emmie and Dottie to the fair there. But he was a big boy, and it was time to move on with his life. He had to accept that Emmie was never coming back.

N
ow remember, sunshine: We can’t stay long. I have a meeting this morning.”

Peter held tight to Emma’s hand as she jumped out of the vehicle onto the pavement. She’d dressed up today, wearing a bright-yellow dress with a white-and-yellow headband.

“But Papa’s here.” A pout formed on her lips as she pointed to Jack’s truck.

Peter shrugged. “Sorry, Em, we don’t have much time today.”

Emma lowered her head and dragged her feet, kicking up loose gravel as she walked.

“But you can still say hi and give him your drawing.” Peter shook his head as she lifted her gaze and the brightest smile he’d seen all day appeared.

Emma skipped along, dragging Peter behind her as she headed toward the front doors. Peter caught Jack’s eye through the window and gave a slight wave. His stomach clenched. He felt a little hesitant about bringing Emma today, and wasn’t sure whether it was from guilt or something else. He was keeping too many secrets from her lately. If he wasn’t careful, things could backfire in his face.

Once inside, Emma tore her fingers out of Peter’s grip and ran toward Jack. The shuffling of a chair and the excited cries of a girl
missing her grandfather filled the restaurant. Peter had to blink his eyes a few times as he watched Emma’s arms wrap themselves around Jack’s neck as he picked her up and held her tight.

As bad as he felt about it, Peter knew that keeping this a secret from Megan was the right decision. At least for now. She’d never let this happen, Emma holding tight to Jack. She’d do her best to rip her away from the old man. She still hadn’t let go of her anger. Maybe once she started to forgive Jack for his part in what happened, she’d be more open, but until then…

“Two large, black and mocha, but can I pick up the mocha before I leave?” Peter stood at the counter and gave his order to the woman in front of him. It took him a moment to realize she was staring at Emma and Jack.

Peter glanced over his shoulder and saw Emma sitting on Jack’s lap, her hands cradling his face as she chattered away. There was a dazed look on Jack’s face, a soft smile as he gave her his full attention. Peter glanced back at the waitress in front of him.

“Um,” he glanced down at the name tag she wore, “Claire, might as well add a sprinkle donut to the order. We’ll be here longer than I expected.”

Telephone to her ear, Megan sat at the kitchen table with a notebook and counted off the list of names she’d written down.

“Mom, I have at least ten kids from her class coming. You can help me with the miniature golf while Dad and Peter supervise the go-kart racing.” She kept her voice down, not wanting Alexis to overhear her, even though she was upstairs getting ready for the beach.

“Why are you only telling us about this now? We might have had plans, you know.”

The censure in her mother’s voice was palpable, and it took all of Megan’s strength to keep the fake smile in her voice evident.

“I know, I’m sorry. But I just—”

“You forgot, didn’t you? Oh, Megan, how could you?” It wasn’t hard to visualize her mother shaking her head while frowning.

“I didn’t forget. I just didn’t realize it was so soon. Besides, you knew it was coming up, so why would you have plans made?” Why did she have to justify herself? Did they not think she realized how wrong it was for a mother to forget her own daughter’s birthday?

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. “You can count on us; you know that, don’t you?”

Megan didn’t always know that. Their relationship was…complicated, to say the least. Megan always felt she had to live up to her mother’s expectations, even when she didn’t know what they were. When Emma had first disappeared, Sheila expected her to be strong, to not give up hope, and to believe that God would protect Emma and bring her home safely. When Megan fell apart, Sheila’s disgust didn’t go unnoticed.

“Megan?”

She shook her head and made herself focus. “Thank you. I think it’ll be fun.”

“What are you doing about the cake?” Sheila was known for her cake-decorating skills. She was on call for many of the churches in town to bake for their functions.

“Hannah’s been begging me to let her make the family cake.” Like mother like daughter, Hannah loved to bake, and often asked to try new recipes she’d find in the multitude of cookbooks Megan kept in the cupboard.

“No sense in doing that. Let me make Alexis’s cake. Did Peter order those golf clubs for her? Why don’t I make the cake in the shape of a putting green for her?”

Megan smiled. Alexis would love that. She thanked her mom before hanging up.

She put her elbow on the kitchen table. She’d accomplished a lot in a short time. She’d called friends from Alexis’s class and explained the surprise-party idea to them, booked the racetrack, and even managed to coordinate an extra surprise, thanks to the manager. This would be a birthday Alexis would never forget, even if it was pulled together only a few days before the actual event.

Megan checked the time. What was taking Peter so long? He had a meeting this morning with someone wanting to purchase land just outside of Kinrich and said he wouldn’t be long. He offered to grab some coffee and suggested taking Emma with him, and if he was only going through the drive-thru, he should have been home at least twenty minutes ago. Unless Emma sweet-talked him into going inside for a donut, something she was apt to do. Lately, it was as if that little girl of theirs had Peter wrapped around her little finger.