Emma's Secret (22 page)

Dan continued to watch them. Peter understood what his father-in-law must be feeling, because he’d been there. He’d been faced with a problem that he couldn’t solve.

He led Emma out into the kitchen and released her hand. Daniel squatted down beside her. Both Megan and Sheila stopped their chatter at the kitchen table.

“Is something the matter, honey?” Dan asked.

Emma stared Dan in the eyes as she straightened her shoulders.

“Can I call you Grandpa?”

Peter watched Dan carefully and noticed his shoulders bunching, and the puff of his chest. He heard the slight gasp from Sheila and caught the way Megan’s hand reached across the table and clamped down on Sheila’s hand. He knew from the look in Megan’s eyes that she understood Emma’s question, even if Sheila and Dan didn’t.

“Of course you can, sweetheart. That’s what I am, your Papa.” Dan lifted his arms and held them out, but Emma’s shoulders sank, and she looked down at her hands.

“No. Not Papa. Grandpa.” She tentatively raised her eyes as if worried about the reaction she’d get.

Dan’s arms lowered.

Sheila twisted in her seat, and before she could say something, Peter cleared his throat. “That’s right, Emma. Remember, we talked about nicknames? Grandpa will work.”

Peter caught Megan’s sharp glance but ignored it. That wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have right now.

With a deep nod of her head, a slow smile crept along Emma’s face before she stepped toward Dan and touched his hands.

“Let’s go watch baseball, Grandpa Dan.” She pulled his arm and led him into the living room.

“Well,” Sheila muttered, “how am I supposed to tear that man away from that sweet angel to take Alexis out for ice cream?”

Peter glanced at the watch on his wrist. “Give him ten minutes and then go. That will still give you time to enjoy your cone while we head out and get everything set up.”

Sheila shook her head. “Do you honestly think ten minutes is going to be enough for him? He’s been waiting two months for her to warm up to him. No, he’s not going to want to leave her side now.”

Peter turned to head back into the living room to finish watching the game, but he didn’t miss the whispered words from his wife.

“That’s exactly how I feel every day.”

Squeals of laughter amid the roaring engines of go-karts greeted Megan as she opened the Jeep door. Excitement bubbled inside of her as she thought about Alexis’s reaction when she pulled up. A large sign strung across the front entrance said
Happy Birthday, Alexis.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

“She’s going to hate you for that.” Peter hefted a large plastic bin into his arms while she slammed the trunk door closed.

“I know.” Megan couldn’t stop the smile from growing on her face.

An older woman waited at the front door for them. She had short-cropped gray hair and wore a bright-yellow top with the company logo on the front. Her cheeks were rosy as she waved wildly at them.

“There you are; I’ve been waiting for you to arrive. I’m Wilma; we spoke on the phone. Bob, my husband, is out back supervising the go-karts and will be ready for your group when they all show up.” Wilma led them into a large room where there were several tables set up, balloons and streamers, and trays of pastries. “I hope you don’t mind about the sign and the little extras we did in here. We’ve been following the story of your family in the news and, well, we wanted to help make this birthday party as special as we could.” Wilma’s nonstop chatter continued as Peter set down the bin and glanced around in surprise.

“You do realize this birthday isn’t for our youngest daughter?” The surprise in Peter’s voice was evident. Megan couldn’t believe all the work this woman had put into this room.

Wilma waved her hand. “Oh, sugar, I know that. But that little girl has missed out on so many things with her family that, well, Bob and I just wanted to make this a little extra special.”

Megan grabbed a cookie off a tray and knew right away from the design who’d baked it. “Jan helped, didn’t she?” She handed the cookie to Peter and went to give the woman a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered into her ear. She’d never met Wilma personally; she’d seen her at a few charity events and such around town, but she knew that today she’d made a new friend.

“Now, let me take that cake, and I’ll put it over here along with the extra cupcakes.” Wilma reached her hands out for the cake Peter lifted out of the container. “Oh my, is this one of Sheila’s?”

Megan smiled. “Doesn’t it look amazing? My mom outdid herself this time.” Sheila had created a putting green cake, complete with a fairway and a girl swinging a golf club. It looked fabulous. Sheila liked to make feature cakes, but Megan hadn’t been expecting something this elaborate.

“It looks like you’re ready to feed a classroom full of kids in here!” Megan couldn’t get over the amount of cookies, bars, cupcakes, jars of Twizzlers, suckers, and bubble gum.

A large smile bloomed across Wilma’s face. “Once I got started, I just couldn’t stop! I saw a page in a magazine where there was a table full of baked goods and jars full of candy, and I wanted to try it out.”

“Well, it looks amazing.” Peter placed his arm around Megan’s shoulders as he gave the room a once-over. “How many kids are coming?”

Megan pulled out a list she’d stuffed in her pocket and showed it to him. “I had ten confirm and four I couldn’t get hold of.”

Lifting a cookie to her mouth, Wilma nodded her head. “Even if they all come, we’ll have enough. I made extra goodie bags as well, just in case. There’s nothing worse than finding yourself unprepared.”

When she’d called Wilma to make the arrangements, the woman had promised that it would be a carefree day and that she’d look after all the details—goodie bags, setup, and teardown included.

“What about that special surprise?” Megan checked her watch. The kids were due to arrive shortly. Sheila said they’d come a bit late to make sure everyone was there ahead of time.

“All covered,” Wilma confirmed.

Peter cocked his head. “Surprise?”

Megan’s face grew warm. This was as much a surprise for Peter as it was for Alexis. “Wilma mentioned their son is a pro, and…”

“Our son Stevie, why, he’s been playing golf all his life. He just finished qualifying for the Q-School for the PGA Tour and will be starting in November. He’s home for a few months to visit,” Wilma remarked. “When your wife mentioned that your daughter loves to golf, I thought it would be nice to have Stevie come by and give her
a lesson or two.” Wilma shrugged her shoulders, but she couldn’t hide the pride in her eyes.

Megan watched Peter closely. His brows rose as he turned his attention from Megan to Wilma.

“You don’t mean Stephen Brown, do you?” he asked.

Wilma’s head bobbed up and down. “I sure do.” Peter’s jaw dropped. “We’ve set it up so that miniature golf is the last game you’ll play, and he’ll be there to meet Alexis.”

The look Peter gave Megan made her heart quicken. It had been a while since she’d done something for him. She only hoped he understood this was her way of showing him he was still important to her. Sometimes, the words were harder to say.

“Thank you,” Peter said, before leaning down and giving her a quick peck on the lips. She shrugged her shoulders as if to indicate it was nothing, but they both knew it was something. Peter had been watching Stephen on the news. He’d first seen him on a television show for golfers who were trying to become known. Peter would tape the shows and watch them repeatedly, while Megan sat beside him reading a book. She wasn’t into golf like he was, but knew how special this would be.

“All right, you two lovebirds, your guests should be arriving soon. How about we meet them at the front door and all wait on the steps for your daughter?”

Megan lagged behind and looked out over the parking lot.

“Where’s your sidekick?” Peter grabbed hold of her hand and tugged.

“Laurie? I don’t know.” She pursed her lips. “Maybe something came up.” Megan muttered.

Peter snorted. “Doubtful. You know Alexis is her favorite. Have you tried calling? Maybe she’s out shopping for the perfect gift and
lost track of time.” He followed Wilma, pulling Megan along with him.

She reached into her pocket as she stumbled up one step and pulled out her cell phone to check if Laurie had responded to any of her earlier messages. She knew they were going to have to deal with what happened, but they’d been friends forever. Surely, Laurie wouldn’t let a man come between them.

Or would she? And if that’s what was happening, was Megan ready to accept it?

T
hat. Was. The. Best. Birthday. Ever!” Alexis flung her arms around Megan’s waist and squeezed tight.

Megan squeezed back. From the moment Dan and Sheila drove into the parking lot and Alexis leaned out the window and screamed, she’d been hugging both Megan and Peter.

After the party, they’d headed to the local pizza restaurant. They’d all eaten too much pizza, and the girls drank too much pop. Megan was wiped out, and other than Alexis, who was still bouncing off the walls with excitement from the day, she had a feeling everyone else was too.

“All right, squirt.” Peter dropped her new golf bag and clubs and the container he carried onto the floor. “Why don’t you go put this away?”

Alexis released Megan and high-fived Peter before lifting her new bag onto her shoulder and heading into the garage.

Hannah trailed behind, holding Emma’s hand. The girls had all had a blast and were loaded up on more sugar than their bodies could handle. Looking at Emma, Megan thought for sure her youngest was about to crash. Her eyes were dull, her shoulders drooped, and her footsteps lagged. Hannah had been like a mother
hen all day, watching over Emma even after Megan tried to convince her to do stuff with the other kids.

Today, the focus was on Alexis, and it had seemed to do her good. Her middle daughter was on cloud nine. She had been awestruck when she met Stephen, and when he offered her three free golf lessons, she went through the roof, squealing like a piglet. Megan loved it.

“Want to cuddle in bed, Em? I can read you a story until you fall asleep.” Hannah’s soft voice caught Megan’s attention. She turned to find Emma sitting on the bottom step while Hannah hovered over her, stroking her hair and rubbing her arm. Megan knelt down.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

Emma shook her head and didn’t look up. Instead, she dropped her head into the nook of her circled arms that rested on her knees and sighed.

Megan felt her forehead. Emma had been out in the sun all day, and even though she’d worn a hat and kept a water bottle nearby, it wouldn’t be too surprising if she’d gotten a little bit of a sunburn.

“I bet a nice cool bath would feel good right about now,” Peter said.

Megan nodded. It was days like these when having a backyard pool would come in handy. A nice dip in the evening to cool off before bed—nothing could be better.

“Come on, Emma. I’ll help get the bathwater ready. Is that okay, Mom?” Hannah held out her hands to help Emma up.

Megan wrapped an arm around Hannah’s shoulders. “Sure thing, hon. Why don’t I grab you both a nice cold drink of water, too, and then come up to check on the bath.”

Hannah pulled away. “I’ve got it.”

Megan studied her eldest daughter. There’d been an authoritative tone to her voice that she didn’t like. Megan wasn’t blind to the
ways the older girls handled Emma. Hannah was protective, while Alexis was dismissive. She’d thought they would grow out of it until they were a cohesive group, or as cohesive as three sisters could be. Was she wrong?

“You know what, Hannah? Let me take care of Emma, okay? Why don’t you go relax and see if that episode of
Heartland
taped.” Megan placed her foot on the bottom step and angled her knee in between her two daughters.

Hannah shook her head. “No, I can take care of her.” There was a wildness to her eyes that unsettled Megan. She wrapped her arms around Hannah and held her close.

“I know you can, honey. You always do.”

She saw the protest building in Hannah’s eyes, and she pulled back and held up her finger to stop whatever words Hannah was going to utter. “Listen, you’ve been such a huge help for me with Emma since she came home, but it’s summertime, and you should be out playing with your friends instead of trying to keep Emma entertained during the day.”

“But, Mom—”

Megan shook her head. “No, honey. This is all my fault. Ever since Emma came home, you’ve stuck to her side like glue, and I’ve let you.”

Hannah’s lips trembled. “I’m just trying to help. To make sure she stays safe.”

Megan’s heart sagged. “Because you feel it’s your fault she wasn’t safe in the first place?”

Hannah nodded.

“Oh, honey,” Megan’s chest constricted at the depth of her daughter’s pain. “That wasn’t your fault. Nothing that happened that day was your fault.” Megan reached up to touch her daughter’s cheek.

“I need you to believe me. When we lost Emma, it wasn’t your fault at all. And keeping Emma safe now isn’t your job; it’s mine. Mine and your dad’s.” She wasn’t sure what it would take for her eldest daughter to believe that.