She’d attributed the progress to Destin, to time, to the love of family and the distance from Ithaca. She’d acknowledged the Bible’s role reluctantly, as a comfort object, something Emma would outgrow.
But the opposite was happening.
Emma wasn’t using religion as a crutch to get through a hard season. She was…joining their cult. That might be the reason she seemed unnaturally happy.
Kate had to tread so carefully, she was almost afraid to speak.
“I’m really glad you feel stronger, sweetheart,” she said. “And I love that those kids were kind to you. Everyone deserves that.”
Emma’s smile dimmed. “I can hear abut.”
“No but. I just want to make sure you’re thinking critically about?—”
“Mom.” Emma’s voice was gentle but firm. “I know what you’re going to say. And I love you for caring. But this isn’t a phase and it isn’t because I’m vulnerable. This is because something makes sense to me that never made sense before, and I want to explore it. You can’t stop me.”
The statement landed like a gut punch.
Kate nodded slowly because there was nothing else to do. Her daughter was sitting in front of her, happier and more grounded than she’d been in months, and the reason was the one thing Kate couldn’t share or endorse or even fully understand.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” Emma said, leaning over to kiss Kate’s cheek. “Thank you for nottotallyfreaking out.”
She disappeared into the bathroom, and Kate sat on the bed listening to the water run and staring at the wall.
Then she stood up, put on her shoes, and went downstairs to find Eli, hoping she’d continue to nottotallyfreak out. No promises, though.
Eli was on the boardwalk,standing at the railing where the wooden planks ended and the sea oats began. His back was to the house, his face turned toward the water, and his stillness told her he’d been out here for a while. Probably since he and Emma got home.
Praying, she assumed. The thought didn’t comfort her the way it once might have.
She walked toward him, her footsteps deliberate on the wooden planks, loud enough that he’d hear her coming. She didn’t want to ambush him. She wanted him to turn and face her, which he did.
“Kate.” His voice was quiet, and there was something in it she recognized—not guilt, but awareness. He’d known this was coming.
“You took her to church.”
He didn’t flinch. “I took her to a youth group pizza night. She had the option of a restaurant. She chose that instead.”
“She’s seventeen, Eli. She doesn’t get to make that choice without my knowledge.”
“She’s seventeen,” he repeated gently. “She’s old enough to choose where she eats dinner.”
“At church?”
“She said she’s been to a youth group meeting before,” he said.
“She was eleven and went to spaghetti dinner with a girl I trusted.” He winced at the last word, and she immediately saw the mistake, but she was too heated to apologize. “This wasn’t dinner. This was a Bible study. This was a room full of kids telling my daughter that God forgives her and praying for her and…” When he said nothing, she stopped, pressing her fingers to her temples. “You should have asked me.”
“Would you have said yes?”
The question was so direct, so honest, that it knocked her off balance. “That’s not the point.”
“It’s exactly the point. If I’d asked, you would have said no. And Emma would have missed an evening that clearly meant something to her.”
She bristled. “You don’t get to decide what’s meaningful for my daughter.”
“I didn’t decide. She did. I offered her a choice and she made it.” He paused. “Kate, I’m not trying to go behind your back. It wasn’t like I took her out for her first drink, for heaven’s sake. She met kids she liked, girls who didn’t judge her for?—”
“Yes, I heard about the girls.”
