Page 89 of Holding Ground

“Okay, sure. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t said yes. What’s your number?” She tells me, and I put it into my phone, then stand. “I’ll be in touch.”

Kate nods, then stands. She seems to want to say something more, but she doesn’t.

Turning, I walk away, knowing I have an impossible decision to make.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-SIX

Emelia

Baylor and I are sitting at the kitchen table, each with a coloring book in front of us, and a bunch of crayons are scattered between us.

“Yours is so neat.” Baylor glances between my book and her own.

“That’s because I’ve had so much more practice. One day you’ll be able to color like this too.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “Really?”

I nod. “Just keep working on it. You’ll see.”

She shrugs and goes back to coloring. She leans down so low to the table, I’m surprised she can even see what she’s doing. And she has the cutest little habit of sticking her tongue out of her mouth and off to the side when she’s really concentrating. It’s adorable.

The front door opens, and a few seconds later, Elliott steps into the kitchen. He looks as if he’s seen a ghost. He’s pale, and his eyes are hollow. I just saw him an hour ago. What the hell is going on?

Did he get bad news about someone?

“Hey.” My voice is tentative.

“Baylor, why don’t you go play in your room? I need to talk to Emelia.”

I frown as unease crawls up my spine. Something is definitely wrong.

“I want to keep coloring with Emelia.” Baylor doesn’t even look up from her coloring book.

He sighs and drags a hand through his hair as though he doesn’t have the energy to deal with her fighting him on this.

I set a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention toward me. “I think I saw that there’s a new movie on the streaming service. How about I turn it on for you so that your dad and I can talk?”

She tips her chin up at me. “Okay. Will you watch the rest with me after you and Daddy talk?”

I cut a quick look toward Elliott. His mouth is set in a firm line, and he’s looking out the sliding glass door, mind a million miles away.

“We’ll see.” I push my chair out and go into the family room to get everything set up for her.

Once she’s settled, I go back into the kitchen, but Elliott is not there. A quick look outside and I can see he’s out on the deck, hands gripping the railing, looking at the water. The nauseous feeling in my stomach deepens as I grab my coat and slip on my shoes.

“Elliott, what’s going on?”

He turns around, and the look on his face is one of quiet devastation. Without saying anything, he closes the distance between us in three strides and pulls me into a hug.

Now I know something is really wrong if he’s hugging me with the prospect of Baylor seeing us.

I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him tightly, breathing in his scent. “What is it?”

His head is tucked against my neck when he speaks. “Kate came back.”