AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Glancing at Aidan, seeing the adoring look on his face, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she couldn’t let go of any of this, no matter what it took. As she stood there, waiting for the rabbit to leap away, she realized in that instant she loved this little girl with all her heart.
The rabbit darted sideways and disappeared farther into the flower bed. “He’s gone!” Emma said, charging toward the spot where he’d been. “Let’s go,” she yelled to Grace as she scrambled through the wide, green leaves, making them sway and bend.
“You won’t be able to catch Sam. He’s faster than either of us.”
Emma stopped. “Where did he go?”
“I have no idea. But he likes my backyard so he’ll be back soon.”
“Yours?” Emma asked, coming to a full stop, making the giant leaves shudder.
Grace took a deep breath, aware that Emma might not realize that this was her home, as well. Feeling she had no choice but to answer, she said, “I live here.”
Emma put her thumb in her mouth, turning in a wide arc. “Where? Where do you live? In there?” she asked, pointing to the shed.
How should she handle this? Emma only knew about her dad and Lisa being in the house. What would happen if she told Emma the truth? And was it the truth? Did she intend to return to her home, regardless of Emma’s response to her?
Anxiety tightening her tummy, she smiled as she leaned closer to Emma and said, “I live in this house. This is my garden.”
“No. You don’t. Daddy does and Lisa. Not you.” Emma scowled at her. “We live here. Not you.”
Had Aidan not said anything to his daughter about her? About their life together? How could that be possible? She glanced at Aidan, who looked worried. As he walked toward her, she struggled not to cry.
“Emma, why don’t you go in and get Lisa to give you some Cheerios as your snack?” Aidan asked, taking Emma’s hand and leading her toward the deck door.
Grace sought the bench seat at the corner of her garden and sank unsteadily onto its cool surface. Hurt boiled up through her, betrayal ground its way into her heart.
Why hadn’t Aidan mentioned to Emma that she lived here? Had he assumed she wasn’t coming home again? Her stomach ached with anxiety and disappointment. She had to get out of here, away from all this. Coming here had been a huge mistake. She would go around to the front of the house, grab her purse and leave.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aidan come through the deck doors and down the steps toward her. It was too late for her to escape, and as she met his gaze, she really didn’t want to. She’d made a mistake, assumed too much, and now she had to face her actions because of it.
As he made his way around the perennial bed she’d planted last year, his eyes on her, she steeled herself for the inevitable confrontation. “Why doesn’t Emma know who I am and that I live here?”
He stopped a couple of feet from her, his expression downcast. “Grace, I wasn’t sure if you planned to come back, or if I could convince you to return. Emma has had such a confusing time these past weeks, so many things happening in her life, I felt it best to only tell her the things that mattered in her daily life.”
His words stung. “Are you saying I don’t matter in Emma’s daily life?”
“No. It’s just that things have been sort of up in the air, and I really didn’t know what to tell her about you.”
She fought for control. She could not cry. “I wasn’t here because you wouldn’t include me. It was your choice, not mine. Now your daughter is upset that this is my home as well as hers. You wanted my help, but how can I help if Emma doesn’t want me here?”
Hesitating, his eyes searching hers, he said, “I had to make a decision about who was in her life when we arrived here. She was crying and upset. I’d already messed up badly where you were concerned. From what I could tell, there was no chance that you wanted to be part of our lives. It wasn’t a decision meant to hurt you. It was a decision made to offer my daughter as stable a life as possible under the circumstances.”
