Emma's Secret: A Novel

Why do I keep confusing the two?
    My father was like this. Alzheimer’s is a nightmare. It’s hell on earth—except the ones who live it are the family members. It was horrible to watch him lose the life he’d built for us, his family. It was hard to see him forget who we were.
    Please God, I don’t want that to happen to me. I don’t want to forget Mary. I don’t want to lose Jack. Not again. Losing him the first time almost killed me. If it weren’t for Doug and Mary…I can’t lose anyone else in my life.

    Peter glanced in the rearview mirror and knew he wouldn’t have been able to keep the smile off his face if he’d tried. Emma bounced in the backseat as he pulled into the local coffee shop’s driveway.
    When he’d asked Emma where she wanted to go on their date, her first choice would have been his last. He figured she’d want to go to the local fast-food place, or even Brewster’s Bakery to see Shelly Belle and Jan. But instead, she wanted to go to the local donut shop, where Megan would often visit the drive-thru for coffee.
    “I’ve never been inside, Daddy. Papa and I used to go through there”—she pointed to the drive-thru entrance—“and get tiny donuts.”
    Peter pulled into a parking space and shut off the engine. He twisted in his seat to look at her. “You used to come here?” She’d been so close, only blocks away, and they never knew it.
    Emma’s attention was focused on the store in front of them. She nodded. “Yep. I even saw Mommy a few times too.” Her brow furrowed. “But Papa always told me my eyes were playing tricks. I would wave at her from Papa’s truck window, but she would only shake her head. It made me sad.” Emma’s lips formed into a pout before she turned her head and stared out the side window.
    Peter’s body stilled. His whole world stopped for a brief second, but it felt like it was forever. “What do you mean, princess? When did you see Mommy?” It wasn’t possible. After all the false sightings when Megan thought she’d seen Emma, it couldn’t be true that one of those times was real. She’d been right, and he never believed her. What if he had? What if, just one time when she thought she’d seen their daughter, he’d believed her? Would they have found her sooner?
    Was it all his fault?
    The tiny pressure of Emma’s hand on his shoulder jolted him from his realization. “I wasn’t allowed to come a lot. Grandma didn’t like to leave the house very much, and she needed me to be her helper. But Papa would bring me with him when Grandma was sleeping.” Emma bit her lip. “Papa would always get in trouble when Grandma woke up. She didn’t like me going places without her. She said that all it would take was Papa seeing a new toy he’d want to buy, and the moment he let go of my hand, someone would take me.”
    Peter blinked a few times, attempting to wrap his mind around what he’d heard. “Who would take you?”
    Emma was concentrating on releasing the buckle from her car seat, so she didn’t look up. “Anyone. It would be easy. Grandma told Papa it would be too hard for people to resist such a sweet little girl. Papa told her she worried too much, but Grandma always said”—Emma’s face grew grave—“you can never trust strangers.”
    A load of bricks landed on Peter’s shoulders. In all the counseling sessions, Emma had never talked about what happened after she’d been taken. She’d withdraw into herself and color instead of talking about the past. Megan didn’t think anything of it; she’d tell him it was normal, that she would have been too young toremember. Even Kathy Graham, their counselor agreed. But they’d been wrong. All of them.
    Ignoring the cramp in his side from being twisted in his seat, Peter reached his hand out and laid it on Emma’s knee. “Honey, why haven’t you ever told me or Mommy this? Why didn’t you tell us that you saw Mommy before?”
    Emma shrugged. “I didn’t want to make her sad.”
    “How would you make her sad?” That didn’t make sense.
    “Grandma said Mommy was too sick to take care of me; that’s why I came to stay with her. She’d be sad if I told her the truth, and then she’d die. That’s why Grandma died, Papa said, ’cause she was so sad.” Tears welled up in Emma’s eyes. “I don’t want Mommy to die.”
    Peter was confused. None of this made sense to him. “When did Papa tell you that…his wife died?” He clearly remembered the day when Detective