Emma's Secret: A Novel

me?” Megan didn’t believe she’d heard the woman correctly.
    “Well, we all assumed you only started that program out of guilt.”
    “There’s nothing for Megan to feel guilty for.” Laurie stood up beside Megan and placed her arm around her. “You should be the one to feel ashamed for even suggesting that. And no, the program continues. Parents aren’t forced to do anything, Martha Greer. Maybe if you and Evelyn had offered to help out, since you live on the routes, you would know that.”
    Martha’s carefully sculpted brows rose straight to her hairline. “Why would we do such a thing? Back in our day, we took care of our own children’s safety and didn’t rely on others, not like the mothers of today’s society.” She harrumphed in disgust.
    That was it. Megan had had enough. She stood, causing the women to take two steps back.
    “Since you ladies are both prime examples of how to raise children, I would love for you both to help me in my program. I do need volunteer walkers, and since I know you enjoy your daily walks around the neighborhood, this would be perfect for you. I’ll add you to my list.” She tightened her hold on her purse, grabbed the boxed pie Jan held in her hands, and then glanced over her shoulder at Laurie.
    Without any further words, Megan pushed past the two women, their exclamations of surprise and outrage ignored as she blew a kiss to Jan and waited for Laurie to join her at the front door. Inside she fumed, her entire body tense as she struggled to remain calm. She couldn’t believe the nerve of those two women.
    “Are the claws back in yet?” Laurie threaded her arm through Megan’s as they walked toward the car.
    Megan snorted. “Not yet.” She needed to calm down, breathe deep, and just forget about the two busybodies inside.
    “You know not to listen to them, right?”
    They’d stopped beside Laurie’s car. Megan gave her a reassuring smile before opening her door. “I know.”
    The ride back to Megan’s house was quiet. Their words echoed in Megan’s head until a headache formed. A tiny seed of guilt had always lingered deep inside of her. And always would.

    As Megan opened her front door, she waved at Laurie, who backed out of the driveway. She thought about the tense atmosphere in the car and shook her head. She’d tried to lighten the mood by asking about Laurie’s mysterious man, but Laurie clammed up and refused to say anything more on the topic. Laurie also begged off their morning run, claiming her parents were coming over for the day, so she needed to clean.
    Megan heard the lie in Laurie’s voice but kept quiet. Laurie’s house was spotless.
    Laurie rarely dated, but when she did, she was like a kid in a candy shop, so for her to clam up and not tell Megan who the man on the shooting range was seemed odd.
    Unless she thought Megan wouldn’t approve?
    After keying her security code into the house alarm, Megan placed her keys in the dish on the side table. Peter’s office light was on, so she took the pie into the kitchen to cut two pieces. She ignored the cluttered countertop with a half-filled popcorn bowl and dirty water glasses. Her attention was drawn to the lit screen of Peter’s cell phone on the counter. She didn’t see much before it went dark, but she did see the name. It was
her
. Samantha Grayson.
    She should ignore it or possibly turn the phone off, but she couldn’t. It was late—really late—and there would be no reason for Samantha to be texting her husband this late at night unless it was an emergency, or…she didn’t even want to finish that last thought. She turned her gaze away from the screen and focused on opening the box of mouthwatering pie. Part of her wished Peter would walk into the kitchen and see his phone on the counter; another part of her wanted the screen to light up again so that she could see what the text said. They were struggling to rebuild their trust in each other, and searching through his messages was definitely not a sign of trust. No matter how tempted she was.
    After sliding the pieces of coconut cream pie onto their plates, Megan stood there, listening to the stillness in her house. From Peter’s study came the distant sound of paper rustling, but other than that there was blissful silence. She loved it. Loved knowing that her family was all under one roof. She felt whole, complete. She cherished the feeling for the few seconds it lasted—until the screen of Peter’s phone lit up