Emma's Secret: A Novel

bear hug and lifted her off the ground.
    Megan bent down and stared into Emma’s eyes. They were as round as saucers. “Do you like the beach?”
    Emma nodded her head, the little curls bouncing at the movement.
    “Do you want to go today? We could build a sand castle together.”
    Emma continued to nod. A tiny tear ran down her cheek, and Megan wiped it away.
    “What’s wrong, honey?” Her heart ached. The only time Emma cried was when she was thinking of Dorothy and Jack.
    “Papa said he was going to take me to the beach this summer,” Emma whispered.
    “Well.” Peter squatted down beside them and reached for both Megan’s hand and Emma’s. “You can always draw him a picture. We’ll make sure he gets it, right?”
    Megan dug her fingernails into Peter’s hand at the suggestion. She hoped he caught the daggers in her eyes as she glared at him. He shook his head at her in reply.
    Emma’s eyes grew wide and a tiny smile teased the edges of her lips. “Today?” Emma’s fingers splayed across Peter’s cheeks as she stared into his eyes. When he shook his head, she burrowed her face into his chest. Peter held Emma as he stood up and patted her back.
    Conflicting emotions raged through Megan. Part of her loved to see Emma in Peter’s arms like this, going to him for comfort. That was how it should be between father and daughter. But the other part of her wanted to scream at Peter for knowingly giving Emma false hope.
    Megan realized that wanting to keep Jack out of Emma’s life was wrong. She knew that a gradual withdrawal would have been more beneficial to Emma than the sudden split that she had insisted on, but she also knew that until she let go of her anger toward the man and woman who took Emma, she’d never be okay with allowing Jack to be a part of Emma’s life. Never.
    Megan jumped when Peter’s hand touched her arm. He’d set Emma on the ground, and she was looking through the papers piled up on the counter.
    “I can’t find the picture I drew for Papa,” she said.
    Megan tried to remember what picture Emma was talking about. There’d been so many.
    “It has to be around here somewhere.” Megan placed her coffee down on the counter and began to go through the stack of papers.There were bills she needed to pay, letters she needed to read, and an assortment of to-do lists, but no drawing from Emma.
    “We can look for it after breakfast, okay, honey? We’ll find it.” But then what? she asked herself.
    Emma shook her head. “No, I need it.”
    “It’s okay, honey,” Peter said. “We can do it tomorrow, okay?”
    Megan jerked her gaze toward Peter. “Do what tomorrow?”
    Peter shrugged, his gaze shifting around the room. “Mail it.”
    Megan set papers down and stared at her youngest daughter. “I told you I’d mail it, honey. Your daddy doesn’t need to worry about it.” She hoped she sounded sincere.
    From the skeptical look on Emma’s face, it didn’t come across that way. “It’s been a long time since Papa wrote me, Mommy. I don’t think you know the address right. But Daddy knows how to get it to him.”
    Behind her, Alexis snorted at the comment, while Megan took a step back at the admonition in Emma’s voice. Not once had Emma ever accused her of anything, not since she’d come home. Her other daughters, yes. Alexis especially. She constantly accused her of not loving her and Hannah the same as Emma, of not giving them enough time, of not paying enough attention. But Emma had never shown her disappointment like this. It hurt. Really hurt. Even if it was true.
    “I’ll take care of it, I said.” There was an edge to Peter’s voice she hadn’t caught before.
    Megan opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. It hurt her that Emma distrusted her so much—or was she reading too much into it? The thought left a sour taste in her mouth.
    “Is this the one?” Hannah walked into the kitchen with a sheet of paper.
    Emma ran over to where Hannah stood and studied the picture. When her chin bobbed up and down, Megan let out the air stuck inside her lungs.
    “Where did you find it?” She thought for sure she’d left it on the counter yesterday.
    Hannah shrugged. “It was underneath the table in the hallway.”
    “Totally weird,” Alexis piped up.
    Megan shrugged. “I must have put it on the table so that I’d remember to mail it.” She felt Peter’s presence behind her.
    “At least we found it. Why don’t you go put it in my