quell the thought that flashed through her mind. Upset didn’t begin to cover it, and she wasn’t a selfish person, but the timing of this couldn’t be worse. She was a blink away from freaking out, yet anything she might say would make Finn see her in a bad light. And with that, another bolt of guilt shot through her. For now, she couldn’t dwell on her plan to leave Barren before she knew if Sierra would be all right. As for the little girl...
“Where’s...Emmie now?”
“With one of my deputies at the station. Is there someone else I should contact?” Finn asked. “A husband? Or boyfriend? I thought not, since you were listed as the next of kin on the card in her wallet.”
That was a surprise. Another shock, really. She and Sierra hadn’t seen each other in a long time and they hadn’t parted on good terms. “As far as I know, I don’t think she’s ever married. I wouldn’t know about any boyfriends. I’ll take that ride to Farrier General, thanks,” she added. “I know I’m not good to drive right now.” She needed to see Sierra for herself, see that she wasn’t in as bad a condition as Finn had said. But that wasn’t all. “What will happen to her little girl—to Emmie—tonight?”
Finn squared his shoulders. “Maybe you can tell me. Either she goes home with you,” he said, “or I turn her over to child services. I like the first option better.”
AT THREE O’CLOCK the next morning, little Emmie woke up shrieking.
Bleary-eyed, heart instantly in her throat, Annabelle jerked upright in bed, ears alert to the sound of tears from across the upstairs hallway. This wasn’t the first time Emmie had stirred, and Annabelle was already at her wit’s end. “I know nothing about taking care of a small child,” she’d told Finn earlier.
Yet there was no way she would have let the State take over tonight. Emmie was Annabelle’s, what, first cousin once removed? Second cousin? She wasn’t sure of the proper term. Anyway, a relative, and with Annabelle’s parents gone, Sierra and her daughter were the only—if estranged—family Annabelle had left. Even more, Emmie had witnessed a terrible event last night, and she was a vulnerable child. Without her mother, she must feel utterly alone and obviously frightened, not that Annabelle had seemed able to comfort her fears before. What should I do?
She slipped out of bed and reached for her robe. The night had cooled even more, probably another ten degrees, and her heat wasn’t on yet for the season. The last time Annabelle checked on Emmie, the child’s feet had felt like ice cubes. If she stays more than a night or two here... Annabelle would have to get the HVAC system going.
But surely this arrangement would be brief. She padded across the hall, cracked open the door then eased into the spare room, taking care not to let the hinge squeak—which it had for her entire thirty-one years.
She was simply the babysitter until other plans could be made or Sierra got out of the hospital, not that I know what I’m doing.
As she crossed the bedroom, Annabelle dragged her growing guilt like a ball and chain. Certainly, for reasons of her own she hadn’t been that eager to take Emmie in. Just hours before Sierra had called a few weeks ago, Annabelle had paid the first half of her own tuition to attend a two-week course at a well-regarded academy in Denver that would train her to be an international tour director, a first commitment to the future she wanted for herself. Weeks before that she’d sent in her registration fee and a hefty first deposit, using part of the money her parents had left her. Annabelle tried not to feel guilty that she was using her inheritance to escape the diner. And when Sierra had mentioned coming for a visit after so many years, claiming she had loose ends to tie up in Barren, Annabelle had told her not to come. If Sierra had listened, she wouldn’t be here now lying in a hospital bed.
Emmie lay almost buried under the covers. Only her eyes showed, glowing in the near darkness, looking suspicious and confused. Annabelle had left a night-light on the nearby bureau for her, but obviously Emmie couldn’t sleep. So neither could Annabelle.
“Hey, punkin.” She heard a shuddering intake of breath. “It’s all right.”
Annabelle ventured closer to the bed.
At the hospital she’d asked Finn about a crib for Emmie. “At three she’s probably done with that,” he’d said. “Kids climb out then start roaming. They can fall and hurt themselves.”
How would Finn know? He was reportedly single—much to the delight of many other women in town—a fact helpful for Annabelle’s fantasies. As far as she knew, he had no kids.
Uncertain if he was right about the crib, Annabelle had decided to improvise. Her parents had long ago donated her baby items to charity. Two straight-backed chairs now served as a barrier to keep Emmie from tumbling out of bed and hitting her head. Rubbing her eyes, Emmie cried out. “Want my mama!”
“I know, sweetie, but she’s not here right now.”
Emmie didn’t buy that weak explanation, but Annabelle couldn’t tell her the truth. Again, the child burst into tears.
Annabelle tried her best—which apparently wasn’t enough—to comfort her. Earlier, at the hospital while she and Finn waited for an update on Sierra, neither of them saying much, Emmie had been with Finn’s deputy at the station. By then, Sierra was in surgery. Later in recovery, looking pale and horribly bruised, with tubes snaking everywhere and monitors beeping, she’d still been under the effects of the anesthesia and couldn’t talk. She seemed much worse than Annabelle had expected, and Annabelle had Sierra’s daughter to care for—or try to—tonight. As for tomorrow...what if Sierra didn’t survive?
Finn had driven them home from the sheriff’s office, Emmie in the back seat clutching her stuffed lamb while Annabelle crooned to her without quite knowing what to say. The little girl had finally relaxed in the car seat Finn had provided, and by the time they reached the house Emmie’s eyelids were fluttering.
Annabelle thought of Finn standing by the bed when he’d put a then-sleeping Emmie on the clean sheets, a slight—even wistful?—smile on his lips that made Annabelle feel weak in the knees. Finally, he’d said, “It’s late.”
When he turned from the bed, panic streaked through her. “You’re not leaving?”
She didn’t know what else she wanted then, except not to be alone with Emmie, but another blush bloomed on her cheeks. “I won’t know what to do if she wakes up.”
Her heart kept clanging against her rib cage, but Finn had only touched her shoulder as if to say you can do this then left the room. Ever since then Emmie had slept fitfully, waking every hour in this strange house, probably wondering where she was, to call out for her mama, sometimes pushing Annabelle away.
Emmie’s rosebud mouth puckered in the dim light now. “Where Mama go?”
Annabelle drew a breath, then said, “She had to stay somewhere else tonight, sweetie. She asked me if you could sleep here.”
Emmie shoved two fingers in her mouth, a built-in pacifier. Not wanting to leave her, Annabelle moved a chair aside then sat on the bed. The soft, silvery light of a full moon filtered through the room’s gauzy curtains, and in the hallway her parents’ old grandfather clock ticked in the stillness. It reminded Annabelle of all the terrifying time-outs she’d gotten, her punishment for doing something wrong, listening to the minutes march by until she would be freed. To this day she avoided that now-locked closet under the stairs.
She smoothed a tentative hand over Emmie’s blond hair, wishing she had some other means of comfort to offer, but even though Emmie needed an adult’s reassurance Annabelle had little experience. “It’ll be okay,” she kept whispering, though she wasn’t sure of that. Seeing Sierra in the recovery room hadn’t been encouraging, and Annabelle’s dreams tonight had been as troubled as Emmie’s must be.
Annabelle