Page 31 of Forget Me Knot

“Right?” I snuggle a snowy white baby against my chest and close my eyes, listening to the sound of her quiet, contented purrs. “I wish we could take all of them. You have room, right?”

“If Jack doesn’t want one cat, I doubt I can convince him to take a litter.”

“What about Owen and Winnie? Or your folks?” I rub behind the ears of another, who’s completely gray and has more energy than the rest. He hasn’t stopped playing since we arrived.

“Owen doesn’t have time. And Winnie barely takes care of herself. What about Emory?”

My eyes light up. “Oh, yes! I think I should bring a kitty or two to Molly. Emory will positively hate me for it, but I’ll be a hero to Molly! I love that idea.”

“Wait.” Jackson looks uncomfortable for a moment. “Will she really be upset? Maybe you shouldn’t.”

“Oh, no, not really. Emory will talk a big talk, but ultimately, she’s a caretaker. She owns the alpaca and lavender farm just outside of town, Purple Pastures and Alpaca. She takes care of everyone. Me. Molly. The girls. It’s who she is.”

“The girls?” Jackson asks, and his sweet smile has me forgetting we’ve been sitting in the middle of a dirty tiled floorin the designated petting area for hours, just like this, swooning over kittens as we get to know each other better.

“Meredith. Pam. Karen. Kelly. The girls. The alpacas.”

I watch as Jackson runs the names back through his head and then chuckles. “Your sister named her alpacas after characters fromThe Office?”

“Course. Dwight’s our favorite, but he can’t hang with the ladies all the time. They fight over him.”

“You two are close, huh? You and Emory?”

I smile. “Definitely. We always were, ya know? She’s four years older but always included me in everything she did with her friends growin’ up. Then when our parents passed, she and James looked after me. Made sure I finished school. Got an apprenticeship.” I shrug. “She’s my best friend.”

“James?”

“Emory’s husband. They were college sweethearts. Got married right after graduation, invested in the farm, but then James died before Molly was born. Had a heart issue he never knew about. It was impossibly difficult, but Emory’s the strongest person I know.”

“Wow. She sounds it. But I’m sorry she’s been through so much. You both have.” He readjusts and pulls one knee upright, making it a jungle gym of sorts for the crazy cat who can’t seem to calm down.

“Thank you. I wish Molly had known James. He was a sweet husband to Emory and a really great big brother to me. He would’ve been an awesome dad.”

“That’s so much grief for all of you. Do you…” He pauses. “Do you see anyone to, ya know, talk about it?”

“Yeah, Emory started seeing someone after James. She lost so much, ya know? Her whole future just disappeared.”

“And what about you? You did too.”

I smile, pushing down the impulse to say,“I’m fine. It’s nothing,”because I know those things aren’t true. Sometimes I feel like I’ll never feel whole again. Like that grief swallowed me up and spit out a completely different person. But other days feel normal. Time passes, and I keep breathing. Keep moving forward.

“I stayed busy at first. Went to college then traveled. I spent the last year doing an internship in a small town in Vermont. But, I don’t know, I… I was a part of a small group through my church after my parents’ accident. Those girls helped me process so much, and then I poured everything I could into helping Emory through.”

“I’ve seen a therapist since my injury, and sometimes it feels kooky withcalming wordsand breathing exercises, but the other ninety percent of the time it’s been helpful to talk to someone about everything.”

I nod but stay quiet.

“Emory and Molly are lucky to have you, Dinah Belle, and I’m glad you have them.” He sets his hand next to mine and links our pinkies for a minute. “But I want you to know that if you do ever wanna talk through anything, you have me too.”

“Thank you, Jackson. That means a lot.” And it really does. This man has been through so much, yet he’s offering himself up as a confidante and a friend. It means more than I can say.

I cross my legs and let a few of the cats make their cozy little nests in my lap. “What about you and your siblings? Are you all close?”

“Oh, yeah. Owen and I always had baseball, ya know? And Winnie, well, she was a tag along until she seemed to grow up overnight. They’ve got their lives and friends, but we try to have a weekly lunch. When Owen’s in town, that is. And they’ve… Well, they’ve helped me a lot since the accident.“

“With the migraines?”

His eyes shoot up. “How’d you—”

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