Page 75 of Hearts Like Hers

Hadley had yet to say anything. She stared atAutumn, her eyes sad. Then something remarkable happened. She burst into tears.Not Autumn. Hadley. Her friend sat next to her sobbing.

Autumn leaned in. “Had? You okay?”

“I’m sorry,” Hadley managed, finally pullingin a loud lungful of air. “I just know how badly you wanted this for yourself,and I wanted it so badly for you. You deserve some good news, Autumn, and thisjust feels so unfair.”

Hadley of the Big Heart had showed herselfyet again, this time in a touching display of empathy. Autumn placed a hand onHadley’s shoulder. “You’re a good friend, Had.”

“You are,” Isabel choked out.

Wait, was she crying, too? “Iz?” Autumnasked. “Are you—”

“I’m not crying,” Isabel spat out. “Had’scrying. I don’t ever cry. I’m a sarcastic hard-ass, okay? You’re seeing things.Move along.” But then her face crumpled and she covered her eyes. “Damnit,” shewhispered.

Unable to comprehend what was happening,Autumn’s gaze flew to Gia, the tough athlete, unflappable in the face ofcutthroat competition when all the world was watching. Remarkably, she, too,had tears pooling in her eyes. “Sorry,” she mumbled, and shrugged. “Just loveyou is all.”

Well, that did it. Autumn’s carefullyconstructed walls came crashing down, and her own eyes filled, sad for herselfand touched by her friends’ compassion. An uncomfortable lump arrived in herthroat right on time.Bollocks.“We can’t all be crying,” she whispered to the table.

Isabel pointed. “Hadley started it. Sheshould find a way to make it stop.”

Hadley balked as tears cascaded down herface. “Do you think I have control over this? Have you met me?”

“Here.” Gia picked up a stack of napkins andpassed them around the table. “Guys, wipe your eyes. People are looking.”

“No one’s looking,” Isabel said, wiping herface like a maniac. “Drummer boy over there has them all captivated with hisone-man performance fromStomp.”

“I really likeStomp,” Hadley said meekly.

“We all do, sweetie,” Autumn said, and pattedher hand.

So they sat there like four idiots, cryingside by side in a coffeehouse. But those other three idiots belonged to Autumn,and she wouldn’t trade them for anything. They weren’t crying for her, theywere cryingwithher, a testament to how much they cared. In what felt like a very dark time inher life, having lost Kate, having lost a pregnancy she never really had,Autumn felt surprisingly solid.

She wasn’t alone.

These three, as different as they all werefrom one another, sat right there with her, holding her up, crying so shedidn’t have to anymore. The strength she drew from that small action wasstaggering.

With her friends by her side, maybe she wouldfind a way to make it through all of this.

* * *

Right on time, Kate registered a knock on herfront door. She took a moment to smooth her clothes and check the mirror tomake sure she looked warm, like someone you’d be fine sending kids off with.Jennifer had mentioned that the first home visit shouldn’t take too long butthat the social worker would have some questions to go over. She’d made amental list of what those questions could possibly be so she’d seem prepared.She’d organized a tour of her house, as well, meticulously deciding the route.

It was now or never.

She took a deep inhale, smiled, and openedthe door, surprised to see Jennifer herself standing there. “Hi,” Kate said,glancing behind her for the social worker who had been assigned.

“Hey, there,” Jennifer said. “Can I come in?”

“Oh.” Kate glanced behind her. “Of course. Ididn’t realize you’d be doing the visit yourself.”

“I asked if I could be the one to stop by.”

“Great. Follow me. And before you ask, yes,it’s true that Ren skinned his knee outside. But I applied some Bactine and gothim bandaged up. He seemed okay.”

“I’m sure you handled things just fine.”

Kate slid her hands into her back pockets andglanced around. “Thanks. So…how does this work? Should I show you around? Wecan start with Eva’s room.”

“Can we sit down first?” Jennifer asked.

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