Page 13 of Harvest Moon (Riverbend 3)

“I’m going to be here for Emma when she wakes up.”

She opened her mouth as if to argue, then shut it again.

“Mike’s parents are flying in tomorrow.” He’d been texting with Cooper all night. The couple was devastated and worried about their granddaughter. They were relieved Gavin and Laurel were here with her.

“It’ll be good for Emma to have them here,” she said.

“Good for the Claytons too.”

Laurel shoved the box back under the shelf. “I wonder if they might be able to...”

“I wondered the same thing. I never met them. Mike mentioned some health problems, but maybe. You can head back to Asheville tomorrow. You’ve got work Monday, and I can stick around until this gets sorted out.”

“I’m not going anywhere—I’m more familiar with Emma’s routines than you. And you do realize there’ll be two funerals in a matter of days. I should help with Laurel’s at least. Has anyone reached her aunt?”

“Cooper said they haven’t had any luck with that yet.” A wave of exhaustion washed over him. He couldn’t think about all this right now. “The good news is, the will we found will buy us a little time since we’re listed as guardians. But one thing at a time. Let’s get some sleep. Did you bring some things from home?”

“They’re in the car.”

“I’ll get them.” He left before she could argue. As he took the steps, the day’s events settled on his shoulders like a thousand-pound boulder. The realization that Laurel was here hit him fresh again. Life could change in the blink of an eye. Nobody knew it better than them.

He had to figure out this guardian situation. He couldn’t stand the thought of letting Laurel down again. Couldn’t standthe thought of letting Mike and Mallory down. Not to mention Emma . . .

Once outside he retrieved Laurel’s bag from the Civic. The car was new—or new to him—and so was the duffel bag. He knew little about her life now, and somehow that seemed so wrong. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to work out between them. They were going to be married forever. They were going to raise a family and grow old together.

He headed back inside, up the stairs. The door to the spare room was pushed closed. He knocked softly, and a moment later she swept it open.

Even with her brown hair mussed and her makeup faded, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Her smile—when it finally came out to play—was a thing to behold. It was nowhere in sight now. He handed her the bag.

But once the exchange was made she didn’t close the door or even step back. “Should we take her to church in the morning—try to keep to her routine?”

“Word about Mike and Mallory will have spread. Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“Plus the Claytons will be arriving.”

“And we have to get hold of Darius.”

“True.” She shifted uneasily. “We should talk about what we’re going to tell Emma in the morning. She’ll want to know where her mom and dad are.”

His mind spun with possible explanations for why her mommy and daddy weren’t home. Nothing sounded like something a two-year-old would comprehend.

Laurel cradled her arms over her stomach. “We have to be on the same page so we don’t confuse her.”

“Should we just say they’re . . . gone? Or that they’re . . . I don’t know, Laurel. How do you make a toddler understand her parents aren’t coming back?”

“I did a quick internet search. It said to keep things direct and simple. Something like, ‘Your mom and dad had an accident, and they won’t be coming home.’”

They stared at each other in miserable silence. Those weren’t words any child should have to hear. And he sure didn’t want to be the one delivering them to sweet little Emma. But someone had to.

“It’s not something she’s going to understand at first,” Laurel said. “She has no concept of death. She’ll come to realize the truth over time.”

His stomach twisted at the thought. He’d give anything if she never had to realize that truth at all.

Laurel was clearly feeling everything he was. Her eyes held so much sadness.

He resisted the urge to reach for her hand. “We’ll get through this, Laurel.”

She cleared her throat and gave a nod. “We have to. For Emma’s sake.”

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