Page 5 of Harvest Moon (Riverbend 3)

“Well... let’s hope they named a guardian then.”

“What’ll happen to Emma if they didn’t?” Dread swelled inside during the silence that followed.

“Child Protective Services will have to be notified in the morning—and Emma will become a ward of the state.”

“What?No. That can’t happen. They would never want that.” Who would?

“I’m afraid that’s the way it works when there’s no plan. Family will have the chance to petition for guardianship. But if no onesteps forward, she’ll be put in foster care until a permanent home can be found. Hopefully it won’t come to that. Why don’t you go through their files and see what you can find?”

“I’m on it.” After Gavin disconnected the call, he headed to the home office, his mind whirling. What if they hadn’t named a guardian? What if Emma ended up with strangers? Shuffled through foster care the way Cooper’s wife, Katie, had been? No. Surely Mike and Mallory had a plan in place. He just had to find the papers.

Fifteen minutes later he was forced to acknowledge that organization had not been Mallory’s or Mike’s strong suit. The file drawers weren’t full of files at all, but rather stacks of papers, ranging from car titles to business contracts. How had they run Harvest Moon Orchards this way?

He sorted through the first drawer and was just getting started on the second when a knock sounded at the door. Probably Mom or Cooper. Thank God they hadn’t rung the bell and woken Emma. He hurried to the door and swept it open.

He froze at the sight of his ex-wife, standing beneath the glow of the porch light.

Her brown eyes widened. She blinked. “Gavin.”

She must’ve missed his Denali parked in the shadows at the side of the house. Grief was etched in the planes of her face, evident in the sag of her slender shoulders.

His heart squeezed tight. Her best friend had just died. And so had his. He reached out automatically, wanting to offer comfort.

Her shoulders stiffened and she crossed her arms. Full self-protection mode. It was a stance he’d seen a lot that last year.

He hadn’t thought his mood could sink any lower tonight, but he’d been wrong. He dropped his arms to his sides. It was a sign ofjust how bad things were between them that the tragic loss of their best friends hadn’t removed a single stone from that high wall of hers. Three years and a mountain of regret crouched between them.

“Where’s Emma?” she asked.

“She’s fine. She’s sleeping. What are you doing here?” He hadn’t meant to sound combative.

Her eyes flashed. “Same thing you are—making sure Emma’s okay.”

“She’s fine for now.”

Sunny brushed past him and crashed into Laurel’s side, tail wagging.

Laurel’s long brown hair tumbled over her shoulders as she bent down to rub the dog’s ears affectionately. Laurel had come to Riverbend Gap occasionally since the divorce. Her mom lived here, after all. But she always managed to avoid Gavin. No accident, he was certain.

She straightened, meeting his gaze. “Mallory... she didn’t make it.” There were no tears. But she was probably in shock. Also, she didn’t cry easily.

Although Gavin had managed to reduce her to a pile of tears in the middle of their king-size bed. He gave the memory a firm shove. “I know.”

“What’s going to happen to Emma?”

“Do you know if they had a plan in place?”

Something flickered in her eyes before they dropped to the dog. “I’m, uh, not sure.”

He didn’t know what that look was about, but he didn’t have the emotional reserves to decipher his ex-wife right now. “Maybe you can help me search. I just started going through their files. It’s a bit of a mess.”

“All right.”

He opened the door wider and let her inside. Seeing her so wrecked, he couldn’t quite bring himself to tell her what Cooper had said about CPS. Hopefully they’d find the papers and everything would sort itself out.

Chapter3

As Laurel brushed past Gavin, a whiff of pine and woodsmoke took her back years, to happier days. But the sight of the stairs, leading to Emma’s room, yanked her right back to the present. Her gaze caught on the family photos stairstepping up the wall: Mallory and Mike on their wedding day, Mike holding a newborn Emma, Mallory tending the apple orchard that first year, her face glowing with hope and pride. She’d been such a good mother, despite the terrible example she’d had—maybe even because of it.

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