Emily’s eyes burned with unshed tears, and as she set the pitcher of iced tea down on a tray, along with a few glasses and a plate of cookies, her chest tightened with worry and fear. Her heart was thudding painfully against her chest, and she tasted her earlier breakfast of eggs and toast on the tip of her tongue. Emily had to take several deep breaths to keep herself from sinking to the floor and breaking out into tears.
She still held the phone in her hand when she drifted to the stairs and studied a picture of their family hanging on the wall.
It was one of the first pictures of the four of them, standing on the front lawn of the house, underneath the midmorning sun, sporting tans and identical bright smiles. In the picture, Trevor had his arm around her, and she was glancing at him longingly. Charlotte and Savannah had their arms wrapped around each other and were grinning from ear to ear.
Emily wanted so badly to go back to that time.
A single tear slid down her cheek when she closed her eyes, and it took another few minutes to be able to catch her breath.
Everything felt like it was closing in on her, leaving no way out.
When she climbed back up the stairs, her stomach was in tight knots the entire time. She found Charlotte and Savannah admiring her old clothes, and some of the tightness in her chest abated.
Maybe things weren’t so hopeless after all.
A few hours later, her conversation with the bank manager was still on her mind as Emily wandered through the church’s basement with a drink in one hand and a plastic plate piled with frozen pizza and donuts in the other. Since arriving half an hour ago, Emily hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her options and how she’d have to go into business with a complete stranger if she wanted to save Decadent Treats.
Emily was in desperate need of a miracle.
She slunk into the chair in the back, set the plate down next to her, and linked her fingers together. Near the end of the meeting, Amy came racing down the stairs, bundled in a brown coat and her wet hair plastered to her forehead. She offered everyone an apologetic smile and looked visibly relieved when she saw Emily in the back.
“You made it.” Emily set the plate on her lap and gave Amy a bright smile. “I’m so glad you decided to come.”
“I’m glad I made it before it was over. I fell asleep on the couch after my shower,” Amy explained in a low voice. “There was a rerun of that old sitcom, the one with those friends…”
Emily snorted. “You sound like my husband. He never could remember the names of shows and movies, and he used to go on and on with these elaborate descriptions, as if that was going to help.”
Amy smiled. “It sounds like he and I would’ve gotten along.”
“I’m sure you would’ve. It was easy to like Trevor,” Emily added, her smile fading. “I guess that’s part of what made losing him so hard, you know. Sometimes, I wish I could hate him, so I wouldn’t miss him so much.”
“I’m sure you don’t actually want that.”
Emily’s throat closed up, and a single tear slid down her cheek. “You’re right. I don’t, but it’s hard missing him every minute of every day. I wake up at night reaching for him, and each morning, when I wake up alone, it’s like I’ve lost him all over again.”
Amy covered Emily’s hands with hers. “I’m so sorry, Emily. I can’t even imagine how hard this must all be for you. In case it wasn’t obvious, I think you’re really brave and strong.”
Emily let out a low, humorless chuckle. “I don’t know how brave or strong I feel. Most days, it takes everything I have just to keep my head above water and not feel like I’m drowning in my own sorrow.”
“I understand,” Amy said finally. “All I can say is it won’t always feel this way. Someday, it’s not going to feel like each day is a struggle.”
Emily brought her head to rest against Amy’s side and exhaled, the smell of sugar and vanilla wafting over her. “I really hope so.”
Chapter Seven
Amy held the laptop over her head and wandered around her room. “Can you hear me now?”
Squinting, she tilted her head to the side and listened, but the sound was still garbled and distorted, like she was talking underwater. With a frown, Amy spun and stared at the closed bedroom door. Then, she twisted the knob and poked her head outside. An hour earlier, she’d heard Jude take off for the day to run his usual errands in town.
Ashley, on the other hand, had been unusually quiet since then.
But Amy didn’t want to disturb the silence by having her consultation in the living room. Unfortunately, since she’d spent the past twenty minutes running from one end of the room to the next, she wasn’t sure she had a choice in the matter. Reluctantly, she ducked back into the room to retrieve her charger. When she stepped back out into the hall, she heard music spilling out from the other end of the hallway. A heartbeat later, Ashley’s voice filled the cottage.
Smiling, Amy took the laptop to the living room and set it down on the coffee table. She drummed her fingers against the table and held her breath. Then she tapped her fingers againstthe sides of her thighs. With an exhale, Amy was about to call the lawyer back when the screen in front of her blinked to life, and an unfamiliar face filled it.
Liam’s friend was a woman who looked to be in her thirties, wearing a white button-down shirt with her blond hair pulled back into a low bun, two wisps of hair artfully framing her face. She stepped away from the laptop, and Amy saw she was on a desk, overlooking a mint green wall with rows of shelves filled with an assortment of books. Then, she realized Liam’s friend was tucking her shirt into her skirt and typing something onto her phone.
Amy sat down and linked her fingers together. “Do you want me to call you back? This seems like a bad time.”
