At the park across the street, she sank into the nearest bench and buried her face in her hands.
It was Jules’s voice that broke her out of the darkness. Seeing her standing across from Marley, rolling up chunks of snow, made something warm and pleasant unfurl in the center of Emma’s stomach. She blew out puffs of white air, sitting up straighter. A small smile hovered over her lips as she watched them.
Knowing they were trying to make the most of a bad situation made her feel better.
Marley hadn’t hesitated to stop by when she heard the news, bringing Jules with her. After they’d checked up on Henry, Marley had taken one look at Jules’s crestfallen expression and known it was too much for her.
Being in a hospital again, after all this time, was bringing back all sorts of memories for her daughter, the kind she wanted to leave dead and buried.
Andrew hadn’t been in the hospital for long after his accident.
But the sight of his frail figure in that hospital bed had haunted Emma for years after his death. Now and again, she thought she still heard his cries of pain as he clutched her hand, desperate to hang on to life.
Blinking away the tears, Emma fidgeted with the scarf around her neck and swallowed.
Her father wasn’t Andrew.
And this wasn’t Boston.
She needed to stop drawing parallels, or it was going to drive her crazy.
Emma wanted to believe history wasn’t going to repeat itself, and as she sat there, watching Jules and Marley build a snowman, she kept telling herself things would be different.
It was all she could hold on to in a sea of uncertainty.
Chapter Fifteen
“Sweetheart, your grandpa is going to be fine. They’re keeping him overnight for observation, and I’m going back there in a few hours to check in.”
Jules blew out a breath and kicked the door shut with the back of her leg. “That’s not what I asked, Mom. I asked if you were okay.”
Emma unwound the scarf from around her neck and peeled off her gloves. “Me? Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I know you’ve been struggling to connect with Grandma and Grandpa. I hoped my being here would help…”
Emma unzipped her boots and paused to take both of Jules’s hands in hers. “Honey, I need you to listen to me. I love you, and I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but this isn’t your responsibility.”
Jules searched her mom’s face, a frown hovering on the edge of her lips. “I’m trying to help.”
Emma squeezed her daughter’s hands and led her into the living room. There, she stopped to light a fire and switch on a lamp, casting shadows along the walls. “Baby, your grandparents and I have a lot to overcome, and we will get there eventually, but I don’t want you taking this on.”
It wasn’t her burden to carry, no matter how well-intentioned Jules was.
This was Emma’s mess to clean up, and with or without her parents’ help, she was going to figure out a way through it.
She just needed a minute to catch her breath and figure out her next move.
Jules sank back against the pillows and sighed. “I know it’s not my responsibility, but I can still try to help, right?”
Emma sat down next to her and studied the flames of the fire. “Why don’t I make us some grilled cheese sandwiches?”
Jules’s phone rang, slicing through the air. She fished it out of the pocket of her jeans, and some of the shadows on her face went away. “It’s Kyle.”
“Go and talk to him while I make us some food. I’ll be upstairs in a bit.” Emma rose to her feet and wandered into the kitchen, half-expecting her mom to jump out from behind a corner. The house was quieter without her parents there, without the knowledge her father was ensconced in his study, safely peering at the world from behind his telescope.
She didn’t think either of them had ever spent the night out of the house, and while a part of her felt like an imposter lurking around her childhood home, another part of her was thankful for the reprieve. Emma had ducked in to check on her parents before she left, only to find them both asleep, and the sight had stirred something within her.
Whatever the eclipse was hiding, whatever her grandfather’s chest wanted them to find, she had to find out what it was.
