As she continued to write, for the first time since hearing the news of the fire, Amy felt a sense of control returning. And a teeny, tiny bit of peace. Not a lot, but enough to give her a bit of hope and a sense of direction.
~*~*~
“Why are we going home, Daddy?” Isabella asked as they headed back to the apartment after church. “I wanted to go to Julia’s.”
Will sighed. “We’re going. We just need to swing by the apartment to change and pick up a few things.”
Amy hadn’t called or texted to tell him the plans for the afternoon had been cancelled, so Will was going to assume they were still on. Once at the apartment, Isabella changed quickly and urged him to get a move on.
“C’mon, Daddy. They’re going to eat without us,” Isabella said as she danced from one foot to the other.
He finished stuffing the requested newspapers into a bag and grabbed his keys from the counter. They were taking the truck this time because if he was going to get messy, he wasn’t going to drive the SUV in that condition. He had brought another clean t-shirt just in case it was worse than he was anticipating.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Isabella skipped to the elevator and then out to the truck once they left the building. He loaded up the playlist he had of Isabella’s favorite songs in hopes that she’d sing on the way out to the manor instead of asking him a bunch of questions.
They only had time for three songs before they arrived. He helped Isabella out and then reached in for the bag of newspapers. He turned in time to see Isabella open the front door of the manor and dart inside. Following more slowly, he stepped into the foyer and closed it behind him.
“Hey, Will,” Violet said when he walked into the kitchen. “Can you bring that?”
Will picked up the bowl of potato salad she’d motioned to and headed out the back door. A breeze greeted him as he stepped onto the porch. It was rare for them to eat indoors during the summer. The kids loved to play, and Will always enjoyed the lazy Sunday afternoons spent with the family. Being raised in California had meant an adjustment to the northern winters, and there were some days he tolerated it better than others, but right then, he was glad to call Collingsworth home.
Seven years ago, however, he had come to accept that Collingsworth was not to be his home. The winter before Isabella was born had been brutal, and Delia had been beyond despondent. Finally, a month before Delia’s death they had made the decision to move. Will knew that as long as they lived in Collingsworth, Delia would not be happy. So he had agreed to move once the baby was born. And in the midst of one of her more miserable bouts with morning sickness, Will had agreed to Delia’s request that they have no more children.
It had been particularly difficult for Will to accept both decisions. He’d put roots down in Collingsworth with his birth family, but he knew his adopted family would be happy to have them come live in California. Since her parents were still overseas, it made sense to settle close to his family.
With those two concessions in place, Delia had beenhappier than she’d been in a very long time. Realization had dawned on Will that it hadn’t just been the difficult pregnancy that had depressed her. He was glad now that the final month they had together had more happy moments than sad ones. They’d spent time preparing for their move along with the birth of the baby. He had agreed without argument to Delia’s choice for a name for their baby girl. After all, she’d suffered the most during the pregnancy. It seemed only right that she should get to pick the name.
“Earth to Will.”
Will glanced over to see Violet standing next to him. “Hey. Here’s the potato salad.”
“You were deep in thought,” Violet said as she took the bowl. “Something going on?”
If only she knew. “Just thinking how nice the summers are, and how much I enjoy hanging out here.”
“You need to get a place of your own, so you can enjoy the outdoors more than just Sunday afternoons,” Violet told him. “Isabella needs space, too.”
Will looked over the where Isabella was playing with her cousins. “I’ve been thinking about moving.”
“Why don’t you finish up your house? I was all set to be super jealous of you once it was done.”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure about doing that.”
“Because it was supposed to be your house with Delia?”
“It wasn’t ever going to be that.” Will shifted from one foot to the other. “We were going to be moving.”
Violet turned from where she’d been rearranging the dishes on the table. “Moving? To where?”
“California.”
She straightened, her brows drawn together. “You were going to leave Collingsworth?”
“Yes.” Unsure why he was revealing this now, Will shovedhis hands into the pockets of his jeans. “She was very unhappy.”
“So you were willing to uproot your life here because of that?”
