If Fiona’s hunch was correct, then Emmaline did not want Annie to bolt. She didn’t say anything as she searched around roses, behind the tree, and the playhouse. Nothing.
But then…a little niggle of something had her peering into the tube.
Right into the eyes of Annie.
There had been a lot in her life that she’d found relief over, but nothing was as sweet as finding Annie cuddled up in a plastic play tube.
Annie seemed to deflate at Emmaline’s presence. But since she was the one who was there, and she was a grown-up, she’d be the one to coax her out.
“Hi.” Em military crawled into the tube. Ack, it was tight in there. She really should’ve changed into something other than her dress when she first got home. For real.
“I don’t wanna talk,” Annie said, her French braid a mess, laying on her side, her hands under her cheek.
Emmaline spent a lot of her life relating to that. “I don’t really want to talk to anyone else, either. But since I’m a grown-up, I have to.” She rolled her eyes. “I think I’ll just stay here with you, if that’s okay?”
Annie didn’t respond, so Emmaline took that as an affirmative that she could stick around. They sat awhile while the rain fell, patting the top of the tube with droplets. The sound was actually soothing, like one of those meditation apps Em had on her phone.
If Emmaline was correct—and she figured she was—Fiona had alerted the uncles, and the guys would all descend on her backyard shortly.
Which meant she needed to convince Annie to evacuate her hidey hole and connect with her dad before things got more serious and official.
“You’re not gonna marry my dad,” Annie said this as though it were already fact. “You won’t be my mom.”
“But, you know what? Your dad and I are still friends. And I’ll always be your friend, too.” Emmaline didn’t intend to squirm uncomfortably.
“He’s the best,” Annie said, wistfully. “Why wouldn’t you want him?”
Oh, the innocence of a girl who adored her father.
“I’m still learning to be me,” Emmaline said. “Your dad is really nice, and I like him a lot. But I need to be me before I can be something more than just friends with your dad. Besides you don’t have to be married or related to be a family. You don’t even need a mom to be a family, or a dad. You just have to have a whole lot of love. That’s enough. Barbie’s my family. And Lauren and Cress. Jack is your dad’s family as much as your gramma and grampa. As much as you. Because everybody cares for each other.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re just you.”
Annie wasn’t wrong. Sometimes, simplicity made the most sense.
One would think so, right?
“I lost sight of who I was before I came to this house. This neighborhood. My life was so different, and I didn’t really like it all that much.” Emmaline scooted closer because her feet were seriously getting cold. “I love Fiona. But she was like the only good thing there.”
“I didn’t like before, either,” Annie whispered. “Before Dad.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Emmaline asked, her stomach sort of rumbling because she’d pretty much skipped dinner, had a few Doritos, and a half a glass of wine.
“No.” Annie pinched her lips together.
Emmaline could respect that. “No matter what happens with your dad,” Emmaline said, “you and Fiona will stay friends. You and I will stay close, too. And that’s more family than anything else. I promise you.”
“I wish you weren’t nice to me,” Annie said, turning her face up toward Emmaline. “’Cause then I wouldn’t want you to stay.”
“I know what it’s like to run away,” Emmaline said, pushing the toe of her shoe into the planks of the playhouse. “But you think about what you’re running away from versus what you’re running away to.” Hey, that sounded like something Barbie would say. “You’ve got a good gig with your dad. Have you tasted his eggs?”
The rain was moving into more of a drizzle than a downpour. That was hopeful.
Annie gave Emmaline a look like she had her number, but she wasn’t dialing it.
“Why’dyourun away?” Annie asked.
That was a hard question with a simple answer. “Because I wasn’t happy. I knew I couldn’t be happy there.” Emmaline kept going. “No one noticed I left for a very long time.” The rain thumped against the top of the tube, where it flowed off the roof of the playhouse into a stream of heavy water. “Your dad noticed right away that you’re missing. He’s been really worried right from the beginning.”
