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“I’m kissing Emmie. She’s been very kind to stay with you. And now, it looks like she’s fixing pancakes for breakfast. How about that?”

Cole glanced from Emmie to Ted. “Okay, Papa.” He turned to Emmie. “Can I have some juice?”

“Sure.” Emmie poured him a glass of orange juice and one for Mack. “You have to drink it in the kitchen.”

Cole frowned. “How did you know?”

Amused, Emmie shrugged. “I just thought it might be wise. Please tell your brother his juice is waiting for him.”

Cole left the room.

“You’re such a natural with kids,” said Ted.

“Mack and Cole are nice kids. You can tell right away that Cinda has done a great job with them.”

Pleased, Ted said, “I’ll be sure to tell her that. Are you willing to spend an extra day here? Will that be a problem for you at the office?”

“Not as long as I’m in charge,” she said, grinning at him.

He laughed. “All right then. We’ll count on you to spend extra time here. I promise I’ll take you out to dinner.”

“We’ll see how it goes,” said Emmie. She wondered what she could do with the kids all day to keep them busy.

###

That afternoon, Emmie and Ted were playing a board game with the boys when Ryan called Ted to say that he was bringing Cinda home, but they didn’t want the kids there when she arrived. Instead, he requested that they set up a space for Cinda on the reclining chair in the den. That way it wouldn’t be so frightening when the boys saw her.

Ted explained the call to Emmie. “Cinda was giving the nurses trouble. That’s why Ryan wants to have her settled before the boys see her.”

Emmie made a game out of setting up the space for Cinda. “We’ll get this ready for your mother. Remember, she’s been in an accident, and we will all need to be very gentle with her. She’s very tired and will need to sleep.”

“Your mom will have a cast on her arm and her leg,” added Ted.

“Is she going to die?” asked Mack, giving them a worried look.

Emmie wrapped an arm around him. “No, she’s healthy, just hurt. We’re all going to help her get better.”

“Okay,” said Mack. “I’ll get her favorite blanket.”

“I’ll help you. Cole, get a glass of water for her. A box of tissues, too,” said Emmie.

As they prepared the area, Emmie was touched by the boys’ interest in coming up with suggestions. Cole even placed his beloved Teddy Bear there.

“All right, let’s go get some ice cream for her,” said Ted. “We can have some, too.”

The boys responded with cheers.

Emmie gave Ted a pleased look. “Perfect.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

As Emmie and Ted returned to Cinda’s house with the boys, she wondered how Cinda would feel about her taking care of her children. It was a grandmotherly thing to do.

Ted parked in front of the house and turned to the boys. “Remember, be very careful with your mom.”

The boys raced out of the car and into the house.

Emmie followed Ted inside, eager as they to see how Cinda was doing. She could hear the boys asking questions, and then Cole said, “We got you ice cream.”