parent and therefore had loved her even more deeply.
*
“Why do you look so nervous, Emma?”
“Are you kidding? You haven’t done anything but talk about your sister and your family for weeks. What if they don’t like me?” Emma was enjoying their rare time alone as Cain drove them to the Casey home for a casual Sunday lunch.
“Lass, quit your worrying. Marie’s going to love you, and so will Billy and my mother.” She squeezed Emma’s thigh and smiled. “Just remember she gets confused at times, but just be patient with her.” Two of the guards opened the front
“I remember.” She smoothed down her dress for the hundredth time since Cain had picked her up. “Do I look all right? I don’t want your mother thinking I’m not right for you.”
Cain’s blue eyes softened. “You look fabulous. At least I certainly think so.”
“I just want them to like me.”
Cain got out of the car and walked to Emma’s door. When she opened it she crouched down and pressed her palm to Emma’s cheek. “Do you think you’re right for me?”
“With all my heart.”
“That’s all that matters.”
Before Cain could say anything else, the front door opened and Marie pressed herself to her sister’s back. “Hi,” she shyly said to Emma. “We’re going to be great friends.”
The words proved that Cain was right. Life might have given Marie a mind that wouldn’t mature like most, but her heart had fared just fine. Emma smiled and gazed into eyes so like Cain’s that she felt an instant affection for the girl who was so important to the woman she was falling in love with, although Marie’s eyes were missing the mischief always shining in Cain’s.
*
“Do you remember the day you introduced me to Marie?” Emma brushed back a thick lock of Cain’s hair and held it in place when it kept falling forward.
“I remember how well you and she got along.”
“Do you know why we got along?” Cain shook her head, and Emma kissed Cain’s forehead before answering. “Because Marie told me something that I’ll always treasure.”
“What?”
“She said you’d found someone who would love you more than she did. Then she told me how lucky I was.”
“Why?” Cain moved to get a better look at Emma’s face, never having heard this story.
“Because I’d never have to be afraid. If you could keep me safe, you would.”
Emma could see the wounded look her words caused. She had to tell the first part of this memory, though, so she could get to the wisdom that had been Marie.
“You didn’t fail her, love, and no matter her handicap, Marie understood more than you think. She finally said that you couldn’t be everywhere, and sometimes bad stuff happened. When it did, you still loved me and didn’t want it to occur. It just did sometimes.”
“But she didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
“No, she didn’t, but it wasn’t your fault, and it wouldn’t have taken place if you’d known about it. That’s the important thing here, love.
Emma rested her head on Cain’s and sighed. “I almost wish he’d taken out his need to hurt us on me. Maybe that would’ve saved her.”
In an instant their positions reversed, and now Cain was doing the holding. “Don’t ever say that. Even though I lost Marie, I thank all that’s holy you don’t have to live with the pain of what he could have done that night.”
“Thank you for feeling that way, but I want you to forgive yourself for Marie.” Emma straddled Cain’s lap so they could look each other in the eye. “Will you at least try?”
“I’ll try.”
“And will you promise me something else?”
“Name it.”
“Heap on Gino Bracato the same pain he gave Marie. She was your sister, but she was my family too. I don’t know what happened to Danny, and I don’t care to know exactly what happened to Stephano, but Gino deserves to suffer.”
Cain put her hands around Emma’s hips and pulled her forward in a hug. “Thank you for that, but I don’t want you to say or know things you’ll have a hard time living with later. I treasure your compassion and the fact that you haven’t had to make any pacts with the devil yet. Because, believe me, he exacts a heavy toll at times.”
“Don’t patronize me, Cain.”
Cain smiled. “I’m not patronizing you, love. I’m just looking out for you.”
“But I can live with this wish.” Emma pushed herself up so Cain could see her eyes and the sincerity in them. “No one lives a complete life if they don’t learn from their mistakes. I adopted my mother’s perspective and considered everything either black or white, right or wrong, in its place or out of it. When I met you, I fell in love with you, but part of me thought what you did to earn a living was wrong.”
“But I am. Wrong, I mean, in the eyes of the law.”
“So what? Special Agent Kyle was supposed to be the law, and look what happened. I know now that you don’t
