“You’ll like Aunt Bessie,” Emma said. “She’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”
Emma lifted Lily out of her car seat. Lily waved at Reed’s aunt as she hurried down the porch steps to greet them. Everything about Aunt Bessie was soft, from the pale peach dress fluttering around her calves to the silver hair swept back in a bun at the nape of her neck.
“Welcome, welcome.” Bessie introduced herself to Vivian before patting Reed’s cheek. “Take the suitcases to the blue room, dear.”
Bessie hugged Austin, careful to avoid jostling her son’s shoulder, before turning her attention to Emma and Lily. “Emma, your daughter is beautiful. She looks just like you.”
“Until she scowls. Then she looks like her daddy.”
Bessie laughed. “Well, we are gonna do our best to prevent any scowls, aren’t we, sweet Lily?”
Lily grinned and babbled in response. Sadie, freed from the car, bounded over. Reed’s aunt greeted her with a pat to the head. “Hello, sweetness.”
Emma bent down to kiss the older woman’s cheek. “Thank you for letting Vivian and Lily stay here.”
“Nonsense.” Bessie wrapped an arm around Emma’s waist, steering her toward the house. “Y’all are doing me a favor. It gets lonely knocking around this old house by myself.”
Crossing the threshold was like stepping back in time. The leather recliner, its color worn away in places, still sat in the living room next to the L-shaped sofa. The wood cabinet holding the television gleamed in the waning sunlight. It smelled of yeasty bread and cinnamon. Emma’s stomach growled.
“I hope y’all brought your appetites with you,” Bessie declared. “I’ve made fried chicken and all the sides, including buttermilk biscuits. Dinner will be ready in fifteen. Emma, love, you remember where the blue room is, don’t you?” She waited for Emma’s nod. “Go on and show Vivian where she and Lily will be staying. Reed, I need your help digging the high chair out of the garage.”
Emma waved for Vivian to follow her down the hall. From the kitchen Bessie’s voice bellowed, “Austin Joseph Carter, get your grubby mitts away from my biscuits and start setting the table.”
Emma and Vivian burst out laughing at the way Bessie scolded her grown son. There weren’t many who probably spoke to the chief deputy that way. Lily also laughed. Some of the weight on Emma’s shoulders seemed to dissipate. Aunt Bessie’s house was like a bubble of warmth.
“You’re right,” Vivian whispered between chuckles. “I love her already.”
“I knew you would.”
Her sister-in-law paused by a photograph hanging in the hall. “That’s you with Reed.”
Emma backed up a few steps. Sure enough, a younger version of herself and Reed were sitting on Aunt Bessie’s porch. Bonnie, her short hair tousled by the wind, was pointing to the checkerboard between them, probably giving advice. Austin stood behind Reed, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I remember this,” Emma said. “We were having a checkers competition.”
“Did you spend a lot of time here?”
“Not a lot, but some.” Reed and Bonnie would spend days with Aunt Bessie when their mother’s depression got to be too much. Emma tagged along, happy to be anywhere Reed was. “We always had a good time. Uncle Jeb and Aunt Bessie’s late husband were good friends, so it was a natural fit.”
They stepped into the blue room, aptly named for the bluebonnet wallpaper. There was a sitting area with a television, an attached bathroom, and gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the backside of the ranch. Bessie had even set up a crib for Lily.
“This is beautiful.” Vivian walked over to the window. “And peaceful. I can see why you spoke so highly of it.”
“It’s a good place to stay under any circumstance, but it’s a real blessing now. A state trooper will be assigned to watch the house. You and Lily will be safe here.”
Vivian took a deep breath. “I wish you were staying, too. Please promise me you’ll be careful.”
“Of course. Reed’s already said he’s going to be glued to my side.”
Lily fussed, so Emma placed the baby on the carpet. Sadie sniffed her and Lily laughed before crawling away to explore the room. Emma kept one eye on her.
“Glued to your side, huh?” Vivian’s eyes twinkled. “Any chance the sparks I’ve noticed between the two of you will develop into something more?”
“Vivian!”
“What? It’s a nice break from all this murder and mayhem. So, spill the beans.”
Emma’s cheeks heated. “We... Well, I think Reed was about to kiss me.”
Vivian’s face broke out into a grin. “Oh, really? When did this happen?”
“At the hospital. Before the attack.” Emma picked at an invisible piece of lint before straightening her shirt.
Her sister-in-law’s gleeful expression faded into something more serious. “What’s the problem, Emma? I know you like him.”
“Yes, but with all of this murder and mayhem, as you put it, I don’t think now is the best time to complicate the relationship.”
“Oh, hon, it’s the only way you would’ve broken out of your shell. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not wishing for your life to be in danger, but you were in a rut and determined to stay there. It was clear to me from the beginning there was something between you and Reed. If this brings the two of you closer together, then I’m glad some good came out of all of this ugliness.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Emma paused. “But to be honest, we agreed to be friends. Maybe it’s a good thing the kiss didn’t happen. He might’ve regretted it.”
“Or he might not have. You won’t know until you talk to him about it. Something tells me that Reed doesn’t act without thinking and my guess is, he’s just as worried about rocking the boat as you are.”
Vivian had a point. Still, things were a mess at the moment. Emma didn’t want to say it, but she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to risk her heart again. Reed had a dangerous job. She’d already lost her husband. Could she fall in
