Emma's Secret (18 page)

A large white van with the local retirement home’s emblem pulled into the lot. Megan recognized the bus driver and waved.

“Awesome! The bus is serving ice cream. Can we get one?” Alexis stood beside her and reached for a bag from the trunk.

Megan glanced at the old red double-decker bus and smiled. It was an icon in their town, and she hoped it would never leave the beach. She used to get fries and chocolate soft-serve ice cream from it as a teenager. It looked a little worn around the edges, and the Double Decker Fries sign needed a fresh coat of paint, but the smell wafting through the air was the same. She wondered whether they still sold the greasy but delicious corn dogs; she hadn’t had one of those in eons.

“Sure. Why don’t we go snag a spot on the beach first and then grab some ice cream.” She high-fived Alex, whose grin stretched from ear to ear.

Megan glanced at Emma again. Hannah stood beside her, holding her hand as she pointed toward different sights along the beach. She’d begun to notice Hannah’s protective attitude toward Emma in the past few weeks. Instead of being out playing with her friends, Megan would find Hannah in the same room as Emma, playing ponies or drawing pictures. It was as if she didn’t want to let Emma out of her sight, a familiar feeling for Megan. All she’d done was turn her back two years ago, and she’d forever regret that small act.

She’d chosen this side of Station Beach hoping that it would offer more in terms of entertainment for her kids. Tiny Tots park was just above the beach area, with children running around and playing amid the slides, swings, and teeter-totters. In the distance was the old lighthouse rumored to be haunted by a former keeper who played the bagpipes while the sun set.

She had the kids follow her down to the pebbled beach, and they found a small section of grass on which to place their bags and towels. She instructed the girls to lay out their towels and set up the umbrella to block the sun, and then led them back to the bus, where they stood in line to order their ice cream.

Megan held Emma’s hand while Hannah stood on her other side. Emma’s eyes lit up. Sadness washed over Megan as she thought about everything her youngest daughter had missed. By this age, the other two girls had practically lived at the beach with Megan, and they would have thought nothing about the swarms of kids playing around them. In fact, her girls would have by now seen several of their friends from preschool or the neighborhood and been begging to go play with them. But not Emma. She’d been so sheltered at the farm; Jack and Dottie had rarely taken her anywhere. It angered Megan that her daughter had missed so much, but at the same time, she had to thank God—because it could have been worse. At least Emma was alive.

After ordering their ice cream cones, Megan walked the girls back over to their towels. She thought she’d have been more relaxed than she was. Once upon a time, the beach had been her second home. Peter had once suggested putting a pool in their backyard before they had kids, but Megan rejected that idea. She loved the beach: the feel of the sand between her toes, the sun kissing her skin. She loved closing her eyes while lying back, listening to the waves as they crept along the shoreline. She never wanted to give that up. But instead of finding the sounds relaxing today, Megan was tense, on edge. Was it safe? Could her children play here and not disappear?

She was being irrational. She was allowing her fears to ruin her day. So instead of giving in and taking the kids home, Megan made sure there was a smile on her face as her sunglasses hid the unease in her eyes. But when she caught Hannah’s look, she knew she’d done a poor job masking her fears.

“Want to build a sand castle with me?” Hannah squatted down next to Emma, who had chocolate ice cream dripping down
between her fingers. Emma’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, and Megan dug out the sand buckets and tiny shovels.

“Alexis, why don’t we have a contest? We’ll be in teams.” Megan handed the buckets to the girls. Alex frowned while she searched the beach area.

“Hailey and Taylor are here. I’d rather go hang out with them.” Alexis waved at her friends, who waved back. The girls stood knee-deep in the water directly in front of them.

“You’re gonna ditch your family for your friends?” Megan pretended to be hurt, but winked before Alexis could argue back. She didn’t need another blowup today.

Hannah stood up. “It’s okay, Mom. Why don’t you relax? Emma and I will just build our castle together. There’s an empty spot.” She pointed just off to the right of their towels. “You can watch us the whole time.”

Alex dropped her bag and ran down the beach. Megan started to call out to stop her, but when she realized who Alexis had run to, she relaxed. Hailey and a bunch of other kids from school all gathered at the water’s edge. She was glad Alexis had friends to play with here. Megan caught the eye of Barb, Hailey’s mom, who waved at her from down the beach. Megan waved and smiled back. It had been a while since she’d last spoken to Barb. Back when Alexis and Hailey had been younger, they used to do playdates on a regular basis.

Megan sat down on her towel while she watched Hannah lead Emma over to a spot on the beach where they could build their sand castles. It felt odd to be sitting there not joining in on the fun, but she’d let Hannah take the lead for a few moments. She knew she should be encouraging Hannah to go play with her own friends instead of watching over Emma; the two older girls needed to retain a sense of freedom, and Emma needed to learn it. But since
she’d come home, Megan had kept Emma close at all times. She did notice the way Emma’s gaze continued to drift her way, as if to ensure she was still there.
I’ll always be here, Emma. I’ll never leave you again.

She reached inside a bag and brought out a book she’d wanted to read for a while. It was the story of two babies switched at birth. Peter had given her the book for her birthday, knowing it was by her favorite author, but this was the first chance she’d had to crack the book open. She had been tempted to bring her e-reader to the beach, but she loved the feel of a real book between her hands.

The sounds of children’s laughter, seagulls squawking overhead, and the waves crashing against the shore blurred together. Every few minutes she’d raise her eyes and blink against the sun as her eyes refocused, wave at Emma and Hannah, and then search the water for Alex. Little by little, she allowed herself to relax. She remembered what it was like for her as a child at the beach. Carefree. Safe. She wanted her girls to feel the same way. If she hovered like she wanted to, they wouldn’t. And there was no reason to. She noticed a few officers on bikes patrolling the pathways and lifeguards sitting high on their platforms. Everything was going to be okay. Slowly, Megan let herself get lost within her story.

So when she glanced up again from her book a while later and couldn’t find Hannah or Emma sitting in the spot where their sand castles had continued to grow, she didn’t immediately panic. She shielded her eyes and looked around the area where the girls had been, certain they were nearby. Except they weren’t. She searched for Alexis and found her with her friends, splashing water at one another without a care in the world. Megan got to her feet and turned, looking at the park behind her. Scores of young children crowded the park area, running up and down the jungle gym, swinging and playing on the teeter-totters. Too many kids for Megan to see
Hannah or Emma. Besides, she would have known if they’d run past her in that direction. Hannah would have said something.

“Emma.” Megan called out, circling her small area, hoping that her girls were close by and she just hadn’t spotted them. But she couldn’t see them anywhere. Their castle sat alone, the shovels resting on the sand as if waiting for the girls to come back.

Megan grabbed her cell phone and rushed across the sand and stood by their castle. “Hannah!” Her throat tightened as she struggled to keep the panic that was overwhelming her from being noticeable. Her girls had to be here. They had to be. They wouldn’t have gone far. Her hands shook as she dialed Peter’s phone number. “Emma!” This time she raised her voice, not caring if she sounded like a hysterical mother. She was not going to lose her child again. She brought the phone up to her ear. “Pick up, Peter. Come on, pick up the damn phone.”

Her entire body was on edge, and a heavy weight settled in her chest as she struggled to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. She continued to scan the area, searching for Emma’s cute pink bathing suit with a bow at the back and Hannah’s bright-orange one. Maybe they were by the water, filling their buckets with water. She looked but couldn’t see them. At all. They weren’t anywhere.

“Emma!”
Megan screamed as loud as she could for her daughter, her throat raw.

A hand landed on her back, and she dropped her phone before whirling around.

“Megan, what’s wrong? Why are you screaming? Where are the girls?” Peter stood there, eyes wide as he waited for her to answer.

She was so grateful she wasn’t alone this time, not like when Emma had wandered out the front door and out of their lives two years ago.

“I can’t find Emma, Peter. I can’t find her. She’s gone.” Megan raised her hands to her mouth as reality crashed into her. “I lost her again.”

M
egan clutched at Peter’s arm. Hysteria welled up inside of her while Peter remained calm, solid as a rock.

Part of her was waiting for him to blame her, for asking why she didn’t keep an eye on their daughter.

“She was just there. I swear it. She was just there—”

“Maybe they saw some friends and went to say hi?” Peter scanned the area while rubbing her arms with his thumbs. “It’s okay, Megan. We’ll find her.”

“What friends? Emma doesn’t know anyone, and Hannah knows better than to just take off.” She searched for one of the patrol officers she’d seen earlier. “I can’t believe I lost her again. Oh my God, Peter, what if—”

“Stop! You didn’t lose her. It’s not your fault. They have to be around here somewhere, Meg. Think. What were they doing the last you saw them?” He turned her so that she faced him and tilted her head up until she looked him in the eyes. The moment she did, she felt the heavy brick that rested against her heart lift and her breathing began to return to normal. His calm look reassured her. Nothing in his eyes showed that he blamed her for this. Nothing.

“They were building a sand castle.” She pointed to the display at their feet.

She noted the way Peter took in the discarded shovels and the lack of buckets. She stared at the water’s edge, desperate to see them. It was as if they’d vanished.

Except for the voice calling her name.

“Mom. Mom!”

Megan’s heart stopped at the sound of Hannah’s voice. She was walking toward her with Emma and another small girl in tow. Behind them was an adult, hopefully the other little girl’s mother.

“Do you know who the girls are with?” Peter reached for her hand and squeezed. She held tight and didn’t let go. She wanted to run toward Hannah and Emma and scoop them into her arms, but she couldn’t. The look on Emma’s face shocked Megan. She wore her brightest smile, and her eyes glowed with happiness. She swung hands with the little girl beside her as they skipped together in the sand.

“I have no idea.” Megan shook her head. She’d never seen that little girl before. Nor the woman who now stood in front of her.

“I’m so sorry! I heard you calling for Emma, and I realized the girls never told you where they were.” The woman, wearing a bright-red bikini with her hair in a ponytail, stood there, an apologetic look on her face as she wrung her hands together. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated. “I can only image what you must have felt when you realized the girls weren’t there anymore.”

Megan squatted down and looked Emma in the eye, mesmerized by the glow. She’d only seen that look once since she’d come home—the day they retrieved her from the farm, when Emma first saw her standing there, waiting for her.

“Why did you leave without saying anything?” Megan asked Hannah, who lowered her chin until it almost touched her chest.

“Oh, that’s our fault,” the woman interrupted. “Marie noticed Emmie and started screaming her name. The girls ran toward each other and—”

“Emma. Her name is Emma.” Megan, her voice tense, corrected the woman. A chill passed through her body and settled deep in her heart.

“I’m sorry?”

Megan stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. “Her name is Emma. You called her Emmie.”

The woman shook her head before her eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock. “I’m so sorry. I never thought. We knew her as Emmie.”

Megan’s cold heart thawed.

“How do you know our daughter?” Peter’s voice was controlled, but Megan caught the hesitation. They both knew their lives were about to be changed in a way she wasn’t sure they could handle. This was the first time they’d come in contact with anyone who knew Emma while she’d been living with the other couple.

The woman gazed down at the girls. “Jack is our neighbor. Before”—she lowered her voice—“Dottie got sick, Em…Emma would come over and have playdates with Marie and the other children.”

Megan’s brow furrowed. “Other children?”

The woman nodded her head. “Yes. I run a home day care. I’m sorry; I’m Sherri, and this is my daughter Marie. She and Emma were…are friends.”

This surprised Megan. Friends. She thought Emma had been isolated, alone with the woman, with only Daisy as her playmate. But she had friends. Other kids she could play with, interact with. Have a life with. Why didn’t Emma ever mention Marie or the other kids?

She turned her attention to Emma, who faced the little girl. Marie. The girl’s attention was focused keenly on Emma’s face, watching her mouth while she spoke. Megan noticed that Emma spoke slower to her, more precisely, and she touched her a lot. They held hands, touched arms, fingered each other’s hair.

“Marie is partially deaf. But it never seemed to faze Emma. They were friends right away.” Sherri moved to stand behind her daughter and placed her hand on her head. When Marie glanced up, Sherri told her to say hi. Marie only smiled shyly.