out to shake. “You came to tune my piano.”
Owen nodded in agreement. He seemed like a shy man. “How is everything going there now? If I recall, you were in some kind of hurry to get everything fixed up.”
“I was,” Emily replied. “Fixing up twenty rooms in twenty-four hours is not an experience I want to repeat any time soon! But thank you for your help tuning the piano. It sounds fantastic now.”
Owen smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. It was actually quite a pleasure working on an antique piano like that. I’d love to get the opportunity to play it again some day.”
“You’re welcome to come anytime,” Emily said. “Having a resident piano player in the B&B is a future goal of mine. I just don’t have the money at the moment to pay for it.”
“Well,” Owen said, smiling his kind, shy smile, “how about I come and play for free? The exposure would be very useful for me and you’d be doing me a favor.”
Emily was thrilled. “That would be fantastic!”
They exchanged phone numbers and she waved goodbye to Owen. Emily was delighted to have a piano player for the inn.
“Come on, Chantelle,” Emily said, buoyed by her meeting with Owen. “Let’s go to the carnival.”
Taking the lead of the family, Emily directed them to the tents where there were traditional games, a coconut shy, and a shooting range.
“Why don’t you see if you can win Chantelle a toy?” Emily suggested to Daniel.
He gave a sort of lost, helpless look, almost as though he were embarrassed that he hadn’t thought of doing that himself.
“Sure,” he said, smiling in a somewhat forced way. “Just watch this.”
Emily patted Chantelle’s shoulders as they watched Daniel pay the man at the booth and take aim with the pellet gun. Then with three perfect shots he hit the target. Chantelle jumped up and down and started clapping.
“Go on,” Emily encouraged her. “Go and choose a prize.”
Chantelle rushed over to the booth and chose the biggest fluffy teddy bear.
“Why don’t you thank Daddy?” Emily prompted.
Chantelle hugged the bear tightly and looked shyly at her feet as she mumbled her gratitude. Daniel’s tense expression returned. Emily reached out and squeezed his arm reassuringly, as if to tell him he was doing fine. She made a mental note to reinforce Daniel as often as possible, to reward him and comfort him; he was clearly struggling.
Just then they bumped into Serena.
“Oh my God!” Serena cried as she looked from Chantelle to Daniel to Emily. “This is… SO awesome.”
Emily hadn’t had a chance to tell anyone about Daniel’s return, let alone about the fact that he’d brought Chantelle with him. Serena had been one of the people who’d been there for Emily, supporting her through those tough weeks when Daniel had been AWOL. She knew it meant a lot to her young friend to see them all together, happy and united.
Serena bent down to talk to Chantelle. She had such a natural ability to connect with people that Emily could see Chantelle instantly warm to her.
“You know, they sell rainbow cotton candy here,” Serena was saying. “With sparkles in it! Do you want to come and get some with me?”
Chantelle looked up at Daniel and Emily. They both nodded their encouragement. As they watched Serena and Chantelle walk hand in hand over to the cotton candy booth, Emily felt a sudden sense of loss, almost grief. The little girl had only walked to the other side of the street and already Emily felt her absence. This must be what other moms feel like, Emily thought to herself with a smile.
Just then, Daniel pulled Emily close to him, as though seeking her comfort and reassurance.
“You’re doing fine,” she told him as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
“I don’t feel like I am,” he replied. “I feel like I’m constantly waiting for a disaster.”
“That makes perfect sense,” Emily reassured. “You’re a dad now. You have dad instincts.”
Daniel laughed. “Dad instincts, huh?” he joked, sounding at ease for the first time since they’d left the inn. “Is that like spidey sense?”
Emily nodded vigorously. “Only a thousand times better.”
As they fell silent and watched Chantelle and Serena at the cotton candy stall, Emily felt content and gloriously happy. Happier, even, than she’d ever thought possible.
Then Serena and Chantelle came bounding back, Chantelle’s face sticky with sugar.
“Try some, Emily!” she cried, showing the sparkly rainbow cotton candy to her.
Emily took a bite, feeling overwhelmed with joy that the little girl wanted to share with her. “Yum!” she said brightly, though she was struggling to hold back her joyful tears.
“Does Daddy want some?” Emily suggested. The last thing she wanted was for Daniel to feel left out, even though a mouthful of sparkly rainbow cotton candy was probably the last thing he’d ever want to consume.
Chantelle shyly held the cotton candy stick up to Daniel. Daniel pulled his mouth open, making it exaggeratedly large, then made a huge chomping noise as he took a pretend bite of the cotton candy, making loud munching noises. Chantelle dissolved into giggles. It was the first time Daniel had let loose, had behaved in a goofy manner with Chantelle. Emily caught Daniel’s eye and wiggled her eyebrows. He flashed her a triumphant smile of accomplishment.
As the parade started, the family stood on the sidewalk and watched the tractors pass. Everyone in Sunset Harbor was out for the day and Emily greeted many of her friends. She no longer felt awkward about appearing in public with Daniel and Chantelle. This was what she wanted and if people disapproved, then that didn’t matter to her.
But just as Emily was feeling her most confident yet, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and a sensation like ice washed over her. Trevor Mann was standing there looking smug and toad-like.
He smoothed down his moustache. “I’m surprised to see you here, Emily,” he said.
Emily folded her arms and sighed, knowing instinctively that Trevor was going to try to bring her down. “And why’s that, Trevor?” she said, dryly. “Please tell me. I’m dying to know.”
Trevor smiled in his crooked, horrible way. “I just wanted to remind you that your extension on the back taxes is running out. You have until Thanksgiving to get them all paid up.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Emily replied coolly, but the reminder was less than welcome. Emily still had no idea how she was going to find the money to pay them off.
She watched Trevor turn on his heel and disappear, leaving Emily feeling cold and terrified.
Chantelle seemed to have taken an instant liking to Serena, so Emily invited her back to the house for dinner. Emily decided to make a massive meal of fajitas. She wanted Chantelle to feel secure and loved, stimulated with activities and
