She could imagine him running his fingers through his hair.
“What’s gotten into you? Have you lost your mind? We were so happy right up until I left. This is more than a fight about a sofa. What’s wrong with you?” he asked.
“Nothing is wrong with me. I just need to be alone,” she said and ended the call.
She turned the phone off and laid it on the bedside table. She could call her mother, but Rebel would throw a suitcase in her car and be there by suppertime. Sophie couldn’t face her, not with these feelings that had come over her.
“Would I have been that way with my baby? Would I have been a smothering mama?” she whispered as she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
Three sets of eyes full of questions met Emma when she went to the supper table that evening. She wasn’t sure what to tell them. In what should have been the happiest time of her life, Sophie had hit rock bottom. She hadn’t been out of bed all day, except to go to the bathroom. She hadn’t eaten a single bite of food, and when Emma tried to talk her into getting out of bed and going to supper, she refused.
Arty said a quick grace and then raised an eyebrow toward Emma.
“I don’t know what to do for her,” Emma said. “She’s always been the strong one. Now all she will say is that she doesn’t deserve to be happy. She and Teddy are fighting over something as silly as which sofa to take to their new house. She had a great showing and sold a lot of pictures, but that didn’t make her happy. I don’t know what happened or how to fix it, but I feel like it’s up to me to take care of it.”
“Usually when she comes home from a few days with Teddy, she’s whistling and all fired up about getting back to work,” Josh noted.
“Is she sick?” Filly asked. “Maybe she’s pregnant.”
“She’s sick, all right,” Emma said, “but not because of a baby.” She held her plate out for Filly to dip chicken potpie onto it. “I see the signs of deep, major depression. She won’t eat, and she’s holed up in her bedroom under the covers.”
“You can rescue her like she did you,” Josh suggested.
Good grief! Emma thought. I’m barely taking baby steps in this hunt to find myself. How can I ever rescue someone as strong as Sophie has always been?
“How would I do that?” Emma asked. “I can’t imagine being in a better place than right here to heal.”
“For you,” Arty said. “But Sophie needs to get her own mojo back. She used to disappear into the Big Bend park while she was here, and that seemed to make her happy. Take her there, and don’t come back until she’s healed.”
“I’ve got a couple of sleeping bags you can use,” Josh offered.
“I’ll pack food to last a few days,” Filly said.
“I’ll help Filly with that food idea. We can combine what we’ve got in our trailers so y’all won’t starve,” Arty said. “When are you leaving?”
Emma felt like a whirlwind had just hit her. She wasn’t sure how to even get to the park, much less camp out for days, or until Sophie got her mojo back, as Arty put it.
“Who’s going to help me carry her out kicking and screaming?” Emma asked.
“That part is your job,” Filly answered. “Did you kick and scream when she rescued you?”
Emma served herself another helping of the chicken potpie. “Not so much, but I was worried about Mother and what she might do.”
“Well, your job with Sophie is easier than she had with you, then,” Arty said. “Rebel won’t give you any trouble.”
“What’s in the park?” Emma asked. “Do they have places to buy junk food and stuff like tourists want?”
“Just mountains, rocks, and lots of cactus,” Josh said. “There’s a small convenience store at a junction. Fuel is expensive in the park, so fill up the gas tank in Sophie’s vehicle before you enter. You can get ice, drinks, and the essentials there, but they close early in the evening. You’ll need to take toilet paper, paper towels, and . . .”
“What about showers and bathrooms?” Emma asked. She’d just spent the night in a cave, but she couldn’t imagine living like that for days on end.
“Got several bathrooms along the way, but sometimes they’re out of