have to keep changing the records if we just listened to the playlist here, and besides, I’m anxious to hear what you put on it,” she said.
“If you don’t like any of them, you can redo it,” he suggested. “The first one is ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ because that’s the first song we heard together.”
Emma started the list and laid the phone on the rocking chair. “That is so sweet. I love this song so much. Like the words say, when I’m weary and feeling small, I know I have friends right here that will help me get through the tough times.”
“Just know that I’ll always take your part if things get dark, Em,” Josh said. “I’m here for you anytime you want to talk.”
Emma knew that he meant every word, but was it just as a friend? She’d begun to look at Josh with new eyes lately and was beginning to yearn for something more—something like what Sophie and Teddy had.
“I’m sorry that happened to you, but here at Hummingbird Lane, we all respect you, Em.” Josh slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. “You will work your way through this, and I’m always here for you if you need me.”
“Thank you, again, for everything.” Emma leaned her head over on his shoulder and listened to Chris Stapleton singing “Millionaire.” The words talked about love being more precious than gold. She could believe that with everything in her heart, body, and soul. Whether it was the love of a companion, a friend, or a parent, that’s what made a person a millionaire, not dollars or dimes. Love—the real thing—was what she wanted.
What is the real thing? the voice in her head asked.
It’s trusting whoever you are in a relationship with to love you unconditionally even if you’re damaged, she answered.
Warm sunshine on his face woke Josh the next morning. He could feel someone staring at him and opened his eyes slowly to find that he wasn’t in his bedroom. Coco was staring at him from the arm of the sofa in Emma and Sophie’s trailer. Emma’s back was spooned right up to him, and he held her safely with an arm around her.
He started to jump up, but he was afraid he would wake her. The playlist must have started all over again when it reached the end, because Simon and Garfunkel were singing the bridge song again. Coco meowed loudly, and Emma wiggled in her sleep.
Josh tried to figure out a way to get up without pushing Emma off the sofa, but when the front door flew open, she solved that problem in a flash. She was on her feet and staring first at him and then at Filly, who was standing just inside the door with a plate in her hands.
“Good morning,” Filly said with a grin.
Emma’s hands went to her chest and then down her arms. “I’m dressed,” she said.
“Yep, you sure are. You kids fall asleep listening to music?” Filly carried the plate over to the bar.
“We must have,” Emma said.
“I knew that fancy phone Josh got you would be just the thing. Thought you might like some of my blueberry scones for breakfast,” Filly said. “I’ll leave y’all to them. Got another plateful out on the table that I’m sharing with Arty this morning.”
“Thank you.” Josh sat up on the end of the sofa and fumbled around on the floor for his glasses. When he put them on, he slowly scanned the room. “I thought I was dreaming.”
Filly giggled and waved as she stepped outside.
Emma turned around to face him. “What happened?”
“We fell asleep. I don’t remember us stretching out together, but we must have gotten comfortable sometime in the early hours of the morning,” he answered. “Are you mad at me?”
“Why would I be angry?” She crossed the room and started to make a pot of coffee. “You kept me from falling off the sofa. Come on over here and have some scones with me. Want a glass of milk to go with them?”
“Love one.” He was so relieved that she wasn’t angry with him or uncomfortable that he crossed the short distance from sofa to the bar and sat on one of the barstools. “I didn’t intend to stay the whole night.”
“I liked having you here.” She set two mugs on the bar and then rounded the end to sit down beside him. “I slept really well, even if we