leave something wonderful behind when she passed,” Angel said quietly, laying a hand on Emma’s shoulder. “That one’s obvious. She left you.”
Emma couldn’t help it. Tears started streaming down her cheeks. Angel started crying too. “We probably look a mess out here,” Emma finally said, sniffling and wishing she had some Kleenex on hand.
“It’s okay. These are happy tears. At least for me.”
Emma swiped her hand under her eyes. “Me too. But you need to get back to work.”
“And so do you,” Angel agreed. “I’ll see you soon. You and Jack should stop in and visit with me and Eddie.”
Emma nodded. “We will. I look forward to it,” she said, meaning it for the first time.
They hugged one more time, and then Emma returned to her car in the parking lot. There was a voicemail from Dr. Rivers waiting for her on her phone. Nervous prickles ran up her spine, which was silly. She didn’t need to be anxious. Dr. Rivers was probably calling about the event and wanting to review some detail. Emma tapped her screen and listened to the message.
“Emma, this is Dr. Rivers. I need to make an appointment with you to review the results of your genetic testing. Please call the office at your earliest convenience.”
Emma played the message again, listening for any hint of whether this was good news or not, but Ashley’s tone was nothing short of professional. There was no hint of anything positive or negative.
It was fine, of course. Emma’s other tests had come back fine, and if it was serious, Ashley would have said so. Wouldn’t she?
Emma gathered her courage and called the office back, but it had already closed. It was Friday, and the message said it wouldn’t reopen until early Monday morning. She had Ashley’s cell phone number but calling would seem desperate, and Emma wasn’t desperate. She could wait until Monday. This weekend, she needed to focus on the event anyway and make sure everything went off without a hitch.
Jack’s truck was in her driveway when she got home. He was sitting on her front porch steps, waiting for her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she stepped out of her car.
He grinned. “That’s some greeting.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m just surprised.” Did they have plans and she forgot?
“It’s Friday night,” he said. “Everyone’s bringing their special someone to Music in the Park. I was hoping you’d be my date again tonight. Unless you feel like you need to rest up for tomorrow. The day starts early, but I promise not to keep you out too late.”
Emma headed toward him. The closer she got, the more she thought it might be even better to tug him inside and stay there for the next few hours.
He chuckled under his breath and wrapped his arms around her waist. “We could just make a quick appearance and come back here. In which case, I promise not to keep you up too late,” he said, brushing his lips over hers.
“I like the sound of that.” She smiled up at him. “Let me just change inside.”
He followed her in and shut the door behind him. Barnaby trotted over and propped his paws on Jack’s shin. He dutifully rubbed behind the dog’s ears. “I’m not picking you up tonight, pal, because I can do without your sloppy kisses. It’s your owner’s kisses I’m interested in,” he said.
Emma laughed. “Make yourself comfortable. I won’t be long.”
When she got into her room, she closed the door and stood behind it. She didn’t want to think about the message from Dr. Rivers tonight, or even this weekend. When Jack was around, her head was in the clouds, and it was hard to think of anything other than him.
She slipped into a sundress and slid on some sandals. Then she headed back down the hall, stopping short when she saw Jack holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a glass in the other. “Jack? What are you doing?”
He turned toward her, his expression dissolving from a smile to a grim line. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Jack wasn’t a defensive guy, but the way Emma had just looked at him made all his defenses go up. “This is for you,” he said. “My glass has the apple cider from Merry Mountain Farms in it.”
Emma looked from the wine bottle to the second glass that Jack was lifting up now. “Oh. I’m sorry. I just…”
“Thought that I’d break my sober streak for a glass of