Part 10 (1/2)

Emma shook her head. ”I doubt that,” she tried to soothe him.

”Ouchie, Mommy,” Vicki reached out for Emma.

”I see that,” Emma said as Addison let Vicki fall onto Emma.

”Guess what?” Emma whispered to Vicki. Vicki shook her head and pouted. Emma brushed her bangs aside. ”That means you get to sit in the sink,” Emma said. Vicki's eyes widened. Grandma's sink was huge, and Vicki loved to play in it. ”And, it means you get to wear Elmo on your knee.” Vicki brightened. Emma took the opportunity to lean over and kiss Addison gently on the lips. ”Hi,” she whispered.

”Hi,” Addison replied. ”Do you want me to...”

”No,” Emma said. ”I'll handle the war wound. Keep your dad company. He looks a bit gray around the gills there,” Emma whispered. Addison sighed unconsciously. Emma kissed her cheek. ”Behave, and I'll make sure you get an Elmo too.”

”I'd rather have your cookies.”

Emma winked and started for the kitchen. ”Behave.”

Addison shook her head lightly and chuckled. ”Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled.

”Should you...” Adam looked at his daughter.

Addison smiled. ”No,” she said. ”Em's got this one, I think. She goes through phases-Vicki, I mean, not Emma,” Addison explained. She saw her father's confusion. ”For a while when she first started crawling, when she would lose her steam or get frustrated or b.u.mp into something, she always wanted me. It was kind of funny. Now that she's found her feet, when she loses them she seems to want Emma.

”You don't seem all that worried,” Adam observed.

Addison was ready to pounce on her father. She opened her mouth to defend herself and realized he was still worried. She sighed. Adam Blake was a mystery to her. If her mother were here, she would have understood. ”She's okay,” Addison said. ”It's not the first b.u.mp, and it won't be the last.” Adam nodded. ”If you're that worried,” Addison said. ”Why don't you go see for yourself while I get my stuff from the car?”

”Don't you need help?” he asked.

”Nah, go on. You won't feel better until you do,” Addison said.

Part of Addison understood her father's concern. The first significant b.u.mp Vicki had garnered had occurred on Addison's watch. Vicki had been kicking against Addison's stomach excitedly, and Addison had lost hold of her. Thankfully, it had been a short fall, broken by a soft carpet, but Vicki had sported a nice b.u.mp on her head for the next week. Addison had been guilt-ridden. She had expected Emma to be furious. It surprised her when Emma had expressed greater concern for Addison's emotional state than the b.u.mp on their daughter's head. Addison sometimes forgot that Emma was accustomed to dealing with childhood injuries. She'd seen everything from scratches to crutches with her brothers and her nieces and nephews. It wasn't that Emma never worried. She just never reacted with alarm. Addison had learned to take cues from Emma over the last few years. The less she panicked, the more secure Vicki felt when an inevitable boo-boo occurred or the occasional cold took hold. She smiled at him genuinely and nodded in the direction of the kitchen. He offered her a half-hearted smile and headed off.

”Hey! You're here early,” the front door swung open again.

”Hi, Dad,” Addison greeted her father-in-law.

”Couldn't stay away, huh?” he joked.

Addison smiled. Tom Bronson had become like a father to her. In some ways, that thrilled Addison. In other ways, it hurt her deeply. It often reminded her of what was lacking in her relations.h.i.+p with her father.

”They know you are here yet?” he asked her.

Addison nodded. ”Yeah, they're tending to the munchkin's latest war wound.”

Tom chuckled. ”She certainly is a handful,” he commented.

Addison beamed. ”She likes adventure,” she said.

”I'll say. You know, Emmie was a bit like that as a kid as I recall. I always sort of thought it was because she wanted to keep up with whatever the boys were doing. Not so sure that mattered,” he laughed. ”She's one of the only girls in our entire family. There was no way she was going to be left out of anything.”

”Well, I'd say Vicki takes after her. Sometimes I think she thinks that she is thirteen not three.”

Tom laughed. ”Oh, trust me when she gets to be thirteen you'll be thinking she is acting like she's three,” he offered. Addison grinned. She didn't doubt that at all. ”Since they're all busy, why don't you come out to the old barn? I want to show you my latest project.”

Addison nodded. Emma and her mother had taken to calling her father, Tinkering Tom. Since he retired, he seemed to have endless projects going. Addison enjoyed spending time with him. He was a gifted carpenter. It had always been his hobby. Addison often thought he should make it into a new business. He loved it, and she was sure he could sell his creations for a pretty penny. ”What are you building? The new Ark out there or something,” she asked.

”Don't laugh. I might,” he said as he opened the door for her.

”The scary part of that, Dad is that I actually believe it.”

Tom laughed and fell in line with Addison's stride. ”You know, I could build it to scale, and you and Emmie could make a movie on it.”

Addison shook her head. ”A lesbian ark, huh?”

”Two of everything, they said.”

Addison jabbed her father-in-law playfully. ”You should be a comedian.” He shrugged. Addison suddenly felt a hundred pounds lighter. She was still feeling apprehensive about a week with her father close by. But, she had an escape. This was her family. They had chosen her as much as she had chosen Emma. If Adam Blake couldn't fill the role she desired, the man beside her would do everything he could to walk in those shoes. ”Thanks, Dad,” Addison said.

Tom winked. ”Don't thank me yet, Addy. I haven't shown you what I'm working on yet.”

Emma patted Vicki's knee dry and slapped an Elmo Band-Aid across it for good measure. She captured a glimpse of Addison's father in the doorway.

Vicki smiled and chewed on the chocolate chip cookie her grandmother had given her. ”Down!” Vicki demanded. Emma lifted a brow. Vicki grinned. ”Pwease?”

”Better,” Emma said.

”Finds Momma,” Vicki declared.

Emma looked out the window that sat above the sink. ”I think Grandpa stole Momma, Sprout.”

Vicki looked up at Emma harshly. Emma giggled. ”Not really, sweetheart. I think he is taking her out to the barn.” Vicki grabbed hold of Emma's hand and tugged. ”Yes?” Emma asked her.

Vicki huffed. ”Mommy, pwease?”

Emma smiled. ”Give me one minute. You wait for me by the door, and we will go find Momma, okay?” Vicki toddled off eating her cookie happily. She gave her grandfather a small wave as she pa.s.sed by.

”She seems okay,” he commented.

Emma snickered. ”She got a cookie and an Elmo bandage that she doesn't need. She's better than okay.”

He nodded. ”I am sorry, Emma. She just took off...”

Emma grasped his arm and squeezed lightly in rea.s.surance. ”She does that,” she said with a wink. ”If I don't get moving, she'll probably be halfway to the barn,” she joked. She saw Adam's face transform into fear and laughed. ”Not really. I'm faster than I look,” she said, making her way out of the room.

Sherry looked over at Adam and smiled. ”Gave you a little scare, huh?” He smiled as best he could. ”I have the perfect remedy.”

”Oh?”

”Yep. Cookies. They aren't Emma's, I'm afraid,” she teased. ”But, since I taught her, I imagine they'll pa.s.s the test.” Sherry gestured to Adam to have a seat.