“Did you find her?” she asked when Tessa didn’t answer, automatically assuming Tessa’s friend was a girl. Not all that unusual since she rarely saw Tessa with men.
“No,” she said, taming Sophia’s feather-fine sandy curls with her fingers. “But I missed you.”
“Coffee.” Abby groaned, stumbling through the living room on her way to the kitchen, her long dark hair a wild tangle of waves, hanging in her face. “Thank the Lord God in heaven above—you made coffee.”
“I want coffee,” Sophia said.
“How do you ask??
?? Abby called.
“Pleeeeeeeease?”
Sophia’s coffee was orange juice, and Abby brought her a sippy cup.
Tessa picked up her mug and tickled Sophia’s belly where it peeked out beneath her pajama top. “Tell me about the museum.”
Her daughter threw her arms straight up, flinging herself backward onto the cushions. “Turtles! Lots and lots of turtles. Green turtles and brown turtles and black turtles.”
“Black turtles?”
“Uh-huh. Artists can make turtles any color they want. I want to be a artist when I grow up.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
She grinned at Tessa. “So I can do anything I want.”
Tessa broke out laughing.
“Show Mum what we picked up in the gift shop,” Abby told her, wandering into the living room again and easing to a seat on the coffee table facing Tessa. She wore an oversized T-shirt and sleeping shorts. Her pale skin had tanned over the last few days in the Hawaiian sun.
“Frankie,” Sophia yelled, making Tessa wince. “Frankie, Frankie, Frankie…”
She rolled off the sofa, popped to her feet, and disappeared into Abby’s bedroom.
Tessa sighed and smiled at Abby. “It’s really too bad she’s such an unhappy kid.”
“Right?”
She sipped her coffee. Life felt fan-freaking-tastic this morning.
If only time could stop.
“So?” Abby said, her warm brown eyes lighting with excitement. “Tell me before she finds the bloody turtle.”
In the other room, Sophia was comically calling Frankie in a variety of different voices.
“Oh yeah,” Tessa said with a shake of her head. “Wow.”
“I’ll say.” Abby sipped her own coffee. “I heard you comin’ in at five this morning, missy.”
The smile crept over Tessa’s face so fast, she had no control over stopping it. “Thanks for handling Sophia.”
“None of that.” She swatted Tessa’s knee. “I want the good stuff. Corinne would be proud to see you going after what you want.”
That struck a bittersweet chord with Tessa. She had been going for what she wanted—before she’d discovered the illness Corinne had been hiding. An illness that could have been handled differently if Tessa had known and been able to talk to Corinne about treatment alternatives.
But, as Corinne loved to say, everything happened for a reason. And in hindsight, Tessa doubted she could have changed Corinne’s mind. Besides, the only alternative would have been risking Sophia. And Tessa couldn’t imagine making a decision that would have harmed her.