A Sister's Forgiveness by Anna Schmidt Page A

heart attack. For one moment, the idea that he might die along with his only child brought him a measure of comfort. But then he heard Jeannie and Emma coming toward the porch and he remembered that he was the man in this family. He had lost a child, but he still had a wife and others who would look to him for the strength they would all need to get through this. His mom, Jeannie’s parents, not to mention his siblings, in-laws, Tessa’s cousins, and so many others.
    And as he turned to Emma, intending to thank her for all that she had done for them that day, all he could think about was that she still had two children, one of them responsible for the accident that had robbed him of his daughter.
    “Where’s Matt?” he asked.
    “When… after…” Emma took a breath and cleared her throat before continuing, “Lars picked Matt up from school so he would hear the news from us. Then they went to be with Sadie at the hospital. We thought it best if they had a little time.…”
    “Yeah. It’s good to have time, Emma,” Geoff said as he brushed past her on his way back inside.

Chapter 14
    Emma
    E mma hugged Jeannie and waited until her sister had followed Geoff back inside the house before retrieving Sadie’s bicycle. When Hester had driven Emma to Jeannie’s house earlier, she had seen Sadie’s bicycle still leaning against a cluster of palm trees in the front yard. There was something so poignant about seeing that bicycle where it was so often left whenever Sadie visited the house. It seemed like everything must be all right after all. That the girls were upstairs in Tessa’s room, giggling over some silliness or the confidences the two of them so often shared.
    “I could load it in the trunk,” Hester had offered, following her gaze as she stood at the end of the driveway.
    “No, leave it. I’ll need a way to get back to the hospital later.”
    “You’ll be okay?”
    “I’ll stay busy,” she promised.
    “Be strong,” Hester had whispered as the two friends embraced.
    On her way into the house, Emma had avoided looking at the closed garage door. It was a relief to see that Dan’s car was no longer on the property. In fact, there was no sign of the accident at all.
    She had wondered if Dan Kline was being kept overnight for observation like Sadie was. She’d also wondered if the full weight of what Sadie had done—or let her feelings for Dan Kline allow her to do—had hit home yet. What did a sixteen-year-old think in times like these? Was Sadie reliving the accident? What had she seen as she frantically tried to stop the car? Had it even registered in her brain that Tessa was gone forever?
    “I’ve got this,” Lars had said as if reading her hesitation to tend to her sister when her child also needed her. “Jeannie’s going to need you there to help Geoff and her deal with all the well-meaning people who will be coming to their house once the news gets out.”
    “Hester could…”
    “She needs you, Emma.”
    So before going inside to make the tea that would be the start of comforting her sister, Emma had wheeled Sadie’s bike across the driveway and around to the side of the house where it would be out of sight when Jeannie and Geoff got back.
    Now, hours later, she pedaled along the usually busy but at this time of night practically deserted main thoroughfare that bisected Pinecraft. With nothing to distract her, she allowed the full horror of the day to wash over her. She saw what they would face separately and alone in the days to come. Geoff’s parting remark about time had stalked her every block of the way. Sadie had been reckless in that carefree way that made her so much like Jeannie. It wasn’t the first time, but this time everything was different. How would Geoff and Jeannie ever be able to forgive her? How would Sadie ever forgive herself? As Sadie’s parents, how should she and Lars react—should they punish her? Surely realizing that her foolish act had caused an accident