A Family Reunited by Jennifer Johnson Page B

her elbows on the counter and dropped her head into her hands. Why had she told him he could come to the festival? She didn’t want to be around him. Didn’t want to feel weak in his presence, like she’d lost every ounce of good sense. She didn’t need to be vulnerable.
    Standing up straight, she scooped the plate off the counter. Feel. Need. Want. All words of a woman who didn’t have a backbone. And one thing Jack’s leaving had given her was a strong spine. Ignoring her emotions, she determined to focus on her mind. On her good sense. She wouldn’t allow herself to be swayed by charm, memories or even the promise of his having changed.
    She walked across the yard to her parents’ house. She put the dish on the counter, then joined the family in the living area. Emmy sat cuddled up beside Callie, her hand resting on Callie’s ever-so-slightly swollen belly. Kirk sat beside them on the couch, his arm behind his wife’s shoulders. Mom and Emma shared the wingback chair, and Dad sat in the leather recliner.
    “Why can’t I feel them yet?” asked Emmy.
    “They’re still too little.” Kirk lifted his hand and curled his finger and thumb about an inch and a half apart. “Only as big as a fig, so their kicks aren’t very strong yet.”
    “But you said you heard their heartbeats,” said Emmy.
    Callie looked over at Pamela and smiled. Pink cheeks, bright eyes, shiny blond hair that touched her shoulders. She really did glow with sheer maternal happiness. “We heard their heartbeats today at the doctor’s visit.”
    Pamela wanted to be excited for her brother and Callie. And she couldn’t wait to meet her twin nieces or nephews. She looked at her brother, his chin and chest lifted in pride, and jealousy niggled at her gut. She’d never seen that in Jack. He’d been shocked and less than thrilled when they’d discovered their first unplanned pregnancy. The second sent Jack over the edge. His aloofness had ripped away part of her joy at becoming a new mother. Pushing away her selfish feelings, she smiled at her sister-in-law. “That’s wonderful. They’re getting bigger every day.”
    Emmy placed her mouth against Callie’s belly. “Yes, you are. Now, hurry up and grow so I can feel you kick.”
    The family laughed, and Emmy sat up, her cheeks and neck pink.
    “So, what’s this I hear about Jack going to the fall festival tomorrow?” her dad asked.
    “I don’t want him to go,” said Emma as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
    Pamela’s mother draped her arm around Emma’s shoulders. “You don’t? Why not?”
    Emma lowered her gaze and stuck out her lip. “He left us.”
    Kirk leaned forward on the couch and placed his elbows on his knees. “He did leave, and he was wrong, but he’s sorry, and he loves God now and wants to get to know you girls.”
    Pamela’s jaw dropped. If anyone else in the family would be opposed to her estranged husband trying to walk back into their lives, she’d assumed it would be Kirk. “You’ve talked with Jack?”
    Kirk looked up at her and nodded. “He came by the farm last week. Helped me feed the animals and clean up the petting zoo and activity center. We talked a long while.”
    Pamela clamped her lips together as anger bubbled in her stomach and rose into her chest. How dare Jack talk to her brother behind her back! He could do and say whatever he wanted to weasel his way back into the family, but they didn’t know him as she did. They didn’t know the times she’d hidden his drunkenness from them.
    “I’m glad,” said Emmy. “He’s going to take me to play the games and do the cake walk and jump on the bouncy things.”
    Pamela looked at her older daughter. Bitterness and anger marred Emma’s expression, and Pamela’s heart twisted with pain. God, what has happened to my sweet girl?
    She blinked at the quick prayer. What would God do to help Emma? Nothing. Maybe it was good for Emma to learn at a young age that life was hard and the