Read Online The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander - Free Book Online Page A

something she felt right doing either.
    She reached for Emma’s hand, and the child took hold without hesitation.
    Dr. Foster was inside the cabin, mixing salves and spices to prepare Janie’s body for burial. When he looked up, then looked at Emma, he seemed to understand.
    McKenna inclined her head toward the bedroom. “You’re welcome to come with us, if you’d like, Dr. Foster.” She secretly hoped he would, in case Emma had questions she couldn’t answer.
    He led the way and pushed open the door.
    McKenna had unlatched a window earlier to air out the room. Sunshine poured inside, layering the small space with the sweet fragrance of lavender and crowding out the stale reminders of death.
    Emma held back, and McKenna hoped she hadn’t frightened her by what she’d said moments earlier.
    “It’s all right, Emma. We can take our time in saying good-bye.” McKenna looked at Janie’s body on the bed and tears rose to her eyes as she recalled what it had felt like to kiss her mother for the very last time, how her heart had pounded in her ears, and how foreign her mother’s cheek had felt to her in that moment.
    She guided Emma to the bedside, and Emma raised her little chin to peer into her mother’s face. Janie’s expression was smooth and serene, though gaunt from illness. Gone were the flushes of fever, and her freshly brushed hair lay spread across the pillowcase, a duller mirror image of her daughter’s.
    Emma reached out, then quickly pulled her hand back.
    “It’s okay. You can touch her . . . if you want to.” McKenna brushed her fingers across Janie’s hand.
    Emboldened, Emma did the same. “Mama?”
    Only silence answered, and McKenna’s throat tightened.
    Emma leaned closer, touching her mama’s arm. “Mama?” she whispered, her voice going higher. She peered up at McKenna, her blue eyes pooling. Her bottom lip shook.
    Tears slipped down both their cheeks, and suddenly all the things McKenna wished someone had said to her in a similar moment years ago, came rushing back. She knelt beside her. “Your mama still loves you very much, Emma,” she whispered. “Her love for you hasn’t ended simply because she’s not able to be with you anymore. She’s thinking about you right this minute, in heaven, and she’ll watch over you until you’re together again. And you will be together again . . . someday. I promise you that.”
    Emma’s breath stuttered beneath the weight of her tears. “But . . . I-I don’t want my . . . mama in heaven.”
    “I know you don’t, sweetheart. I don’t want her there either. I want her here with us. But that’s not possible anymore.” She attempted to brush away Emma’s tears, but the child shrank back. Surprised at the reaction, McKenna sought to comfort her with words. “Before your mama passed away, she asked me to take care of you. And I promised her I would. I’m here now, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you. We’re going to live together in this house you love, that your papa built. And I’ll be here whenever you need anything, okay?”
    She reached out to hug her, but Emma’s tearful scowl told her the affection wasn’t welcome.
    Dr. Foster came around to their side of the bed and leaned down to pick up Emma. She went to him willingly, which stung. McKenna tried her best not to show it. Emma was only a child, after all. But when Emma laid her head on Dr. Foster’s shoulder, McKenna couldn’t mask the hurt.
    He cradled Emma’s head. “Don’t let this upset you, Miss Ashford. I delivered Emma. She’s known me her entire life. Vince and Janie used to have me out for Sunday lunch after church, too, so we’ve gotten to know each other real well. Give it time. She’ll come around to you.”
    As if on cue, Emma looped her thin arms around his neck and gave McKenna a look that said quite the opposite.
    A familiar dread clawed its way up the back of McKenna’s throat. “Of course,” she forced out, nodding. “I