Chapter 49

Then doubts skittered across my mind. What if Cherry seemed subdued when I showed her the plans? If she was hesitant, did it mean she was backtracking on the decision she’d made yesterday? I realized I was worried about how things had gone at the store today. Perhaps Cherry would have rethought things.

Fern’s footsteps sounded as she ran out into the hallway to hug her mom as usual on her return. Our daughter’s footfalls soon took her back to her teddy tea party while Cherry joined me in the living room. She cocked her head and zeroed in on the rolled-up paper in my hands.

“I have a surprise for you,” I explained, my voice surer than I felt.

Again, that sense of doubt zipped through me. What if Cherry’s going to the store today had got her thinking about all she was giving up?

Before I could talk myself out of it, I pulled Cherry down onto the floor, where I kneeled down. Holding one end of the paper, I unrolled the par