Emma's Secret: A Novel by Steena Holmes Read Free Book Online

to their daughter. But he never asked her why she was scared, and to be honest, she wasn’t sure she wanted to admit the answer.
    What she needed was a fresh perspective. Someone to help her understand her doubts and worries. And she knew exactly where to go.
    Megan climbed to her feet and headed back toward her vehicle. Something was wrong, but she wasn’t sure if it was with her or her daughter.

    Megan pushed open the door to Dr. Kathy Graham’s office and glanced around the waiting area. The eight chairs were empty, as well as the coatrack. A small folded sign sat on top of the desk with “Please Be Seated” scrawled across it.
    She placed a coffee from the drive-thru on the desk and sat down in one of the chairs, clasping her purse tightly between her fingers. She prayed that coming here was the right decision.
    “I’ll be right with you,” Kathy, their family counselor, called out.
    Coming here was an impulsive decision made on the pier. Peter would never know.
    “Megan, come on in.” Kathy stood in the doorway, wearing a light-blue summer dress with her hair in a ponytail.
    “Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.” Megan grabbed the coffee she’d set down on the desk and offered it to Kathy.
    Buying Kathy a coffee for seeing her after hours was the least she could do. A tiny seed of doubt wormed its way through Megan. She should have taken the time to calm herself down instead of panicking over something as silly as Emma not responding to her name. It wasn’t a life-or-death situation. Just groundless fears.
    Megan followed Kathy into her office, and they both sat down in the leather armchairs. There was something about this office and the way it was decorated, as if it were a room in a friend’s house instead of a doctor’s office. This helped ease some of the tension in Megan’s shoulders. Off to the side, by the large bay windows, were framed drawings that had been made for Kathy. Megan immediately picked out the picture Emma had drawn during the first few weeks she’d been home. It was a picture of a little girl and a dog, sitting in a field with trees all around them. She had drawn large blue swirls indicating a brisk wind that wrapped itself around the little girl. Megan hated that picture even though Emma had beenso proud of it and asked if Kathy could put it on her wall. She hated that Emma had felt so obviously alone and unsettled.
    Kathy crossed her legs and sipped her coffee while Megan sat straight in her chair.
    “What’s going on?” Kathy asked.
    Megan bit her lip as she searched for the right words. Words that wouldn’t make her sound crazy or ungrateful. Words that would convince Kathy that she wasn’t a bad mother for doubting her child.
    “I don’t think Emma is really my daughter,” Megan blurted out instead.
    She waited for Kathy’s reaction, for the confusion, the worry, and then the doubt that she knew she deserved. She steeled herself, knowing that she’d been foolish to come and admit her fears. Her grip tightened around her purse strap.
    “Why is that?”
    Megan was surprised to hear the sincerity in Kathy’s voice. She glanced up and saw the concern in Kathy’s gaze. She relaxed a little and set her purse on the floor.
    “I know it sounds odd and might not even make sense. But it’s things she says or remembers.”
    “What kinds of things? It’s possible she’s confusing early memories with those from living with Jack and Dorothy.”
    Megan shook her head. “Why would she respond to being called Emmie and not her real name? It’s not like the two names are completely different. Plus, I thought she would have been more settled and happier by now.” Megan sighed. Was it all her fault? Was she failing her daughter somehow?
    Kathy leaned on the armrest. “She still needs time, Megan. This could be Emma’s way of keeping the memory of that life alive.”Kathy gave a small smile. “Let’s talk about how she’s adjusting. Is she talking more?”
    “A