Point Hope by Kristen James Read Free Book Online Page A

was Trey, her rock and center. She breathed in his scent and remembered a thousand little details about the life they had built together. Their anniversary trips. Their home. Their children.
    He cleared his throat and pulled away. She nodded and turned, leaving without looking back at him.
    Maybe, she thought as she walked down the hallway, it had been a lapse from everything. Even if they separated, it wasn’t wrong to offer each other support and comfort for a few seconds. Any human would give that to another.
     
     
    Rosette found Summer holding the baby and singing to her in a beautiful, heavenly voice. The sweet voice stopped Rosette. Summer sounded like that famous singer Beyoncé. This didn’t match up at all with Rosette’s idea of Summer. Suddenly she wondered if Summer could take the baby. The scene threw Rosette for a loop so far her head spun.
    Summer looked over. “The nurses are calling her Baby Jane.”
    They’d named her? Who were they to pick out a name? Then it hit her. They were calling her Jane Doe.
    Rosette didn’t like it at all and wanted to say a few choice words to them, until she realized “Jane” might be better than “the baby,” or even worse, “it.” 
    Putting that aside for the time being, she told Summer, “We need to go home and talk to the kids. Are you planning to stay awhile?”
    Summer’s head jerked up. Rosette was taken aback by the fear in her eyes. She turned away, rocking the baby, maybe rocking herself, mumbling what sounded like, “I can’t believe all this.”
    Rosette laid a hand on her arm. “Summer? Are you okay?”
    “I don’t think I can go back to Amanda’s place. Not without her.” She looked at Rosette, her face crumpled and ready to cry. She was looking at Rosette like she’d fix everything.
     “You don’t have to go back there,” Rosette said, and suddenly remembered her promise to Amanda to help with anything she needed. “We’re going home to talk to Alex. Do you want to come with us?”
    “No… I don’t want her to be alone.”
    Rosette squeezed Summer’s shoulders. “Okay. Call me if you need anything. And don’t worry. You can come over to our house when you’re ready.” It was hard to look away—to walk away—from the look in Summer’s eyes. They nodded at each other as Rosette went out the door. None of this would be easy.
    She left to find Trey, feeling like she was walking through a dense fog. Halfway home, Rosette realized that neither of them had said a word. She’d been thinking about how and when to tell the kids. Candice might be old enough to understand that Aunt Amanda wouldn’t come over anymore, and that she had gone to heaven.
    When they were close to the house, Rosette glanced at Trey and said, “I told Summer she’s welcome at the house whenever she’s ready to come. She doesn’t want to go back to Amanda’s.”
    Trey nodded without glancing over. They arrived home, and he pulled into the garage and turned off the car. Rosette felt cold and stiff, and found it hard to move. Only then did she remember that she’d been up all night. She was tired, emotionally drained, and feeling all the pain and loss physically—she hurt all over as if she’d been beat up.
    She looked at Trey, who wasn’t moving either. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, one hand massaging his forehead. As much as she dreaded the thought of talking through all this, they would need to decide a few things together.
    The door from the garage into the house flew open. Trey came back to life, sitting forward and opening his car door. “Alex,” he said as he stood. Rosette stepped out of the car and saw Alex’s anxious face.
    Trey walked closer to him and set a hand on his shoulder. Instead of saying anything, he shook his head. They all stood in silence. Finally, Trey said, “There was an accident out on the highway last night. Her car rolled down an embankment. The doctors were able to save the baby.”
    Alex nodded and