Page 43

Fortunately, Libby’s hands were a bit cleaner than before, and only a few soup spatters made it onto the front of Katherine’s overalls. Looking down, Katherine gasped in mocked disbelief as Libby laughed and Matthew held his breath.

“Why, you little stinker pie!” she said, holding Libby’s hands far apart and diving down into the crook of her neck, growling and snarling. As Libby squealed with delight, her giggles had them all laughing before Katherine finally stopped. Then she finished cleaning Libby’s hands.

“There, nowyou can clap… hooray!” Katherine cheered, clapping her own hands and winding Libby back up again.

“Yay, Da-da!” Libby smiled, urging Matthew to join in.

When they all finally settled down, Matthew couldn’t help but think again about what a wonderful mother Katherine would make. She was patient, playful, and kind. And watching her with his little girl made his heart squeeze inside his chest.

“Thanks for being so great with her.”

“Nothing to thank me for. Kids are great all on their own. It’s the grown-ups you gotta watch out for.”

“I know what you mean.” Matthew stifled a yawn.

“Why don’t you go relax on the couch and I’ll finish cleaning up, then keep Libby entertained while you rest. Take a nap if you need to.”

Although he wanted to argue, exhaustion outweighed his reluctance, and Matthew gave in. He was tired, full of good food, and all he could think about was closing his eyes for a few minutes. “Okay, but only if you promise to come get me if there’s an issue.”

“There won’t be any issues. We’ll be fine. Right, Libby?”

Libby smiled at the sound of her name but kept playing with her toys.

“You be good, Libby Doll,” Matthew said, bending down and kissing his baby girl before turning back to Katherine. “I mean it, wake me up if she gets fussy, or you have to go?”

“I don’t have to go,” Katherine said, giving Matthew a gentle push toward the living room. “Sleep well, and sweet dreams.”

In minutes, Matthew was asleep in front of the television.

Chapter 11

Katherine spent the rest of the afternoon entertaining Libby while Matthew slept on the couch. When one program turned into another and then another, she didn’t bother turning the television off. Hoping the faint hum of sound would help him sleep longer.

All this time, she had assumed he was doing better than he really was. When he started coming to Grief Group, he seemed to be okay. But then again, Katherine had nothing to gauge her assessment on. She barely knew Matthew. And she certainly didn’t know him well enough to see that he was struggling. But now it was clear that he had been all along.

And she couldn’t imagine what it must’ve been like for him to be one of the first responders at the scene of the accident. She hadn’t been far behind Matthew and Justin when she drove by and saw the crushed news van, so she had a pretty good idea what Matthew had faced when Justin’s cruiser arrived on the scene.

Maybe if she hadn’t turned away when she drove by, Katherine would’ve spotted Matthew and somehow been able tohelp him sooner. But she didn’t, and though it was likely for the best that she hadn’t gotten involved, she felt terrible that he’d essentially endured that tremendous shock all on his own.

Of course, Justin was there, but it still plagued her that, in essence, he was alone, relying on the comfort of people who were practically strangers.

“Gully, gully, gully.” Libby’s chatter drew Katherine away from her guilt-ridden thoughts. “Guuuullllyyyy!”

Katherine knew the more time spent with toddlers learning to talk, the easier it was to decipher their verbal clues and give them what they needed. A skill she was introduced to more than a decade ago with her first niece, Jenny. A skill that, as an aunt to three others, eventually improved over time. Unfortunately, her past experience wasn’t helping. Still, she did everything in her power to solve the mystery of“gully.”

From entertaining Libby with toys, game after game of peek-a-boo, neck nuzzles, tummy tickles, and reading her a stack of books, Katherine was determined to let Matthew rest.

“Gully, gully…” Libby continued.

Then Katherine tried giving her a drink of water, changing her diaper, even checking her temperature, and still…

“Gully, gully, gully…”

As daytime disappeared into dusk, Katherine peeked in on Matthew, covered him with a soft blanket, and scribbled a quick note explaining she and Libby were once again going next door for supplies.

When they returned, she put Libby’s high chair next to the kitchen counter, buckled her in, and snapped the tray into place. Then she gave her a small plastic bowl of fish-shaped cheddar crackers.

While Katherine prepared baked mac and cheese with chicken and bacon, Libby stayed busy dumping crackers onto the tray of the high chair, then putting them back in the bowl oneby one. For every five or six fish-shaped crackers she picked up, one or two went into her mouth before she started the process all over again.