Chapter 58

Early morning light came in through Emma's spare room curtains and gently woke Alice up. She was not sure where she was for a moment. Then everything from yesterday came back to her quickly, and she woke up wide awake.

Carson saw their son sleep while sitting in a chair next to Charlie's movable crib. He was already awake. When Alice woke up, he looked up and gave her a tired little smile.

A soft voice said, "Morning." "How did you sleep?"

To get rid of the last bits of sleep, Alice rubbed her eyes. "Not good. "You?"

That was all Carson could do. "Not at all. Thought about everything and tried to decide what to do next.

At that very moment, Charlie woke up and scrunched up his little face. Alice ran over to him right away, picked him up from the crib, and held him close.

She cooed, "Good morning, sweetheart," taking in his familiar baby smell. Even though everything was going wrong, holding Charlie made her feel like things might be okay.

She was already up and making coffee and toast