CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
The next day, however, Emily awoke with a heavy heart. It was departure day, and it had arrived like an unwanted storm cloud, bringing a sense of foreboding with its gloom.
She looked over at Daniel and Chantelle sleeping in bed. Though she felt blessed for them, she knew half her heart belonged here with her father, that leaving him would feel like tearing it in two. The urge to remain was overwhelming, though she knew she couldn’t heed it.
Daniel woke then, his eyelids fluttering open. Emily could tell by the look on his face that he was feeling the same as she was.
“I wish we could take Dad with us,” Emily said to him softly, projecting her voice over Chantelle’s sleeping form.
“I know,” he replied. “Or that at least we could stay longer. Leaving him like this
