Emma had been asleep for an hour when Kassie finally allowed herself to think about Daniel’s message. The birthday excitement had finally caught up with her daughter, and she’d fallen asleep surrounded by her new presents, still wearing her princess dress and the sparkly headband that had made her feel like royalty all day.
Kassie sat in her kitchen with a cup of tea, the house finally quiet after the chaos of the celebration. The older kids had retreated to their rooms with their own forms of post-party wind-down—Lee reading, Aaron organizing his baseball card collection, Marie listening to music while doing homework. Empty cake plates were stacked in the sink, purple streamers still hung from the ceiling, and the lingering scent of birthday candles reminded her of Emma’s serious concent
