Back in the living room, Emma was still absorbed in her coloring, carefully filling in the wings of a monarch butterfly with orange crayon. She looked up when Kassie and Daniel returned, her face bright with the innocent joy that had characterized the entire weekend.
“Look, Mommy! I made the butterfly really pretty,” Emma announced, holding up her picture proudly.
“It’s beautiful, sweetheart,” Kassie said, settling onto the couch. “Emma, can you put your crayons down for a minute? Daddy and I want to talk to you about something.”
Emma’s expression immediately grew more serious. She carefully set down her orange crayon and looked between her parents with the wariness that suggested she sensed this was important.
“Am I in trouble?” she asked quietly.
“No, baby, you’re not in trouble at
