"What do you want me to take out, Emma?" Sam asked, standing just inside the front door.
Emma indicated three wooden crates stacked in the corner. She'd packed her most valuable possessions before the wedding. The rest didn't matter. "And my telescope."
"Telescope? You've got a telescope?"
"Yes. My father bought it for me when I was twelve." Memories assailed her - memories of sitting on the grass looking up at the stars with her father as he pointed out the Milky Way and the constellations.
"You like to look at the sky?"
Emma smiled. "My father believed we'll be able to live on the moon one day."
Sam burst out laughing. "Your father sure had some crazy notions."
Emma's smile disappeared. In its place, her lips thinned. "His notions weren't crazy. He read extensively and kept up with modern ideas. The scientists say we'll be able to fly through the sky one day soon, too."
"Well, I'll keep my feet on solid ground, if it's all the same to you. I won't be flying anywhere. If God intended us to fly, he'd have given us wings."
"Like angels," Nathan put in. "Like Mama. She has wings, 'cause she's an angel. And she lives in the sky."
Emma's gaze shifted to the little boy, his eyes wide. Her voice caught in her throat.
"Can we see Mama if we fly in the sky?"
Sam and Emma exchanged glances. Sam crouched down to Nathan's level, resting his arms on his thighs. "No, son. You can't see your mother. She's gone."
"But you said she lives in the sky - in heaven - and why can't we see her if we go there? We see Mr. Holloway when we go to where he lives--"
"It's different. We might be able to go into the sky one day, but we can't go to Heaven."
"Why not?"
"Because ... well, just because. You'll understand when you get older. Now let's go before it gets dark."
While Sam and Joseph took the boxes out to the wagon, Emma went up the stairs to her bedroom. Reaching into the bottom of her wardrobe, she withdrew the box holding her telescope. She had packed it away right after her father died, unable to look at the stars without tears clouding her vision. But she couldn't leave it behind.
"Emma!" Amanda's voice drifted up the stairs.
Emma grinned. She'd hoped to see Amanda for a few minutes before they left for the ranch, but she had been out when Emma knocked on her door earlier.
"I'm up here," Emma called out. "I'll be right down."
"Good. Because I don't have the energy to climb the stairs."
Tucking the box beneath her arm, she scurried down the stairs. Amanda was waiting at the bottom, her arms outstretched. As soon as Emma put the box down, Amanda threw her arms around her and squeezed.
"Oh, my goodness, Amanda," Emma breathed. "You're suffocating me."
"I'm sorry," Amanda wailed. "But I've missed you so much. It just isn't the same without you here. James won't let me do anything, and I'm so lonely."
"You won't be lonely for long. Soon you'll have plenty to do."
Amanda's perpetual smile faded. "Emma," she said quietly. "You'll still come when I have the baby, won't you?"
Emma took Amanda's hand and squeezed it, offering reassurance. "Of course I will. Nothing will keep me away. But you don't need me. You'll have the doctor and--"
"But I do need you. You promised, Emma. You--"
"Don't worry," Emma repeated. "I'll come. Send James to fetch me when it's time, and I'll be here as soon as I can."