Bringing Rosie Home. Loree Lough

handling things admirably. It’s possible she’ll adapt quickly and easily to being with you, to being home again.” She raised an eyebrow. “That said, she will most likely have some issues related to Barbara’s death. She told Rosie you two were gone, then stepped into your shoes. Now that Rosie knows you’re alive and well, and that Barbara lied to her... Well, all that is bound to cause a few problems.

      “Don’t be overly concerned, though. As I said, she seems like a well-adjusted little girl, despite all she’s been through. So, much as I hate to repeat myself, if you can’t pull off the whole together again thing, tell her. Tell her now. She won’t be happy, but she’ll adapt. She’s a resilient kid.”

      “Tell her?” Grant all but shouted. “Out of the question! She’s just a little girl! A little girl who’s been through more these past few years than most adults go through in a lifetime. Life has made too many demands on her already. Dealing with the breakup of her parents...” He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not going to happen. She needs to know she can count on us.” He glanced over at Rena. “We’re in this for the long haul, right?”

      Rena searched his face and saw how much he needed her to say yes. And so she did.

      Facing Robson, she said, “We’re not so naïve that we think it’ll be a cakewalk, but we have the best incentive in the world to make the marriage work—Rosie.”

      It did her heart good to hear Grant’s relieved sigh.

      “You know,” Robson said, “I agree with Manuel. I think you guys are going to do fine, just fine.”

      With that, she put on her glasses and picked up the letter. Rena didn’t know what possessed her to do it, but she reached for Grant’s hand. He took it, gave it a slight squeeze, and held it against his chest.