Since they hadn’t had time to work on door alerts yet, she decided to head right in, turning the knob with a gentle snick. The girl didn’t look up right away, which Lila took to mean she hadn’t heard her come in, but Jeeves already knew his role and went to nudge Emily’s hand. His little black nose sought purchase against her palm and remained that way until Emily noticed and glanced up.

“Hey, Emily,” Lila said with what she hoped was a casual air. Turning her attention to the diligent cockapoo, she added, “Good boy, Jeeves. Good alert.”

Her pockets were always full of treats for a training session, so she handed one wordlessly to Emily. Like Jeeves, the girl was already learning her job well. She repeated Lila’s praise and held her hand out for the puppy to take the reward.

The lick on her palm made Emily giggle. That, in turn, lifted about eighty tons of weight off Lila’s shoulders. She didn’t know why the sight of that girl’s huge tear-filled eyes had caused such a pang, but they had. Especially since she was pretty sure it was something she’d said that had put them there.

“Your dad is taking a nap,” she said quietly, careful to face Emily so the girl could see her lips.

“I hate naps,” Emily supplied.

“Me too. They’re such a waste, aren’t they? When there are so many other things to do?”

Emily nodded, still too sober for Lila’s peace of mind. Admittedly, her knowledge of children was small, but they were supposed to be exuberant, hyper little things, weren’t they? Like untrained puppies, bouncing from one room to the next.

She remembered that Sophie and Dawn had always been that way. Technically, she was only two years older than Dawn and four more than Soph, but she’d always felt more mature than her age. Even as kids, her sisters had been the ones to chatter and play and make up games that lasted for hours at a time. All while Lila had watched, set apart, wondering what it was about her that turned every party into a wake.

“Can you braid my hair like yours?” Emily asked suddenly. “Like a royal crown?”

More pleased than she cared to admit that Emily noticed her concession to the princess persona, Lila jumped at the chance. “Of course.” She dropped the two fingers of her right hand over two fingers of her left—the ASL sign for sit—and patted the space between her legs. She wasn’t very well-educated in sign language, but considering how much Emily lit up to see her make the attempt, she resolved to improve her studies.

Emily obliged with the request, settling onto her knees and holding herself perfectly still in front of Lila. Turning around, she said, “Daddy makes me sit like this. No wriggles. No talking. Else he messes up.”