Chapter 1 Nicholas and Emma

            Nicholas Tiller carried his daughter Emma up the stairs to her bedroom.  He lay her sleeping body down on the bed then covered her up.  “Goodnight Princess.”  He whispered and kissed her forehead lightly.  He stood by her bed for a few minutes, just watching her sleep.  She looked so much like her mother, even at 7 years old. 

            Nicholas wished that Leslie could see Emma.  She would be so proud of her daughter.  It had only been two years since Leslie’s accident, since the night that she was taken from her family.  The memory was fresh in Nicholas’ mind as if it happened just yesterday.  He remembered the way the lightning lit up the sky and the pouring rain flooded the streets.  He could still see the way his best friend, and also the sheriff on duty at the time, looked when he told Nicholas the news.  The words were still fresh in his ears. “I’m sorry to be the one to inform you Nick, but Leslie was in an accident.  She was driving too fast for the wet roads and as she went around the bend on Millers Road, her car spun and hit a telephone pole.  The impact was on the driver’s side door and she was killed instantly.  I’m so sorry man.  If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”

            Nicholas felt like his world had ended that night.  If it weren’t for Emma, he would have given up and died right along with Leslie.  Emma needed him though.  She didn’t fully understand why her mommy wasn’t with her anymore.  It took a lot of late night talks for Nicholas to get her to understand that she didn’t do anything wrong and that she wasn’t the reason her mommy left her.

            Two years felt like an eternity, but at the same time it felt as though it was only yesterday.  Nicholas spent that time in mourning, constantly sifting through the memories of the times he spent with the only woman he ever loved.  He felt like a part of him was lost, to never return to him again.

            He went through the motions of life, never truly happy since the night he lost Leslie.  The only time he was even able to feel was when he was with Emma.  She was the only one that could make him smile, that could make him feel like life was worth living.  Yeah, he had a few friends that he hung around with, and he went to work daily, but Emma was now the center of his life.  He had no interest in dating, or ‘finding a new mom for Emma’ like his friends suggested.  He was content to remain single for the rest of his life.  Nicholas didn’t think he’d ever find another love like he had shared with Leslie, so there was no point in looking.

            Nicholas walked out of Emma’s room and went to his own.  He passed by the wall where pictures of him and Leslie hung, as he made his way to his empty bed.  ‘If only I could hold Leslie one more night, tell her one more time just how much I love her.  But that’ll never happen.’  Nicholas thought just before falling asleep.  He dreamt of a different time, a time where he was happy.

            Emma was a particularly carefree child.  For a time shortly after her mother died, she was sullen and withdrawn, not really understanding why she would never see her mother again.  Death is a rather hard concept for a five year old child to comprehend, but all that really mattered to Emma was the fact that she would never see her mother again, no matter what the reason for it was.

            Shortly after the accident, Emma rebounded and went back to being the bubbly five year old that she had been before the accident.  Two years later, her life revolved around cartoons, baby dolls and Barbies.  She loved school and never gave her father a fight about going.  She was one of the smartest kids in her class, something her father was very proud of.

            Though Emma liked her dolls, she was also somewhat of a tomboy.  She preferred jeans to dresses and loved to play in the dirt.  Her long, corkscrew blonde curls were usually tied back in a ponytail to keep them from bothering her while she was playing.  She chose to play sports with the boys during recess most days, rather than playing with the girls.   

            Looking at Emma, you could tell that she was Leslie’s daughter.  She got Leslie’s eyes, nose, and hair, but her personality was all Nicholas.  From the time she was born, Emma was a definite Daddy’s girl, which helped her get over her mother’s death with fewer emotional scars.  She missed her mother, but the memories of her were fading fast.  All she had now was her father, and Emma seemed okay with that.

Author’s Note:  Sorry for the short chapter, just trying to introduce a couple of characters.  The next one won’t be quite this short, but a couple of other important characters will be introduced there too.  Please read and review, though there isn’t much to go on yet.