She spoke quietly, directly, and lovingly. “Losing a child is the worst kind of pain, sweetie. It tears your heart in half.”
I swallowed. Tears almost came back, but I pushed them away. I looked into Ma’s familiar, kind eyes.
“I feel like I’ve been holding it all in, Ma. For days. Since the moment I knew she was gone.” I choked on those words.’ “The only thing that helps is knowing that I did everything I could to save my baby. That I loved her more than the world.”
I paused, and the anger rose up like sickness.
“But Astor took her from me. He took the only thing I had left of her.”
Pa, who had been listening quietly, put his warm hand over mine.
“We understand that, honey. We really do,” Pa said softly. “But just because he’s a man doesn’t mean Astor isn’t feeling the same kind of p
