Goodbye, Mr. Regret

After Jessica Greene stormed out, she turned to Daisy and said, "What he did wasn't a little mistake-it was a huge one. Saying sorry isn't enough to make up for it."

Daisy, ever the peacemaker, replied, "Then maybe you should test him a bit, see if he's really sorry."

Daisy never knew her own parents, so she couldn't bear the thought of Henry losing his mother, too.

Kids without mothers always seemed so pitiful to her, like little blades of grass trying to survive on their own.

Daisy was only running a fever. After her IV drip finished, the doctor came by to check on her and said the fever had broken. She was free to go home, just needed to pick up some medicine and take it for a couple of days.

Before leaving the hospital, Jessica wanted to check in on Grandpa. But Mrs. Zimmerman told her, "Larkin's asleep. No need to disturb him-go home and get some rest, it's been a long night."

It was nearly dawn when they got back, and none of them had really slept.

They were just heading out the hospital doors when they ran into Yates Bryant and his wife.

The night before, Yates hadn't come by right away. The flight had been

exhausting, and with Larkin already asleep, the Zimmermans told him it was better to rest and come by in the morning. So he and Mrs. Bryant showed up early to visit.

The moment Mrs. Bryant saw Mrs. Zimmerman, she hurried over, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "Mrs. Zimmerman, I can hardly believe how much better you look. I suppose the best cure for a troubled heart is a little peace of mind."

Mrs. Zimmerman nodded warmly. "Yes, now that Salome's back, I feel like my spirit's returned too."

Jessica was holding Daisy's hand. She greeted them politely, "Good morning, Mrs. Bryant."noveldrama

"Good morning, Mrs. Bryant," Daisy echoed sweetly.

Mrs. Bryant reached down and gently touched Daisy's cheek. “Such a lovely girl."

Then she turned to Mrs. Zimmerman and Jessica. "We'll just go upstairs to see Zachary."

"All right. Vince is with him. Go ahead. Daisy had a high fever last night, so Jessy stayed with her at the hospital. I'm going to take them home to rest."

Mrs. Bryant waved goodbye. "Take care, you two. We'll head up."

As they walked away, Mrs. Bryant gave Yates a sharp look. "You saw Jessica and didn't say a word? I asked you to post a review for her, and you ignored me. What are you thinking?"

“Mom, Larkin's been sick. Do you really think this is the right time to talk about wedding plans? You're always in such a hurry. Didn't you ever hear the saying, 'Patience is a virtue'?"

She rolled her eyes. "All right, all right, you're the eloquent one. But I didn't see

you show off those skills in front of Jessica just now."

She scolded him as they disappeared into the hospital.

Meanwhile, Timothy Lawson brought Henry home. Henry had decided to make a paper-cut illustration for Jessica as an apology.

Timothy stayed with Henry all day, not stepping out once. He didn't know much about paper-cutting, but he did his best to help Henry with the project, passing him supplies and giving advice where he could.

When Henry finished, Timothy helped glue the paper cuts into a sketchbook. They

worked into the evening, the sky outside turning deep blue.

"Henry, you stay here. I'll take this to

your mom," Timothy said. Jessica was still upset, and with Henry being so young, Timothy worried she might refuse to see him and hurt his feelings.

Henry understood his mom wasn't ready to talk to him yet, and he didn't insist on going along.

"Go on, Dad," he said quietly.

Timothy stepped out, sketchbook in hand.

No sooner had he left than Henry's watch-phone started ringing. It was Sheila Howard calling.

Henry frowned, not at all eager to answer.