Teresa’s whole body suddenly gave out and she slumped backward.
“Mom!”
Emmy caught her just in time and helped her over to the couch.
A few of their cousins were still hanging around, clearly enjoying the drama.
“Wow, what a show. One person and the whole Lincoln family’s falling apart.”
“For real. If this keeps up, Cooper and Teresa might actually end up divorced because of her.”
“I’m telling you, back in the day, they had femme fatales. Now we’ve got firefighters. Look how Emmy’s totally obsessed.”
Their voices trailed off when Emmy shot them a sharp look. “The adults are gone. Why are you all still here?”
One cousin just laughed, crossing her arms like she owned the place. “Cooper told us to come. Why should we leave? He said we could stick around and have a good time.”
“Yeah, it’s getting late. Isn’t it time to eat?”
“Let’s go. I’m starving.”
They didn’t even look at Emmy as they marched into the dining room like it was their house.
James’s face tightened for a second, but he just turned and followed them in.
Teresa still looked lost, stuck in fear and shock.
She grabbed Emmy’s hand, her voice shaking, tears threatening to spill. “Emmy, your dad… do you think he’s going to die?”
“I—I don’t even know what happened. I saw him about to hit you with that teacup and I just… I just threw it at him…”
“Before I realized, it was already flying. I didn’t think I’d actually hit him…”
Emmy pulled her mom into a hug, rubbing her back gently.
“Mom, it’s okay. Dad’s not going to die. You’re not that strong. Even if the cup cut him, it’s just a scratch. It looks scary, but it’s not serious.”
“Besides, he was awake when he left.”
But Teresa couldn’t stop shaking. She wasn’t afraid of Cooper—she was terrified she might have actually hurt someone.

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