Why Not

Emma smiled widely, feeling foolish for how she had reacted earlier. Surely her Uncle hadn't been trying to grope her.

Edward, not sure what the smile was for, seemed to be taken aback for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Emma as she nearly leaped forward and embraced her burly Uncle in a big hug.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Ed. I don't know what I would do without you and Aunt Maude," Emma said, her voice starting to crack as she struggled with surfacing emotions.

"Shh, shh, don't you worry, Sweetheart, we're family. That's what we're here for. To help each other when things get hard," Edward said quietly.

Emma buried her face in her Uncle's shoulder, not paying attention to the exact words her Uncle had used until she felt his hands creep down her lower back.

Surely Edward wasn't going to accidentally touch her bum again, was he? Emma found herself waiting to see what he would do. Part of her was creeped out by what might be happening, but a small voice in the back of her mind wanted to see if the situation was as she had feared. And if she was being honest, part of her actually welcomed the attention.

Sure enough Edward's hands kept creeping lower. It was indeed a gentle back rub as they hugged, but with each down movement of her Uncle's hands, he touched a bit more of her bottom.