Page 51 of My Not So Wicked Stepbrother (My Not So Wicked 1)

“You had all of Saturday off!” Macey threw a string of fake diamonds at her.

Marlowe caught them with ease. “You can have this Saturday off, brat!”

It was hard to remember sometimes that they were twenty-five. I felt Mom channeling me. “Ladies, come on. Let’s be nice. I’m sure Marlowe has a good reason for not showing up on Sunday.” For the record I didn’t really think that, but Mom would have said it.

Marlowe stood up stick straight. “I do, as a matter of fact, but it’s not anyone’s business.”

Ah. Now I knew why it was days later and Macey was still upset. Marlowe was keeping a secret from her. Those two shared everything.

Josephine began tsking. “We have work to do.”

Macey and Marlowe both huffed but said nothing more on the matter.

I drew closer to the table to see what I was dealing with before I started offering my ideas.

Before I could do anything, though, Josephine shoved a black invitation with sparkling silver letters in my hand. “These are the invites.”

She’d already had them made? I looked down at it and read, The Lady of Carrington Presents a Black-Tie Affair. Black tie? “Are we holding the dance in the barn?”

Josephine curled her lips. “Yes,” she sighed. “I tried talking Dane out of it, but it was the one thing he wouldn’t budge on. This would be so much better at the country club in Pine Falls.”

“Except it’s not at the Ranch, which is kind of the point of the Farewell to Summer dance.”

“That name is so trite.”

I flexed my fingers and pressed my lips together before I let her have it. My mother had come up with that name. Sawyer, Sawyer, Sawyer, I repeated in my head, trying to calm down.

Josephine must have known I wanted to unleash my fury on her. Her dark eyes dared me to. Even Macey and Marlowe were waiting by their expectant eyes.

I disappointed them all by biting my tongue. “Okay, so have you talked to Grady and his band about this new theme and the dress code?” The invite stated formal attire required, which had me seething, but I was doing my best to keep my cool.

Josephine let out an evil laugh. “You’re so funny, Emma. I’m hiring a big swing band out of Denver.”

“What? Grady’s band has always played.”

Josephine snatched the invite out of my hand. “Things are changing around here, if you haven’t noticed.”

Believe me I had, and I hated it with all that I was. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my emotions in check. I looked to my sisters for some help. They each in turn refused to look at me.

“I, for one, think this is a great idea. I have the perfect dress in mind,” Marlowe chimed in.

“It’s fun trying something new.” Macey braved looking at me and gave me a sympathetic smile.

Josephine gave me a victorious smile. “You know, I think we have it handled here. If I need anything, I’ll let you know. Feel free to run along.”

I looked at Marlowe and Macey to give them one more chance to say something on my behalf, or at least Mom’s. Heck, they could have even asked me to stay, but they kept their heads down. I stared at them anyway. “A person who doesn’t remember their roots is always in danger of falling. Just remember who will always be there to pick you up when you do.”

“That’s touching, Emma,” Josephine mocked. “Have a good night.”

I turned around and marched myself right out of there. I only stopped to scowl at the stupid piece of paint-smattered canvas that Josephine made and called it art hanging above the fireplace where our last family picture had hung. For all I knew, Dad had let her burn that picture. A deep ache in my chest had me catching my breath. I pushed myself out the door in search of Frankie, someone who still had some sanity on this ranch. Instead, I ran right into Ashton, who was coming into the house. Apparently, he didn’t have to knock.

“Sorry.” I slammed the door behind me.

“Hey there, are you okay?” He sounded so much like his brother, but when I looked up at him, his eyes didn’t hold the comfort that Sawyer’s did.

I was about to give him a general fine response and move on, but then I remembered I hadn’t had a chance to talk to him over the weekend about Macey. He was gone more than he was around. I hope he got that job he said he had been interviewing for. I thought maybe I should ask him about that first. “Have you heard back from the company you interviewed with over the weekend?”

He rubbed the back of his neck like his brother did on occasion. “It was more of a head hunter situation. I’m trying to keep my options open.”

---