Page 81 of The Hardest Part

Emily marked off another day on the calendar with a big red X.

Three more weeks.

Twenty-one days from today, she’d marry Jake at the courthouse in Jackson, and then afterward, she’d put on Miss Lilly’s dress to meet him and Billy at the stones. It’s there, she’d become the wife of two brothers, and they’d both become husbands to her.

Perfect.

The only thing putting a damper on the long-awaited occasion was knowing how badly they grieved. And not just Billy and Jake, but Victor and Justin, too. Emily, her mom, and even Grams went over there often, to help out or cook them a meal.

Most days, Victor didn’t come home until late. Then, he’d pick at his dinner, and go straight up to bed. It was a rare occasion to see Justin come out of his studio. He painted in there, night and day. That left Jake and Billy on their own.

Grams told her not to worry. It had only been a couple of months, after all. Everyone processes loss on their own time, in their own way. “Your job is to love them through it,” she said.

“I am, Grams.” Emily hugged her with a heavy sigh. “I just want everyone to be happy again.”

“It’s there, dear. You just can’t see it right now.” She took a step back, and with a tender smile, brushed the hair from her face. “I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told Arien. Life has a way of giving us our joy back.”

She wasn’t so sure about that. “It hasn’t for Mama.”

“What makes you say that, honey?”

“I dunno.” Emily shrugged. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. “She pretends to be happy, but when no one’s lookin’, I think that she’s sad—lonely, you know?”

“Hmm.” But she was nodding.

“And soon, Mama won’t have me here anymore.”

“Could be that’s exactly what she needs.”

Her brow shooting upward, Emily looked into her grandmother’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Your mother was so young when Timothy and William were killed, but she had you to care for, my dear girl.” Grams drew her to her chest and kissed her on the forehead. “Being on her own just might be the kick in the ass she needs to take a chance on life again.”

Emily tossed the red marker to her dresser and sighed. “Maybe she’s right.”

Then, noting the time, she packed up her veil, got in her car, and drove over to the ranch. Emily was taking her cousin up on the offer she made that time they got their picture taken in Jackson. Arien was talented with a camera, so she knew the photos would turn out gorgeous. Jake and Billy were going to love it.

“God, you’re huge!” Afraid she might come tumbling down, Emily followed Arien closely up the stairs. Seven months along, it looked like she had a basketball in her belly. “I don’t remember Shiloh being this big.”

“Well, there are two of them in there.”

“I didn’t mean for it to sound like that, because you look fucking amazing.”

“For a pregnant chick, I guess.” She giggled, rubbing circles on her belly. “C’mon, I’ve got everything set up in my old room.”

Emily gazed at the pretty sage walls and fondly remembered going with her mom and Grams to choose the paint. She couldn’t believe that it was less than two years ago because it seemed like a lifetime since then. Smiling, she slipped into her lacy white underthings and pinned the veil to her head.

“Oh, Ems, you look so beautiful.” Arien adjusted the tulle to frame her face. “Only three weeks to go until the big day. Are you excited?”

“Course, I am. Weren’t you?”

She pursed her lips, then grinned, the shutter on her camera clicking. “We were too busy putting a wedding together in only two weeks, remember?”

As if she could forget.

“We pulled it off, though, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, we did.” Arien kissed her cheek. “And it was perfect.”

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