Page 88 of The Hardest Part

Kellan and Tanner looked at each other and chuckled.

“Wait.” Arien tried her hardest to sit up straighter, but with her enormous belly, she didn’t get very far. “Is his sister alive or dead?”

“They’re all dead, baby cakes.” Kellan helped her up, and giving her a smooch, added another pillow behind her back. “Have been for more than a hundred years. You can pay ‘em a visit at the cemetery.”

“You’re terrible.” She playfully smacked his thigh. “I’ve been meaning to photograph all the old gravestones—preserve them somehow, you know?”

“Oh, I love that idea.” Emily grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “After the babies come, we’ll go with and help you.”

That’d be cool.

“You should write a book of their stories, Jake.” Rubbing her hands together like she was plotting, Arien grinned. “I’d read it.”

I am.

“I might.”

“I need to know what happened to little Elizabeth and the twins. All of them.” And she put her hands together as if she were praying. “Please, tell me, did Elijah ever see his sister again?”

Can I get a pretty please with a cherry on top?

“Her name was Amelia. She was to marry Levi’s brother, Caleb.”

“But she didn’t?”

Jake shook his head. “She didn’t.”

“How come?”

“You’re gonna have to wait for the book.” He winked. This was too much fun.

“No fair.” She threw a pillow at him.

“I’m kidding.” He caught it. “But it’s a long story, so we should save that one for another day. Deal?”

“Party pooper.” Pursing her lips, she tossed her blonde waves and gave in. “Fine. Deal.”

“Oh, I brought you something.” Jake handed her the manila envelope.

“What are these?”

“Old recipes I found. They were called receipts back then.” A few of them had been written in Victoria’s own hand. “Thought you could use ‘em for your vlog, so I made copies for you.”

“This is so cool, Jake.” She held the envelope to her chest like a priceless treasure. To Arien it was, he supposed. “Thank you.”

Billy, who sat on the other side of their wife, gave him his‘let’s wrap this shit up’look.

“Course, we need to preserve those, too.” Jake stood and went over to kiss Arien’s cheek. “Well, I need to get my wife home. You get some rest, and take care of those babies, now. Kel, Tanner, you two take care of her.”

“Chrissakes, Jake, you can talk for fuckin’ ever,” Billy said when they got in the truck. “I was dyin’ to go home an hour ago.”

“What for?”

C’mon, now. You really gotta ask, wild one?

“We got plans for you.”

Damn, right.

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