Page 26 of No Such Thing as Serendipity
She continued to stare out the side window.
“Em, I’m sorry. Give me a chance to get used to this. Please.”
At the word please, she turned to me. Her eyes were misty.
Shit.I’d almost made my sister cry. “I’ve always been sarcastic.”
She nodded. “Yeah, but now I don’t know if you’re kidding or not.”
CHAPTER 9
After Emma had saidshe didn’t know if I was being sarcastic or serious, our conversation lagged. We’d exchanged polite small talk about the scenery and beautiful day, but it felt forced. I had two choices. Either call this off and fly Emma to Europe to be with her family, or I could try harder.
I longed for the connection to Emma, the one we used to have, but it seemed impossible. Despite our monthly get-togethers, things had been strained between us. Not exactly strained, more like flat. Sparks of our youthful banter remained, but it happened less and less often. This could be our fresh start, if I let it.
With a renewed determination to repair the damage with Emma, I smiled and said, “Looks like we’re almost there.”
“Uh-huh.” She responded with little enthusiasm.
Shit.She wouldn’t make it easy. “Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone.” I wasn’t one hundred percent certain I meant it, but I knew it was what Emma wanted to hear.
As I slowed and turned down the lane for Blissful Breeze, she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. I turned to her and smiled again.
Emma returned my smile with an even wider one and clapped her hands together. “This is going to be phenomenal.”
One thing I loved about Emma also maddened me. She never held on to her frustration with me and was always willing to forgive my moods. Thankfully, Andrew was one of the sweetest guys I knew because I suspected Emma would forgive a lot more than she should.
We drove down the narrow lane toward the resort. It was gravel, sorta. There were hints of gravel, especially along the sides of the road, but the path was mostly dirt. A little rain would turn it into a muddy mess. I held back mentioning it to Emma.
“Wow. I feel like we’re driving into the wilderness,” I said. The large trees and overgrown grass and weeds in the ditches hugged the road, making me claustrophobic. Something else I wouldn’t say to her.
“I know. Isn’t it glorious? I want to stand in the middle of the forest and twirl.” She spread out her arms for effect. “Experience all that Mother Nature has to offer.”
I laughed at her enthusiasm. “Don’t wander out there alone and get lost.” When I saw her face fall, I added, “Remember when you got lost in the Redwood Forest?”
Her smile returned. “Mom and Auntie Bess just about had a heart attack.”
“Yeah, and we found you happily trying to coax a squirrel to take a nut from you.”
“He was ready to until the three of you tromped up like a herd of wild buffalo.”
“He was still ten feet from you.”
“Eight, but we were making progress.” Emma flashed me a smile. She pointed at one of the low-hanging branches ahead. “Be careful. You might not clear that with this big-ass truck.”
“Yeah, and they frown on people returning them with big scratch marks across the roof. I’m surprised it’s quite so...um...so…”
“Overgrown?” Emma said.
I let out a sigh of relief, happy she’d opened the door for me to comment. “Yeah, I thought resorts kept their grounds pristine to enhance the guest experience.”
“Maybe this one is primitive.”
Great. Stay positive.“Did they mention it when you registered?”
“Well, no, but we are in Wisconsin.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess it makes sense.” I glanced at Emma when I responded and regretted it when the truck jolted through an enormous pothole. “I better keep an eye on the road.” Biting my tongue, I refrained from saying they should put down some gravel.
